TheList 7391

The List 7391

To All

Good Saturday Morning December 20, 2025 . When I woke up this morning it was pea soup fog . It got clear and sunny for a bit and is now cloudy again.is expected to be that way all day and hit 68 by 1..  The weather guessers are still busy changing and predicting cloudy skies until next Tuesday when they are looking at 4 days of rain through Christmas. Counting today we have 4 shopping days left before Christmas..

.Regards

skip

.HAGD 

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|for the Bubbas

Thanks to Mud

 This explains why friends forward jokes. And other items

 A man and his dog were walking along a road .   The man was enjoying

the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years.  He wondered where the road was leading them.

 After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road.

it looked like fine marble.

At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open. "Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.

There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog "There should be a bowl by the pump," said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, and then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said.

"The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.

That's Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

So , sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding stuff to us without writing a word.

Maybe this will explain it.

When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward emails .

When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes .

When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how...you forward stuff .

A 'forward' lets you know that

You are still remembered,

You are still important,

You are still cared for.

 So, next time you get a 'forward', don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are welcome at my water bowl anytime ...

So here's to keeping in touch.

Even if sometimes it means only forwarding

 

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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/.    Go here to see the director's corner for all 94 H-Grams. 

This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History

December 20

 1822—Congress authorizes the West Indies Squadron to suppresspiracy in the Caribbean. Under the leadership of Commodores James Biddle, David Porter, and Lewis Warrington, the newly created squadron crushes the pirates.

1941—Adm. Ernest J. King is announced as the designated Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, in charge of all operating naval fleets and coastal frontier forces, reporting directly to the President.

1943—TBF aircraft (VC-19) from escort carrier USS Bogue (CVE 9) attacks German submarine U-850, which responds with anti-aircraft fire. TBFs and FMs (VC-19) reinforce the TBF and sink U-850 as it tries to submerge 530 miles southwest of Fayal, Azores.

1964—USS Richard E. Kraus (DD 849) completes a successful emergency mission in aiding the disabled American merchant ship SS Oceanic Spray in the Red Sea.

1974—Task Force 65 concludes Operation Nimbus Star, the clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance in the Suez Canal, as part of a joint effort to reopen this vital artery to international shipping.

1989—Naval Special Warfare Task Force Papa attacks Punta Paitilla Airport during Operation Just Cause to prevent the dictator, Gen.Manuel Noriega, from leaving Panama. Chief Engineman Donald McFaul is mortally wounded while carrying a wounded SEAL to safety.

 

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 Today in world History December 20

69    Vespians's supporters enter Rome and discover Vitellius in

hiding. He is dragged through the streets before being brutally murdered.

1355    Stephen Urosh IV of Serbia dies while marching to attack

Constantinople.

1802    The United States buys the Louisiana territory from France.

1860     South Carolina secedes from the Union.

1861      English transports loaded with 8,000 troops set sail

for Canada so that troops are available if the "Trent Affair" is not settled without war.

1924     Adolf Hitler is released from prison after serving less

than one year of a five year sentence for treason.

1930    Thousands of Spaniards sign a revolutionary manifesto.

1933     The German government announces 400,000

citizens are to be sterilized because of hereditary defects.

1938     First electronic television system is patented.

1941     The Flying Tigers, American pilots in China,

enter combat against the Japanese over Kunming.

1943     Soviet forces halt a German army trying to

relieve the besieged city of Stalingrad.

1946     Viet Minh and French forces fight fiercely in

Annamite section of Hanoi.

1948     U.S. Supreme Court announces that it has no

jurisdiction to hear the appeals of Japanese war criminals sentenced by the International Military Tribunal.

1960     National Liberation Front is formed by

guerrillas fighting the Diem regime in South Vietnam.

1962     In its first free election in 38 years, the

Dominican Republic chooses leftist Juan Bosch Gavino as president.

1963     Four thousand cross the Berlin Wall to visit

relatives under a 17-day Christmas accord.

1989     U.S. troops invade Panama to oust General

Manuel Noriega and replace him with Guillermo Endara.

1995     NATO begins peacekeeping operation in Bosnia.

1996     NeXT merges with Apple Computer, leading to

the development of groundbreaking Mac OS X.

2007     Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch

in the history of the UK; previously, that honor belonged to Queen Victoria.

 

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Thanks to the Bear. We will always have the url for you to search items in Rolling Thunder

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER …

. rollingthunderremembered.com .

 

Thanks to Micro

From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..December 20

20-Dec:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1503

 

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 From the archives thanks to Shadow

On a lighter note... Southern logic

Black and I had an employee that was the purveyor of critical southern thinking and logic. His name was Kenny… and he constantly came up with little sayings and comments that will live forever in our minds. I first noticed it when I was musing on where the hell I was gonna be able to collect all the hellcat parts I was gonna need to build up a corroded F6F-3 for the Museum in Pensacola. Of all the WW II fighters… the Hellcat had fewer survivors and even fewer spare parts available on the open market. I was shaving one morning when all of a sudden I remembered where a ton of Hellcat parts lay out in the open. It was on San Nicolas Island, off the coast of NAS Pt. Mugu. I'd been out there on a project while on active duty and noticed wreck after wreck of Hellcats and Panthers and Cougars laying all over the island as a result of drone landing accidents. Must have been at least a dozen hellcat wrecks. Armed with that knowledge I drove to work and announced to Luke and Kenny, I may have solved the parts problem for the Hellcat restorations (we had three projects). "I was shaving this morning when I had an epiphany". Before I could say another word, Kenny interrupted and said with all seriousness; "Damn Roy, did it hurt"? I almost burst out laughing… but didn't want to embarrass him so I just Said, "No Kenny… it didn't". After he left the office, we both burst out laughing.

