Military Aviation

Russia Celebrates Navy Day with Parades, Including in Syria

The Russian armed forces show of might during their annual Navy Day celebrations with parades and processions was a calculated move to counter US power across the globe, show the increasingly close ties with China and an affirmation of their support for Syria. The parade in the Syrian city of Tartous was a first for the Russian military. Interestingly enough it was not attended by President Assad.

Navy Day is a national holiday for Russians on which huge parades are held in St Petersburg – Moscow’s second largest city and the home of the Navy – on the last Sunday of July.
There are usually smaller processions at Russian naval bases across the vast country as well as around the world, including Crimea, annexed in 2014, and for the first time this year, the regime-held Syrian city of Tartous.
The Russian and Russian navy flags were raised in the city on Sunday as six warships and a Black Sea Fleet submarine took part in the celebrations, Russia state news agency Interfax reported, accompanied by jets from the nearby Hmeymim air base.
A deal with the Syrian government struck in January of this year will in effect solidify Moscow’s presence at the the Hmeymim air base with a lease over the next 49 years and options to renew the presence of troops there for 25-year-long periods.
It is now Moscow’s only permanent Mediterranean base after President Vladimir Putin signed it into law last week.
Russia has proven to be Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally in his now more than six-year-old war against various rebel factions; Russian bombing against Isis and moderate Sunni rebel groups has been widely credited with turning the tide of the war in Mr Assad’s favour.
The scale of this year’s parades was unprecedented. Observers believe Sunday’s huge celebrations were designed to show both Russia’s military prowess and Moscow’s ambition to reposition itself as a global power in the face of a more isolationist US.
In St Petersburg, more than 5,000 sailors took part in a parade featuring more 50 ships and submarines and flyovers by 40 jets. Two Chinese warships also took part in the St Petersburg celebrations – a sign of the increasingly close ties between Moscow and Beijing.

President Putin spoke at parades in St. Petersburg and said “Russia’s history is inseparable from the victories of its courageous and fearless Navy,” adding that the Russian Navy will add 30 ships to their fleet.

To read the entire article from The Independent, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russian Ally Kyrgyzstan Received Missile Threats to Close US Base

Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev said Monday that his nation was threatened with missile attacks by a foreign power if he didn’t close an air base that the US had in Kyrgyzstan territory.

“I will not hide that some countries warned us that they are ready, should it be the case that it is necessary, to conduct a missile strike on the U.S. air base deployed on our territory,” Atambayev said at a press conference in his country’s north.
Atambayev did not say which countries were behind the threat to the former Soviet republic which borders China and Kazakhstan. A Russian military ally since the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan is a member of Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organization—Moscow’s analog to NATO.
The U.S. facility was opened in 2001 with the aim of supporting NATO operations in nearby Afghanistan; Kyrgyzstan closed it in 2014.
“Our people were under serious danger until [it was closed],” Atambayev said Monday, Russian state news agency Itar-Tass reports. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan has one Russian air base on its territory—the Kant base—and recently Atambayev told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would endorse another such base on his nation’s territory, in an apparent swipe at neighbors Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s ability to halt the Taliban.
“I would not be afraid if Russia deployed a second base in Kyrgyzstan on the Tajikistan border,” he added. “Russia is not readying to take our territory. It has enough of its own. We risk nothing, and in this way we would defend ourselves, but the decision will have to be taken by Russia, taking into account its own abilities.”
The Kyrgyz leader voiced skepticism that Moscow would spare the funds for another air base in his country, having received a cold response when he raised the issue with Putin last month. He also said that the most recent agreement about the Kant base will see a reduction in the deployment period of Russian troops in Kyrgyzstan, from 74 years to 15.

To read the entire article from Newsweek click here:

Photo courtesy US Air Force

Dunkirk an Intense, Masterful, MUST-SEE War Film

Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a masterpiece of a war film that is a must see for any fans of the genre. The battle and evacuation of Dunkirk have been very rarely touched by filmmakers and for that reason, this film is a fresh look at a part of World War II that is largely forgotten.

To give an accurate breakdown, during the timeframe of 26 May – 4 June 1940, it was a full 18 months before America enters the war with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Nazi war machine is at its peak. After overrunning Poland, the Germans sliced thru Belgium and France, the British and French are a defeated army trying to get to England to prepare for the invasion that was thought to be coming.

