To All
Good Saturday Morning July 22 2023.
I hope that you are all having a great weekend.
Regards,
Skip
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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
July 22
1802 During the First Barbary War, the frigate, USS Constellation, commanded by Capt. Alexander Murray, defeats nine Corsair gunboats off Tripoli, and sinks two.
1951 During the Korean War, USS Valley Forge (CV 45) carrier air strikes hit a fuel or an ammunition train near Kumchon, North Korea.
1951 Adm. Forrest P. Sherman, the 12th Chief of Naval Operations, dies while at Naples, Italy.
1964 Four Navy divers (Lt. Cmdr. Robert Thompson, Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning) submerge in Sealab I at a depth of 192 feet, 39 miles off Hamilton, Bermuda for an intended three weeks. The crew surfaces early on July 31 due to an oncoming tropical storm.
1966 USS Julius A. Furer (DEG 6) is launched at Bath Iron Works, Maine. The Brook-class frigate is named in honor of Rear Adm. Julius A. Furer, a naval constructor, inventor, administrator, and author who completed the study Administration of the Navy Department in World War II.
1995 USS Ramage (DG 61) is commissioned at Boston, Mass. The 11th ship in the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the ship is named to honor Vice Adm. Lawson P. Ramage, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Her homeport is Naval Station Norfolk.
2017 In a ceremony presided over by President Donald J. Trump, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is commissioned in a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk attended by 10,000 people. CVN-78 honors the 38th president of the United States and pays tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy, in the U.S. government and to the nation. It is the first new carrier design placed in service since USS Nimitz was commissioned more than 42 years earlier (May 3, 1975).
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This day in World History 22 July
1298 King Edward I defeats the Scots under William Wallace at Falkirk.
1515 Emperor Maximilian and Vladislav of Bohemia forge an alliance between the Hapsburg and Jagiello dynasties in Vienna.
1652 Prince Conde's rebels narrowly defeat Chief Minister Mazarin's loyalist forces at St. Martin, near Paris.
1789 Thomas Jefferson becomes the first head of the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs.
1812 A British army under the Duke of Wellington defeats the French at Salamanca, Spain.
1814 Five Indian tribes in Ohio make peace with the United States and declare war on Britain.
1881 The first volume of The War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, is published.
1894 The first automobile race takes place between Paris and Rouen, France.
1934 American gangster John Dillinger is shot dead by FBI officers outside a Chicago cinema.
1938 The Third Reich issues special identity cards for Jewish Germans.
1943 Palermo, Sicily surrenders to General George S. Patton's Seventh Army.
1966 B-52 bombers hit the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam for the first time.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Thanks to THE BEAR
Skip… For The List for Saturday, 22 July 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 22 July 1968…
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…
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.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
The Brothers Grimm didn't create their own fairy tales.
The cultural impact of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, originally published in 1812 as "Kinder- und Hausmärchen," or "Nursery and Household Tales," is hard to overstate. Two centuries after its publication, the tales have been the creative backbone for hundreds (perhaps thousands) of films, TV shows, plays, and works of art — whether as direct adaptations or loose inspirations. But although you're probably familiar with stories like "Little Red Riding Hood," "Rumplestiltskin," and "Sleeping Beauty," you may not know that German linguists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm didn't actually create the narratives themselves. Instead, they compiled tales that had been passed down through the oral tradition, some for perhaps thousands of years. The two brothers began interviewing family and friends to collect the tales while they were still teenagers studying at the University of Marburg. After publishing their first collection of 86 tales, the brothers delivered a second edition three years later with an additional 70 tales. The seventh and final edition in 1857 featured 211 tales.
Originally, the stories weren't meant for children — many were violent, sexual, or otherwise R-rated. Instead, the Grimms intended for the tales to be an excavation of cultural heritage, and they first introduced them as scholarly work. But as literacy rates climbed in the 19th century, subsequent editions edited out a lot of the original tales' brutality in order to appeal to wider audiences, especially children. Today, many kids become acquainted with the Grimms' fairy tales through Walt Disney, who used the tales as far back as 1922 for some of his earliest animations. But Disney is far from the only one inspired by the Grimms — more recently, their work has provided the narrative fuel for Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre TV series, 2020's fantasy-horror film Gretel & Hansel, and NBC's aptly named television show Grimm, to name just a few folklore-filled examples.
The Grimm TV series is still available to watch and I just watched the entire series again. The special effects are great and the show keeps you entertained the entire time. Skip
The Brothers Grimm's other great work was a German dictionary.
