To All,
Good Wednesday Morning April 26 2023
A bit of history and some tidbits
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History April 26
1869 As a post-Civil War push for re-enlistments, the Good Conduct Medal, then called Good Conduct Badge, is authorized by Secretary of the Navy Adolphus E. Borie.
1918 USS Stewart (DD 13) collides with an unidentified steamer near Brest, France. Just days earlier, Stewart crew members attacked a German submarine and saved the SS Florence H crew when she exploded internally.
1944 USS Frost (DE 144), USS Huse (DE 145), USS Barber (DE 161) and USS Snowden (DE 246) sink the German submarine U 488 northwest of the Canary Islands.
1952 While steaming at night in formation 700 miles west of the Azores, USS Hobson (DD 464) and USS Wasp (CV 18) collide as Hobson crossed the carriers bow from starboard to port and was struck amidships, breaking her in two. Hobson and 176 of her crew are lost, including her commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. W. J. Tierney.
1960 USS George Washington (SSN 598) conducts a Polaris missile test firing in Long Island Sound in the Atlantic Ocean.
2002 The Watson-class vehicle cargo ship USNS Soderman (T AKR 317) is launched at National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif.
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This day in World history April 26
757 Stephen II ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
1478 Pazzi conspirators attack Lorenzo and kill Giuliano de' Medici.
1514 Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn.
1564 William Shakespeare is baptized.
1607 The British establish a colony at Cape Henry, Virginia.
1865 Joseph E. Johnston surrenders the Army of Tennessee to General William T. Sherman.
1915 Second Lieutenant William Rhodes-Moorhouse becomes the first airman to win the Victoria Cross after conducting a successful bombing raid.
1929 The first non-stop flight from England to India is completed.
1931 New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hits a home run but is called out for passing a runner, the mistake ultimately costs him the home run record.
1937 The ancient Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain is bombed by German planes.
1941 The first organ is played at a baseball stadium in Chicago.
1968 Students seize the administration building at Ohio State University.
1983 The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 1,200 for first time.
1986 The world's worst nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl power plant in the Soviet Union.
1994 Nelson Mandela wins the presidency in South Africa's first multiracial elections.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post
Skip… For The List for Wednesday, 26 April 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 26 April 1968… With a campus revolution brewing, General Hershey increased the draft call to 400,000+ for 1968…
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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From the Flag at Derna to Dewey at Manila Bay
by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
04/27/2010
This Week in American Military History:
24 Apr 1805: USS Congress captured Tripolitan gunboat
On 24 April 1805, during the First Barbary War, the frigate Congress,
commanded by John Rodgers, captured a Tripolitan gunboat together with 2
prizes taken earlier by pirate ships off Tripoli.
To read more about USS Congress, please click here:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c12/congress-iii.htm
Apr. 26, 1777: Just after 9:00 p.m., 16-year-old Sybil (also Sibbell)
Ludington – "the female Paul Revere" – begins her 40-mile, all-night ride
(much of it in the rain) across an isolated circuit of New York–Connecticut
backcountry, warning villagers of a British attack on nearby Danbury,
Connecticut.
The daughter of a militia colonel, Ludington will be recognized for her
bravery and patriotism by Gen. George Washington.
Apr. 26, 1865: Just over two weeks after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
surrenders his Army of Northern Virginia, Confederate Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston surrenders the once-vaunted Army of Tennessee to U.S. Army Gen.
William T. Sherman near Durham Station, N.C.
Apr. 27, 1805: Following an extremely difficult march across a
500-to-700-mile stretch of North African desert; U.S. Army officer and
Naval agent to the Barbary regents William Eaton, U.S. Marine Lt. Presley
Neville O'Bannon and seven American leathernecks – leading an unlikely and
often near-mutinying Christian-Muslim army of Arabs, Western European
adventurers, and Greek mercenaries – attack and seize the fortress at Derna
commanded by the ruling pasha Yusuf Karamanli, on "the shores of Tripoli"
(Yes, that's where the line comes from in the Marine Corps Hymn.)
Supported by the offshore guns of USS Argus (the first of two so-named U.S.
Navy vessels), USS Hornet (the third of eight so-named U.S. Navy vessels),
and USS Nautilus (the first of six so-named U.S. Navy vessels), O'Bannon's
men storm the enemy's works in fierce hand-to-hand fighting, turn the
enemy's guns on the pasha's palace, and ultimately raise the stars and
stripes over the "Old World" for the first time.
So-impressed with O'Bannon's leadership and heroics, newly installed pasha
Hamet Karamanli (Yusuf's pro-American brother), will present O'Bannon with
a Mameluke sword. U.S. Marine officers today still carry the Mameluke
sword, whereas Marine NCOs carry the traditional Naval infantry saber.
Apr. 28, 1965: Almost 160 years to the day after the storming of Derna,
U.S. Marines land in the Dominican Republic.
Apr. 30, 1798: The U.S. Navy Department – parent company of the U.S. Navy
and Marine Corps – is established.
Apr. 30, 1945: German leader Adolf Hitler and his new bride, Eva Braun,
commit suicide in Hitler's Berlin Bunker. German Army forces will surrender
to the Allies within days.
Apr. 30, 1970: Pres. Richard M. Nixon announces, "In cooperation with the
armed forces of South Vietnam, attacks are being launched this week to
clean out major enemy sanctuaries on the Cambodian-Vietnam border. … This
is not an invasion of Cambodia. The areas in which these attacks will be
launched are completely occupied and controlled by North Vietnamese forces.
Our purpose is not to occupy the areas. Once enemy forces are driven out of
these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will
withdraw."
