The List 7431
To All
Good Friday Morning January 30, 2026. .
.Another beautiful Day here. It is crystal clear and going to hit 83 today and no wind. The forecast is for hotter tomorrow and more severe clear.
No visitors last night but the dogs went out sniffing all over the place this morning so something was out there and did not set off any of the cameras. Maybe I need a CIWS system.
I need to start attacking the lower yard this weekend and fill up all the green cans and others.
The house is empty until Sunday .The girls and their boyfriends are in Wyoming for the weekend to see the other granddaughter and watch him in a big Ice Hockey game. It will be quiet here.
.Regards and enjoy your weekend.
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.HAGD
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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.
January 30
1862 The first U.S. Navy ironclad warship, USS Monitor, is launched. Commissioned a month later, she soon engages in battle against CSS Virginia, the first battle between ironclad warships.
1863 While Landsman Richard Stout is a member of the crew of USS Isaac Smith, which is operating on the Stono River, S.C., Confederate forces ambush and capture the ship. For his brave conduct during this action, in which he is badly wounded, Landsman Stout is awarded the Medal of Honor.
1944 U.S. Navy ships, including battleship North Carolina, and aircraft, sink nine Japanese vessels.
1944 PB2Y aircraft (VP 13 and VP 102) from Midway Island carry out nocturnal bombing raids on Wake Island to neutralize Japanese airfield installations. The strike marks the first time Coronados are used as bombers.
1960 The guided-missile destroyer USS John King (DDG 3) is launched at Bath, Maine.
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This day in World History
January 30
1649 Charles I of England is beheaded at Whitehall by the executioner Richard Brandon.
1844 Richard Theodore Greener becomes the first African American to graduate from Harvard University.
1862 The USS Monitor is launched at Greenpoint, Long Island.
1901 Women Prohibitionists smash 12 saloons in Kansas.
1912 The British House of Lords opposes the House of Commons by rejecting home rule for Ireland.
1931 The United States awards civil government to the Virgin Islands.
1933 Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor by President Paul Hindenburg.
1936 Governor Harold Hoffman orders a new inquiry into the Lindbergh kidnapping.
1943 Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus surrenders himself and his staff to Red Army troops in Stalingrad.
1945 The Allies launch a drive on the Siegfried line in Germany.
1948: Orville Wright dies of a heart attack at Miami Valley Hospital. He is 76 years old
1949 In India, 100,000 people pray at the site of Gandhi's assassination on the first anniversary of his death.
1953 President Dwight Eisenhower announces that he will pull the Seventh Fleet out of Formosa to permit the Nationalists to attack Communist China.
1964 The Ranger spacecraft, equipped with six TV cameras, is launched to the moon from Cape Canaveral.
1972 British troops shoot dead 14 Irish civilians in Derry, Ireland. The day is forever remembered in Ireland as 'Bloody Sunday.'
1976 The U.S. Supreme Court bans spending limits in campaigns, equating funds with freedom of speech.
1980 The first-ever Chinese Olympic team arrives in New York for the Winter Games at Lake Placid.
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1948 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist on January 30, 1948.
Born the son of an Indian official in 1869, Gandhi's Vaishnava mother was deeply religious and early on exposed her son to Jainism, a morally rigorous Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. Gandhi was an unremarkable student but in 1888 was given an opportunity to study law in England. In 1891, he returned to India, but failing to find regular legal work he accepted in 1893 a one-year contract in South Africa.
Mohandas Gandhi
Settling in Natal, he was subjected to racism and South African laws that restricted the rights of Indian laborers. Gandhi later recalled one such incident, in which he was removed from a first-class railway compartment and thrown off a train, as his moment of truth. From thereon, he decided to fight injustice and defend his rights as an Indian and a man. When his contract expired, he spontaneously decided to remain in South Africa and launched a campaign against legislation that would deprive Indians of the right to vote. He formed the Natal Indian Congress and drew international attention to the plight of Indians in South Africa. In 1906, the Transvaal government sought to further restrict the rights of Indians, and Gandhi organized his first campaign of satyagraha, or mass civil disobedience. After seven years of protest, he negotiated a compromise agreement with the South African government.
In 1914, Gandhi returned to India and lived a life of abstinence and spirituality on the periphery of Indian politics. He supported Britain in the First World War but in 1919 launched a new satyagraha in protest of Britain's mandatory military draft of Indians. Hundreds of thousands answered his call to protest, and by 1920 he was leader of the Indian movement for independence. He reorganized the Indian National Congress as a political force and launched a massive boycott of British goods, services, and institutions in India. Then, in 1922, he abruptly called off the satyagraha when violence erupted. One month later, he was arrested by the British authorities for sedition, found guilty, and imprisoned.
After his release in 1924, he led an extended fast in protest of Hindu-Muslim violence. In 1928, he returned to national politics when he demanded dominion status for India and in 1930 launched a mass protest against the British salt tax, which hurt India's poor. In his most famous campaign of civil disobedience, Gandhi and his followers marched to the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water. The march, which resulted in the arrest of Gandhi and 60,000 others, earned new international respect and support for the leader and his movement.
In 1931, Gandhi was released to attend the Round Table Conference on India in London as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. The meeting was a great disappointment, and after his return to India he was again imprisoned. While in jail, he led another fast in protest of the British government's treatment of the "untouchables"—the impoverished and degraded Indians who occupied the lowest tiers of the caste system. In 1934, he left the Indian Congress Party to work for the economic development of India's many poor. His protege, Jawaharlal Nehru, was named leader of the party in his place.