Nolan doesn’t care if the audience knows that or not, there are no sweeping history lessons, no politicians or generals making speeches or moving big flags across a map. This film is about the ordinary soldiers and opens with a squad of infantry already on the run with the Germans on their heels just blocks from the beach.

The film and Nolan’s filmmaking feel like a documentary and he builds an incredible amount of tension. The soldiers, packed tightly in formations on the beach look up in dread at the sight of the Stuka dive bombers lining up for a bombing run. No one knows what is about to happen, there is nowhere to run and the men are sitting ducks in the open.

There is a distinct lack of blood and gore here, instead, the tension, the suspense, realism, and the filming, done in IMAX brings the viewer onto the beaches. You are not an observer, but part of the chaos and uncertainty flooding the beaches. The musical score does a fantastic job of lending, even more, tension to the action. Like a ticking time clock, it sets one on edge and keeps you there throughout the film.

The Germans are the unseen enemy without a face. Yes, the machine guns and rifles bark constantly and the planes zip overhead at regular intervals but the Germans are like an invading alien horde. Without a human face attached to it, they are the monsters licking at the British soldier’s heels.

Nolan breaks down the evacuation in three parts, one if by land (which lasts a week), two if by sea (which lasts a day) and three if by air (which lasts an hour). It is a juggling act where he breaks off one scene and jumps immediately into another and in another timeframe. While confusing at times, it lends itself superbly to the tense, dread that permeates the film from the opening shot to the final frame.

Kenneth Branagh, as Commander Bolton is the closest we’ll get to intense character development but the film doesn’t care about that. The character IS the 330,000+ men stranded on the beaches. However, Branagh’s character based on an actual person is the quintessential British hero. Understated, calm, with a deep compassion for the men he must get off the beach.

And while his eyes betray the difficulty that job entails, his “stiff-upper lip” English countenance never lets the slightest doubt to be visible to the sailors and men with this unenviable task. The only emotion we see from Bolton is when he spots the flotilla of tiny English fish and pleasure boats answering the call.

Because Nolan doesn’t overdo the dramatics of the boats arriving, they are just pinpricks on the horizon, bobbing up and down in the French surf. There aren’t the thousands of boats to a musical fanfare, just a few scattered, tiny boats with much more to come. But as Branagh says when asked what does he see in the distance, “home.” Absolutely brilliant.

Academy Award winner Mark Rylance puts in another fantastic performance as British civilian Mr. Dawson, who, with his son and a friend pilots his small boat from England. Like an old warhorse, Dawson is running right to the sounds of the guns rather than away. But with the understated brilliance he showed in “A Bridge of Spies”, he stays calm and tries to keep his young charges the same, even after they pick up a shell-shocked soldier who was torpedoed off another rescue ship.

Tom Hardy puts in a terrific performance while having no more than a dozen lines in the film. He is Farrier, a Spitfire pilot and we actually see his face very few times, like his character Bane from the Batman series. He wears an oxygen mask for most of the film, as he flies over the beaches and takes on German aircraft. But Hardy’s eyes are what tells the story as he scans the skies for the Luftwaffe and continuously checks his fuel which is running low.

CGI was kept at a minimum, Nolan supposedly had thousands of extras and cardboard cutouts on the beaches. The aerial sequences are superb as the pilots do their own death’s dance high above the ocean. With the filming done in the cramped quarters of the old planes, the realism is striking. Reportedly Nolan purchased a restored Nazi bomber for $5 million dollars just to crash it.

The sinking of the ships after being hit with bombs and torpedoes is the height of suspense. As the soldiers and sailors scramble out from under the ship as she turns over threatening to take the men down with her. It is claustrophobic, scary as hell as realistic as I care to ever get to a sinking ship.

Dunkirk isn’t a film about heroics or an over-the-top patriotism parade. It is a gritty, story about survival. Not everything that happens on the beaches are things the soldiers would care to remember. But they persevere and get over 330,000 men off the French coast and back to England. The British and French lost over 68,000 troops in casualties during the battle. And this film was made in a tribute to them.

See this film in an IMAX theater, you’ll be glad you did. This film will clean up at the Academy Awards when it comes to cinematography and musical score. There were only two points that I could find that didn’t pass the realism test and the strange part is one is in the opening scene and the other in the final one.

