A B-1 Lancer bomber crash landed in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/south-dakota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Dakota</a> on Thursday, forcing the entire crew to eject during a training mission. 
The crash landing took place at 5:50 p.m. at Ellsworth Air Force Base during a training exercise. The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth said that the accident happened while the plane was “attempting to land on the installation. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely.”
There were <a href="https://apnews.com/article/b1-crash-air-force-bomber-ellsworth-2146e52e94ae5f928407a85030e8c60d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> poor winter weather conditions at the time of the crash, which is still being investigated by an officer board. 
B-1 bombers have been in use since the 1980s with about 60 being used by Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth Air Force Base, according to the Associated Press. 
“The B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994. The most recent records were made official in 2004,” the Air Force <a href="https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104500/b-1b-lancer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>.
The aircraft was used extensively in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the early 2000s.
“During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, eight B-1s dropped nearly 40 percent of the total tonnage delivered by coalition air forces. This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs, or 67 percent of the total. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the aircraft flew less than 1 percent of the combat missions while delivering 43 percent of the JDAMs used. The B-1 continues to be deployed today, flying missions daily in support of continuing operations,” according to the Air Force.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Earlier this year, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-sure-where-the-airplane-is-911-call-from-f-35-crash-in-south-carolina-released" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air Force lost track</a> of an F-35 in South Carolina after the pilot ejected. Military officials had to ask for the public’s help finding the plane and describing the incident as a “mishap.” Debris from the plane was later located in Williamsburg County after hours of searching. 
The plane, which cost about $100 million, kept going for about 60 miles after the pilot ejected. A spokesperson for Joint Base Charleston said the F-35B Lightning II jet from the Marine Attack Training Squadron was placed on autopilot before the pilot ejected.

US Air Force B-1B Lancer aircraft conducts flight over Sarajevo

B-1 Bomber Crash Lands In South Dakota, Forcing Crew To Eject

Airplane

Airplane crash

Military

South Dakota

U.S.

U.S. Air Force

In 1955, Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup had a very important job. It was the height of the Cold War, and Shoup was working at the Continental Air Defense Command — now known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
One December day, his phone rang, but it wasn&#8217;t his regular phone. It was the red phone — the phone that had a <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/wrong-number-started-norad-santa-tracker/">number so secret</a> that only he and a four-star general at the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/disney-hires-obama-era-pentagon-spokesperson-to-build-on-companys-strong-reputation/">Pentagon</a> knew of its existence. But when he answered the phone, a child was on the other end.
&#8220;Is this Santa Claus?&#8221; the child asked. <a href="https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/12/21/santa-tracker-creator-norad-colonel-christmas/2369617002/">Shoup</a>, according to his children — Terri Van Keuren, Rick Shoup, Pam Farrel — was initially surprised and annoyed, but when the child began to cry he quickly changed his tone. He said, &#8220;Ho, ho, ho,&#8221; and asked the child whether he had been good — and then he asked to speak to a parent.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/12/19/371647099/norads-santa-tracker-began-with-a-typo-and-a-good-sport">NPR reported</a>:
<blockquote>His children remember Shoup as straight-laced and disciplined, and he was annoyed and upset by the call and thought it was a joke — but then, Terri says, the little voice started crying.
&#8220;And Dad realized that it wasn&#8217;t a joke,&#8221; her sister says. &#8220;So he talked to him, ho-ho-ho&#8217;d and asked if he had been a good boy and, &#8216;May I talk to your mother?&#8217; And the mother got on and said, &#8216;You haven&#8217;t seen the paper yet? There&#8217;s a phone number to call Santa. It&#8217;s in the Sears ad.&#8217; Dad looked it up, and there it was, his red phone number. And they had children calling one after another, so he put a couple of airmen on the phones to act like Santa Claus.&#8221;
&#8220;It got to be a big joke at the command center. You know, &#8216;The old man&#8217;s really flipped his lid this time. We&#8217;re answering Santa calls,&#8217; &#8221; Terri says.</blockquote>
The joke took another turn when, on Christmas Eve of 1955, several of the Airmen under Shoup&#8217;s command drew a sleigh and eight reindeer on the glass board that they normally used to track the paths of airplanes over U.S. and Canadian airspace.
According to Terri, Shoup saw the drawing and asked, &#8220;What is that?&#8221;
The airmen said it was just a joke, apologizing and offering to take it down.
&#8220;Dad looked at it for a while, and next thing you know, Dad had called the radio station and had said, &#8216;This is the commander at the Combat Alert Center, and we have an unidentified flying object. Why, it looks like a sleigh.&#8217; Well, the radio stations would call him like every hour and say, &#8216;Where&#8217;s Santa now?'&#8221; Terri told NPR, adding, &#8220;And later in life he got letters from all over the world, people saying, &#8216;Thank you, Colonel,&#8217; for having, you know, this sense of humor. And in his 90s, he would carry those letters around with him in a briefcase that had a lock on it like it was top-secret information. You know, he was an important guy, but this is the thing he&#8217;s known for.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s probably the thing he was proudest of, too,&#8221; her brother agreed.
In the years since, NORAD has embraced the tradition. Call centers are operational and children can call from all over the world to see where Santa is as he makes his grand journey delivering gifts around the world in a single night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Take an inside look at our NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center as we track <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Santa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Santa</a> on his magical journey today! Track with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORAD</a> at <a href="https://t.co/7afKWWcryj">https://t.co/7afKWWcryj</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaTracker?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaTracker</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/santaclaus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#santaclaus</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/merrychristmas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#merrychristmas</a> <a href="https://t.co/NsKxdPvuyo">pic.twitter.com/NsKxdPvuyo</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738940517080031321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There is even an official Twitter account — @NoradSanta — that posts updates and videos throughout the day.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> is following the heat signature from Rudolph&#39;s nose to Dubai as Santa flies over the Arabian Peninsula.<a href="https://t.co/UVuyzrCgDr">https://t.co/UVuyzrCgDr</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738979427218760075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Santa is making a special stop for the astronauts at the International Space Station! Find out where he will go next at <a href="https://t.co/6qfPToRTlN">https://t.co/6qfPToRTlN</a><a href="https://t.co/pwuCxiDDyg">https://t.co/pwuCxiDDyg</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738993195214667809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORAD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaTrackers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaTrackers</a> still going strong and tracking <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Santa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Santa</a> on his magical journey around the world! Call our Santa Trackers at 1-877-Hi-NORAD, or track on our website at <a href="https://t.co/7afKWWcryj">https://t.co/7afKWWcryj</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoradTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoradTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MerryChristmas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MerryChristmas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChristmasEve?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChristmasEve</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaClaus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaClaus</a> <a href="https://t.co/mFSU6hB8to">pic.twitter.com/mFSU6hB8to</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1739006882038071397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sleighbells are ringing over Athens 📷 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://t.co/1OZguqLhXv">https://t.co/1OZguqLhXv</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1739012780760465760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-LIFESTYLE-CHRISTMAS-INTERNET-SANTA-OFFBEAT