With the outbreak of World War II, Gandhi returned to politics and called for Indian cooperation with the British war effort in exchange for independence. Britain refused and sought to divide India by supporting conservative Hindu and Muslim groups. In response, Gandhi launched the "Quit India" movement it 1942, which called for a total British withdrawal. Gandhi and other nationalist leaders were imprisoned until 1944.
In 1945, a new government came to power in Britain, and negotiations for India's independence began. Gandhi sought a unified India, but the Muslim League, which had grown in influence during the war, disagreed. After protracted talks, Britain agreed to create the two new independent states of India and Pakistan on August 15, 1947. Gandhi was greatly distressed by the partition, and bloody violence soon broke out between Hindus and Muslims in India.
In an effort to end India's religious strife, he resorted to fasts and visits to the troubled areas. He was on one such vigil in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist who objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him. Known as Mahatma, or "the great soul," during his lifetime, Gandhi's persuasive methods of civil disobedience influenced leaders of civil rights movements around the world, especially Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.
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Thanks to the Bear and Dan Heller. We will always have the url for you to search items in Rolling Thunder
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER …
. rollingthunderremembered.com .
To All
Thanks to the Bear
This is great to watch…skip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQcxP70jNMY
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..January 30 . .
January 30: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2112
Thanks to the Bear and Dan Heller
rollingthunderremembered.com .
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
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This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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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
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
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. From the archives…I had forgot about this one…skip
Thanks to Bob and Dick
An "old" high school pal sent this to me a few days ago....thought you would enjoy it.
The young woman who submitted the tech support message below (about her
relationship with her husband) presumably did it as a joke. Then she got a
reply that was way too good to keep to herself. The tech support people's
love advice was hilarious.
The query:
Dear Tech Support,
"Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a
distinct slowdown in overall system performance, particularly in the flower
and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.
In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as
Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable
programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no
longer runs, and House cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. Please note
that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems but to no avail.
What can I do?
Signed: Desperate
The response (that came weeks later out of the blue)
Dear Desperate,
First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while
Husband 1.0 is an Operating System. Please enter the command: I thought you
loved me.html and try to download Tears 6.2. Do not forget to install the
Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should
then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.
However, remember, overuse of the Tears application can cause Husband 1.0 to
default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Please note that
Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta
version.
Whatever you do, DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Mother-In-Law 1.0
as it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of
all your system resources. In addition, please do not attempt to re-install
the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash
Husband 1.0.
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory
and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying
additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking
3.0.
Good Luck
Tech Support
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.. .
. Thanks to Interesting Facts
Would you eat an ant? NO NO NO from skip
Some ants are edible.
Although ants rarely appear on the menu in the United States, it's a different story in other parts of the world. Countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and even America's backyard — Mexico — all have traditional dishes or ingredient blends that contain ants. In Laos, weaver ants add an acidic tang to fish soups, while in Mexico, fried leaf-cutting ants are a fixture at local markets. Although both larvae and adult ants can be eaten, the former is usually more appetizing; adult ants contain less flavor, though they are richer in protein. Ants also contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus. In other words, ants might just count as a superfood.
Nutrition aside, perhaps the most convincing reason people might consider adding ants — and other insects — to their diet is the low environmental impact of consuming these creatures. Compared to conventional livestock farming, which may produce around 17% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, raising insects for consumption produces less emissions, uses less land, and provides other benefits, such as pollination and waste decomposition. Even substituting corn-based animal feed with insects could take a significant bite out of the agricultural industry's carbon footprint. With the world's population expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, some experts argue that a green-friendly source of protein and vitamins shouldn't be ignored — even if some people will still need to get past that unappetizing "ick" factor.
The world's most painful sting belongs to a South American ant.
Think of the most painful sting in the world, and the infamous "murder hornet" might come to mind. However, the record for the most painful sting from an animal belongs to the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata). The bite of these tiny creatures, native to parts of Central and South America, contains poneratoxin — a paralyzing toxic peptide that reportedly feels like "walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel." That's according to American entomologist Dr. Justin Schmidt, nicknamed "the King of Sting," who allowed a variety of species to sting him and then rated the results on a four-point scale in a pain index published in 1983. The effects of a bullet ant's sting last around 12 to 24 hours and can include sweating, shaking, goosebumps, nausea, and vomiting — but thankfully not death.
Now why in the world would he do that…skip
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.Thanks to Nice News
. Quick check-in: How many unused, or underused, gift cards do you have sitting around from birthdays and holidays past? The New York state comptroller's office recently shared that there's nearly $55.5 million in gift card balances in New York City alone — and a good chunk of that amount ($15.5 million) is from cards that haven't been used in five years. So let this be your public service announcement to finally employ the cards sitting around in your junk drawer! If you don't have use for them, you might consider donating the balance.
Having a grandparent around to babysit can give parents much-needed time off to catch up on self-care — but grandparents themselves may reap some health benefits from this arrangement, too. A new study published by the American Psychological Association suggests that looking after grandkids can boost cognitive abilities and, in some cases, slow cognitive decline.
Some previous research has suggested that consistent grandchild caregiving improves cognitive functioning. In the recent study, the authors not only evaluated the significance of caregiving frequency but also delved deeper into specifics, comparing grandfathers to grandmothers and the impacts of different activities.
The findings? For both grandmothers and grandfathers, caregiving was associated with higher levels of verbal fluency and episodic memory. Caregiving grandmothers also experienced slower decline over time than noncaregiving grandmothers, although the number of days spent caregiving was not associated one way or the other with cognitive decline.
"What stood out most to us was that being a caregiving grandparent seemed to matter more for cognitive functioning than how often grandparents provided care or what exactly they did with their grandchildren," lead author Flavia Chereches said in a press release. Learn more in our article, and consider forwarding it to a loving grandparent in your life!