The first is admittedly a tiny one, British soldiers pluck leaflets out of the sky urging them to surrender. They’re in full color. Having read books on Dunkirk and seen the photos the original ones were in black and white. Granted, it is something only a military film buff would recognize. The second, however, was a bit of a whopper. As Hardy’s Spitfire runs out of fuel high above the beach, he begins coasting down to the shore. A German dive bomber is lining up the troops for a strafing run. And Hardy/Farrier takes them out in one pass as his plane plummets to earth with no fuel. That dog won’t hunt. But it doesn’t take away from an overall outstanding war film and will quickly become a must see and must add to any military war film collection.

However, it doesn’t take away from an overall outstanding war film and will quickly become a must see summer blockbuster and must add to any military war film collection.

Photo courtesy IMDB, YouTube

Sony VR Launches Air Force Special Ops Nightfall

Ever wonder what it is like to launch yourself from an aircraft in flight? Well, if you’re not a paratrooper or a special operations soldier, you can now get the entire virtual reality experience in a new game by Sony. The company has released Air Force Special Ops Nighfall for PlayStation VR.

In the new game, players get to conduct a High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump out of a C-130 and perform a follow-on mission after the landing. And of course, wearing the VR goggles increases the players’ experience.

Created in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, players will do H.A.L.O. (High Altitude Low Opening) free fall jumps, being in control of the parachute during a night landing; and a subsequent simulated mission According to the Air Force, the game is a realistic look at what it is like to be in Special Ops.
“I had a chance to play Nightfall on the new PlayStation VR,” said Master Sgt. Ben Hannigan, a combat controller with the Air Force. “It is so realistic I could almost smell the airplane and feel the wind. In free-fall, play controls simulate movements to maneuver in the sky. After your parachute opens, you control your speed and direction to stay with your team. They added some fun with gates to fly through and enemy targets to identify. It may be as realistic as you can get without actually jumping from a C-130.”

The Air Force cooperated with Sony on this project and MSG Hannigan was assigned to helping Sony work out any of the kinks with the realism of the game and to give pointers along the way. Players can choose from four career fields: combat control, pararescue, special operations weather and tactical air control party.

The timing of this release is curious, it is obviously a recruiting tool for the Air Force’s Special Operations Command (AFSOC). But with the Navy cracking down on SEALs doing the same thing for different games and the Pentagon wanting its SOF personnel to limit their exposure while on active duty, this won’t go over well with the other services.

To read the entire article from The Shack News, click here:

Photo courtesy US Air Force

Night Stalkers Don’t Quit…Only the Best Need Apply

What does nearly every successful mission by Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Marine Raiders, and Green Berets have in common? They’ve probably been carried to and from their missions by members of the 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment Airborne with the abbreviation of 160^th SOAR (A).

The 160^th SOAR commonly known as the “Night Stalkers” are the US Army’s best aviators and the premiere rotary wing aviation unit in the military’s Special Operations Forces. Their moniker is well-deserved, many pilots in the 160^th have more flight hours with NVGs than commercial airline pilots have flight hours total.

The 160^th operates three different types of helicopters, the Blackhawk, Chinook and Little Bird choppers in different designs depending on the mission. Night Stalkers are experts in flying missions ranging from direct action air assault to fast-rope insertion, overwater helocasting, extraction, and special boat support, as well as urban assault. They can also provide their own Close Air Support (CAS) of these missions and for the supported units.

Assessment and Training: Candidates for the 160^th SOAR undergo a one-week assessment process with Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion (SOATB) where they go thru interviews with military and civilian members of the SOATB and have their character and demeanor assessed. A records check is performed and the candidates are also evaluated psychologically.

Pilots will conduct two flights to test their flying and navigation skills. If at the end of assessment week, they’ve been selected, the pilots will be told what type of aircraft they’ll be flying. They may be chosen to fly a different helicopter than one that they’ve been accustomed to. That may entail further training later.

The first phase of training covers ground-based combat skills; it lasts three weeks for officers and five to six weeks for enlisted personnel. Candidates assigned to the “Green Platoon” receive instruction on basic combat tasks, first responder, land navigation, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and teamwork. Then they must pass qualification in the helicopter “dunker” and do water survival training.

For the pilots the approximately six-month training program takes place in Company B which is responsible for aviators, crew chiefs and medics in two stages. First is a basic navigation course that lasts about a month. It is all conducted in the Little Birds because it is inexpensive to operate, compared to the Black Hawks and Chinooks.

