“JOLLY92, cleared for take off.” With those words, the aircrew of a lone helicopter sets off on another ‘routine’ mission where lives could be hanging in the balance. Mission planning, equipment, and training all become second nature and a tool to accomplish the mission: Saving Lives.
You’re a 21st Airlift Squadron C-17 coming home from an overseas tactical mission, bringing back essential supplies and wounded victims from Afghanistan. Your callsign is COVERT 33. It’s pitch black outside, and you are running low on fuel, AND thousands of miles from the nearest land. There is only one option: Aerial Refueling. Off in the distance ahead of you, you see an angel in the darkness…the beautiful red and green formation lights of XTNDER 14, a 6th Air Refueling Squadron KC-10 from Travis AFB. A flying gas station just when you need fuel and your only link between flying or crashing into the dark ocean.
N.K.A.W.T.G. - Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas! The elixir of life, and the stuff thirsty planes need to fight and fly. And just an hour drive away is one of the finest US Air Force refueling squadrons, the 6th Air Refueling Squadron from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, CA.
VFA-122 “Flying Eagles” was in town after their flyover for the SF 49ers game on Sunday. After the two ship of F/A-18F Super Hornets buzzed the football fans at Candlestick, EXPRT 99, flight of two, landed at Moffett. They brought their CAG (Commander of the Air Group) Bird, NJ 100 for the festivities and it was my pleasure to photograph the beautiful birds in the early morning light.
When I heard that the C-32, a specially modified Boeing 757-200, was at Moffett recently, I ran down to capture a couple of images of this rare bird. With only 4 in existence, these C-32’s operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Md, fly the vice president, using the distinctive call sign “Air Force Two,” the first lady, and members of the Cabinet and Congress. What a beautiful airplane!
For 17 years, S.W.A.T. (which stands for Special Weapons and Tactics) teams have been coming to Santa Clara County to participate in the largest invitational S.W.A.T. competition in the Western United States. This event hosted by the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff, offers teams a chance to compete against each other in 7 team and individual events. With bragging rights at stake, these highly skilled individuals put out their best efforts and tested their accuracy and endurance in these challenging events.
In honor of the Beach Volleyball success of my girl Kerri Walsh, I thought I’d repost this from last August! Way to go Kerri!!!
What more could you ask for? The thirteenth stop of the AVP Professional Volleyball tour brought some of the worlds finest players to Manhattan Beach, CA. A few friends invited me to come along with them and watch the matches on Saturday. Having been an avid player years ago, I jumped at the offer. And, well, it’s the beach. How could I resist? 
My week at Mountain Home AFB concluded with a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly in the back seat of an F-15E Strike Eagle. With the cooperation of the Indian Air Force and United States Air Force at the highest levels, I was authorized to capture some air to air images of the two countries flying together for the first time in the United States.
Wednesday brought about a day to give the planes a brief break from flying and let the maintainers have a go at them. A common saying in any air force across the world is that it’s the maintainers jets and the pilots just “borrow” them. So it was time to fix the wire ups and get them ready for the night time mission. So today’s post is dedicated to the 156 maintenance personnel that keep those beautiful SU-30 MK-I flying.
Hello again from my adventure at Mountain Home. Tuesday has come and gone, and another solid day of practice for Red Flag is under the Indian Air Force’s belts. With 91 officers and 156 personnel, the IAF brought eight SU-30 MK-I aircraft, two IL-78 air-to-air refuellers and one IL-76 transport aircraft to Mountain Home AFB in Idaho for training. With two missions each day; a day and night sortie, the IAF is maximizing the availible ranges and guidance from the Gunfighters of the 366th Fighter Wing.
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