Monty Is Back: Westminster's Top Dogs Return for Show's 150th Anniversary
Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel Club
It's almost time to roll out the green carpet. Starting tomorrow, more than 3,000 of the finest canines from around the world will strut their stuff at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City.
To celebrate the big anniversary of the second-largest continuous sporting event in the U.S. (the Kentucky Derby being first), the show will feature a new "Westminster Legends" presentation. On Feb. 2, past iconic winners and fan favorite pups will participate in a non-competitive tribute event.
One of the legendary canines making a reappearance is Monty, the giant schnauzer who won the Best in Show title last year. Also in the mix are Siba, a standard poodle, and Bono, a Havanese, both former winners. See the full schedule and meet one of the dogs we're rooting for this year.
Up This Weekend
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1. Australian Open Finals: The women's and men's singles finals will begin at 7:30 p.m. local time on Saturday and Sunday, respectively — which means 3:30 a.m. EST (time to set that alarm!)
2. Westminster Dog Show: As noted above, tomorrow kicks off the 2026 Westminster Dog Show with the Annual Masters Agility Championship; the competition will continue with the Best in Breed judging on Monday and Best in Show on Tuesday
3. Grammy Awards: Rounding out a heavy events weekend will be Sunday night's Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah for his sixth (and final) time — revisit the nominees
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.Thanks to 1440
Good morning. It's Friday, Jan. 30, and we're covering tonight's government funding deadline, an artificial lung system, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.6 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Midnight Funding Deadline
Senate Democrats and the White House struck a deal yesterday that could fund a large portion of the government through September. A spending bill must pass in the Senate and House before midnight today to avert a partial government shutdown.
The deal would separate Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader spending package, which includes increased funding for cancer research, air traffic controllers, and the military. Homeland Security would be funded at current levels until Feb. 13, as lawmakers continue negotiating restrictions on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Democrats outlined a series of demands after two Americans were fatally shot in Minneapolis this month, including requiring agents to remove face masks, obtain arrest warrants, and be subject to a uniform code of conduct.
Last year's record 43-day government shutdown—driven by a fight over expiring healthcare subsidies—ended after a small group of Democrats reached an agreement with Republicans to fund the government through today.
Iranian Crackdown Continues
Iranian authorities have arrested multiple doctors and medical workers accused of treating wounded anti-government protesters, according to human rights groups. The arrests come amid a sweeping government crackdown on nationwide unrest that activists say has killed thousands.
Doctors and nurses have reported large numbers of patients with gunshot wounds and say security forces have removed some injured protesters from emergency wards. The EU yesterday designated Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, and a US-based activist agency says it has verified more than 6,000 deaths, with over 17,000 additional cases under investigation. The Iranian government acknowledged over 3,000 dead.
The news comes as Israeli and Saudi defense and intelligence officials met in Washington to discuss options on Iran—Israeli representatives were expected to share Iran-related intelligence, while Saudi officials were expected to press to avoid a wider war and urge de-escalation. The US has expanded its military presence in the region, but it remains unclear whether it will use force.
Artificial Lungs Prevail
A man survived 48 hours without lungs using an artificial system until he was well enough to receive a double transplant. The landmark procedure took place nearly three years ago, with the patient since developing good function with his donated lungs.
In 2023, the 33-year-old developed flu, pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. In severe cases, ARDS is treated with life support to give patients time to fight infection. In this case, however, the patient's heart stopped, his lungs were melting, and his kidneys had begun to fail. Surgeons at Northwestern Memorial Hospital decided to remove both lungs and use a four-component "total artificial lung" system to drain, filter, and return oxygenated blood to the patient's heart at a responsive flow rate.
Dr. Ankit Bharat, who designed the system, hopes it can be used in similar cases of severe ARDS, which impacts a portion of the roughly 190,000 US cases per year.
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Unknown Number Calling? It's Not Random
The BBC caught scam call center workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking. One worker bragged about making $250k from victims. The disturbing truth? Scammers don't pick phone numbers at random. They buy your data from brokers.
Once your data is out there, it's not just calls. It's phishing, impersonation, and identity theft. That's why we recommend Incogni: They delete your info from the web, monitor and follow up automatically, and continue to erase data as new risks appear. Try Incogni here and get 55% off your subscription with code 1440DAILY.
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In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advances to fourth straight Australian Open women's final Saturday, where she will face No. 5 Elena Rybakina (More) | Boxer Gervonta Davis arrested after two-week search spurred by alleged assault on ex-girlfriend (More)
"Inception" and "Clueless" among 25 films added to National Film Registry by Library of Congress for cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance (More, w/full list)
Shakira sets record for highest-grossing Latin artist tour after "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" earns $421.6M across 86 shows (More) | Grammy-winning musician Wynton Marsalis to step down as Lincoln Center jazz director after nearly 40 years (More)
✍🏿 What we learned about Langston Hughes: Tomorrow's 1440 Society & Culture newsletter explores the life of the famed writer and poet who was a driving force in the Harlem Renaissance. Join 130,000+ cultural aficionados to get it in your inbox!
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.Thanks to Mugs
How Your News Source Completely Changes What You Believe About Immigration
Brent Buchanan | January 26, 2026
Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Brent Buchanan
Brent Buchanan is the Founder & CEO of Cygnal, recognized as America's most accurate private pollster for four consecutive election cycles, and author of "America's Emotional Divide."
Texas has accounted for 25% of all ICE arrests since enforcement ramped up. The state has processed thousands upon thousands of deportations. No riots. No mob violence against federal officers. No churches stormed during worship services.
Minnesota represents less than 1% of ICE arrests. And Minneapolis is on fire.
How do you explain that gap?
The answer has nothing to do with immigration policy and everything to do with where Americans get their information.
