We hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day. We are having a nice day and are thankful to those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom. I took this photo of one of the multicolored roses we bought at the floral shop in the supermarket and dedicate it to those we remember on this day. Click on the image to enlarge.
I have little confidence in this administration’s ability to manage our Armed Services. Neither Obama nor Hagel have the slightest inkling of how to defend our nation. Michael Ramirez shares my view on that subject:
Click on the image to enlarge (slightly).
Being a veteran myself, I still deem it appropriate to be thankful for those other veterans who have served and are serving. Ramirez posted this nice tribute to say thanks:
The halfway point (time wise) between the California house and our home in Arizona is roughly at Chiriaco Summit, CA, home of the Patton Memorial Museum. Outside of the museum proper, is a display of vintage military equipment, including this M60A1 Patton tank. Last Sunday, on our way home, we stopped to use the restrooms and walk the dogs. While we’re letting the dogs do their business, Damsel will usually get some good photos of the things on display. The Wikipedia Page has a good rundown of M60 tanks history and today’s deployment. Click on the image to enlarge.
The United States Air Force will be facing a shortage of fighter pilots in about eight years according to a story on Fox News website. The Air Force has started a program of offering a retention bonus of up to $225,000 to encourage pilots to stay on the job.
The Air Force is currently short some two hundred pilots with the shortage expected to grow to seven hundred at the eight year mark. Pilots are retiring citing reasons from war fatigue to having a menial jobs like flying remote drones rather than cockpit experience.
Another reason pilots quit is to take advantage of a boom in commercial airline pilot hiring. Here is an excerpt from Fox News:
Boeing estimates there will be a global need for 460,000 new commercial pilots over the next two decades, which will add to the need to woo the U.S. military’s ace pilots.
The FAA has also raised the qualification requirements for commercial co-pilots from 250 flying hours to 1500, making U.S. military-trained pilots with years of experience even more attractive.
I think a lot of military pilots are frustrated with Obama’s phony sequestration tantrums in which a third of active squadrons are grounded. God knows what a cesspool the military is turning into with this weak-tit of a Commander in Chief running the show.
From one veteran to all those who have served, we thank you. We especially honor those who did not return from the battlefields who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. God bless them.
As patriots gather to honor the US Military on Armed Forces Day, may we all take a moment to thank them for their service and for our freedom.
Click on the image to enlarge.