 

Over time he shared some southern logic with us… here's a few.

1.) When trying to explain how difficult it was to read something out of a tech manual… he looked at me and said, "Shit Shadow, that stuffs so hard to understand… it's tougher than Chinese arithmetic"!

2.) One day he was bragging about his love life back in the day and this one girl got him so worked up, he said, "I was so turned on, it got so hard...  if a cat would scratch it, sparks would fly"!

3.) One day he commented on a new employee being slow to pick things up… "He'll be alright, but right now, he's about half smart… he thinks too much"!

4.) He came into my office one day and said, "Roy, look out there… that man is installing damage to his own airplane"!

5.) I could go on and on… but my favorite was this one. One day we received some bulk boxes of parts that had some heavy plastic bands around them. I started to tug on one and Kenny said… "You can't break them, you'll need to cut them" and hands me his knife that was always attached to his belt. I looked at the knife and then at him and I said… "Kenny is this sharp enough? I don't want to ruin your knife".

Kenny looked at me and said with all earnestness… "Shit Roy, that knife is so sharp… why it can cut the stink off a floating turd and not put a ripple in the water"!

6.) In talking about an old flame he remarked… "Man she was so hot, she was a three on the Clydesdale scale"! I looked at him and said, "What's that"? He looked back and said… "When I was on that… it was so good… why it'd take three of them big mothers to drag me off before I finished"!

7.) When discussing how to repair a dent one day… use Bondo or repair… Kenny says, ""I'm gonna do it right. Hell, I can flush patch the crack of dawn, you'll never notice it when I'm finished"!

He was a treasure.

Shadow

 

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From the archives

Thanks to Denny

US Air Force legend Robert "Bob" Pardo, known for his selfless action known as "Pardo's Push" during the Vietnam War, has died Dec. 5 in College Station, Texas.

He was 89.

On March 10, 1967, Pardo, then a US Air Force captain, and weapons officer 1st Lt. Steve Wayne were deep in enemy territory on a bombing run in Vietnam.

Flying alongside another F-4C Phantom airplane, piloted by Capt. Earl Aman and 1st Lt. Robert Houghton, the pair of jets tasked with eliminating North Vietnam's only steel mill, which was heavily fortified with anti-aircraft guns and artillery.

Both aircraft started taking enemy fire from the ground, damaging both Pardo's and Aman's Phantoms.

 "We took at least one hit, maybe two, right in the belly of the airplane," Pardo recounted in a 2015 interview with the Air Force Veterans in Blue program.

Captain Robert Pardo and 1st Lieutenant Stephen A. Wayne, after Wayne's 100th combat mission.

Capt. Robert Pardo and 1st Lt. Stephen A. Wayne.

US Air Force

After taking the initial enemy contact, Aman's airplane was hit again and lost too much fuel to get out of enemy territory and return to base safely.

"I knew if I didn't do anything, they would have to eject over North Vietnam into enemy territory, and that would have resulted in their capture for sure," Pardo said. "At that time, if you were captured by civilians, you were probably going to be murdered on the spot."

In a selfless act to save his fellow airmen, Pardo pushed Aman's jet using the nose of his aircraft against Aman's tailhook — a retractable hook on the underside of the plane used to assist with landing.

The maneuver Padro performed put his own jet at risk since his windshield could have broke open.

Due to Pardo's action, both aircraft would safely be able to exit enemy territory.

Pardo helped Aman's Phantom decrease altitude by 1,500 feet per minute and guided the plane back into friendly territory.

Both aircrews then safely ejected over the Laotian border and were rescued by friendly forces.

Following the heroic air feat, Pardo recalls being asked frequently, 'How did you have the courage to make the decision, knowing that the windshield could break at any time?'"

"My dad taught me that when your friend needs help, you help," the Vietnam War hero answered.

"I couldn't have come home and told him I didn't even try anything because that's exactly what he would have asked me. He would've said, 'Did you try?'"

Though it would seem his command would be greatly pleased with his selflessness, Lt. Gen. William Wallace 'Spike' Momyer, commander of the 7th Air Force in Vietnam, would reprimand him for sacrificing his multimillion-dollar jet in a rescue.

Facing a court-martial, Pardo was saved from punitive actions by his wing commander, Col. Robin Olds, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Pardo retired from the Air Force in 1974 as a lieutenant colonel.

Pardo would be awarded the Silver Star, the third highest military award, for his actions twenty years after the aerial rescue.

Aside from his Silver Star, his awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Air Medal with twelve Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Born in Herne, Texas, in 1934, Pardo began his Air Force career in 1954 when he was 19 years old.

He logged 132 flying missions during the Vietnam War.

Retired Lt. Col. Pardo surveys the surrounding area while in the F-15E Strike Eagle simulator at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Oct. 14, 2014.