While history remembers them as saviors of the folktale, in their own time the Brothers Grimm were widely respected medievalist scholars and German linguists. In fact, they were so respected that the predictable patterns of phonetic changes from Proto-Indo-European language (the theorized common ancestor of all modern languages) to Germanic tongues are now known as "Grimm's Law." But their most ambitious work was creating Deutsches Wörterbuch ("The German Dictionary"), which they began working on in 1838. Originally estimating that it'd only be four volumes long, Jacob eventually revised that number to seven and thought they'd need about 10 years to complete it. Instead, it took more than a century for all 32 volumes to finally appear in print — the last in 1961. Of course, the Brothers Grimm didn't live to see the end of their ambitious project. When Jacob Grimm died in 1863, four years after his brother Wilhelm, he had only finished up to the letter "F." His final word was "frucht," meaning "fruit."
Numbers Don't Lie
Approximate number of language and dialect translations of Grimm's fairy tales
160
Number of 1988 Tony awards won by Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods"
3
Year Disney released "Tangled," based on the Brothers Grimm's Rapunzel
2010
Number of episodes of the TV show "Grimm," a fantasy police procedural based on Grimm fairy tales
123
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From the archives
(I know there are at least a dozen of you out there and One Best friend that has two recipients here that are in the M-B Ejection Tie Club!!—
http://www.martin-baker.com/clubs/ejection-tie-club The F-35 jump-jet will have automatic ejection--see below??)
Ejector seats fly off the shelves
A small, family-owned British firm has become the world's leading producer of ejection seats — saving 7,419 lives
By Karl West, London Sunday Times, July 21, 2013; Pg. 8
ONE sunny February afternoon off the coast of Florida, Linda Maloney was tearing through the sky on her way to launch an attack on the USS Forrestal, a 60,000-ton aircraft carrier.
It was a routine exercise for the US Navy pilot, a training run carried out with another senior officer.
But as her A-6 Intruder neared the Forrestal, everything started to go wrong. The aircraft began to spin uncontrollably.
Maloney reached down for the ejection seat handle and pulled.
She was rocketed up and out of the jet and seconds later was dangling below a parachute as it drifted down toward the sea.
That was in February 1991. Maloney went on to have a long and distinguished navy career before retiring in 2004. She has since married and has two sons.
She is one of 7,419 pilots who owe their lives to a small, family-owned company at the end of a lane in rural Buckinghamshire.
Martin-Baker has fought off challenges from the goliaths of the defence industry to become the world's leading producer of ejection seats.
This small manufacturer out in the sticks accounts for 48% of the global market. Goodrich, owned by United Technologies (UTC), the American giant, is a distant second with 18.6%.
Martin-Baker has been making ejection seats for fighter aircraft since 1949. This niche business helped it to pre-tax profits of £41.7m on sales of £178m in the year to March 31 last year.
Remarkably, the company is still owned by the Martin family, led by 70-year-old twins John and James, the sons of Sir James Martin, the co-founder and aviation engineer.
Last year the family shared £35m in dividends from the business.
This lucrative slice of an important niche market has made Martin-Baker the target of numerous private equity and trade suitors.
"Every month we have someone calling up offering to buy us. But we have no intention of [selling]," said James Martin, joint managing director and technical director.
Martin-Baker's cutting-edge technology and expertise have been built up over many decades.
The business was originally founded as an aircraft manufacturer in 1934. Sir James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker developed several aircraft models before and during the Second World War. However, Baker was killed in an accident during a test flight of the company's MB3 prototype in September 1942.
The engine seized and he was forced to make an emergency landing, but the stricken aircraft hit a tree stump.
Martin watched as his friend met his death. He was devastated, but his grief drove him to a new goal. He threw himself into designing escape systems for aircrew, eventually settling on the ejection seat.
The first live test ejection took place in July 1946 when Bernard Lynch, a fitter at Martin-Baker, volunteered to be shot out of a modified Gloster Meteor flying at 320mph at an altitude of 8,000ft. Lynch made a perfect landing.
"He was paid an extra 10 bob [50p in today's money] and bought a drink in the pub," said Andrew Martin, James's son.
The business has come a long way since those buccaneering days. Martin-Baker's seats, viewed as the industry gold standard, can be found in nearly all the world's leading fighter jets, including the Eurofighter Typhoon (partly built by BAE Systems), France's Dassault Rafale and Lockheed Martin's F-35 joint strike fighter, the world's biggest military programme. Flying with the top guns of the aerospace world brings its pressures. But the septuagenarian brothers are still heavily involved in the running of the business and they have no desire to relinquish control. "I think that's because we are doing something we enjoy," said James. "It helps if you are successful as well."
Old-fashioned principles form the bedrock of Martin-Baker's success. "We have never borrowed money," said James. "Banks always want to lend you money when you don't need it, and want it back when you do," added John.
Martin-Baker funds all new product development from its own cash. This is no mean feat for a small company — particularly when it costs about £60m to develop every new ejection seat.