What the Polling Actually Shows
At Cygnal, we recently surveyed voters on whether the Trump administration's deportation efforts have gone too far, are about right, or haven't gone far enough.
The results: 50% said too far, 48% said about right or not far enough. That's a statistical tie. A country split down the middle.
But if you only consumed legacy media coverage, you'd assume 80% of Americans are horrified by what's happening. You'd think the deportation efforts represent some unprecedented crisis of conscience for the nation.
They don't.
Nearly half the country supports the policy or wants it to go further. You just wouldn't know that from watching the evening news.
The real divide isn't about what Americans believe. It's about where they get the information that shapes those beliefs.
Inside the Information Bubbles
The data gets interesting when you cross-reference policy views with media consumption patterns.
Among voters who believe deportation efforts have gone "too far," 51% get their news primarily from national broadcast television: NBC, ABC, CBS. Compare that to 36% of all voters and just 14% of those who think enforcement hasn't gone far enough.
The "too far" crowd also over-indexes on newspaper consumption compared to the general voter population. These are the legacy media institutions, the ones that dominated American information for decades.
On the flip side, voters who believe deportation efforts haven't gone far enough slightly over-index on cable news (45% vs. 40% overall) and dramatically over-index on X, formerly Twitter (16% vs. 9% overall).
The "about right" middle? They're slightly more likely to get news from cable and Facebook than the average voter. No real drastic differences outside the fact they they also don't get as much of their news from legacy media.
What emerges is a clear pattern: liberals cluster heavily around broadcast television and print newspapers, while conservatives spread across cable, social media, and newer digital platforms.
These groups are consuming different facts, different story selections, different framings of what matters … and what doesn't.
The Amplification Machine
As said at the beginning, Minnesota represents less than 1% of ICE enforcement activity, but it's receiving wall-to-wall national coverage. Every confrontation, every protest, every dramatic standoff gets the full treatment—helicopter shots, breathless correspondents, the works.
Texas is processing 25 times the enforcement activity with minimal national attention. Why? Because compliance doesn't generate clicks. Orderly deportations don't drive ratings. A state that implements federal policy without mass unrest isn't a story anyone wants to tell.
More importantly, it doesn't make Trump look bad in their minds like Minneapolis does.
The editorial choice to focus on Minnesota is about feeding an existing narrative to an audience that wants that narrative confirmed, not informing the public.
And the consequences are tangible. When broadcast networks run continuous coverage of "resistance" to immigration enforcement, they're sending a signal to activists in other cities: this is how you get attention. This is how you become part of the story. This is how you "fight Trump."
The coverage doesn't just reflect the violence. It incentivizes it.
The Death of Shared Reality
For most of American history, we argued about policy while agreeing on basic facts. Democrats and Republicans watched the same evening news, read the same wire service reports, saw the same footage. They disagreed about what to do, not about what was happening.
That's over.
And I wrote about in "America's Emotional Divide," we've entered an era where Americans increasingly inhabit separate factual universes. The "too far" voter and the "not far enough" voter are watching different incidents, hearing different statistics, encountering different human-interest stories designed to trigger different emotional responses.
When I conduct focus groups, I see this constantly. Voters will cite "facts" that are genuinely news to voters on the other side—not because anyone is lying, but because their individual media ecosystems simply never surfaced that information.
This is what called tribal epistemology. Your tribe determines not just your values but your evidence. What counts as a credible source, a significant event, a representative example—all of it filters through group identity before it reaches individual judgment.
What's Actually at Stake
The Minneapolis situation illustrates the real danger. You have a city tearing itself apart over enforcement activity that represents a statistical rounding error nationally. You have activists storming churches, attacking federal officers, setting fires. And the coverage of that chaos generates more chaos elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the state handling a quarter of all enforcement activity does so with minimal drama. But nobody's running prime-time specials on "How Texas Implemented Immigration Policy without Burning Down."
The question for us is straightforward: Are you going to let your media diet determine your reality? Or are you going to actively seek out primary data, diverse sources, and information that challenges your existing beliefs?
Democracy requires a shared factual foundation. When half the country thinks we're in a humanitarian crisis and half thinks we're finally enforcing laws that went ignored for decades—and both sides can cite "evidence" for their position—we have a collective epistemological breakdown.
The information bubble doesn't just distorting immigration. Everything is distorted. And the only people who can pop it are the ones willing to step outside their comfortable media habits and ask what they might be missing.
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. Thanks to Brett
This is an interesting read
January 29, 2026
The Southern Flank Unraveled: Russia's Grip Loosens in Eurasia
Russian overreach and the Iranian regime's decay are transforming connectivity across the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
By: Kamran Bokhari
A profound geopolitical realignment is unfolding at the heart of Eurasia as the influence of both Russia and Iran recedes. Moscow's grip on its southern frontier – from the Black Sea basin through the South Caucasus and Central Asia – has eroded significantly, a trend accelerated by the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This realignment is further intensified by Iran's deepening internal crisis and regime decay. Together, these shifts are opening long-suppressed corridors of connectivity and strategic choice for the South Caucasus and Central Asian states, enabling them to move beyond the constraints of landlocked geography and post-Soviet dependence.
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Russia's Post-Soviet Inheritance
In the immediate aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, Russia retained significant influence over its former Soviet republics despite its own domestic turmoil. Soviet-era political elites and institutions remained largely intact, economic dependence persisted through energy, trade and labor flows, and Moscow preserved decisive security leverage via military bases and bilateral arrangements. Cultural and linguistic ties further reinforced Russia's role as the default stabilizer for these newly independent states, whose own institutions were fragile. Moscow formalized this dependency through frameworks such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community.