Pilots will then be trained for the helicopters that they will fly in a four-month advanced skills courses. Depending on the birds, the courses will vary. But at the end of this section of the program, a prospective Night Stalker will be proficient in all types of combat situations. They’ll all get experience flying in the desert, mountains, and over water; shipboard deck landing qualifications; as well as urban warfare tasks. They’ll began very proficient at flying with night vision goggles (NVGs). Their final tasks will be becoming proficient in aerial in-flight refueling and nap-of-the earth flying much closer to the ground than conventional Army pilots.

Upon successful completion of the advanced skills course in their aircraft type, they are given a check ride by an instructor pilot. It is a long full mission profile that can last up to five-to-six hours. If they pass, they become basic mission qualified (BMQ) and are assigned to one of the battalions in the 160th.

Once a 160^th pilot has two years completed in an operational unit, he can upgrade to fully mission qualified (FMQ), though to achieve this they need to prove they can command an aircraft in a combat situation. Given the current state of operations within USSOCOM, that requisite will be easily checked off. Once pilots are rated as FMQ they can work with units outside the 160th SOAR.

When a pilot completes an additional three to four years as a FMQ, he is then eligible to become flight lead qualified (FLQ). As one can see, the training never stops in the 160^th and the experience level of the aircrews is outstanding.

History: After the disastrous 1980 Operation Eagle Claw attempt to rescue American hostages held in Iran, failed, President Jimmy Carter ordered the Pentagon to plan another rescue operation. At that time, there were no U.S. helicopter units trained to conduct a stealth, no-notice special operations mission. Especially one whose specialty was flying during hours of darkness.

The Army looked to Ft. Campbell, KY, home of the 101st Airborne Division, which had the most experience of the service’s helicopter units. The selected units immediately began intensive training in night flying.

This provisional unit was at first dubbed Task Force 158 since most of the pilots were Blackhawk aviators detached from the 158th Aviation Battalion. The new unit was quickly recognized as the Army’s premier night fighting aviation force, and its only special operations aviation force. The unit was officially established Oct. 16, 1981, when it was designated as the 160th Aviation Battalion.

The 160th first saw combat during 1983’s Operation Urgent Fury, the U.S. invasion of Grenada, and has been a part of every major conflict since. They became the first helicopter pilots to use advanced night vision goggles and forward looking infrared devices in night combat.

090921-N-5126F-006 ADRIATIC SEA (September 21, 2009) An MH-47 Chinook helicopter assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) approaches the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) to conduct a fast-rope evolution during exercise Jackal Stone 2009. Jackal Stone is a series of training exercises in various locations throughout Croatia to promote cooperation and interoperability between the special operations forces of the 10 participating nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Intelligence Specialist Louis Fellerman/Released)

In 1986, the unit was re-designated as the 160th Aviation Group, and became the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in May 1990.

In June 1988, the unit executed Operation Mount Hope III. Two MH-47 crews flew 490 miles deep into Chad to retrieve a crashed Russian model Mi-24 Hind medium-attack helicopter.

The Night Stalkers spearheaded Operation Just Cause, the 1989 invasion of Panama, where a Little Bird flying members of Delta Force was shot down just after the operators rescued American Kurt Muse from a Panama City prison.

Less than six months later the Night Stalkers were sent to Kuwait for Operation Desert Shield in the summer of 1990 with follow-on combat operations in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

In 1993 the unit was sent to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope, the humanitarian mission where to support the UN’s mission to bring food and aid to the starving people that had been wracked by civil war. Once the clans run by warlords became too violent, the humanitarian mission turned to combat.

Operation Gothic Serpent (the Battle of Mogadishu) in 1993, was next. One of the Regiment’s most known battles was in Mogadishu, commonly known as “Black Hawk Down” in a book title as well as a feature film.

While supporting a team of Delta operators and Rangers trying to arrest top lieutenants of the clan run by Mohamad Farrah Aidid, the unit lost two Black Hawks to RPG fire from the ground. At the second crash site, only one crewman, pilot CW3 Mike Durant survived. Two Delta snipers, Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon deployed to protect him from a Somali mob numbering into the hundreds.

Despite inflicting severe casualties on the Somalis, both Shughart and Gordon were eventually killed in action while Durant was taken prisoner for a short time. Later both Delta snipers were awarded the Medal of Honor.

