B-52 oops... Why Not at Minot?

Departing salute?

Secretary of the Air Force visiting Minot (4 Jan 2017)

https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Secretary-of-the-Air-Force-visiting-Minot-409721485.html

Engine Drops Out of B-52 During Training at Minot Air Force Base (4 Jan 2107)

https://www.defensenews.com/article...-b-52-during-training-at-minot-air-force-base

No news reports are clear, but I think they may mean a dual engine pod dropped off in which case they'd have had to have made the dreaded "only six engines" landing. (/sarc)

Current Secretary of the Air Force as of 2013 - Deborah Roche Lee James. No military experience. Prior to being named Secretary of the Air Force, she served as President of SAIC's Technical and Engineering Sector (military contractor).

Possible incoming Secretary of the Air Force

https://idahostatejournal.com/news/...cle_859436cf-2c68-5811-9adc-d38bcaa5191f.html

"He then joined the Air Force as a pilot, where he served for 14 years and set three world speed records, including the world’s record for fastest non-stop flight around the world, according to his congressional biography."

Sweden (former minister) - held the rank of captain in the Swedish Amphibious Corps.
Germany minister - no military experience.
Norway minister - no military experience.
Netherlands minister - no military experience.

Russia minister of defense - looks really mean, but has no real military experience despite being given the military rank of General, former head of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (Russian FEMA - probably far more militarized though). Indications are he was appointed due to being a Putin crony which is no better than being appointed due to any consideration of gender.

I have no problems with women in the military as long as physical standards aren't lowered to accommodate that. One of my best technicians was a female. IMO, all high level defense related secretary positions should have a significant amount of military experience if only to know the real military culture and not the one they will see on pre-announced visits.

Reports I've heard so far indicate an engine, not an entire engine pylon which is two engines. I'm a former B-52H Crew Chief and was stationed in Minot from 9/89 to 4/93 before moving on to the B-2A at Whiteman AFB, MO. My initial thoughts are that it was metal fatigue in one (or more) of the engine mounts, and my second thoughts add to that... That someone failed to inspect the mounts properly and missed seeing tell-tale signs of cracking/metal fatigue. But considering the age of these airframes, and the total number of flight hours on them, I am not surprised to hear about something like this. The USAF is just very lucky that no one on the ground was injured or killed by the falling engine/debris.

Winston said:

I have no problems with women in the military as long as physical standards aren't lowered to accommodate that. One of my best technicians was a female. IMO, all high level defense related secretary positions should have a significant amount of military experience if only to know the real military culture and not the one they will see on pre-announced visits.

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Agree, 100%! And while I would prefer the POTUS to have served in the military at some point, I'll take a military-minded candidate over a non-military-minded one every time.

That's nice, but the US has a very long history of civilian control of the military. What I would like to see is mandatory service so the civilian population regains its knowledge of military culture. That's much more important that whether or not the Secretary of the Air Force had a military career. Particularly the Air Force. Which has a recent sordid history of violating the constitutional rights of its members.

Winston said:

I have no problems with women in the military as long as physical standards aren't lowered to accommodate that. One of my best technicians was a female. IMO, all high level defense related secretary positions should have a significant amount of military experience if only to know the real military culture and not the one they will see on pre-announced visits.

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Peter Olivola said:

That's nice, but the US has a very long history of civilian control of the military. What I would like to see is mandatory service so the civilian population regains its knowledge of military culture. That's much more important that whether or not the Secretary of the Air Force had a military career. Particularly the Air Force. Which has a recent sordid history of violating the constitutional rights of its members.

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An all volunteer military service is one of our notable strengths, and the draft a very contentious process...especially when the shooting starts. Bringing back the draft would significantly weaken our military force and likely raise societal disdain--not 'regaining knowledge'.

I would much rather see some kind of compulsory or compelling service to the nation in a spread of possibilities, the military being just one of them. There's so much we could do if every citizen gave back to their nation in 1-2 years of service.