Yet from the outset, Russia's dominance along its southern periphery was more brittle than it appeared. The 1990s exposed a widening gap between Moscow's ambitions and its capacity. Domestic dislocation under rapid economic liberalization weakened the Russian state just as it faced cascading security challenges across the Caucasus and Central Asia. Separatist violence in Chechnya, unresolved conflicts in Georgia and instability radiating from Afghanistan and Tajikistan forced Moscow into a series of reactive, resource-intensive commitments. Russia remained engaged but increasingly overstretched, treating its southern frontier as a single interconnected security theater rather than a platform for sustained political or economic integration.
By the early 2000s, the consolidation of power under Russian President Vladimir Putin restored a measure of internal stability and enabled Russia to reassert control in the Caucasus. At the same time, threats emanating from Central Asia receded, driven in large part by U.S.-led counterterrorism campaigns after the 9/11 attacks and the sustained presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan. With its southern flank relatively stabilized, Moscow redirected its strategic attention and resources toward its most consequential theater – the western frontier, where NATO enlargement and political changes in Eastern Europe posed far more immediate challenges.
Russia's renewed focus on its western frontier was sharpened by the 2005 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which Moscow viewed as a Western-backed effort to pull the most critical piece of geopolitical real estate out of its orbit, setting the stage for a protracted strategic contest that would steadily worsen for Russia over the next two decades. The 2008 war with Georgia and the 2014 Maidan revolution in Ukraine reinforced the Kremlin's conviction that regime change and NATO expansion were existential threats. Russia's annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine in 2014 transformed its relationship with the West and locked Moscow into a prolonged confrontation that steadily consumed military, economic and political resources. From that point forward, Russia's strategic bandwidth was increasingly monopolized by its western flank.
Filling the Vacuum
With Russia's strategic attention increasingly consumed by its western flank, China steadily expanded its influence across Central Asia. Beginning in the late 1990s and accelerating through the 2000s, Beijing deepened security cooperation to combat transnational terrorism, resolved border disputes, and invested heavily in energy and infrastructure links designed to anchor the region to China's western provinces. This trajectory intensified after 2013 with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, which dramatically scaled up Chinese financing, trade and connectivity projects across Central Asia. In doing so, Beijing effectively filled the vacuum created by Russia's receding economic footprint, emerging as the region's dominant external economic actor even as Moscow retained primacy in security and political affairs.
The erosion of Russian influence along its southern frontier became unmistakable after 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic strained the Russian state, exacerbated economic issues and disrupted military readiness just as Moscow was preparing for a renewed confrontation with the West. These constraints were exposed most clearly in the South Caucasus, where Turkey's decisive military, intelligence and diplomatic support for Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War overturned decades of Russian-managed equilibrium.
The consequences were profound. Azerbaijan emerged more confident in its strategic autonomy and less reliant on Russia as a security patron. Moscow's failure to intervene decisively despite Armenia's CSTO membership accelerated Yerevan's search for alternative partners and security guarantees. More recently, U.S.-led mediation efforts – including the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, which will connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan enclave through Armenian territory – have given Washington a foothold on Russia's southern periphery, further underscoring the erosion of Moscow's influence in the South Caucasus.
Central Asian states have also moved to broaden their strategic options by deepening ties with the United States, highlighted by the C5+1 summit in New York in 2023 and a follow-on summit at the White House in 2025. These engagements reflect a growing interest in the Trump Route as a key connector that removes a major bottleneck in the Middle Corridor (a China-to-Europe trade route that bypasses Russia), helping reduce long-standing dependence on Russia while balancing China's overwhelming geoeconomic weight. At the same time, the region's governments are increasingly confident in pursuing multi-vector foreign policies that emphasize autonomy rather than alignment with any single great power. This shift is mirrored domestically in the consolidation of national identities, most visibly in the revival of national languages and the steady decline of Russian as the default lingua franca across Central Asia.
A Fundamentally New Map
As the nations of the trans-Caspian region steadily separate from Russia's orbit, profound changes are unfolding to their south in Iran. The Iranian regime's isolation, its conflict with the U.S. and its volatility have long limited its role as a transit hub despite its geography. However, there are growing signals that the status quo is no longer sustainable. Turkey is preparing contingency plans for a potential collapse of the Iranian government, including the establishment of a buffer zone on the Iranian side of the border to stem refugee flows, according to a Jan. 26 Middle East Eye report citing a closed-door parliamentary briefing by senior Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. The regime itself is even making preparations, with President Masoud Pezeshkian on Jan. 26 ordering emergency measures to ensure government continuity in the event of U.S. or Israeli attacks, including delegating expanded decision-making authority to border provinces should senior officials be incapacitated. Were Iran to undergo internal transformation or move toward an accommodation with the U.S., it would fundamentally alter Eurasia's connectivity map, opening the shortest and most direct routes from the Caspian basin to global markets via Iranian territory and ports on the Persian Gulf.
Recent developments around Ukraine suggest that Russia sees the writing on the wall. Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators held their first formal trilateral peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi last week. The cautious optimism reflected in Ukrainian official statements and echoed by Russian state media suggests Moscow may finally be prepared to explore serious pathways toward ending the nearly four-year-old conflict, and more talks are planned for next week. However, the damage to Russia's influence along its southern flank is already done.
Taken together, the erosion of Russia's ability to shape outcomes along its southern frontier, the unprecedented entry of the United States into this strategic space and the prospect of transformational change in Iran point to a major geopolitical realignment underway across Eurasia. What was once a region defined by post-Soviet inertia and Russian primacy is increasingly characterized by fluid alignments, competing connectivity projects and expanding strategic choice for local states. The convergence of these forces is redrawing trade routes, security relationships and power balances from the Black Sea to Central Asia. In effect, Eurasia's geopolitical center of gravity is shifting, with long-suppressed corridors and actors now emerging as drivers of a new regional order.