The war in Afghanistan, and across the Middle East have spawned the unit’s heavy operational use in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn in Iraq.

The unit suffered heavy losses in two separate engagements. During Operation Red Wings in 2005, a Night Stalker Chinook carry a SEAL Team Quick Reaction Force (QRF) on its way to rescue a small 4-man SEAL team under heavy fire was hit by an RPG. All eight SEALs on board and all eight Night Stalkers died in the crash.

Later another Chinook carrying U.S. and Afghan military forces on a night-raid mission in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan’s Wardak province on August 6, 2011, was shot down by Taliban insurgents using an RPG. Thirty Americans and eight Afghans were killed in the attack and the helicopter’s subsequent crash. Seventeen of the U.S. servicemen killed were Navy SEALs, including 15 commandos from Naval Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), better known as SEAL Team Six.

But perhaps the unit’s best-known success story was Operation Neptune Spear. A combined force of the 160^th’s Chinooks and specially modified “stealth” Black Hawks carried SEAL Team Six (DEVGRU) from Afghanistan into Abbottabad, Pakistan on a mission to kill Osama bin Laden. One of the Black Hawks crashed into the compound and had to be subsequently destroyed by the crew and the SEALs to preserve the stealth secrets and avionics but the unit completed their mission and everyone was returned to Afghanistan safely.

On a personal aside, I’ve flown with Night Stalkers on all three types of their aircraft. We conducted fast rope missions out of Black Hawks and Chinooks and flew on the Little Birds which is an adrenaline rush that may be even better than being a jumpmaster on a C-130. My Night Stalker coin, given to me by a Company Commander in the 160^th is one of my prized possessions.

Today there are more than 3,000 specially selected and trained Night Stalkers in the Regiment. So the next time you see a Special Operations unit conducting a high-profile mission on television or read about it in a newspaper, you can be sure who brought them to the target and who brought them home safely. “Night Stalkers Don’t Quit.”

Photo courtesy DOD

Hanscom AFB Evacuated After Explosives Scare at Gate

Hanscom Air Force Base was locked down on Thursday, and parts of the base were evacuated when trace explosives were detected on a moving truck causing an explosive scare that triggered state police and FBI bomb units into action.

Just after 9 a.m., everything unfolded when security stopped a Big Foot Moving and Storage truck for a routine inspection as it was about to enter the facility with a military members’ household goods to be delivered.

The delivery was expected and it was at this time that trace explosives were detected, which prompted a large operation that followed security protocol.

“Security Forces detected some potentially explosive material, which caused the base to put response actions in place,” Hanscom officials said in a statement. “Those actions included a temporary closure of the base’s Vandenberg (Rte 2A) Gate and evacuation of several nearby base facilities.”
The truck from Big Foot Moving and Storage was stopped at a gate to the base. (WBZ-TV)
The State Police bomb squad was called in and the truck was inspected for several hours. The all clear was given around 1 p.m. and base operations returned to normal.
“It was the right call by the U.S. Air Force and it was the right response,” said State Police Major Fran Leahy said during a press conference.
Hanscom Field commercial airport, which has a different entrance, remained open throughout the incident.
The driver of the truck remained on scene and has been “completely cooperative.”
Police said no one is suspected of a crime, but they are trying to determine how the residue got onto the truck.
State Police Sgt. William Qualls said “Cross contamination is more than likely”
No injuries were reported.
A perimeter had been set up extending 1,500 feet from the truck in all directions. But just after 1 p.m., the perimeter was reduced to 100 feet and the area was reopened a short time later.

While the situation thankfully was resolved with no injuries or serious issues, it was a good test for the Air Force Security and the State Police who followed their protocols and protected the public and the personnel at the base.

To read the entire article from CBS Local News click here:

Photo courtesy Yelp

July 4, 1976, Israeli Special Operations Raid on Entebbe Stuns the World

It doesn’t seem that long ago, but on July 4, 1976, the United States was set to celebrate its Bi-Centennial. Massive celebrations were set to take place across the USA but then a small Special Operations unit from a smaller Middle Eastern nation stole the spotlight with a daring raid that was stunningly executed.

