Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

smokinrav

smokinrav

Well-Known Member
BarnBuster said:
I was watching old episodes of "West Wing" and a part of this was quoted. A little research; this was from a poem entitled "High Flight" and was written in early September, 1941 by a 19 year old American pilot John Gillespie Magee serving with the RCAF No. 412 Squadron in Royal Air Force, Digby, England. He was describing the sheer exaltation of his solo run in his Spitfire, decided to compose this "ditty" as he called it, and mailed it to his parents. Sadly Magee was killed soon after on December 11 in a midair collision after a training flight. Portions of this are found on many headstones in Arlington, especially of aviators and astronauts. The original is stored in the Manuscripts vault of the Library of Congress. bb

"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds -
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.

"Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
and, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand and touched the face of God."​
Click to expand...
That is magnificent prose
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Today in Military History:

At 8:00 p.m. on February 27, 1943, nine Norwegian commandos trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) left their hideout in the Norwegian wilderness and skied several miles to Norsk Hydro's Vemork hydroelectric power plant. All the men knew about their mission was the objective: Destroy Vemork's "heavy water" production capabilities. Their mission would be one of the most successful in special-operations history, and it contributed to one of the Allies' most important goals in World War II: Preventing Nazi Germany from developing nuclear weapons.

www.businessinsider.com

How a daring raid by Norwegian commandos kept the Nazis from building a nuclear bomb

The Norwegian commandos who set out on Operation Gunnerside knew what their objective was but not what was at stake.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
USS Sterett (DDG 104) returning to it's homeport Naval Base San Diego, February 26 after a 10 month deployment with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, 5th and 7th Fleet, after participation Operations Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve and Octave Quartz. Check out the new Battle Ensign.

1614612953832.png 1614613132862.png​

“In ancient Greek folklore, the phoenix is a bird that cyclically regenerates or is born again,” reads the Instagram post from the USS Sterett’s official account. “A phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Due to Sterett’s rich warfighting history of resiliency and perseverance under fire, this image of a phoenix was created to properly capture these sentiments and honor the former crews of their namesake.”
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Like we haven't known this forever? smh

"Sleep deprivation causes “reduced ability to execute complex cognitive tasks, communicate effectively, quickly make appropriate decisions, maintain vigilance and sustain a level of alertness required to carry out assigned duties,” according to the report".
www.stripes.com

Sleep deprivation hurts military readiness despite anti-sleep culture, Pentagon study says

A Defense Department report said sleep deprivation “may be the most important biological factor that determines service member health and combat readiness.”
www.stripes.com

Guess we needed a $100,000 report to tell us this, at least it was DOD and not 5 million to the Rand Corp.
 
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