May. 1, 1898: The Battle of Manila Bay opens when U.S. Navy Commodore
George Dewey utters his now-famous words, "You may fire when ready, Mr.
Gridley [speaking to Capt. Charles Vernon Gridley, commanding Dewey's
flagship USS Olympia]."
Within a few hours, Dewey's Asiatic Squadron – several cruisers including
Olympia (the first of two so-named U.S. Navy vessels), gunboats, and
supporting vessels – will destroy the Spanish fleet in the Philippines.
May. 1, 1960: Francis Gary Powers, a former U.S. Air Force officer now
flying high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance aircraft for the CIA, is shot down
over the Soviet Union and captured.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Modern humans have been on Earth less than 0.01% of the planet's existence.
The Earth has been around for a while — about one-third as long as the universe itself. By comparison, Homo sapiens are the new kids on the block. Earth's story began at the outset of the Hadean eon, about 4.6 billion years ago. It took 600 million years just for the Earth's crust to take shape, another 300 million years for the first signs of microbial life to pop up, and about 3.2 billion years after that for life to really get going thanks to the evolutionary burst known as the Cambrian explosion. Several mass extinction events and some 465 million years later, mammals finally took center stage, but modern humans didn't enter the biological limelight for another 65 million years. With the first Homo sapiens appearing around 300,000 years ago, humans have only been on planet Earth for 0.0067% of its existence.
In those 300,000 years, humans have been pretty busy. For a couple thousand years, we harnessed fire and lived a nomadic existence, until around the fourth millennium BCE, when the very first civilizations began to take shape. Since then, humans have been on a meteoric trajectory, going from hunter-gatherer to spacefarer in less than 6,000 years. Carl Sagan famously displayed the universe's history on a 365-day calendar, with the Big Bang on January 1 and our current moment starting at 12:01 a.m. the next year. On that timeline, it's only at 10:30 p.m. on December 31 that humans first appear, and all of recorded history is squeezed into just a few seconds — but what a few seconds it's been.
Another from Interesting Facts
Rome still uses an aqueduct built during the Roman Empire.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a motto that works well for Rome. Because of the incredibly advanced craftsmanship of ancient Rome's architects, as well as their remarkably long-lasting building materials (more on that below), many of the ancient empire's most marvelous construction projects can still be seen by millions of tourists today — some 6 million people visit the Colosseum each year alone. However, the most amazing engineering achievement might be Rome's eye-catching aqueducts, one of which still supplies Rome with water millennia after it was built.
While the Romans didn't invent the aqueduct — primitive irrigation systems can be found in Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian history — Roman architects perfected the idea. In 312 BCE, the famed Roman leader Appius Claudius Caecus erected the first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, which brought water to the growing population of the Roman Republic. Today, the Acqua Vergine — first built during the reign of Emperor Augustus in 19 BCE as the Aqua Virgo — still supplies Rome with water more than 2,000 years after its construction (though it's been through several restorations).
The main reason for the aqueduct's longevity, along with that of many of Rome's ancient buildings, is its near-miraculous recipe for concrete. An analysis by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that Roman concrete could essentially self-heal due to its lime clasts (small mineral chunks) and a process known as "hot mixing" (mixing in the lime at extremely high temperatures). Today, researchers are studying how the material functioned in the hopes of applying secrets from the "Eternal City" to today's building materials.
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Thanks to Dr.Rich
F/A-18 Carrier Landing …
Thanks to Ken ...
From Pete Reed former Newport Beach Lifeguard, HB Swim Club, USC water polo / swim, Navy pilot / "paddles" aboard Bonny Dick during Vietnam, Western / Delta, now retired selling yachts in Florida…
If you look on the right sided of the screen. The second one down is a great Ward Carrol interview With Killer Chick the A-10 driver and below that are a number of Seekers videos. My favorite singing group. You may remember "Georgie Girl" but there are a lot of them.
skip
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https:geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: Global Oil Demand, Turkish Grain Duties
European and Asian oil buyers may have to compete for limited supplies.
By: GPF Staff
April 25, 2023
Supply crunch. Global competition for oil supplies is about to heat up, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. Since February 2022, Europe has reduced imports of Russian oil by more than a million barrels per day. At the same time, it's seeing declining supplies from Iraq, which has suspended deliveries to the Continent through a key Turkish port. Meanwhile, OPEC+ production cuts are set to begin in July, and demand among Asian refiners, especially China, is also ramping up, meaning supplies will be squeezed by orders from both Europe and Asia. This comes as profits for oil refiners have been falling, according to Reuters.
Turkish duties. Turkey will introduce a 130 percent duty on wheat, corn and barley imports after a regulation that imposed zero taxes on certain grain products expires on April 30. This comes after four European countries – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria – suspended imports of Ukrainian grain last week. Prospects for extending the Black Sea grain deal are also looking bleak.
China and Cuba. Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Cuba's vice president, Roberto Morales Ojeda, in Beijing. Li said China was ready to deepen cooperation in various fields and highlighted the importance of its ties with Latin America. Morales, for his part, said Cuba was ready to increase trade and economic cooperation with China.
French grain. France will continue to export grain to North Africa, after saying it will drop a ban on an insecticide that would have made it effectively impossible to ship grain to the region. Some countries require grain imports to be treated by the insecticide before accepting deliveries. Countries like Egypt, Algeria and Morocco would have stopped accepting any French grain if the ban was implemented, which could have compounded problems for farmers in Europe who are already seeing falling prices due to a glut of Ukrainian grain on the market.
Vision for the Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh released its first official Indo-Pacific outlook on Monday. The 15-point plan, which aligns closely with U.S. strategy for the region, aims to ensure a secure atmosphere for the country's economic development and relies on cooperation with allies. This week, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit Japan before traveling to the U.K. and U.S.