Israeli commandos from the Sayeret Matkal known to the soldiers in it as only “The Unit”, stormed the Ugandan airport at Entebbe under the command of LTC Jonathan “Yoni” Netanyahu. There they freed about 100 Jewish hostages and 12 people from the flight crew from a combined force of terrorists and Ugandan troops.

The raid was a brilliantly executed Special Operation. Only one Israeli soldier, Netanyahu was killed along with three hostages. Another Israeli paratrooper was paralyzed by a gunshot wound to his neck and another hostage, Dora Bloch, who was taken to a hospital was murdered by Amin’s soldiers after the raid.

Airplane Hijack Begins Siege: On Sunday, June 27, Air France’s Flight 139 left from Ben Gurion Airport, made a stopover in Athens, and then took off towards its final destination in Paris, with 248 passengers on board. At around 12:35 pm, four terrorists—two German and two Palestinian—hijacked the plane.

The hijackers landed briefly in Libya where they took on more terrorists before flying down to Entebbe, Uganda which was run at the time by the dictator Idi Amin. The hostages were led into the terminal building where they were guarded by terrorists and Ugandan soldiers. There the Jews and Israelis were separated from the other passengers.

On the 29^th, the terrorist decided to release all the non-Jewish and Israeli hostages. But the Air France crew refused to leave their Jewish and Israeli passengers. This set-in-motion the operation that would be known as Operation Thunderbolt. This was a critical time because once the hostages were released, they were flown to Paris, and an Israeli officer interviewed a few of them. The hostages described where the Israeli hostages were located, how many terrorists there were, the floor plan of the building, and other important details.

A Mossad agent flew a light aircraft over Entebbe and pretended to have engine trouble. He took photographs of the area and reported that only dozens, not hundreds of Ugandan soldiers were guarding the building. That fact was corroborated by released hostages in Paris. That convinced the Israeli government that the mission had at least a modest chance of success.

The Israeli plan was to land 4 C-130 Hercules aircraft with 33 members of Sayeret Matkal on the tarmac of the Entebbe airport. There they would have a limo disguised as Idi Amin’s with soldiers dressed as Ugandan soldiers along with jeeps filled with commandos. Once they got close enough they would storm the terminal, kill the terrorists guarding the hostages with just six members of the unit. The rest would eliminate any remaining terrorists and soldiers.

IDF commandos dressed in Ugandan camouflage with a car designed to resemble Idi Amin’s limo

Netanyahu had to meet with and convince the Israeli Defense Minister Shimon Peres that the mission was doable. His confidence was unwavering and he assured Peres the casualties among the hostages would be small.

The unit would then gather the soldiers and hostages and board the Hercules and fly back to Israel.

The Operation begins: The four C-130s took off from Israel and had to fly low under the radar to avoid detection. There were no seats and the commandos had to sit on the vehicles. The lurching of the planes in the heat made almost every commando sick.

They flew across Egypt, the Sudan, South Sudan and into Ugandan airspace. The first C-130 was to touchdown on the airfield while the others were to circle over Lake Victoria. Once the first aircraft landed the vehicles with Netanyahu leading from the first one disguised as Amin’s limo, would race to the terminal.

Israeli commando map of the Entebbe terminal area

Seven minutes later the next two Hercules were to touch down with Armored cars to eliminate any Ugandan resistance. As the vehicles carrying the commandos were racing to the terminal, they passed a guard post with barbed wire. The guard snapped to attention and raised his weapon in a salute. The ruse of Amin’s car was working.

Netanyahu leaned out the window with a silenced .22 and tried to shoot the guard but missed with the vehicle racing so fast. But a soldier in the Land Rover behind the limo blasted the soldier with a burst of automatic weapons fire.

The Mercedes limo stopped 40 meters short of the terminal building and with the crowded confines, it was slow work, getting out. Netanyahu yelled to his troops, “Come on, charge! Come on, charge!”

At the terminal building, a German terrorist came outside and the leader of the commandos charged with clearing the terminal emptied his magazine at him but missed. He stopped to change his magazine but didn’t announce it as was the unit SOP. The rescue team stalled waiting for their leader.

Tamir Pardo, the future director of the Mossad, was Netanyahu’s radio operator during the mission. “As we were running, I stayed close to Yoni. We came under fire from the tower, and if memory serves me right a Ugandan soldier who was by the terminal also opened fire (at us). Yoni was hit… he was so close I could reach out and touch him. His body did half a turn and then he fell… I remember myself saying on the comms ‘Yoni was hit.’ David (Hassin) the doctor came up to him and I joined Zussman’s team,” Pardo told the Ynetnews.