It's a big investment, but once the initial outlay has been made the seats could be in service for 30 or 40 years. Each one has to be regularly serviced and the business makes money from fitting them with replacement parts.
This leaves it less reliant on new sales — profits are split 50-50 between sales and aftercare.
For now, the company is safe in the brothers' control. And there is a new generation of the Martin family coming through. Robert, son of John, is director of engineering, and Andrew is the director of business development.
And they too are fiercely committed to retaining Martin-Baker's independence.
"The business is of the right scale, where we can be involved in making all the key decisions," said Andrew. "We don't want to get much bigger. We like to focus on being profitable and being around forever, instead of doing a Marconi or some of the other spectacular crashes we've seen."
When the twins eventually decide to hang up their parachutes, they will hand over a business in rude health.
Martin-Baker has 650 employees and has delivered more than 80,000 ejection seats since it began production 64 years ago. There are currently 16,268 of its seats in service around the world.
The American forces are its biggest customer with 4,766. France is a long way behind in second spot, with 1,001. There is also burgeoning demand for its wares from forces in the Middle East and Far East.
The key statistic is that Martin-Baker's ejection seats have helped to save 7,419 pilots — including Maloney, who was the first of nine women to eject using its equipment.
The numbers mean that for every 10 seats Martin-Baker makes, one saves a life.
Some pilots ejected in the heat of battle, while others joined this exclusive club for more mundane reasons, such as bird strikes or technical failures. On average, each year there are 30 ejections involving a Martin-Baker seat.
"There is a lot of laborious work that goes on here. But the fact that something they [the staff] are working on will save someone's life — they take a lot of pride from that. We are in the life-saving business," said Andrew.
The company wears this badge with pride. The names of all those who have successfully ejected are displayed on a wall in the factory's reception area. A large digital scoreboard in the factory yard also keeps a tally of aircrew saved — 7,419 to date; 11 this year; two this month.
A tour of the factory at Denham, near Uxbridge, provides a glimpse into the work that goes into being the best at their small role in some multibillion-pound programmes.
Inside a computer simulation room, a designer has a 3D image of the seat's gun cartridge up on screen. The graphic allows the engineering team to examine every part of the design in detail even before a prototype of the component has been built.
"So much time, energy and cost can be saved by using these tools. We do as much simulation as a Formula One team," said Andrew. Britain has a lot riding on the success of the F-35. UK manufacturers will build 15% of each jet, generating significant export revenue and giving a boost to the economy. The programme is expected to create and support more than 24,000 jobs across the country.
Martin-Baker has 43 British companies, mainly small and medium sized businesses, helping to produce components for the F-35 seat. The parts are then shipped to the factory for final assembly.
All its seats must go through rigorous safety tests before they are certified. They are fired from a Gloster Meteor at its test facility in Northern Ireland.
The Meteor was the first British jet fighter to enter service. So it is a surprise to discover that the aircraft is still being used to certify the ejection seat destined for the RAF's newest acquisition, the F-35.
One of the improvements made for the F-35 seat is an airbag that inflates around the pilot's neck. It automatically deflates when the parachute is deployed.
Martin-Baker's boffins dreamt up the cushion because there is no normal instrument display in the F-35's cockpit — everything is displayed within a high-tech helmet. This has increased the weight of the pilots' headgear by about 30%.
The extra weight places more pressure on the neck than a conventional helmet when the pilot is propelled 300ft into the air. The nitrogen-filled neck brace is needed to hold the head in a safe position.
When Bernard Lynch was first shot out of the Gloster Meteor's cockpit back in 1946, the time between the eject handle being pulled and the parachute opening was 30 seconds. For the F-35, it takes just 1.5 seconds.
The jump-jet version of Lockheed Martin's fighter, which has been ordered by Britain, has automatic ejection — the onboard computer will decide whether to jettison the pilot to safety.
This would usually happen only if there is a problem with the lift fan, made by Rolls-Royce, during take-off and landing, when the aircraft is still close to the ground. Any problems this near to terra firma mean the average human reaction time of 1.5 seconds is not fast enough. These slim margins between life and death are where Martin-Baker proves its mettle. It keeps doing so time and again.
For this, 7,419 pilots and their families are for ever grateful to the company.
A framed letter on the factory wall from Captain Chris "Boris" Becker probably sums up their feelings: "Thank God it was there when I needed it."
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From the Archives
THE OLD NAVY
Written By a World War Two Sailor.
Come gather round me lads and I'll tell
you a thing or two,
About the way we ran the Navy
In nineteen forty two.
When wooden ships and iron men were
barely out of sight;
I am going to give you some facts just
to set the record right.
We wore the ole bell bottoms, with a flat
hat on our head;
And we always hit the sack at night but
we never "went to bed."