New unit. Kazakhstan's armed forces will create a new subdivision designed to operate in urban environments. The new unit will work closely with the country's border guards, National Guard and Ministry of Emergency Situations. The military said it's also establishing a department devoted to developing unmanned aerial vehicles.
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Thanks to Brett
Stratfor world news
tratfor snippets - Israel/Jordan, South Korea/U.S., Japan, China/Europe, Australia, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Turkey, U.K., U.S., Global, Venezuela, U.S./South Korea, Armenia/Azerbaijan, South Africa
Israel, Jordan: Israeli Police Arrest Jordanian Lawmaker for Weapons Smuggling
What Happened: Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen confirmed that Israeli police arrested Jordanian lawmaker Imad Al-Adwan on the Allenby Bridge as he attempted to smuggle firearms into Israel, The Times of Israel reported on April 24. Cohen said Israel saw the incident as the actions of a rogue lawmaker and not as an act of the state, and Jordan has confirmed Al-Adwan's detention, saying it would investigate the incident.
Why It Matters: Although state-to-state ties are unlikely to be directly affected by the incident, the smuggling attempt shows that anti-Israeli sentiment in Jordan is growing. More Jordanians will likely try to smuggle arms across the border into Israel to support Palestinians as Israel's right-wing government continues to pursue expansionist policies in the West Bank, which could eventually sour Israeli-Jordanian ties to the point where Jordan recalls its ambassador from Israel. If violence in the West Bank reaches the point of an intifada, Jordan would be an informal base for militants, with Jordan's government potentially unable or unwilling to control arms flows into the West Bank.
Background: A video reportedly showed Al-Adwan's car holding up to a dozen assault or semi-assault rifles and around 200 handguns, though Israeli police imposed a gag order that has made it impossible to confirm whether the images were from his car. Jordan has become more overtly critical of the current Israeli government's policies, in spite of the substantial trade and security ties between the two and Jordan's reliance on U.S. aid.
South Korea, U.S.: Washington Pulls Seoul Into Memory Chip Dispute With China
What Happened: The United States asked South Korea's government to put pressure on South Korea-based Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — the world's two largest Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chip producers — to not boost sales of memory chips to China if Beijing bans U.S.-based Micron Technology, the world's third-largest DRAM memory chip producer, from selling to China, the Financial Times reported on April 24. The request reportedly came ahead of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's official state visit to the United States on April 26 at the White House.
Why It Matters: South Korea is unlikely to pressure its companies to stop selling chips to China, as Beijing would likely retaliate against South Korea for aligning with the United States. However, if South Korean producers refrain from backfilling Micron's market share in China, China would have few other options, as Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix produce over 95% of the world's DRAM chips.
Background: The U.S. request comes after China announced on March 31 that it was carrying out a cybersecurity review of Micron's products sold in China, which accounted for 25% of Micron's global revenue in 2022. The review could result in Micron's chips being blocked from the Chinese market and is testing Beijing's resolve on whether or not it is willing to restrict U.S. tech products from its market as U.S. tech restrictions on China increase.
Japan: Close Calls for LDP in By-Elections Make Snap Elections Less Likely
What Happened: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won four of five by-election National Diet seats, but by tight margins, Kyodo News reported on April 23. The next day, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will not call snap elections.
Why It Matters: The LDP's tight margins, sputtering pronatalist policies and rising geopolitical tensions could make Kishida hesitant to trigger snap elections by dissolving the lower house before its term expires in 2025. However, despite Kishida's claim, the prime minister could still decide that the LDP's by-electoral victories are strong enough to follow up with snap elections. If Kishida does dissolve the lower house, he would likely do so after the Group of Seven meeting on May 19-21 in Hiroshima but before the parliamentary session ends on June 21.
Background: The by-election seats, four in the lower House of Representatives and one in the upper House of Councilors, had been vacant. While the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan failed to win a seat and is on the decline, the up-and-coming Japan Innovation Party won the Wakayama No. 1 district, despite the LDP expending considerable political capital to win the seat. The results come after the LDP won key gubernatorial races on April 9.
China, Europe: Persistent 'Wolf Warriors' to Hinder Diplomatic Reconciliation
What Happened: China's ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, stated on French TV on April 22 that Crimea was part of Russia gifted to Ukraine by former Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev and that all post-Soviet states "don't have actual status in international law," Reuters reported on April 24. This prompted fury from numerous European leaders, including Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who stated all Baltic states would call in China's envoys to clarify their positions.
Why It Matters: This "wolf warrior" brand of aggressive, nationalist diplomacy will remain a key tool of China's foreign relations for the foreseeable future as China looks to defend its image amid Western criticism, even if Beijing tries to reign in the excessive statements of diplomats like Lu from time to time. This will breed collateral damage to China's foreign relations, and Lu's comments in particular could impede China's efforts to improve relations with former Soviet states in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Background: China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, clarified on April 24 that "China respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union."
Australia: Government Endorses Historic Defense Reform
What Happened: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government endorsed and vowed to implement a review released by the country's defense ministry on April 24, which calls for a switch to long-range precision strike capabilities and domestic production of guided weapons in Australia's national security strategy, Reuters has reported.
Why It Matters: The defense shakeup is Australia's largest since World War II and aims to enable the country to project military power beyond its near abroad, while securing supply chains by boosting domestic production. If the proposed reforms are successfully implemented, the long-range strike capabilities would enhance Australia's ability to strike China, as Canberra works to form a front-line bulwark against a potential conflict with Beijing.
