Two Army National Guard helicopter pilots have been grounded after they used a Lakota painted with medical markings to disperse crowds near the White House last Monday. The U.S. Army is investigating their actions and the grounding is normal practice. The aircraft flew as low as 100 feet above protesters in a maneuver designed to use rotor wash to disperse those below. On Saturday, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon had ordered the National Guard to provide a “persistent presence” to disperse the crowds gathered to protest the police-involved killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Whether the rotor wash technique is part of that role isn’t clear.
Redstone, Atlas and Titan prototypes lit up the launch pads at White Sands and Cape Canaveral on a regular basis - to the absolute delight of prepubescent boys across America. Sputnik, and the defense department kept the space program on life support until it could achieve success. I hope Mr. Musk can hold out.
“noun: prototype; plural noun: prototypes
a first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied”
It’s a cheaply built non-structural prototype/model destined to fail and should never be allowed to leave the ground as SpaceX proposes.
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“Here … take these helicopters and go ‘do something’ to disperse the crowds (harming our monuments).” Now then … you’re grounded after you do. Wonderful … simply wonderful. I could NOT serve a career in today’s PC military or guard.
Granted, it’s a twin engine helicopter and could have taken an engine out and flown off into the night but a catastrophic tail rotor failure would have been problematic at that height AGL and the people.
I dispersed crowds in Vietnam with a Cobra helicopter but was never tasked to do that here in the USA. Later in the Army Guard flying the Chinook and also Huey, our missions often involved lifesaving flights and not with a red cross painted on our aircraft. My how times have changed!
My recollection of the oath I took as a military officer did not mention terrorizing my fellow citizens expressing their 1st amendment right to protest their government. For those committing criminal acts the police are the appropriate solution.
Very true retired in '98 and am so glad I never had to put up with some of the things these commanders are now going through. Total respect for those now serving and what actions they must take.
Larry and Ed - IMHO the real question we should ALL take time to ask ourselves at this time is - is protecting these monuments we’ve constructed more important than ensuring that we all have equal treatment under the law? If you look at the numerous studies that have been done on this subject, minorities in this country absolutely do not. They have endured this for generation after generation, and watching that man of color being choked to death by the police was simply the last straw for them.
YARS - civilian police are the proper tools for this situation. Active duty military are not. The former are trained for policing the civilian population. The latter are trained to kill on the battlefield.
False argument.
It’s not a question of protecting monuments versus equal treatment.
In fact, how does vandalizing ANY property enhance the likelihood of equality of treatment under the law? Seriously. It engenders only contempt for the miscreants.
When civil authorities tell local police to “stand down” in the face of civil insurrection; to tolerate looting, arson, and vandalism; then the grownups in the room have other means of restoring order.
Don’t want the military on your streets? Then DO YOUR JOB; maintain order. Do NOT suggest the “de-funding” or “abolishing” the police is a rational solution. Yet, that’s exactly what our radical Left “leaders” are openly advocating. It’s literally INSANE.
What if the only helicopters available on short notice had a red cross on 'em. OR … what if they WANTED the jerks to know they were unarmed helicopters? Normally, medevacs are UNARMED people. WTH did I spend 21 years in the USAF for … THIS? OH! In order to know that you’d have to have a brain that works.
Crowd control means ANY means to – um – control the crowd. I don’t recall that helicopter firing on anyone OR harming anyone. WAKE UP PEOPLE !!