Our uniforms were worn ashore, and we
were mighty proud;
Never thought of wearing civvies, in
fact they were not allowed.
Now, when a ship puts out to sea, I'll
Tell you son, it hurts;
When suddenly you notice that half
the crew's wearing skirts.
And it's hard for me to imagine, a
Female boatswains mate;
Stopping on the Quarterdeck to make
sure her stockings are straight.
What happened to the KiYi brush, and
the old salt-water bath:
Holy stoning decks at night, cause you
stirred old Bosn's wrath!
We always had our gedunk stand and
lots of pogey bait;
And it always took a hitch or two,
just to make a rate.
In your seabag, all your skivvies, were
neatly stopped and rolled;
The blankets on your sack had better
have a three-inch fold.
Your little ditty bag it is hard to believe
just how much it held;
You wouldn't go ashore with pants that
hadn't been spiked and belled.
We had scullery maids and succotash
and good old S.O.S;.
And when you felt like topping off,
you headed for the mess.
Oh we had our belly robbers, but there
weren't too many gripes;
For the deck apes were never hungry and
there were no starving snipes.
Now, you never hear of Davey Jones,
Shellbacks or Polliwogs;
And you never splice the mainbrace to
receive your daily grog.
Now you never have to dog a watch
or stand the main event;
You even tie your lines today; back
in my time they were bent.
We were all two-fisted drinkers and
no one thought you sinned;
If you staggered back aboard your
ship, three sheets to the wind.
And with just a couple hours of sleep
you regained your usual luster;
Bright eyed and bushy tailed, you still
made morning muster.
Rocks and shoals have long since gone,
and now it's U.C.M.J;
Back then the old man handled everything
if you should go astray.
Now they steer the ships with dials,
and I wouldn't be surprised;
If some day they sailed the damned things
from the beach computerized.
So when my earthly hitch is over, and the
good Lord picks the best,
I'll walk right up to Him and say, "Sir, I
have but one request."
Let me sail the seas of Heaven in
a coat of Navy blue.
Like I did so long ago on earth, way
back in forty two."
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Thanks to William
Why am I a pilot and not a doctor?
When young, I decided to go to Medical School.
At the entrance exam we were asked to arrange the letters "NPEIS" and form the name of an important body part which is most useful when erect.
Those who wrote "spine" are doctors today.
The rest of us went to flight school.
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This Day in U S Military History…….July 22
1587 – A second English colony of 114-150 people under John White, financed by Sir Walter Raleigh, was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina. The colony included 17 women and 9 children. Croatoan Indians informed them that Roanoke Indians had killed the men from the previous expedition. A three-year draught, the worst in 800 years, peaked during this time.
1620 – The Pilgrims set out from Holland destined for the New World. The Speedwell sailed to England from the Netherlands with members of the English Separatist congregation that had been living in Leiden, Holland. Joining the larger Mayflower at Southampton, the two ships set sail together in August, but the Speedwell soon proved unseaworthy and was abandoned at Plymouth, England. The entire company then crowded aboard the Mayflower, setting sail for North America on September 16, 1620.
1905 – Body of John Paul Jones moved to Annapolis, MD for reburial.
1953 – Major John H. Glenn, future astronaut and U.S. senator, claimed his third MiG kill in the last aerial victory of the Korean War by a Marine pilot.
1953 – First Lieutenant Sam P. Young, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, was credited with the final MiG kill of the Korean War.
2003 – The two sons of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Qusay Saddam Husayn (the Ace of Clubs in the deck of 52 playing cards featuring Iraq's "most wanted") and Uday Saddam Husayn (the Ace of Hearts) are trapped in a house and killed in a fire-fight with American troops from the 101st Airborne Division. Supporting this action were two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters from Company D, 1st Battalion, 159th Aviation from the Mississippi Army Guard which flew top cover to be sure no one escaped from the building. After an initial ground assault against the building resulted in three American soldiers being wounded, the 101st called for air support. So the two Guard copters worked the house over with 2.75-inch rockets, Mark 19 grenades, AT-4 rockets and .50 caliber machine gun fire. Still fire came back from the defenders until finally the infantry killed everyone inside with 10 TOW missiles. Sheik Nawaf al-Zaydan Muhhamad informed US troops of their presence in his home and became $30 million richer.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
FORCE, MANNING F.
Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., 22 July 1864. Entered service at: Cincinnati, Ohio. Born: Washington, D.C. 17 December 1824. Date of issue: 31 March 1892. Citation: Charged upon the enemy's works, and after their capture defended his position against assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded.
HANEY, MILTON L.
Rank and organization: Chaplain, 55th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., 22 July 1864. Entered service at: Bushnell, Ill. Birth: Ohio. Date of issue: 3 November 1896. Citation: Voluntarily carried a musket in the ranks of his regiment and rendered heroic service in retaking the Federal works which had been captured by the enemy.