Israeli commando Afir Ofer was the first commando inside the terminal. A terrorist on the floor fired nearly an entire magazine at Ofer but missed. Ofer but a four-round burst with two tracers impacting the terrorist, killing him instantly.

In an interview done by my friend Lela Gilbert with Iddo Netanyahu, Yoni’s brother, he described what his brother told the commandos about things going wrong. Iddo was also a member of “the Unit” as was younger brother Benjamin.

“At that point, they remembered what Yoni had told them before they left for Entebbe. ‘Things will go wrong,’ he said. ‘Thing will not go exactly according to plan. All you have to remember this: you have to reach the hostages as quickly as possible and kill the terrorists. Just do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal.’

“And that’s what they did, even as Yoni was hit by gunfire in those very seconds, while they moved forward.

“They entered the hall and succeeded in killing the terrorists before the terrorists could kill the hostages. Only three hostages died in the process. The Entebbe raid was a success.”

As Ofer moved inside the building two German terrorists, a man and a woman aimed their AK-47s at him intending to shoot him. But a captain, right behind Ofer, put two rounds in each and kicked their weapons away.

Ofer began to yell into a megaphone in Hebrew and English, “Everyone on the ground; we’re here to take you home.” Another German terrorist, hiding among the hostages leaped to his feet and was also aiming at Ofer, when another commando fired two rounds at him before he could pull the trigger. The first hit his Kalashnikov, knocking from his hands, the second hit the terrorist in his chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. He was the last terrorist in the terminal with the hostages. The room was clear.

The Ugandans on the second floor and the customs building attempted to flee. About 60 ran and escaped. Eleven more tried to race down the stairs to escape and were cut down.

Another group of commandos took down the smaller hall in the terminal. Two terrorists, one with a grenade tried to rush past but one of the men fired a burst that killed both and the grenade exploded beneath the two bodies. One commando got a tiny sliver of shrapnel in his jaw from the explosion.

The entire operation in the terminal was over in a minute and the hostages were freed and moving to the aircraft.

Follow-on C-130s Arrive: Right on time, exactly seven minutes after the initial C-130 touched down, the next three landed. Two with armored vehicles. They were receiving fire from the control tower. One MAG-58 gunner unleashed two belts of ammo at the tower while another fired an RPG from point-blank range silencing the fire.

Israeli commandos with one of the Land Rovers used in the operation

Years later when flying thru Africa, our plane landed at Entebbe. The old terminal and control tower were still pocked-marked by hundreds of bullet holes.

Another armored vehicle raced to where the Ugandan Air Force had its MiGs parked. In one row was five MiG-21s and the other had three MiG-17s. He cut loose with his MAG-58. One was loaded with fuel and exploded. Soon the conflagration ignited the others in a huge fireball.

With the threat neutralized, it was time to leave. The commandos and the hostages boarded the C-130s for the flight to Kenya to refuel and then to Israel. But the elation of freeing the hostages was crushed by the news that their commander Netanyahu was killed.

There were few tense moments when flying over the Red Sea but Israeli Phantom jets appeared to escort the C-130s home. The country of Israel was in a state of jubilation over the rescue.

And in the US, amid all the Bi-Centennial celebration, then US President Gerald Ford released a statement on the raid. “Our own Bicentennial Independence Day was enhanced by an event at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. That action of liberation freed our own hearts to a fuller understanding of the universal meaning of independence – and the courageous action sometimes required to preserve it.”

Happy Independence Day.

Photos Courtesy IDF

Israel Hits Syrian Targets After Assad Troops Hit Israel With Artillery Fire

The Israeli’s wasted little time striking the military troops of embattled Syrian President Assad after the spillover from the civil war had the Syrians shelling Israeli territory. Israeli forces destroyed two tanks after the shelling hit on the Israel side of the Golan Heights.

“With the IDF action today, we are making our policy clear again,” Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We are not willing to accept any ‘drizzle’ [of fire] or ‘spillover’ on any front. We will react with force to any firing on our territory.”

