I have become aware that I have many friends either family of, retired from, active duty, reserve or national guard military members. As the celebration of our nations creation & hard won freedom is coming up, I think we should keep in mind the men & women who preserve that freedom. I really enjoy reading posts & seeing videos from all my friends who have connections to various military branches. I realized almost all the branches are represented - I see Navy posts from Ralph, Marine posts from Vera, Maria, & Rudy, Army posts from Jennie & Robert & Air Force posts from Sherry. I am so very proud that so many of my friends have served & supported our country in so many ways. I just wanted to share a bit of my experience with you all. This video was taken at Minot AFB, ND & while we were not stationed there, the same thing was experienced all over the US at Strategic Air Command bases. Our first assignment to Ellsworth AFB, SD, Jon was placed on an aircraft crew of 6 men as an electronic warfare officer, his duty was in defense of the aircraft (to keep it from getting shot down) & during this time period, the aircraft sat nuclear alert (Cold War status). Aircraft crews sat a rotation of 1 week per month in an isolated, guarded facility. They ran timed drills in case of an attack. What this video shows is how they get the aircraft off the ground & on their sortees in a minimum amount of time. They blow a claxon, the crews run for the aircraft & they are on their way. Never knowing, by the way, whether they will have anything to return home to but still serving & protecting their country. This is probably an ORI (operational readiness inspection). The MITO stands for minimum interval take off. I so enjoy seeing the BUFFs (big ugly fat ---) fly!!
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:19:34 +0000