Background: The Australian defense ministry's review found that as currently constituted, the country's defense forces are ''not fit for purpose'' amid increasing U.S.-China competition in the region. The review also calls for diplomacy to foster defense cooperation with the United States, Japan, India and Southeast Asian countries ''to maintain regional balance,'' and explicitly refers to China as a threat.
Sudan: Countries Race to Evacuate Foreign Nationals
What Happened: Countries like the United States, China, Japan, Germany and France took advantage of a lull in fighting in Khartoum over the past two days to evacuate their citizens, Reuters reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: The warring Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces appear to be attempting to let foreign nationals leave without incident. Still, resolutions to "fight to the death" likely portend continued fighting at an increasingly high humanitarian cost. In Khartoum, sharp increases in the prices of essential items, as well as shortages of food, medicine, water and fuel, may spur people to flee toward the Chadian and South Sudanese borders in increasing numbers, expanding the regional impacts of the conflict.
Background: At least two convoys involved in evacuations were attacked — one carrying Qatari embassy staff and another carrying French citizens. Several countries sent military planes from Djibouti to fly people out of Khartoum, and others took people by convoy to Port Sudan, where they boarded ships to Saudi Arabia. Clashes have reportedly killed 427 people and injured over 3,700.
Kenya: Investors Reportedly Dumping Bonds Amid Rising Fears of Default
What Happened: The extra yield demanded by investors to hold Kenyan dollar bonds instead of U.S. Treasurys closed at 993 basis points on April 21, below the 1,000 level that bond traders consider indicative of potential debt distress, Bloomberg reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: Investor worries over Kenya's upcoming $2 billion principal payment due in 2024 are likely undermining the government's ability to attract the financing it will need to avoid a debt crisis in 2024. The government said the week of April 16 that it hopes to sell new debt to refinance its 2024 payment, but Kenya will likely struggle to find buyers, as no sub-Saharan African country has been able to raise financing through a dollar bond sale since 2021. Challenges servicing Kenya's debt are likely to worsen conditions in Kenya's already-strained business environment, potentially resulting in unrest in the coming months.
Background: Yields on dollar bonds due in 2028 rose to 14.6% in a 14th consecutive day of increases, while the Kenyan shilling dropped more than 3% in the past month in one of the worst global performances. The Kenyan government delayed paying civil service wages earlier in April so it could pay a debt servicing bill, and Kenya has just $6.3 billion in foreign reserves.
Ethiopia: Government and OLA to Begin Negotiations
What Happened: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on April 23 that the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group would begin peace negotiations in Tanzania on April 25, Addis Standard reported the next day. The OLA published a statement acknowledging Ahmed's announcement and confirming the negotiations, saying the "Ethiopian regime has accepted our terms for peace negotiations."
Why It Matters: The anticipated negotiations could eventually improve security and political stability in Oromia and the surrounding regions, as they somewhat raise the prospects for a peace agreement. However, myriad challenges will risk derailing the talks, including ongoing mistrust between the government and the OLA and the potential for certain OLA factions to oppose talks and continue conducting attacks in Oromia, the capital Addis Ababa or neighboring regions. Moreover, Ahmed's government may face potentially violent opposition from Amhara militias that have combated the OLA for years and currently have a strained relationship with the Ethiopian government over the latter's efforts to dissolve and integrate them into the country's security forces.
Background: This is the first time the Ethiopian government and the OLA will engage in a peace dialogue amid years of fighting in Oromia, Ethiopia's largest region. The OLA — which also sided with the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front during the two-year war in Tigray that subsided in November 2022 — has waged a years-long insurgency against the Ethiopian government for the alleged marginalization of the Oromo people, which constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. As the fighting ceased in Tigray in 2022, clashes between the Ethiopian military (as well as ethnic Amhara militias) and the OLA increased in Oromia, prompting increased opposition pressure on the Abiy government to enter into negotiations with the OLA.
Sudan: Military, Paramilitary Group Agree to 72-Hour Cease-Fire
What Happened: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire starting at midnight local time, CNN reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: The cease-fire will likely enable countries to proceed with the evacuation of foreign nationals from Sudan and for humanitarian groups to reach people in need of food, water and medical assistance. Even so, the cease-fire is not guaranteed to hold since factionalism within both the SAF and RSF, as well as unclear command structures, could lead to a resumption of fighting before the 72 hours have elapsed.
Background: The United States, European countries and other Arab countries have been attempting to broker cease-fires in Sudan since the conflict broke out on April 15, but until Blinken's announcement, the SAF had refused to pause fighting.
Lebanon: Inflation Surges After February Currency Devaluation
What Happened: Data released by Lebanon's Central Administration of Statistics shows that overall inflation increased 264% annually in March, and food and beverage inflation increased 350% annually, Bloomberg reported on April 25. The sharp March increase follows an uptick in February.
Why It Matters: Inflation will likely rise further throughout 2023, which will worsen Lebanon's cost-of-living crisis and increase popular pressure on the government to pass economic reforms that could bring in much-needed loans. However, Lebanon's divided political parties have yet to elect a president (who is needed to sign legislation into law), so it remains unlikely that the government will implement any substantial reforms before the middle of 2023.
Background: In February, Lebanon adopted a new official currency exchange rate, which devalued the Lebanese pound by around 90% and was a step toward the unified exchange rate the International Monetary Fund and other external institutions have been urging. Even so, there is still a significant delta between the official rate (15,000 Lebanese pounds to $1) and the black market rate (about 62,000 Lebanese pounds to $1).
Turkey: Government Uses 'Counter Terror' Operations to Split Kurdish Vote
What Happened: Turkish police arrested 110 individuals, many in the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, in what state media called a "counter-terror" operation to combat the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), i24NEWS reported on April 25. The government accused the arrested individuals of transferring money to the PKK through municipalities held by the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), while the HDP accused the government of detaining people to prevent its loss of power in the upcoming May 14 general elections.