SANCRAINTE, CHARLES F.
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 15th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., 22 July 1864. Entered service at: Monroe, Mich. Born: 1840, Monroe, Mich. Date of issue: 25 July 1892. Citation: Voluntarily scaled the enemy's breastworks and signaled to his commanding officer in charge; also in single combat captured the colors of the 5th Texas Regiment (C.S.A.).
SPRAGUE, JOHN W.
Rank and organization: Colonel, 63d Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Decatur, Ga., 22 July 1862. Entered service at: Sandusky, Ohio Born: 4 April 1817, White Creek, N.Y. Date of issue: 18 January 1894. Citation: With a small command defeated an overwhelming force of the enemy and saved the trains of the corps.
*LOBAUGH, DONALD R.
Rank and organization: Private, U .S. Army, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Afua, New Guinea, 22 July 1944. Entered service at: Freeport, Pa. Birth: Freeport, Pa. G.O. No.: 31, 17 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Afua, New Guinea, on 22 July 1944. While Pvt. Lobaugh's company was withdrawing from its position on 21 July, the enemy attacked and cut off approximately 1 platoon of our troops. The platoon immediately occupied, organized, and defended a position, which it held throughout the night. Early on 22 July, an attempt was made to effect its withdrawal, but during the preparation therefor, the enemy emplaced a machinegun, protected by the fire of rifles and automatic weapons, which blocked the only route over which the platoon could move. Knowing that it was the key to the enemy position, Pfc. Lobaugh volunteered to attempt to destroy this weapon, even though in order to reach it he would be forced to work his way about 30 yards over ground devoid of cover. When part way across this open space he threw a hand grenade, but exposed himself in the act and was wounded. Heedless of his wound, he boldly rushed the emplacement, firing as he advanced. The enemy concentrated their fire on him, and he was struck repeatedly, but he continued his attack and killed 2 more before he was himself slain. Pfc. Lobaugh's heroic actions inspired his comrades to press the attack, and to drive the enemy from the position with heavy losses. His fighting determination and intrepidity in battle exemplify the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.
*MASON, LEONARD FOSTER
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 2 February 1920, Middleborough, Ky. Accredited to: Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an automatic rifleman serving with the 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Asan-Adelup Beachhead, Guam, Marianas Islands on 22 July 1944. Suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy machineguns not more than 15 yards away while clearing out hostile positions holding up the advance of his platoon through a narrow gully, Pfc. Mason, alone and entirely on his own initiative, climbed out of the gully and moved parallel to it toward the rear of the enemy position. Although fired upon immediately by hostile riflemen from a higher position and wounded repeatedly in the arm and shoulder, Pfc. Mason grimly pressed forward and had just reached his objective when hit again by a burst of enemy machinegun fire, causing a critical wound to which he later succumbed. With valiant disregard for his own peril, he persevered, clearing out the hostile position, killing 5 Japanese, wounding another and then rejoining his platoon to report the results of his action before consenting to be evacuated. His exceptionally heroic act in the face of almost certain death enabled his platoon to accomplish its mission and reflects the highest credit upon Pfc. Mason and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
SKAGGS, LUTHER, JR.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Asan-Adelup beachhead, Guam, Marianas Islands, 21 -22 July 1944. Entered service at: Kentucky. Born: 3 March 1923, Henderson, Ky. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as squad leader with a mortar section of a rifle company in the 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on the Asan-Adelup beachhead, Guam, Marianas Islands, 21 -22 July 1944. When the section leader became a casualty under a heavy mortar barrage shortly after landing, Pfc. Skaggs promptly assumed command and led the section through intense fire for a distance of 200 yards to a position from which to deliver effective coverage of the assault on a strategic cliff. Valiantly defending this vital position against strong enemy counterattacks during the night, Pfc. Skaggs was critically wounded when a Japanese grenade lodged in his foxhole and exploded, shattering the lower part of one leg. Quick to act, he applied an improvised tourniquet and, while propped up in his foxhole, gallantly returned the enemy's fire with his rifle and handgrenades for a period of 8 hours, later crawling unassisted to the rear to continue the fight until the Japanese had been annihilated. Uncomplaining and calm throughout this critical period, Pfc. Skaggs served as a heroic example of courage and fortitude to other wounded men and, by his courageous leadership and inspiring devotion to duty, upheld the high traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 22, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
22 July
1929: First airmail delivery by sea from Europe completed as the German vessel S. S. Bremen catapulted a plane from its deck while 250 miles off the US coast. This cut about 24 hours off delivery time.