“We react with force, determination, and discretion to every such incident, as the IDF did [today] on the Golan Heights. As far as we are concerned, the Assad regime is responsible for what is happening in its territory, and it will continue to bear the consequences if such events repeat themselves,” he said.
The IDF said spillover from the Syrian civil war is treated with the utmost severity and noted that it “will not tolerate any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the security of its residents.”
It noted as much in a protest letter sent swiftly to UN Disengagement Observer Force following the incident.
Spillover fire from Syria on Saturday was reported by Israeli authorities less than an hour before Israel responded, the IDF confirmed.
Although no casualties or damage to property were reported in the incident, the IDF issued instructions to farmers and civilians near the Quneitra border crossing into Syria to avoid open fields.
Backpackers and hikers – who flock to the Golan at this time of year – were also evacuated from the area.

Besides the two tanks destroyed, the Israelis also hit the area where the shelling came from. In April, the Israelis shot down a Syrian drone that had also crossed the border.

To read the entire article from the Jerusalem Post click here:

Photos/Video Courtesy IDF

Australia Suspends Flights Over Syria After Russian Warning

Australia has suspended air combat missions over Syria after Russia had threatened that it would treat any plane from the US-led coalition flying west of the Euphrates River as a potential target.

This was in the aftermath of a US F-18 shooting down a Syrian SU-22 on Sunday after the pilot bombed pro-coalition SDF forces outside of Raqqa. The US and coalition forces have tried to steer clear of the Syrian troops of the embattled government of President Assad. They’ve tried to target only the Islamic State (IS) who held sizable portions of the country.

The Australians have six fighters stationed in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) that have been used in combat operations against both Syria and Iraq. But for now, they have stopped operations over Syria, “as a precautionary measure.”

A spokesman for the Department of Defence told the ABC that the situation would be monitored and sorties over Iraq would continue. “Australian defence force personnel are closely monitoring the air situation in Syria and a decision on the resumption of ADF air operations in Syria will be made in due course,” he said.
The UK Ministry of Defence said it would continue its operations against Isis as part of the US-led coalition in Syria.
Moscow’s warning on Monday to US-allied warplanes west of the Euphrates escalated the threat of a direct Russian-American confrontation in Syria, following the first US shooting down of a fighter jet belonging to the regime since the start of the civil war six years ago.
Russia stressed it would in future be tracking the coalition’s jets, not shooting them down, but added that “a threat for those jets may appear only if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft”.
Moscow’s foreign ministry said: “All kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] of the international coalition, detected to the west of the Euphrates river will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets.”

The US’ General Joseph Dunford had stated that “we made every effort to warn those individuals not to come any closer and then the commander made a judgment that it was a threat to the forces that we are supporting and took action.”

Meanwhile, the war of words between the US and Russia continues to escalate as the civil war grinds on in Syria.

To read the entire article from The Guardian, click here:

Photo courtesy US DOD

US F-18 Shoots Down Syrian SU-22 After It Attacks SDF Troops

The Pentagon has reported that a US Navy F-18 fighter plane has shot down a Syrian SU-22 ground attack aircraft after the Syrian pilot attacked SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) on Sunday. The US-led SDF have been advised by US Special Operations forces, however, it isn’t known if any US troops were present when attacked by the Syrian jet.

The US has sought to avoid direct conflict with the Syrian forces of embattled President Assad, focusing instead on battling and removing the Islamist State (IS) forces. Once the Syrian pilot ignored warnings to turn away, however, it was quickly shot down.

The U.S.-led coalition also contacted their Russian counterparts in an effort to warn the pro-Assad forces to refrain from attacking the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The Syrians appeared to ignore the request and a Syrian SU-22 dropped bombs on the SDF fighters. The Syrian plane was immediately shot down by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The U.S. military has said it does not want to engage in a conflict with the Assad regime and is focused on defeating the Islamic State. But the U.S. military said it would defend U.S.-backed forces when necessary.
“The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces from any threat,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
Iran and Russia are supporting the Assad regime and has deployed forces in Syria.
The U.S. military has several hundred advisers operating with Syrian Democratic Forces, which it is also supplying the organization with weapons and equipment.

After the downing of the Russian-made SU-22 north of Raqqa around the city of Tabqah, the Russian military has stated that they will treat any US or coalition aircraft operating west of the Euphrates River as targets.

“Any aircraft, including planes and drones belonging to the international coalition operating west of the Euphrates River, will be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement Monday

To read the entire article from the USA Today click here:

Photo courtesy US Navy