Why It Matters: Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is resorting to anti-terrorism operations to disrupt the Kurdish opposition. With only a few weeks left until the polls, the AKP could increase the pace of arrests and detentions, use security operations to make it difficult for Kurds to vote, and/or use emergency powers to recount close ballots in the Kurdish southwest after the vote. Arrests, detentions and suppression could swing some seats and nudge a narrow presidential contest toward the AKP, but these tactics will also fuel unrest should the AKP prevail in the polls.
Background: The AKP has a long history of trying to suppress and split the Kurdish vote through detentions, and the HDP's party co-chairs have been detained since November 2016. Highlighting HDP-PKK links also creates divisions between members of Turkey's large Kurdish community, not all of whom support using violence to win Kurdish rights.
U.K.: Government Introduces New Bill on Competition Reform for Tech Sector
What Happened: The British government unveiled the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, which aims to increase antitrust protections in digital markets, Euractiv reported on April 25. The bill will give more powers to the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) and make it easier for the Competition and Market Authority to take action against proposed mergers and acquisitions.
Why It Matters: Although it will take months or even years to get through the British Parliament, the bill continues Europe's trend of strengthening the role of regulators in digital markets to increase competition and protect consumers. Therefore, the bill (if passed in its current form) will provide more ammunition in Europe to force technology companies to change some of their business practices, though similar efforts in the United States have struggled to gain as much traction, at least at the federal level.
Background: The bill will enable the DMU to impose fines on technology companies up to 10% of their global turnover and to set rules on firms with "strategic market status" that keep them from using their heft to limit innovation or market access. The legislation is similar to the European Union's Digital Market Act, which was signed into law in 2022.
U.S.: Lawsuits Filed Against Oil Companies Over Climate Liability in State Courts to Proceed
What Happened: The U.S. Supreme Court declined an oil industry appeals petition seeking protection for oil companies from potential liability under state law for harms caused by climate change, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 25. Several local governments in multiple states are suing the petitioning companies, which include Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, and more than two dozen cases being considered.
Why It Matters: For now, the dismissal kicks the lawsuits back to the state court level, where activists and environmental lawyers think they have a better chance of winning climate liability lawsuits. How the cases fare there will set precedents in certain states and determine whether or not state law in the United States can be an effective way for activists to target oil companies.
Background: Initially, activists filed cases in the United States in federal courts, but those have largely failed. Activists in the United States have not seen the same level of success as those in Europe when trying to use lawsuits to challenge companies' or governments' environmental policies, such as the landmark 2021 ruling in the Netherlands that ordered Shell to cut its absolute emissions by 45% by 2030.
U.S.: Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in Favor of Apple in Epic Games Antitrust Lawsuit
What Happened: The U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals upheld a 2021 lower court decision rejecting U.S. video game and software company Epic Games' claims that U.S. technology company Apple's App Store rules violated federal antitrust law, Bloomberg reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: The court's decision to largely accept the lower court's ruling exposes some of the limitations of current antitrust law in the United States against Big Tech, which will provide more reasons for Democrats on Capitol Hill to pass new antitrust laws. However, substantial antitrust reform in the United States will face an uphill battle, as Republicans are concerned that such reforms would stifle conservative voices.
Background: The court ruled that Apple needs to review apps published on its App Store to protect users from various threat actors. The ruling largely supports Apple's "Walled Garden" approach to iOS and its ability to extract high fees and/or limit consumers' ability to install rival app stores and apps unapproved by Apple.
Global: 19 Countries Express Interest in Joining BRICS Ahead of Enlargement Discussions
What Happened: South Africa's ambassador to BRICS (the informal bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) said 19 countries had expressed an interest in joining the bloc, which will meet in Cape Town on June 2-3 to discuss enlargement, Bloomberg reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: Saudi Arabia and other powerful oil-producing Gulf Cooperation Council states, as well as large countries like Egypt and Indonesia, seem the most likely to join BRICS quickly. This enlargement would increase the bloc's wealth and perhaps enable it to fund and invest in more projects, potentially increasing its ability to function as a counterweight to Western institutions. However, the countries participating in BRICS, especially if it is enlarged, have wildly divergent interests from each other, which will impede the bloc's ability to focus on common goals. Additionally, GCC countries' desire to join BRICS does not necessarily mean that they are abandoning their defense and military relationships with the United States and the West.
Background: China pressed BRICS countries to discuss enlargement and consider new applicants in 2022 when it chaired the bloc. Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are all known to be interested in joining BRICS.
U.K.: Foreign Secretary Calls for 'Constructive' Bilateral Relationship With Beijing
What Happened: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is expected to call for London to have a "robust and constructive" new bilateral relationship with Beijing during a keynote speech on April 25, the Financial Times reported on April 24. Cleverly is also expected to warn Beijing against "tragic miscalculations" regarding Taiwan and condemn Chinese human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province.
Why It Matters: Cleverly's speech will confirm the British government's balancing act in its relations with China. On one hand, London is seeking to tighten restrictions on China's presence in the United Kingdom's strategic sectors of the economy while London increases its presence in the Indo-Pacific by strengthening ties with allies in the region. On the other hand, London acknowledges that isolating China would go against its national interest given the United Kingdom's persisting economic dependence on the country and its need to engage with Beijing on global challenges.
Background: Cleverly's speech comes weeks after the publication of the United Kingdom's updated Integrated Review of defense and foreign policy in which the government described relations with China as an "epoch-defining and systemic challenge" due to Beijing's "increasingly concerning military, financial and diplomatic activity." However, the review avoided labeling China as a "threat," as demanded by China hawks within the ruling Conservative Party.