Airman 1st Class Ashley J. Thum

Pardo retired from the Air Force in 1974 as a lieutenant colonel.

"He is a legend, but his legacy is the thing he did and you can do things like that, it doesn't have to be pushing somebody's airplane, you can be helping somebody," his son, John Pardo told KBTX on Wednesday.

"His character was one of outstanding individuals, his principles were unparalleled, and his love for his country was utmost in his mind. Helping Earl and Bob Houghton the best we could is the greatest example ever, in the air, of one person trying to save somebody else's life."

 "That is the only time that one airplane has actually pushed the other in aviation history."

 

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Thanks to Mike

Skip, probably too much for "The List", but any helo bubbas might be interested...

 

Mike

 

 

________________________________________

From: Mike Haynes <mjhaynes8@gmail.com>

Sent: Friday, December 19, 2025 9:30 PM

Subject: Navy's Cold War-Era Helicopter Crew Escape System Literally Sliced Fuselages Apart

 

Interesting article on saving crew members (at least, in this test, the guys in the front; the guys in the back end were expendable, I guess...)

39

 

 

U.S. Navy composite

 

Things can go very wrong very fast in helicopters and sometimes there just aren't many options to safely mitigate the issue. This was especially true during the early days of the rotary-wing boom. In the face of growing concerns over helicopter-related fatalities and injuries, the U.S. Navy worked on a unique escape module system in the 1960s which was designed to save the lives of as many individuals as possible by literally severing the helicopter in half.

The short clip below, which depicts a test of the system conducted by the Navy in 1966, gives a good depiction of what the novel escape module system was all about. In broad strokes, the service created a system that split apart the fuselage of a helicopter while airborne. A separated section would serve as an emergency escape capsule, allowing personnel lucky enough to be in the module to parachute below to safety — at least that was the idea.

It should be noted that escape capsule systems on aircraft were all the rage during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s within the U.S. aerospace defense sector. The U.S. Air Force's swing-wing F-111 Aardvark strike jet, for example, received an escape module design that ejected the entire cockpit. The B-58 Hustler, XB-70 Valkyrie, and the B-1A Lancer are some other examples of aircraft the leveraged different escape capsule concepts.

By the early 1960s, the need for some kind of helicopter crew escape system was clear to the Navy. As part of an early 1961 study on the feasibility of such a feature, all data on Navy and Marine Corps helicopter accidents involving critical injuries or fatalities were collated across the period from 1952–1962. It was found that a majority of accident victims could have been saved had an in-flight escape system been installed onboard the helicopters.

It was not long after the 1961 study that the Navy began a program to demonstrate the fuselage escape capsule concept as applied to a wide range of helicopters. That program started in 1964 under the direction of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). 

A nearly 16-minute video on the helicopter escape module, produced by the Navy, can be seen below, which details its developmental history.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-rs5X81X28

 

U.S. NAVY HELICOPTER ESCAPE CAPSULE BALLISTIC SYSTEM EJECTION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FILM 17104

As the video above highlights, the Naval Weapons Laboratory in Dahlgren, Virginia, designed and developed a "ballistic system" for the separation and recovery of a helicopter escape capsule.

The system involved placing roughly 18 feet of continuous, aluminum-sheathed linear charge around the inside of the helicopter to sever the escape module from the rest of the fuselage. Two modified catapult rocket launchers, mounted aft on the port and starboard sides, were also used to ensure the escape module's separation from the rest of the aircraft.

 Explosive charge runs around the circumference of the testbed. U.S. Navy video screencap A rocket fires to the rear of a testbed to ensure the escape capsule separates. U.S. Navy video screencap

Detonating chord leads were used to sever the helicopter's rotors and blast them out of the way, thus preventing them from interfering with the deployment of the capsule's parachutes.

 Explosive chart runs around a model helicopter rotor. U.S. Navy video screencap Helicopter rotors being blasted during a test. U.S. Navy video screencap

From 1964 to 1968, the Navy began testing the system on a number of helicopters, including Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights, Bell UH-1E Hueys, and Piasecki UH-25B Retrievers.

Between March and June of 1966, alongside testing on the ground, five, full-scale tests of the system were conducted in the air using UH-25B testbeds. Three of the five tests were completed successfully at heights of 74, 143, and 187 feet. "In each case," a subsequent report by the U.S. General Accounting Office noted, "the escape system functioned perfectly."

 One of the in-air tests taking place. U.S. Navy video screencap

"The fact that it worked at these altitudes is important because the earlier Navy-sponsored analysis revealed that 90 percent of the in-flight emergencies occurred at altitudes between 100 and 600 feet," the report goes on to say.

On the basis of the successful tests, in June 1967 the Navy began to investigate the adaptability of the system to various helicopters. As part of its study, 14 helicopter types were considered, of which a total of four were deemed viable candidates to receive the in-flight escape system. However, none actually had modifications done for adding the escape module.

The Navy selected two helicopter variants in particular — the Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight and the UH-1E — for more detailed study, owing to the fact that many of them were in use at that time.