1935: Capt Albert F. Hegenberger won the Collier Trophy for 1934 for developing and demonstrating a successful blind landing system. (24)
1944: Fifteenth Air Force made the first all-fighter unit shuttle raid in Europe from Italy with 76 P-38 Lightnings and 58 P-51 Mustangs. They hit German air bases in Rumania at Buzau and Zilistea, near Ploesti, and landed at Russian bases. (4) (24)
1948: ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT. Through 6 August, three B-29s from the 43 BG at DavisMonthan AFB flew around the world. Lt Col R. W. Kline's "Gas Gobbler" and 1Lt A. M. Neal's "Lucky Lady," completed the 15-day, 20,000-mile flight in 103 hours 50 minutes. The third aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea. (1) (9)
1950: KOREAN WAR. The USN aircraft carrier, the USS Boxer, arrived in Japan with 145 USAF F-51s on board. The 3 ARSq deployed the first H-5 helicopter in Korea to Taegu. (28)
1960: NASA launched its Iris sounding rocket for the first time. The rocket lifted a 100-pound package from Cape Canaveral to an altitude of 140 miles. (24)
1962: Mariner I, the first US attempt to send a space probe to Venus, failed when the Atlas-Agena B began to veer off course and was intentionally destroyed.
1971: The SRAM completed its flight test program successfully. The program included 38 test flights over the White Sands Missile Test Range. (12) (16)
1987: Operation ERNEST WILL. Through 21 December, SAC provided KC-10s and KC-135s support to Navy fighters during this operation over the Persian Gulf. The aircraft protected Kuwaiti convoys from Iranian attack during the war between Iran and Iraq. Additionally, USAF E-3 AWACS joined C-5s and C-141s in supporting this operation. (16) (21)
1991: A 445 MAW C-141 delivered nearly 20 tons of medical supplies to Ulan Bator, Mongolia to overcome a critical shortage. This mission was the first USAF flight to Mongolia. (16) (26)
2005: Five F-16 Fighting Falcons from Eglin AFB, Fla., arrived at Edwards AFB to join two AFFTC F-16s in testing the M4.2+ core avionics suite upgrade. The upgrade equipped the F-16 for the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) missions as well as the air-to-surface attack role. (3)
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Thanks to Brett and STRATFOR
GEOPOLITICAL DIGEST
THE WEEK AHEAD
Spain Heads to the Polls for a General Election. Spain will hold a general election on 23 July that could mark the end of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government. According to polls, the conservative People's Party (PP) will win the election, but will not gain enough seats in parliament to appoint a government. This means that the PP may discuss a coalition agreement with the far-right Vox party, which could result in a far-right party entering the Spanish government for the first time since the end of the country's dictatorship in the late 1970s. A PP-Vox coalition would likely result in protests by groups such as the LGBTQ+ community, feminists and trade unions. It would also likely result in renewed tensions between the central government in Madrid and the regional government in Catalonia.
Cambodians Vote in a Predetermined Election. Cambodia will hold general elections on 23 July. Prime Minister Hun Sen, leader of the country since 1986, is assured victory following a years-long comprehensive crackdown on political opposition, civil society, and independent media, as well as the effective banning of all credible opposition parties. After the election, he intends to hand over power to his eldest son, Hun Manet, in a broader generational transfer of power that will also elevate members of Cambodia's other elite families (most notably those of Defense Minister Tea Banh and Interior Minister Sar Kheng), in order to forestall factionalism and challenges to authority ahead of the inexperienced younger Hun's ascent to the top job. This likely bodes well for Cambodia's future political stability, as the older Hun will stay on as Cambodian People's Party leader (which currently holds all 125 National Assembly seats) and maintain effective power for at least the first few years of the younger Hun's tenure as his chief advisor. According to the prime minister, the younger Hun can take over as prime minister three to four weeks after the election.
African Leaders Visit St. Petersburg. On 27-28 July, leaders from across Africa will participate in the second-ever Russia-Africa summit, billed to be ''the highest-profile and largest-scale event in Russian–African relations.'' It will be held following Russia's recent exit from the Black Sea grain deal, which had reportedly seen Ukraine double its grain exports to African countries over the past six months. During the summit, Moscow will likely attempt to pacify African leaders frustrated by the deal's cancellation with promises of ''free grain,'' although the details and logistics of new grain shipments to Africa are unclear. The summit will also likely provide a forum for some African leaders to strengthen defense ties, including through the paramilitary Wagner Group. Finally, while Russia likely intends to garner greater African support for the war in Ukraine, the summit is unlikely to facilitate a significant reorientation in Moscow's favor; the countries with close ties to Russia (like Mali and Central African Republic) will probably keep them, but states like Ghana and Kenya are unlikely to move closer to Russia as a result of the summit.
Please read on for our coverage of the week that was...