Venezuela: Colombia Expelled Juan Guaido After Surprise Visit
What Happened: The government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro expelled Juan Guaido, the former leader of Venezuela's opposition interim government, from the country after Guaido unexpectedly traveled to Colombia in an attempt to take part in an international summit, El Tiempo reported on April 24.
Why It Matters: Guaido's expulsion from Colombia and exclusion from the summit demonstrates the weakness of the Venezuelan opposition with regard to important international actors such as Colombia. The lack of support from regional countries will make it difficult for the opposition to maintain pressure on the authoritarian government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Background: For just over two years, Guiado was Venezuela's internationally-designated interim president, though his interim presidency ended in December 2022 after other parties in the opposition coalition voted against it.
U.S., South Korea: Yoon Secures Billions in Deals on First Day of Visit
What Happened: U.S. and South Korean companies reached a series of deals on the first day of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's five-day visit to Washington, D.C., Reuters reported on April 25. General Motors and Samsung Electronics reached a $3 billion joint venture agreement to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States, and Hyundai Motor Co. reached a $5 billion agreement to build an EV battery plant in the United States.
Why It Matters: Securing investment in EV battery production is a boon to the U.S. Biden administration in terms of domestic production and supply chain resiliency. For Seoul, EV battery production in the United States could help South Korean manufacturers fulfill some of the requirements under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which may make South Korean industries eligible for U.S. tax credits. More broadly, South Korea is using the deals to bolster its place in strategic U.S. supply chains and deepen economic ties with the United States, which will be especially important if the Yoon administration provokes China into economic retaliation. Several more deals may come to fruition before Yoon concludes his visit on April 29.
Background: Netflix will also invest $2.5 billion in South Korea, doubling the amount invested in the country since 2016. On April 24, the United States asked Seoul to put pressure on South Korean companies to not boost sales of memory chips to China if Beijing bans U.S.-based Micron Technology from selling such chips to China.
Armenia, Azerbaijan: Baku Erects Checkpoint on Lachin Corridor
What Happened: Azerbaijan's state border service on April 23 established a border checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia with the Armenian-populated territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Eurasianet reported the next day. Many Western governments and politicians condemned the move and called to cease support for Azerbaijan.
Why It Matters: The road has been blockaded since December 2022, but the establishment of a checkpoint demonstrates Baku's clear intention to tightly regulate all future traffic in and out of Nagorno-Karabakh. This development risks undermining the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan cease-fire agreement, as the Lachin road was to be "under the control" of Russia's peacekeepers and Baku had agreed to "guarantee" the continuation of traffic along it in both directions. The lack of a meaningful Western response to the checkpoint may embolden Baku to continue regular violent cease-fire violations. Additionally, the Azerbaijani checkpoint is located right next to a base of Russian peacekeepers who are meant to be keeping the road open, further eroding the credibility of Russia and its peacekeeping contingent to uphold the 2020 cease-fire agreement.
Background: On April 25, Col. Gen. Alexander Lentsov became the new commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, replacing Maj. Gen. Andrey Volkov, who had held the post since January 2022. On Feb. 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed during a visit to Baku that "the creation of any sort of checkpoints there [on the Lachin Corridor] is not envisaged."
South Africa: Ruling Party Vows to Leave International Criminal Court
What Happened: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party would withdraw South Africa from the International Criminal Court (ICC) prior to hosting a summit of BRICS members — Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa — in August, the Financial Times reported on April 25. Formally, even if South Africa submitted a formal notification to leave the ICC, an exit would not occur for at least one year after the notification.
Why It Matters: South Africa's decision to leave the ICC will make it easier for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the ICC has indicted, to potentially attend the BRICS summit. However, it will alienate South Africa from the West, which is pushing Ramaphosa's administration to arrest Putin if he attends the summit. The move is in line with the ANC's view that the ICC is biased against African leaders, as the party previously shunned demands to arrest then-Sudanese President Omar al Bashir in 2015 after he was indicted by the ICC and visited South Africa.
Background: South Africa's ANC formally notified the ICC of its intention to exit in 2016 following al Bashir's visit, but South Africa's Supreme Court ruled that the government's attempt to exit was unconstitutional because it was not triggered by the National Assembly. In 2017, South Africa revoked its notification to exit the ICC.
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This Day in U S Military History…….April 26
1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon and former Consul to Tunis, William Eaton. The Battle of Derne was the decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of United States Marines and United States Army soldiers against the forces of Ottoman Tripolitania during the First Barbary War. It was the first recorded land battle the United States fought overseas. U.S. forces and mercenaries marched for 600 miles (970 km) through the desert to attack Derne.
1937 – During the Spanish Civil War, the German military tests its powerful new air force, the Luftwaffe, and the principles of Blitzkreig, on the Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain. Although the independence-minded Basque region opposed General Francisco Franco's Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, Guernica itself was a small rural city of only 5,000 inhabitants that declared nonbelligerence in the conflict. With Franco's approval, the cutting-edge German aircraft began their unprovoked attack at 4:30 p.m., the busiest hour of the market day in Guernica. For three hours, the German planes poured down a continuous and unopposed rain of bombs and gunfire on the town and surrounding countryside. One-third of Guernica's 5,000 inhabitants were killed or wounded, and fires engulfed the city and burned for days. The indiscriminate killing of civilians at Guernica aroused world opinion and became a symbol of fascist brutality. Unfortunately, by 1942, all major participants in World War II had adopted the bombing innovations developed by the Nazis at Guernica, and by the war's end, in 1945, millions of innocent civilians had perished under Allied and Axis air raids.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 24th Corps attacks the along the Japanese held Maeda Escarpment (Shuri Line). American armor reaches the reverse slope.