"The emergency in-flight escape system resulting from the study [for the CH-46] included a ballistic subsystem to sever the rotors and unoccupied parts of the helicopter and a recovery subsystem to lower the occupied part to the ground. Other survival features included a crash impact subsystem to protect against impact forces, an emergency flotation subsystem, and a passive defense subsystem," the Navy noted.

While footage of Navy testing with CH-46s does not appear to exist, an illustration from the service's subsequent research seen below shows the rear rotor nacelle and both rotors being blown completely off — allowing the entire airframe to be parachuted to the ground.

 Illustration showing the CH-46 recovering sequence. U.S. Navy

The recovery system for the UH-1E "consisted of four 36-foot, ballistically deployed parachutes to be used at altitudes above 100 feet and airspeeds from zero to 200 feet per second. Surface impact protection was provided by crash-energy-absorbing troop and crew seats, crash-resistant fuel cells, and breakaway, self-sealing fuel lines."

 Illustration showing the UH-IE recovering sequence. U.S. Navy

In May 1968 the Navy issued a final report on the system, concluding that:

"An in-flight personnel recovery system for helicopters is feasible and practical. Previous tests have demonstrated the feasibility of the concept, and subsequent advancement in the state-of-the-art ballistically deployed and opened parachutes combined with retro-rockets has made the concept efficient and practical."

In September 1968, NAVAIR proposed a development program in order to pursue the capsule system. This pushed for designing a system applicable to rotary-wing aircraft to be used in the 1975-1980 timeframe, and retrofitting CH-46D aircraft with the escape system. It was estimated that the program would cost $5.3 million (nearly $48 million adjusted for inflation in 2024 dollars) over four years, and could have the potential to "ensure the survival of over 80 percent of helicopter occupants involved in emergency situations." However, the program was never funded.

 U.S. Navy

NAVAIR went on to propose a new development plan in December 1969 — named the Helicopter Escape, Protection and Survival System — which included a nine-year advanced development program costing some $14.4 million (over $123 million adjusted for inflation in 2024 dollars). This included the development of both the escape capsule and individual-type escape systems, in the form of ejection seats or other unitary extraction methods.

 Individual seat ejection/extraction methods. U.S. Navy

Unlike the 1968 plan, the retrofitting of CH-46Ds with escape systems was abandoned, with the emphasis turning to working on survival systems for future aircraft.

Into the early-1970s, however, enthusiasm for the idea of a multi-person helicopter escape module waned. In March 1972, the Navy revealed to a subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations that the program was of "low priority," primarily due to the added weight of fitting the system onto aircraft and the subsequent impact on payload capacity and range. Cost concerns were also noted, alongside issues over maintenance.

1972 also marked a shift by the Navy toward exploring individual escape systems from aircraft more thoroughly. Individual escape systems were worked on by the Navy during the previous decade, it should be noted, with emphasis on creating escape methods for those flying on Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. However, despite these plans picking up in the early 1970s, they did not end up coming to fruition.

These days, few helicopters feature crew escape systems. A notable exception to the rule is the Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter. This system involves jettisoning the main rotor blades and explosive cord detonating the canopy, before crew members are ejected from the helicopter. Other systems that use parachutes to recover the whole aircraft, crew included, like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) have seen widespread use and many successful saves.

So there you have it, the intriguing — if little-known — history of the Navy's attempt at fielding an in-flight personnel escape capsule for helicopters.

 

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Thanks to Brett

Daily Memo: European Governments Propose Guarantees for Ukraine

Signatories of a newly released statement promise to defend Kyiv against another attack.

By: Geopolitical Futures

 

European commitment. The leaders of 14 European nations released a statement outlining the security guarantees that they, in addition to the United States, are willing to offer Ukraine. They include assistance in building up Ukraine's armed forces (which would total 800,000 troops in peacetime); forming a European-led "multinational force for Ukraine" consisting of contributions from willing states and support from the U.S.; a U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism; a legally binding commitment to restore peace in case of a future armed attack; investment in Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction; and strong support for Ukraine's accession to the EU.

 

Assets dispute. Russia's central bank is suing the Brussels-based clearing house that holds most of the Russian frozen assets in Europe, demanding $230 billion in compensation and warning of consequences for using the funds. EU leaders will decide this week whether to use about $247 billion in frozen assets to provide Ukraine with a loan to cover its defense and economic needs. Russia remains the legal owner of the assets, despite European governments' seizure of them following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

 

Russian involvement. Russia has expressed its readiness for talks with Armenia on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, according to Mikhail Kalugin, an official at Russia's Foreign Ministry. The U.S.-backed project will connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory. Kalugin said Moscow was ready to discuss "both the initiative's parameters and possible Russian participation," noting that Russia's South Caucasus Railway holds a concession to manage Armenia's rail network and that the country uses Russian gauge rail tracks.

 

Iranian opposition. Relatedly, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader said following a meeting with Armenia's ambassador to Tehran that the Islamic Republic opposes the TRIPP project. The official stressed that the initiative could lead to "the emergence of NATO and the U.S. on Iran's northern borders."

 

Stalled deal. The United States is pausing a deal signed earlier this year to invest billions in Britain's tech sector over concerns about the U.K.'s lack of progress in easing trade barriers. The Trump administration is reportedly frustrated that the U.K. continues to charge a digital services tax on U.S. tech companies and that its food safety rules block the import of certain U.S. agricultural products. Meanwhile, the Trump administration launched a new initiative on Monday, called U.S. Tech Force, to build artificial intelligence infrastructure and other tech projects across the federal government.