Yes, a peace time draft is contentious. There is a strong argument to made, however, that an all volunteer military during Vietnam would have resulted in an even longer engagement with no difference in the outcome. It was the growing pressure from those whose family members were impacted by the draft and the war it supported which contributed to ending quagmire we found ourselves in. That's one of the countervailing forces needed to keep an ego driven political and military leadership in check.

Alternate service works for me. It would certainly help to move us away from the Ayn Rand mentality that disdains the concept of a social contract.

Viperfixr said:

An all volunteer military service is one of our notable strengths, and the draft a very contentious process...especially when the shooting starts. Bringing back the draft would significantly weaken our military force and likely raise societal disdain--not 'regaining knowledge'.

I would much rather see some kind of compulsory or compelling service to the nation in a spread of possibilities, the military being just one of them. There's so much we could do if every citizen gave back to their nation in 1-2 years of service.

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Yes, our tradition of citizen-soldiers goes back a long, long time, and is based on the old Roman tradition of Cincinatus who may have been the first "Minuteman" (cut and pasted from https://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/historia/people/cincinnatus01.htm , Wikipedia has a longer & more boring entry on him):

In 458 BCE (according to tradition), Cincinnatus, who had been consul in 460 BCE, was plowing his fields when messengers arrived to tell him he had been named dictator to defend the city against the Aequi and the Volscians. He took up the supreme command, defeated Rome's enemies, freed the beseiged consul Minucius, and returned to his farm, all within 16 days. Further, he refused the honors that came with his military victories.

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Arguably, the best qualified POTUS to be Commander-in-Chief was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Upon leaving office, he made his famous speech warning against the "military-industrial complex", that particular excerpt being:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."

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The full speech is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military–industrial_complex and that quote appears at about 8:16 into the speech.

Winston said:

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Scary-looking dude! Good thing the Russians are our friends now!

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Scary-looking dude! Good thing the Russians are our friends now!

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Actually, he looks like he might be constipated!

And the problem with women being secretaries is......?





Sorry, couldn't resist

The_Lone_Beagle said:

Yes, our tradition of citizen-soldiers goes back a long, long time, and is based on the old Roman tradition of Cincinatus who may have been the first "Minuteman" (cut and pasted from https://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/historia/people/cincinnatus01.htm , Wikipedia has a longer & more boring entry on him):


Arguably, the best qualified POTUS to be Commander-in-Chief was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Upon leaving office, he made his famous speech warning against the "military-industrial complex", that particular excerpt being:


The full speech is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military–industrial_complex and that quote appears at about 8:16 into the speech.

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Of course George Washington may have shared those qualities for a commander in chief. [emoji3]

I agree with you that Eisenhower was prescient about the military industrial complex. Too bad few paid attention.

Steve Shannon said:

Of course George Washington may have shared those qualities for a commander in chief. [emoji3]

I agree with you that Eisenhower was prescient about the military industrial complex. Too bad few paid attention.

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Its not that too few paid attention, its that lobbyists paid too many!

Steve Shannon said:

Of course George Washington may have shared those qualities for a commander in chief. [emoji3]

I agree with you that Eisenhower was prescient about the military industrial complex. Too bad few paid attention.

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That's why I said "Arguably..." I knew somebody would want to argue!

While we are at it, we can also include U. S. Grant! But, I was thinking more in terms of "modern times..." Although I guess really nowadays everything is "Before iPhone" and "After iPhone."

rharshberger said:

Its not that too few paid attention, its that lobbyists paid too many!

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And, some of the government big-wigs get ready to land a high-paying job at these same companies doing the lobbying, when they leave office ("high-paying" with our tax dollars, btw). But I digress...

TangoJuliet said:

I'm a former B-52H Crew Chief and was stationed in Minot from 9/89 to 4/93.

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I was there from 7/87 to 3/94...(Missilier) We will have to hook up someday...Some good stories too tell.

As much as I'd like to, I just can't forget that place! I grew up in northeastern Indiana, so snow and cold wasn't anything new to me, but I'd never been cold like I was cold in North Dakota! It is THE reason I now live in Mobile, Alabama!