1945 – Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
1952 – Air Force Major William H. Wescott, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, scored his fifth aerial victory to become the 12th ace of the Korean War. His F-86 Sabre "Lady Francis/Michigan Center" was also used by Colonel "Gabby" Gabreski for one of his victories.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
COOPER, JOHN (Second Award)
Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1832, Ireland. Accredited to: New York G.O. No.: 62, 29 June 1865. Citation: Served as quartermaster on Acting Rear Admiral Thatcher's staff. During the terrific fire at Mobile, on 26 April 1865, at the risk of being blown to pieces by exploding shells, Cooper advanced through the burning locality, rescued a wounded man from certain death, and bore him on his back to a place of safety.
CODY, WILLIAM F.
Rank: Civilian Scout. Born: Scott County, Iowa. Organization: 3rd Cavalry U.S. Army. Action date: 26 April 1872. Place: Platte River, Nebraska. Citation: Gallantry in action.
(In 1916, the general review of all Medals of Honor deemed 900 unwarranted. This recipient was one of them. In June 1989, the U.S. Army Board of Correction of Records restored the medal to this recipient.)
FOLEY, JOHN H.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company B, 3d U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Loupe Fork, Platte River, Nebr., 26 April 1872. Entered service at:——. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 22 May 1872. Citation: Gallantry in action.
STRAYER, WILLIAM H.
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 3d U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Loupe Forke, Platte River, Nebr., 26 April 1872. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Maytown, Pa. Date of issue: 22 May 1862. Citation: Gallantry in action.
VOKES, LEROY H.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company B, 3d U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Loupe Fork, Platte River, Nebr., 26 April 1872. Entered service at:——. Birth: Lake County, Ill. Date of issue: 22 May 1872. Citation: Gallantry in action.
SHELTON, GEORGE M.
Rank and organization: Private, Company 1, 23d U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At La Paz, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 26 April 1900. Entered service at: Bellington, Tex. Birth: Brownwood, Tex. Date of issue: 10 March 1902. Citation: Advanced alone under heavy fire of the enemy and rescued a wounded comrade.
*DUKE, RAY E.
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Mugok, Korea, 26 April 1951. Entered service at: Whitwell (Marion County), Tenn. Born: 9 May 1923, Whitwell, Tenn. G.O. No.: 20, 19 March 1954. Citation: Sfc. Duke, a member of Company C, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Upon learning that several of his men were isolated and heavily engaged in an area yielded by his platoon when ordered to withdraw, he led a small force in a daring assault which recovered the position and the beleaguered men. Another enemy attack in strength resulted in numerous casualties but Sfc. Duke, although wounded by mortar fragments, calmly moved along his platoon line to coordinate fields of fire and to urge his men to hold firm in the bitter encounter. Wounded a second time he received first aid and returned to his position. When the enemy again attacked shortly after dawn, despite his wounds, Sfc. Duke repeatedly braved withering fire to insure maximum defense of each position. Threatened with annihilation and with mounting casualties, the platoon was again ordered to withdraw when Sfc. Duke was wounded a third time in both legs and was unable to walk. Realizing that he was impeding the progress of 2 comrades who were carrying him from the hill, he urged them to leave him and seek safety. He was last seen pouring devastating fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants. The consummate courage, superb leadership, and heroic actions of Sfc. Duke, displayed during intensive action against overwhelming odds, reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.
*ESTOCIN, MICHAEL J.
Rank and organization. Captain (then Lt. Cmdr.), U.S. Navy, Attack Squadron 192, USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14). Place and date: Haiphong, North Vietnam, 20 and 26 April 1967. Entered service at: Akron Ohio, 2() July 1954. Born: 27 April 1931, Turtle Creek, Pa. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 20 and 26 April 1967 as a pilot in Attack Squadron 192, embarked in USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14). Leading a 3-plane group of aircraft in support of a coordinated strike against two thermal power plants in Haiphong, North Vietnam, on 20 April 1967, Capt. Estocin provided continuous warnings to the strike group leaders of the surface-to-air missile (SAM) threats, and personally neutralized 3 SAM sites. Although his aircraft was severely damaged by an exploding missile, he reentered the target area and relentlessly prosecuted a SHRIKE attack in the face of intense antiaircraft fire. With less than 5 minutes of fuel remaining he departed the target area and commenced in-flight refueling which continued for over 100 miles. Three miles aft of Ticonderoga, and without enough fuel for a second approach, he disengaged from the tanker and executed a precise approach to a fiery arrested landing. On 26 April 1967, in support of a coordinated strike against the vital fuel facilities in Haiphong, he led an attack on a threatening SAM site, during which his aircraft was seriously damaged by an exploding SAM; nevertheless, he regained control of his burning aircraft and courageously launched his SHRIKE missiles before departing the area. By his inspiring courage and unswerving devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, Captain Estocin upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
*LEE, MILTON A.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 2d Battalion, 502d Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). place and date: Near Phu Bai, Thua Thien province, Republic of Vietnam, 26 April 1968. Entered service at: San Antonio, Tex. Born: 28 February 1949, Shreveport, La. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Lee distinguished himself near the city of Phu Bai in the province of Thua Thien. Pfc. Lee was serving as the radio telephone operator with the 3d platoon, Company B. As lead element for the company, the 3d platoon received intense surprise hostile fire from a force of North Vietnamese Army regulars in well-concealed bunkers. With 50 percent casualties, the platoon maneuvered to a position of cover to treat their wounded and reorganize, while Pfc. Lee moved through the heavy enemy fire giving lifesaving first aid to his wounded comrades. During the subsequent assault on the enemy defensive positions, Pfc. Lee continuously kept close radio contact with the company commander, relaying precise and understandable orders to his platoon leader. While advancing with the front rank toward the objective, Pfc. Lee observed 4 North Vietnamese soldiers with automatic weapons and a rocket launcher Lying in wait for the lead element of the platoon. As the element moved forward, unaware of the concealed danger, Pfc. Lee immediately and with utter disregard for his own personal safety, passed his radio to another soldier and charged through the murderous fire. Without hesitation he continued his assault, overrunning the enemy position, killing all occupants and capturing 4 automatic weapons and a rocket launcher. Pfc. Lee continued his 1-man assault on the second position through a heavy barrage of enemy automatic weapons fire. Grievously wounded, he continued to press the attack, crawling forward into a firing position and delivering accurate covering fire to enable his platoon to maneuver and destroy the position. Not until the position was overrun did Pfc. Lee falter in his steady volume of fire and succumb to his wounds. Pfc. Lee's heroic actions saved the lives of the lead element and were instrumental in the destruction of the key position of the enemy defense. Pfc. Lee's gallantry at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, the 502d Infantry, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 26, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
26 April
1934: Boris Sergievsky carried 16,608 pounds to 2,000 meters (1.24 miles) in altitude at Bridgeport, Conn., to set a world seaplane record. (24)
1945: Eighth Air Force fighters raided over 40 Luftwaffe installations in Germany and Czechoslovakia and destroyed a record 747 German fighters in one day. (4)
1948: The Northrop XB-49 set a record by flying 9 hours 30 minutes without refueling in a test flight.