KEY DEVELOPMENTS - ANALYSIS
EU-CELAC Summit Ends Without Agreement on EU-Mercosur Trade Deal
What Happened: A summit between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States ended on 18 July without much progress toward bilateral investment treaties, the stalled EU-Mercosur free trade agreements or a joint declaration on the Russia-Ukraine war, Reuters reported on 19 July. However, Brazil indicated that it will send the European Union a counter-proposal for the free trade agreement in the coming weeks.
Why It Matters: The European Union and Mercosur will likely try to iron out the details of their free trade agreement once Brazil's counter-proposal arrives. However, some EU leaders will likely push for significantly more protections for EU farmers in an effort to shield them from market competition with cheaper South American agricultural exports. For this reason, the agreement will likely go through several more iterations before it is finalized.
Source: RANE Worldview
Largely Peaceful Anti-Government Protests Resume in Peru
What Happened: Authorities announced that 21,000 people took to the streets of Lima, Peru, on 19 July to call for President Dina Boluarte's resignation, the dissolution of Congress and fresh elections, Reuters reported on 19 July. The protests were largely peaceful, though police announced six arrests and eight relatively minor injuries. These were Peru's first major protests in months after violent unrest occurred in December 2022 through February 2023 over the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo.
Why It Matters: While there are no signs that protests will return to the intensity and frequency seen earlier in 2023, Boluarte's refusal to resign and Congress' refusal to approve fresh elections later this year means that the fundamental drivers for protests will persist. The risk of more disruptive unrest will rise if future protests are grassroots-driven, rather than led by unions and other organized groups who exert more control over participants. Should more aggressive left-wing activists play a more important role in future protests, risks of violence, transportation disruptions, looting, vandalism and other disruptive impacts seen earlier this year would rise.
Source: RANE Worldview
Saudi Arabia's Purchase of Turkish Drones Signals Stronger Turkey-Arab Relations
What Happened: Saudi Arabia agreed to buy Turkish drones, and the CEO of private Turkish defense company Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, said the agreement will entail technology transfer and joint production, Reuters reported on 18 July. Bayraktar also said the deal is the biggest defense and aviation export contract in Turkey's history.
Why It Matters: This deal shows that Turkey is successfully rebuilding relations with Arab states after a period of tension, and it will further Turkey's aspirations to export more drones and other types of military equipment in the coming years. For Saudi Arabia, the deal will facilitate the country's ambitions to build out its defense technology knowledge, with the added benefit of not risking disrupting US-Saudi ties because Saudi Arabia will be importing weapons from a NATO ally rather than China or Russia.
Source: RANE Worldview
OTHER STORIES WE'RE TRACKING - CURATED CONTENT
ASIA
China's Border Talks With Bhutan Are Aimed at India
As tensions between China and India have grown in the last few years, the countries wedged between them are becoming more strategically significant. The two competing powers have sought a buffer between them ever since their founding—1949 in the case of the People's Republic of China, and 1947 for India. Many scholars argue that it is this desire for a safety cushion that led to China's 1950 invasion of Tibet. Today, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to manipulate democracy in Nepal have succeeded in shaping a government in Kathmandu that is more receptive to Beijing than to New Delhi.
Source: Foreign Policy
India's Efforts to Strengthen Indian Ocean Security
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a key strategic and economic theater in this region that is often overlooked by the United States but remains a high priority for India in its efforts to bolster regional security. India is the dominant player in the Indian Ocean, but its capacities are still limited. Moreover, it has historically had a more passive approach to security in the IOR. However, acutely conscious of the looming threat from China and the positioning of the Indo-Pacific as the next big theater of competition, India is beginning to both build up its capacity and become more forward-leaning.
Source: Council On Foreign Relations
Thailand's Myanmar Approach Exposes Cracks in Asean That External Parties May Exploit
Myanmar represents Asean's biggest internal challenge to date, and Thailand's bid for a 'complementary' diplomatic initiative undermines the bloc's centrality. Several ASEAN member states now seem to view the Myanmar crisis from a narrower perspective of national interests. Thailand's move to initiate meetings on Myanmar is based on the "immediate neighbor" justification – that countries bordering Myanmar will bear the brunt of the spiraling conflict. As compelling as this logic may be, the region must remember that Myanmar's problems are long-standing and systemic, and the 2021 coup simply exacerbated these problems.
Source: South China Morning Post
In Central Asia, a Hidden Pipeline Supplies Russia With Banned Tech
Biden administration officials say they are particularly concerned about the role played by Kyrgyzstan, the country from which a Chinese drone shipment originated. The mountainous, landlocked country was once the southern frontier of the Soviet empire, and it is now home to numerous businesses that have become a conduit for Western and Asian goods that Russia can't legally obtain elsewhere.