 

Budget boost. The Japanese government is reportedly considering its largest-ever initial budget totaling 120 trillion yen ($775 billion) for the next fiscal year. It would surpass the current record of 115.2 trillion yen for the 2025 budget. The move is meant to stimulate the country's inflation-ridden economy.

 

Boosting defense. Lithuania plans to build a new military training ground near the Suwalki Gap, a narrow stretch of land linking Lithuania and Poland and separating Belarus from Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad. The facility will be used for brigade exercises and personnel training and help monitor and defend the strategic corridor.

 

Ankara's vision. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented his party's new vision for the Turkic world. At a launch event for the Justice and Development Party's Turkic World

Vision Document, Erdogan announced plans to increase Ankara's trade with other Turkic states to $60 billion in the medium term and $100 billion in the long term. Key initiatives include the development of energy corridors, logistics and digital infrastructure, aimed at transforming the Turkic world into a global economic powerhouse.

 

Building ties. The foreign ministers of Iran and Belarus signed a number of agreements following talks in Minsk. The documents included a declaration on countering sanctions and mitigating their impact. The Iranian minister also held talks with the head of Belarus' Security Council on strengthening security cooperation, as well as international developments.

 

Defense cooperation. Poland and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening security cooperation. The document covers information sharing, joint military exercises, coordination between the two countries' armed forces and development of their defense industries.

 

Korean affairs. The United States and South Korea have launched a new consultative body on North Korea policy. The group held its first meeting in Seoul on Tuesday, in which both countries reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization and called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue. 

 

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"Thanks to Brett

AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE!

Commentary

Victor Davis Hanson: What Has Hegseth Done Compared to Obama?

Victor Davis Hanson

December 13, 2025

 

Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson

Victor Davis Hanson, a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and host of "The Victor Davis Hanson Show." His website, The Blade of Perseus, features columns, lectures, and exclusive content for subscribers.

On this episode of "Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words," Victor Davis Hanson and Sami Winc dissect the effort to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Biden administration's effort to drum white conservative males out of the service.

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced Wednesday his intention to file articles of impeachment against Hegseth, for "Murder and Conspiracy to Murder and Recklessness and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information." The first charge is in connection with a Sept. 2 military strike on a boat believed to be carrying drugs to the U.S.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and, of course, President Donald Trump have also faced impeachment calls this week from House Democrats. 

Editor's note: This is a lightly edited transcript of a segment from today's edition of "Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words" from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson.

Sami Winc: What do you think about these impeachments? They're obviously not going to go through. So, what's the point?

Victor Davis Hanson: Why are they doing it? They don't control the House. It's just a way. Now you mentioned these guys' names, and now I know them. That's what it's for. Our listeners heard their names. That's it.

They're not going to get an impeachment majority vote. And there's no way in the world they're going to get 60 senators to vote. No way for a conviction.

So, I would ask them, "What would be an impeachable offense if you're Pete Hegseth?" He took out 30 boats. Let's say there were seven people on them, right? He didn't kill anybody, but 20 people were killed in this kinetic operation.

Barack Obama killed over 550. I haven't heard Pete Hegseth joke about it. Let me just ask the two congressmen this question: I'm Pete Hegseth. You know, I didn't think I was good at killing, but I found out I'm well suited for it.

And then he's going tell to a big audience, all the media in Washington, all the marquee media in America, he's going to say, I just want to make a joke. Anybody want to date my daughters? It's called  P-R-E-D-A-T-O-R, Predator drone strike. Be careful.

So, what are [Hegseth]'s crimes? Well, he came in, and they were 45,000 recruits short in the military, and they had drummed out between 8,000 and 8,500 people for not getting the mRNA vaccination.

Aside from the question of whether that was a wise move, most of those people had had COVID by that time. So, they had a natural immunity. And we know now that the natural immunity is as good or better than the boosters or whatever. Speaking to someone who had both Moderna and I've had four cases of COVID, two serious and two not as bad.

And then, they were letting in 10,000 people a day across the border without any audit. So, they were telling the U.S. military, you've got to get an experimental, unproven Moderna or Pfizer vaccination, but the people coming from Latin America or all over the world, they don't have to. They're more entitled than you are.

So, he solved that problem. There's no recruitment crisis. Why are you raising your hand?

Winc: Because I want to say something about that. They undoubtedly felt in the military under [President Joe] Biden that they could get rid of people that were politically right-wing if they said people who did not get vaccinations, because the majority of the people that were against either vaccinations or the lockdown tended to be the right wing.

So that was probably more the goal than anything else.

Hanson: This is what they did. This is what they did intentionally. [Former Secretary of Defense] Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden. And to an extent, Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken. They said to the military, how do we get rid of these conservative people in the ranks? Well, they are more likely, as you said, not to get vaccinated. Let's get rid of 8,500. These were some really good veterans, great people.

Then they said, well, let's really push the trans, gay, DEI agenda. Let's run commercials of women pregnant in flight suits. Let's have trans shows on military bases. Let us have, we won't call them quotas, that's illegal, but we will have racial quotas and gender quotas. And let's have women in combat units regardless. We'll lower the standards.