1948: The Air Force announces a policy of racial integration in the ranks. Seen as wasteful and inefficient, segregation was to be eliminated by using all personnel in free competition for any duty within the Air Force for which they may qualify. This policy predates President Truman's mandate to integrate the military which was not issued until July. Pioneers like Benjamin Davis led the way forward.
1949: At Fullerton, Calif., Bill Barris and Dick Riedel set a new world endurance record of 1,008 hours 2 minutes in an Aeronca sedan, the Sunkist Lady. During the flight they picked up food and fuel four times a day from a jeep. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. At night, over the western sector, a B-29 close air support strike against enemy troops forming for an attack on the U.S. Army IX Corps broke up the assault. (28) The Boeing B-47B first flew.
23-26 April 1951: Far East Air Force flies over 1,000 combat sorties, inflicting enemy casualties and destroying supplies needed to sustain the enemy offensive.
1952: KOREAN WAR. In air-to-air operations, Maj. William H. Wescott, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group, destroyed his fifth MiG in four weeks to become the war's twelfth ace. (28)
1956: Naval Aircraft Factory at Philadelphia renamed as the Naval Air Engineering Facility (Ships Installations). Its mission changed to add research, engineering, design, development, and limited manufacturing of devices and equipment for launching and recovering aircraft and guided missiles.
1962: The US and Great Britain launched Ariel I, the first international satellite, on a Thor-Delta booster from Cape Canaveral. The 132-pound NASA-built satellite carried British equipment for six experiments. (24) NASA launched a Nike-Cajun rocket from Wallops Island to begin a joint US-Japanese threeshot test series on atmospheric phenomena. (24)
1962: Lockheed test pilot Louis Schalk makes the first official flight of the prototype of the A-12 aircraft designed and built at the Lockheed Skunk works. The A-12 is the predecessor of the SR-71 Blackbird. The previous day, it had made an unofficial and unannounced flight, in keeping with Lockheed tradition.
1963: An advanced Atlas F carried a slender, pointed reentry vehicle from Cape Canaveral over a 5,000-mile course down the Atlantic Missile Range.
1966: Using Sidewinder missiles, an F-4C crew shot down a MiG-21 over North Vietnam, the first to be destroyed in combat. Major Paul J. Gilmore and 1Lt William T. Smith were escorting F-105 Thunderchiefs near Hanoi when the MiGs attacked. (16) (26) Col Joseph F. Cotton and Lt Col Fitzhugh L. Fulton, Jr., became the first Air Force crew to fly the XB-70A bomber. (3) The Air Force selected the Martin Company to develop a manned lifting body vehicle--a rocket plane without wing--to explore atmospheric maneuverability of future spacecraft. (16) SECDEF Robert S. McNamara approved a joint Air Force and Navy recommendation to discontinue the Navy's participation in MAC. (16)
1971: Charleston AFB received its 16th C-5A aircraft to complete the first operational C-5A squadron. MACKAY TROPHY/HARMON INTERNATIONAL TROPHY. Lt Col Thomas B. Estes flew an SR-71 to a record speed at high altitude in a 10-hour 30-minute flight from Beale AFB. He flew 15,000 miles at speeds over Mach 3 above 80,000 feet. The SR-71 used inflight refuelings to make two round trips across the northern and central US and a complete circle of the western states. Colonel Estes and his reconnaissance systems officer, Maj Dewain C. Vick, later received the 1971 Mackay Trophy and the Harmon International Trophy. (1) Operation CONSTANT GUARD II (see 7 April): Through 1 May, MAC moved personnel and cargo from Homestead and Eglin AFBs to Thailand. (2) A SAM shot down an O-2 flying northwest of Ban Karai Pass, Laos. It was the first US aircraft lost over Laos. (17)
1983: The first GLCM training class graduated from Davis-Monthan AFB. (26)
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. Secretary of Defense William Cohen ordered 30 tankers, their aircrews and support personnel, to deploy by 1 May 1999 from active duty and Air Reserve components. They were sent overseas in response to General Wesley Clark's 13 April 1999 request for additional U.S. military aircraft. (32)
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