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Another from Mugs
China's High-Level
Military Purge Raises
Risk of a Miscalculation on Taiwan
China's most sweeping military purge in decades signals that Beijing is doubling down on anti-corruption and regime security, even at the expense of military cohesion. The removal of top Central Military Commission figures has hollowed out Xi Jinping's senior advisory circle at a critical moment.
Why It Matters:
With fewer experienced voices shaping decisions, uncertainty around China's true military readiness－and Xi's judgement on Taiwan－is increasing. Combined with heightened deterrence efforts by the U.S. and its allies, this advisory vacuum raises the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation.
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January 30
This Day in U S Military History
1798 – A brawl broke out in the House of Representatives in Philadelphia. Matthew Lyon of Vermont spat in the face of Roger Griswold of Connecticut, who responded by attacking him with a hickory walking stick. Lyon was re -elected congressman while serving a jail sentence for violating the Sedition Acts of 1798.
1815 – The burned Library of Congress was reestablished with Jefferson's 6,500 volumes.
1835 – In the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, survives the first attempt against the life of a U.S. president. During a funeral service honoring the late Representative Warren R. Davis of South Carolina, a man identified as Richard Lawrence discharged two separate pistols in the direction of President Jackson. Both weapons misfired, and Lawrence was promptly subdued and arrested. During the subsequent criminal investigation, the suspect was found to be insane and was sent to a mental prison. Three decades later, President Abraham Lincoln would become the first president to be assassinated.
1862 – U.S.S. Monitor, the Union's first sea-going ironclad vessel, launched at Greenpoint, New York. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wired John Ericsson, referring to Monitor's launching: "I congratulate you and trust she will be a success. Hurry her for sea, as the Merrimack is nearly ready at Norfolk, and we wish to send her here."
1933 – German President Paul von Hindenburg made Adolf Hitler chancellor. After World War I, Germany fell into disarray and looked for a leader to strengthen it again. Hitler had emerged after joining the Nazi Party in 1919 and taking it over in 1921. In 1932 Hitler ran against von Hindenburg and lost – -but not by a wide margin. The Nazis won 230 seats in the German parliament and continued to gain influence, stifling democracy and communism by force and by making laws against them. After Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Der Führer of the Third Reich and continued as Germany's leader through World War II. Gen. Kurt von Hammerstein -Equord tried to block the appointment of Hitler as chancellor but was overruled by Pres. Hindenburg.
1942 – The last pre-war automobiles produced by Chevrolet and DeSoto rolled off the assembly lines today. Wartime restrictions had shut down the commercial automobile industry almost completely, and auto manufacturers were racing to retool their factories for production of military gear.
1943 – On Guadalcanal American forces continue to advance against Japanese resistance. There is heavy fighting along the River Bonegi.
1943 –Second day of the Battle of Rennell Island. The USS Chicago is sunk and a U.S. destroyer is heavily damaged by Japanese torpedoes.
1944 – At Anzio the Allied offensive begins. There are heavy losses and no gains against the German defenses. To the south, along the German-held Gustav Line, the US 5th Army continues attacking. The British 5th Division (part of 10th Corps) breaks through the line and captures Monte Natale. Around Monte Cassino, the US 34th Division (part of 2nd Corps) holds its bridgehead on the west bank of the Rapido River.
1945 – US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas executed a flawless rescue of 486 POWs from Camp Cabanatuan north of Manila. The Raid at Cabanatuan, also known as The Great Raid, was a rescue of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians from a Japanese camp near Cabanatuan City, in the Philippines. On January 30, 1945, during World War II, United States Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas liberated more than 500 from the POW camp. After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the Battle of Bataan, many were sent to a Cabanatuan prison camp following the Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would all be executed as General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned to Luzon. In late January 1945, a plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled 30 miles (48 km) behind Japanese lines to reach the camp. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and a distraction by a P-61 Black Widow, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute coordinated attack; the Americans suffered minimal casualties. The Rangers, Scouts, and guerrillas escorted the POWs back to American lines. The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the death march and prison camp atrocities, which sparked a new rush of resolve for the war against Japan. The rescuers were awarded commendations by MacArthur, and were also recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A memorial now sits on the site of the former camp, and the events of the raid have been depicted in several films.
1945 – A US battalion is landed to take Gamble Island in Subic Bay. To the north, US 11th Corps begins to advance inland quickly and takes Olongapo on Luzon.
1953 – U.S. Air Force Captain Benjamin L. Fithian, and his "backseater" Lieutenant Sam Lyons, 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, achieved the first F-94 aerial victory when they destroyed a Lavochkin La-9, a "Bedcheck Charlie," which was the nickname given to small communist aircraft that regularly harassed U.N. troops after midnight. The two men made the kill at night using only their fire control radar, a combat first in its own right.