What was all the purpose of that? They said it was for inclusivity and diversity. No, it was to target a particular type of soldier. And that soldier fits a profile. Let's just take today's potential recruit, 18. His father fought in the Gulf War. His father fought in Vietnam. His father fought in Korea. His father, or grandfather, fought in World War II. His great-grandfather fought in World War I.

That was the type of demographic that volunteers to go into the military, especially the Army. And I say this until I turn blue in the face, but if you go in and try to decipher Pentagon websites or Pentagon-related—and they do not want to talk about this—but if you look at it, they have every DEI stat you can imagine. How many colonels are black? How many women are in combat units?

The dead? That's hard. How many people died by race? But if you can find that, and I have found it, it's about 72 to 74% in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So let me just summarize. They came in and said we do not like these recruits. And we're going to keep in your face DEI, in your face vaccination, and we're gonna insult them on radical abortion, and we're gonna get rid of them.

And then they said, well, these people constitute white male rural, Southern, you know what I'm talking about, our suburbs, they constitute about 35%, 70%, 67%—I know they inflate, there's multiracial, all that—but say 67 to 70% are white and half of that. So, you're talking about 34 to 35% of that pool was dying at double their numbers.

And yet that was the one they targeted to get rid of them. And they did. They just quit. 45,000 of them. Then you go to the Pentagon websites, and you think who is not being recruited? And you can see it, that was 90% white males. Then you talk to retired officers and generals, and they email you or they're angry at you or they trash you if you say this, and they have me.

Then you ask them why the shortfall? They will give you every answer except the truth. They will not say that white males die at twice their numbers in the demographic, and we try to alienate them through these social programs. They'll say, people are too fat. They have too many tattoos. They're on drugs. They're out of shape. We have to compete with private enterprise. It's all a lie.

And he solved that problem, Pete Hegseth. There is no shortage now. All of them are back.

And he solved the problem as well of if you want to smuggle drugs into the United States and you're in Latin America, we have a wall across the southern border now and there's zero entry, then you have to come by sea. And he was waiting for them.

And they kill 75,000 people a year through imported fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs.

[Hegseth is] compared to what? I think George W. Bush ordered targeted assassinations of about 50 people. He never killed a U.S. citizen.

Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump have not killed more than 30 or 40 people, maybe more in Iraq in the first term or Syria. And they have not, to our knowledge, killed a U.S. citizen. And the very people who joked about it under [Barack] Obama are now wanting to impeach him.

And then the final thing he's done very well: He's broken up the idea that you only buy major weapons systems from Raytheon or General Dynamics or Lockheed or Northrop. These are all great companies. The people that run them are great, but they're very expensive. $14 billion carriers, $75 million planes, $170 million fighters. So why not a million drones? Why not a million robotic drones on land? Why not a million drones in the ocean? Why not cheap missiles that people carry on their back?

So, that's what they're doing. They're trying to break up that monopoly and get on-the-shelf practical quantity as well as quality.

 

 

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This Day in U S Military History

 

December 20

1803 – U.S. and French governments put the finishing touches on a little land transaction known as the Louisiana Purchase. For the relatively paltry price tag of $15 million, the U.S. acquired an area that effectively doubled the size of the nation. The bargain price reflected French fears that their army, already occupied with the Napoleonic Wars, would not be able to stave off revolutionaries in New Orleans. U.S. officials, meanwhile, coveted New Orleans as a duty-free port for American goods that were about to be shipped. Of course, the resulting deal provided the U.S. with much more than a port; indeed, the nation now owned the land that would become Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, the Dakotas, as well as chunks of Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and of course, Louisiana.

1803 – Without a shot fired, the French hand over New Orleans and Lower Louisiana to the United States. In April 1803, the United States purchased from France the 828,000 square miles that had formerly been French Louisiana. The area was divided into two territories: the northern half was Louisiana Territory, the largely unsettled (though home to many Indians) frontier section that was later explored by Lewis and Clark; and the southern Orleans Territory, which was populated by Europeans. Unlike the sprawling and largely unexplored northern territory (which eventually encompassed a dozen large states), Orleans Territory was a small, densely populated region that was like a little slice of France in the New World. With borders that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Louisiana, Orleans Territory was home to about 50,000 people, a primarily French population that had been living under the direction of a Spanish administration. These former citizens of France knew almost nothing about American laws and institutions, and the challenging task of bringing them into the American fold fell to the newly appointed governor of the region, twenty-eight-year-old William Claiborne.

Historians have found no real evidence that the French of Orleans Territory resented their transfer to American control, though one witness claimed that when the French tri-color was replaced by the Stars and Stripes in New Orleans, the citizens wept. The French did resent that their new governor was appointed rather than elected, and they bridled when the American government tried to make English the official language and discouraged the use of French. It didn't help matters that young Claiborne knew neither French nor Spanish.

Claiborne soon found himself immersed in a complex sea of ethnic tensions and political unrest that he little understood, and in January he wrote to Thomas Jefferson that the population was "uninformed, indolent, luxurious-in a word, ill-fitted to be useful citizens for a Republic." To his dismay, Claiborne found that most of his time was spent not governing, but dealing with an unrelenting procession of crises like riots, robberies, and runaway slaves.