Source: The Washington Post
EUROPE
What Russia's Grain Deal Actions Mean for Ukraine
Turkey and China are big buyers of Ukrainian grain and could pressure President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to accept a renegotiated deal. Ukraine can transport its grain via road and rail into neighboring European countries, including Poland, as well as via barges on the Danube River to other Ukrainian ports at Izmail and Reni, as well as to the Romanian port of Constanta. These routes have sufficient capacity to export all of the country's grain.
Source: The New York Times
The West Can't Ignore Slovakia's Election
Slovakia will hold snap elections in September — and polls predict former Prime Minister Robert Fico is likely to win. Anti-Western sentiment is on the rise in Slovakia, and Fico is determined to take advantage of it to adopt an openly pro-Kremlin foreign policy. Slovakia's center-right government under Prime Minister Eduard Heger — a big supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia — fell last December due to unstable and chaotic governance.
Source: Foreign Policy
EU Ready to Boost Links to Turkiye But Accession Still Taboo
Foreign ministers of the European Union signaled their readiness to work for closer ties with Turkiye, while resisting pressure from Ankara to join the bloc. Turkiye applied to join the EU in the late 1980s but negotiations have been at a standstill, and EU membership remains a distant prospect. Resolving tensions over Cyprus will be key to "the re-engagement" with Turkiye. Fundamental freedoms, as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights, will be essential.
Source: Bloomberg
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
The Best of Frenemies: Saudi Crown Prince Clashes With UAE President
A rift has opened up between the 37-year-old Mohammed and his onetime mentor, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, that reflects competition for geopolitical and economic power in the Middle East and global oil markets. The two royals, who spent almost a decade climbing to the top of the Arab world, are now feuding over who calls the shots in a Middle East where the US plays a diminished role.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Iran Is Breaking Out of Its Box
Tehran has not just accelerated rapprochement with Saudi Arabia. It has embarked on a charm offensive across the Arab world. Iran sees an opening to take advantage of the United States' confused and diminished ambitions in the Middle East, and its moves are contributing to the further displacement of the United States there. To accomplish this reset, Tehran has pivoted toward a less ideological, more pragmatic, regional foreign policy.
Source: Foreign Affairs
AMERICAS
Young Latin Americans Are Unusually Open to Autocrats
In the latest edition of Latinobarómetro, an international poll in Latin America, respondents were asked to rate their approval of 17 named leaders on a scale of one to ten. In 15 of the 17 countries surveyed, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's populist, autocratic president, got the highest score. Such broad international appeal has raised concern about the durability of liberal democracy in the region. Are Latin Americans outside El Salvador yearning for their own version of Mr Bukele. The overall pattern in the new data is that the region is indeed becoming increasingly fertile territory for such figures.
Source: The Economist
The Trials and Tribulations of Colombia's Petro Administration
President Gustavo Petro's time at the helm of Colombia thus far has come in two acts. The first began with his taking office in August 2022 and was defined by his pushing ahead on key policies and living up to the hope that his center-left government would help steer Colombia to a more peaceful, greener, and economically equitable future. Act two began with the failure to pass health care legislation in April 2023, which was followed by a cabinet reshuffle and the failure to pass other reform bills. Furthermore, a scandal broke in June involving his former chief of staff and his ambassador to Venezuela. Petro is now seeking to regain momentum, but he faces a challenging political and economic landscape.
Source: The National Interest
GLOBAL
Europe Pushed Tunisia to Keep Migrants Away. the Result Is Harsh.
With migration to Europe at its highest level since 2016, the Mediterranean route from North Africa is once again posing a dilemma for Europe, where burning anti-migration sentiment has played into ugly scenes of coast guards setting some migrants adrift while leaving hundreds of others to drown. It is in launchpad countries like Tunisia, which has overtaken Libya as the main crossing point for Africans and others dreaming of Europe, that European leaders hope to contain the problem.
Source: The New York Times
BRICS Expansion Plan Draws Interest From More Than 40 Nations
More than 40 nations have indicated an interest in joining the BRICS bloc of major developing economies as it seeks to expand to grow its political clout, South Africa's ambassador to the group said. Argentina, all the major Global South countries have applied. Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have expressed interest, as have some European nations. While China and South Africa support expansion and Russia should fall in line with China, Brazil and India are concerned their own influence will diminish and may oppose an enlargement.
Source: Bloomberg
Why Is NATO Edging Into Asia
Many member states believe the alliance needs a presence in the Indo-Pacific, where it is preparing cooperation agreements with four countries and recently has begun to mention China in its strategic doctrine. The dilemma over NATO's Asia commitments comes as the alliance's biggest and most powerful member, the US, flirts with isolationism, battered after 20 years in Afghanistan and drained of resources in Ukraine. Now, as the US faces a near-peer competitor for the first time in decades in China, NATO allies want to ensure that the US will remain committed to the security of the North Atlantic.
Source: Nikkei Asia
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