1968 – In coordinated attacks all across South Vietnam, communist forces launch their largest offensive of the Vietnam War against South Vietnamese and U.S. troops. Dozens of cities, towns, and military bases–including the U.S. embassy in Saigon–were attacked. The massive offensive was not a military success for the communists, but its size and intensity shook the confidence of many Americans who were led to believe, by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, that the war would shortly be coming to a successful close. On January 30, 1968-during the Tet holiday cease-fire in South Vietnam-an estimated 80,000 troops of the North Vietnamese Army and National Liberation Front attacked cities and military establishments throughout South Vietnam. The most spectacular episode occurred when a group of NLF commandos blasted through the wall surrounding the American embassy in Saigon and unsuccessfully attempted to seize the embassy building. Most of the attacks were turned back, with the communist forces suffering heavy losses. Battles continued to rage throughout the country for weeks–the fight to reclaim the city of Hue from communist troops was particularly destructive. American and South Vietnamese forces lost over 3,000 men during the offensive. Estimates for communist losses ran as high as 40,000. While the communists did not succeed militarily, the impact of the Tet Offensive on public opinion in the United States was significant. The American people, who had been told a few months earlier that the war was successful and that U.S. troops might soon be allowed withdraw, were stunned to see fighting taking place on the grounds of the U.S. embassy. Despite assurances from the Johnson administration that all was well, the Tet Offensive led many Americans to begin seriously questioning such statements, and to wonder whether American military might could truly prevail over the communist threat on foreign shores. In the 1950s, Americans had almost unconditionally supported a vigorous American response to communism; the reaction to the Tet Offensive seemed to reflect the growing skepticism of the 1960s, when Americans felt increasingly doubtful about the efficacy of such Cold War tactics. In the wake of the Tet Offensive, support for the U.S. effort in Vietnam began steadily to decline, and public opinion turned sharply against President Johnson, who decided not to run for re-election.
1971 – Operation Dewey Canyon II begins as the initial phase of Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos that would commence on February 8. The purpose of the South Vietnamese operation was to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, advance to Tchepone in Laos, and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. In Dewey Canyon II, the vanguard of the U.S. 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division began moving from Vandegrift Combat Base along highway Route 9 toward Khe Sanh with an armored cavalry/engineer task force. These units were to clear the way for the move of 20,000 South Vietnamese troops along the highway to reoccupy 1,000 square miles of territory in northwest South Vietnam and to mass at the Laotian border in preparation for Lam Son 719. U.S. ground forces were not to enter Laos, in accordance with a U.S. congressional ban. Instead they gave logistical support, with some 2,600 helicopters on call to airlift Saigon troops and supplies. In addition, U.S. artillerymen provided long-range artillery fires into Laos from American firebases just inside the South Vietnamese border.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
STOUT, RICHARD
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1836, New York. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 32, 16 April 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Isaac Smith, Stono River, 30 January 1863. While reconnoitering on the Stono River on this date the U.S.S. Isaac Smith became trapped in a rebel ambush. Fired on from two sides, she fought her guns until disabled. Suffering heavy casualties and at the mercy of the enemy who was delivering a raking fire from every side, she struck her colors out of regard for the wounded aboard, and all aboard were taken prisoners. Carrying out his duties bravely through this action, Stout was severely wounded and lost his right arm while returning the rebel fire.
DROWLEY, JESSE R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Americal Infantry Division. Place and date: Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 30 January 1944. Entered service at: Spokane, Wash. Birth: St. Charles, Mich. G.O. No.: 73, 6 September 1944. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy at Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 30 January 1944. S/Sgt. Drowley, a squad leader in a platoon whose mission during an attack was to remain under cover while holding the perimeter defense and acting as a reserve for assaulting echelon, saw 3 members of the assault company fall badly wounded. When intense hostile fire prevented aid from reaching the casualties, he fearlessly rushed forward to carry the wounded to cover. After rescuing 2 men, S/Sgt. Drowley discovered an enemy pillbox undetected by assaulting tanks that was inflicting heavy casualties upon the attacking force and was a chief obstacle to the success of the advance. Delegating the rescue of the third man to an assistant, he ran across open terrain to 1 of the tanks. Signaling to the crew, he climbed to the turret, exchanged his weapon for a submachine gun and voluntarily rode the deck of the tank directing it toward the pillbox by tracer fire. The tank, under constant heavy enemy fire, continued to within 20 feet of the pillbox where S/Sgt. Drowley received a severe bullet wound in the chest. Refusing to return for medical treatment, he remained on the tank and continued to direct its progress until the enemy box was definitely located by the crew. At this point he again was wounded by small arms fire, losing his left eye and falling to the ground. He remained alongside the tank until the pillbox had been completely demolished and another directly behind the first destroyed. S/Sgt. Drowley, his voluntary mission successfully accomplished, returned alone for medical treatment.
HAWKS, LLOYD C.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Carano, Italy, 30 January 1944. Entered service at: Park Rapids, Minn. Born: 13 January 1911, Becker, Minn. G.O. No.: 5, 15 January 1945. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 30 January 1944, at 3 p.m., near Carano, Italy, Pfc. Hawks braved an enemy counterattack in order to rescue 2 wounded men who, unable to move, were Iying in an exposed position within 30 yards of the enemy. Two riflemen, attempting the rescue, had been forced to return to their fighting holes by extremely severe enemy machinegun fire, after crawling only 10 yards toward the casualties. An aid man, whom the enemy could plainly identify as such, had been critically wounded in a similar attempt. Pfc. Hawks, nevertheless, crawled 50 yards through a veritable hail of machinegun bullets and flying mortar fragments to a small ditch, administered first aid to his fellow aid man who had sought cover therein, and continued toward the 2 wounded men 50 yards distant. An enemy machinegun bullet penetrated his helmet, knocking it from his head, momentarily stunning him. Thirteen bullets passed through his helmet as it lay on the ground within 6 inches of his body. Pfc. Hawks, crawled to the casualties, administered first aid to the more seriously wounded man and dragged him to a covered position 25 yards distant. Despite continuous automatic fire from positions only 30 yards away and shells which exploded within 25 yards, Pfc. Hawks returned to the second man and administered first aid to him. As he raised himself to obtain bandages from his medical kit his right hip was shattered by a burst of machinegun fire and a second burst splintered his left forearm. Displaying dogged determination and extreme self-control, Pfc. Hawks, despite severe pain and his dangling left arm, completed the task of bandaging the remaining casualty and with superhuman effort dragged him to the same depression to which he had brought the first man. Finding insufficient cover for 3 men at this point, Pfc. Hawks crawled 75 yards in an effort to regain his company, reaching the ditch in which his fellow aid man was lying.