Despite his concerns, Claiborne knew that somehow these people had to be made into American citizens, and over time he gradually made progress in bringing the citizenry into the Union. In December 1804 he was happy to report to Jefferson that "they begin to view their connexion with the United States as permanent and to experience the benefits thereof." Proof of this came eight years later, when the people of Orleans Territory drafted a constitution and successfully petitioned to become the eighteenth state in the Union. Despite Claiborne's doubts about whether the French would ever truly fit into their new nation, the approval of that petition meant that the people of Louisiana were officially Americans.

1941 – The Flying Tigers, American pilots in China, entered combat against the Japanese over Kunming. Aircraft of the 1st and 2nd squadrons intercepted 10 unescorted Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" bombers of the 21st Hikōtai attacking Kunming. The bombers jettisoned their loads before reaching Kunming. Three of the Japanese bombers were shot down near Kunming and a fourth was damaged so severely that it crashed before returning to its airfield at Hanoi. Furthermore, the Japanese discontinued their raids on Kunming while the AVG was based there.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

NORRIS, J. W.

Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1862, England.

Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation:

Serving on board the U.S.S. Jamestown, New York Navy Yard, 20 December 1883, Norris rescued from drowning A. A. George, who had fallen overboard.

 

SWEENEY, ROBERT

SECOND AWARD

Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Jamestown, at the Navy Yard New York, 20 December 1883, Sweeney rescued from drowning A. A. George, who had fallen overboard from that vessel.

 

VOSLER, FORREST T. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps. 358th Bomber Squadron, 303d Bomber Group. Place and date. Over Bremen, Germany, 20 December 1943. Entered service at: Rochester, N.Y. Born:

29 July 1923, Lyndonville, N.Y. G.O. No.: 73, 6 September 1944.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a radio operator-air gunner on a heavy bombardment aircraft in a mission over Bremen, Germany, on 20 December 1943. After bombing the target, the aircraft in which T/Sgt. Vosler was serving was severely damaged by antiaircraft fire, forced out of formation, and immediately subjected to repeated vicious attacks by enemy fighters. Early in the engagement a 20-mm. cannon shell exploded in the radio compartment, painfully wounding T/Sgt. Vosler in the legs and thighs. At about the same time a direct hit on the tail of the ship seriously wounded the tail gunner and rendered the tail guns inoperative. Realizing the great need for firepower in protecting the vulnerable tail of the ship, T/Sgt.

Vosler, with grim determination, kept up a steady stream of deadly fire. Shortly thereafter another 20-mm. enemy shell exploded, wounding T/Sgt. Vosler in the chest and about the face. Pieces of metal lodged in both eyes, impairing his vision to such an extent that he could only distinguish blurred shapes. Displaying remarkable tenacity and courage, he kept firing his guns and declined to take first-aid treatment. The radio equipment had been rendered inoperative during the battle, and when the pilot announced that he would have to ditch, although unable to see and working entirely by touch, T/Sgt. Vosler finally got the set operating and sent out distress signals despite several lapses into unconsciousness. When the ship ditched, T/Sgt.

Vosler managed to get out on the wing by himself and hold the wounded tail gunner from slipping off until the other crewmembers could help them into the dinghy. T/Sgt. Vosler's actions on this occasion were an inspiration to all serving with him. The extraordinary courage, coolness, and skill he displayed in the face of great odds, when handicapped by injuries that would have incapacitated the average crewmember, were outstanding.

 

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 AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 20,  FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

 20 December

1928: In a British expedition, Sir Hubert Wilkins and Lt Carl B.

Eielson (US Air Service) made the first long flight over the Antarctic. They took 10 hours in the air. (9) (24)

1941: Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, entered combat for the first time over Kunming, China. They flew P-40 Warhawks in the service of Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-shek. (20) (21)

1943: MEDAL OF HONOR. On a mission to Bremen, Germany, radio operator TSgt Forest Vosler showed unusual courage, when his B-17 sustained flak damage and hits from enemy aircraft. He received wounds in his legs, but still fired his gun at the attackers. Then another shell exploded near him, lodging splinters in his chest, head, and both eyes. He refused first aid and, between lapses of consciousness, repaired a damaged radio by touch. When the plane ditched in water, Vosler scrambled out on the wing unaided and held another badly wounded man until others could help them into a dingy. He received the Medal of Honor. (4)

1946: Lt Cmdr M. W. Davenport used a Navy F8F Grumman Bearcat and took off in 115 feet from a standing start and climbed to 10,000 feet within 94 seconds. (24)

1948: The XB-47 Stratojet averaged 500 MPH for a 1,000-mile flight from Moses Lake, Wash., to Albuquerque, N. Mex. (24)

1950: KOREAN WAR/Operation CHRISTMAS KIDLIFT. The 61 TCG airlifted more than 800 endangered South Korean orphans on 12 C-54s to Kimpo to Cheju-do, an island off the South Korean coast. (21) (28)

1958: First attempted Titan I launch from Cape Canaveral failed. (6)

1960: The USAF used a Thor-Agena A to launch Discoverer XIX from Cape Canaveral into a polar orbit, where infrared scanners tested future Midas equipment. The Glenn L. Martin Company delivered its last aircraft, a P5M-2 Marlin seaplane, to the Navy. This ended 48 years of manufacturing that produced more than 12,000 aircraft. The company later became involved in missile and space programs. (8: Dec 90)

1962: When SAC declared the Atlas F missiles of the 556 SMS at Plattsburgh AFB to be operational, the Atlas deployment program ended.(6)

1963: SAC's responsibility for the Thor missile in the UK ended when the RAF phased out the missile. (1) (6)

1968: NASA terminated the X-15 program. The X-15's 200th flight, scheduled for today, was cancelled for bad weather. (3)

1971: The NF-104 rocket-powered aerospace training aircraft completed its last flight. Students at Edwards AFB used the NF-104 for steep zoom climb flights to reach the fringes of space. (3)

1972: The M2-F3 lifting body completed its 27th and final flight after an air launch from a B-52. It reached 1,066 MPH and 17,500 feet.

1984: Two C-130 Hercules aircraft moved 23.8 tons of emergency rescue equipment and vehicles to help in the unsuccessful rescue of 27 miners trapped over a mile below the earth's surface near Huntington, Utah.(16)

1989: Operation JUST CAUSE. US forces restored democracy in Panama. MAC played a significant role in the operation as 24 active and 9 reserve units completed 84 airdrops, and 22 C-130s, 77 C-141s, and 12 C-5s flew employment missions. Another 40 C-141 and 13 C-5s airlifted follow-on security forces. Meanwhile, SAC KC-135s and KC-10s flew more than 160 missions to deliver 10 million pounds of fuel. From TAC, the F-117A Stealth Fighter made its combat debut by dropping 2,000 pound bombs to "disorient, stun, and confuse" Panamanian Defense Force troops near Rio Hato. The Army's AH-64 Apache helicopter from the 82d Airborne Division's Aviation Brigade saw action for the first time, launching AGM-114 Hellfire missiles against enemy targets. In aeromedical evacuations from 20 December 1989 to 5 January

 

1990, 8 C-141s and 1 C-130 flew 257 wounded soldiers from Panama to the US. During the 27 December 1989 to 3 January

 

1990 humanitarian airlift, airlifters carried 3 tons of medical supplies, 10,000 blankets, sheets, and food to Panama. For the 1 January through 14 February redeployment, nearly 18,000 troops returned to the US. From 17 December 1989 to 4 January 1990, over 100 KC-10s and KC-135s delivered more than 12 million pounds of fuel to airlifters and other aircraft in 256 sorties. (18) (26) MACKAY TROPHY.

A 16th Special Operations Squadron AC-130 crew, under the command of Captain Greg McMillian, received the 1990 Mackay Trophy for leading the attack on the Panamanian Commandancia in JUST CAUSE. (18) (26) AFRES crews contributed to the success of JUST CAUSE. Reserve airlifters carried more than 5,900 passengers and 3,700 tons of cargo, while refuelers supports active and reserve aircraft. Reserve gunships flew 29 sorties and expended over 7,000 rounds of ammunition. (26) ANG fighter, special operations, and airlift units participated in JUST CAUSE too. Participants included the 114 TFG, 180 TFG, 193d Special Operations Group, and the 105, 136, 139, 146, 166, and 172 TAGs. (26)

 

1997: A C-141A towed a modified QF-106 Delta Dart into the air for the first Eclipse Project flight. Dryden Research Center pilot Mark Stucky flew the Eclipse experimental Demonstrator-1 (EXD-01) to 10,000 feet above Edwards AFB. Eclipse was a joint USAF/NASA/Kelly Space & Technology Inc. concept demonstrator for a future reusable space vehicle. (3)

 

1999: Torrential rains in mid-December caused massive landslides down Mount Avila near Caracas, Venezuela. The landslides destroyed most shantytowns around Caracas and killed as many as 30,000 people, while leaving another 400,000 homeless. A 105 AW C-5 from the New York ANG arrived at Roosevelt Roads NAS in Puerto Rico on 23 December with water purification equipment. From Roosevelt Roads, C-130 aircrews from the Puerto Rico ANG airlifted the C-5's cargo to Simon Bolivar IAP near Caracas. Through 28 December, the USAF dispatched 6 C-130s, 1 C-5, and 2 MH-60 helicopters to Caracus, Venezuela, to provide humanitarian relief. (21) (22)

 

2004: The USAF inactivated its last operational F-4 Phantom II squadron at Holloman AFB. The 20th Fighter Squadron's inactivation also ended a 33-year German-American joint fighter training program in F-4E and F aircraft. The last F-4s from Holloman were transferred to the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB by 7 January 2005. (AFNEWS Article, "Silver Lobos Fly into Retirement," 22 December 2004)

 

2006: Operation DEEP FREEZE. Airmen from McChord AFB flew the first C-17 Globemaster III (tail no. 02-1106) airdrop mission to the South Pole by dropping 70,000 pounds of supplies to the National Science Foundation team at Antarctica's South Pole Station. The airdrop showed that one C-17 could deliver up to four times the tonnage of a ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules, when bad weather interfered with the resupply mission. The LC-130s belonged to the 109 AW at Stratton ANGB in Scotia, N. Y. (22)

 

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