*McGOVERN, ROBERT M.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company A, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Near Kamyangjan-ni, Korea, 30 January 1951. Entered service at: Washington, D.C. Birth: Washington, D.C. G.O. No.: 2, 8 January 1952. Citation: 1st Lt. McGovern, a member of Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. As 1st Lt. McGovern led his platoon up a slope to engage hostile troops emplaced in bunker-type pillboxes with connecting trenches, the unit came under heavy machine gun and rifle fire from the crest of the hill, approximately 75 yards distant. Despite a wound sustained in this initial burst of withering fire, 1st Lt. McGovern, assured the men of his ability to continue on and urged them forward. Forging up the rocky incline, he fearlessly led the platoon to within several yards of its objective when the ruthless foe threw and rolled a vicious barrage of handgrenades on the group and halted the advance. Enemy fire increased in volume and intensity and 1st Lt. McGovern realizing that casualties were rapidly increasing and the morale of his men badly shaken, hurled back several grenades before they exploded. Then, disregarding his painful wound and weakened condition he charged a machine gun emplacement which was raking his position with flanking fire. When he was within 10 yards of the position a burst of fire ripped the carbine from his hands, but, undaunted, he continued his lone-man assault and, firing his pistol and throwing grenades, killed 7 hostile soldiers before falling mortally wounded in front of the gun he had silenced. 1st Lt. McGovern's incredible display of valor imbued his men with indomitable resolution to avenge his death. Fixing bayonets and throwing grenades, they charged with such ferocity that hostile positions were overrun and the enemy routed from the hill. The inspirational leadership, unflinching courage, and intrepid actions of 1st Lt. McGovern reflected utmost glory on himself and the honored tradition of the military services.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 30, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1911: LONGEST OVERWATER FLIGHT TO DATE: John A. "Douglas" McCurdy flew a Curtiss hydroairplane (or seaplane) from Key West, Fla., to a naval torpedo boat located 10 miles from Havana, Cuba. (24)
1946: Major General Curtis E. LeMay announced the opening of an advanced aeronautical engineering school at Wright Field, Ohio. He asked for $300,000 to build a wind tunnel for supersonic aircraft . (24)
1948: Orville Wright died in Dayton, Ohio. He was 76. (16)
1951: KOREAN WAR. The 61st Troop Carrier Group's C-54s were the first USAF aircraft to land at the recaptured Suwon Airfield, Republic of Korea. They delivered 270 tons of supplies for the advancing United Nations forces. (28) The Navy confirmed the first flight test of XF4D-1 Skyray. (5)
1964: From Cape Canaveral, Fla., Ranger IV launched on a flight to take photos of the moon. The vehicle hit the moon on 2 February, where its cameras failed. (5)
1970: Air Force System Command's Space and Missile Systems Organization turned operational control of the first Skynet communications satellite to the United Kingdom. (16)
1979: Flight P78-2 launched for the Space Test Program. The joint NASA and Air Force mission, designated SCATHA (Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes), gathered data on the build-up of electrical charges on satellites operating at geosynchronous altitude. (5)
1985: The last E-4A modified into an E-4B returned to Offutt AFB, Nebr. The E-4B received nuclear effects shields, an advanced command and control system, a 1200-KVA generator (largest generator ever flown), and 13 external communications systems. (1)
1992: Air Force Space Command assumed control over Department of Defense satellites and the operation and management of Air Force Satellite Network Control. (26)
2001: F-22 Raptor (Tail No. 004) arrived at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing. It was the first F-22 to have a full avionics suite and stealth capabilities, while the first three F-22s were developed to test the jet's flight envelope. (3)
2003: The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., began ground testing for the Global Hawk "Reachback" Demonstration. (See 24 January 2003) (3)
2007: A B-52 Stratofortress at Minot AFB, N. Dak., fired up its engines before daybreak for a test to measure the difference between JP-8 fuel and a new synthetic fuel. The testing certified the synthetic fuel in cold weather as a means to reduce the Air Force's dependence on imported fuel. With the wind chill factor, Minot experienced temperatures of minus 25 degrees during the test. (AFNEWS, "B-52 Tests Synthetic Fuel During Cold Weather," 30 Jan 2007.) The USAF released a request for proposal for a replacement tanker aircraft. That proposal for the KC-X replacement tanker became the USAF's number 1 acquisition priority. (Air Mobility Command Historical Highlights, 2007)
Thanks to Brett
On this day in Air Force History
January 30:
Rose Bowl Flyovers are Nothing New
6 January B-2 Spirit flyby during the National Anthem at the Rose Bowl Game where University of Michigan narrowly defeated Alabama in overtime.
On 8 January, we posted the story of the Question Mark ("?") and early aerial refueling. DID YOU KNOW that the "?" took off on its 7-day flight near Pasadena the day of the 1929 Rose Bowl game? The operation was scheduled to begin Tuesday, January 1, 1929, at Los Angeles, California, to take advantage of weather conditions and to generate publicity while refueling by overflying the 1929 Rose Bowl football game played that day. The game saw the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (also known at the time as the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado) defeat the California Golden Bears by a score of 8–7. The game was notable for a play in which Cal's All-American center Roy Riegels scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran in the wrong direction towards his own goal line, earning him the dubious nickname, "Wrong Way". The two-point safety on the ensuing punt proved to be the margin of victory. Despite the nationwide mockery that followed, Riegels went on to live a normal life, serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, coaching high school, and college football—including time at Cal
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