‘The Santa Colonel’: How One Air Force Officer Turned A Sears Ad Typo Into A Holiday Tradition

Santa Claus

Sears

The U.S. Department of Defense is warning Congress of continued military recruitment struggles as the country will enter the new year with its smallest fighting force since before World War II. 
Ashish Vazirani, the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the Army, Navy, and Air Force missed their 2023 recruitment goals by a combined 41,000 personnel, The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12869575/pentagon-biden-army-navy-marines-space-force-military-recruit-gen-z.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The annual defense authorization bill passed by Congress earlier this week stated that active-duty troops will drop to 1,284,500 in fiscal 2024, which is down by 64,000 troops over the past three years, giving the U.S. military its smallest force since 1940, <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2023/12/14/amid-recruiting-woes-active-duty-end-strength-to-drop-again-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Military Times. 
&#8220;That number understates the challenge before us as the services lowered end-strength goals in recent years, in part because of the difficult recruiting environment,” Vazirani said, adding that military recruitment is facing “one of its greatest challenges” since the last declared draft ended in 1973. 
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his concern over the decreasing military numbers.
“We need a larger force, in every branch. But the reality of recruiting is driving the numbers, not what we actually need,” Wicker told The Military Times. 
Some branches of the armed forces have gone to more extreme lengths recently to boost their recruitment levels. Earlier this year, the Navy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/navy-hires-active-duty-drag-queen-to-combat-sinking-recruitment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, an active-duty sailor and drag queen, one of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot recruitment program. The Air Force <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-force-to-decrease-body-weight-standards-for-entry-as-americans-increasingly-too-fat-to-enlist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made a move</a> in April to recruit more Americans into its ranks by decreasing weight standards. 
The strategies didn’t appear to work, as both the Navy and the Air Force are expected to be down thousands of airmen and sailors from its 2021 numbers. The Army is facing the largest recruitment problem out of the military branches as it’s down over 40,000 troops over the past three years. The Marine Corps, which along with the Space Force met its most recent recruitment goal, is still expected to be down by nearly 9,000 active-duty service members compared to fiscal year 2021. 
The Pentagon is seeking to change the direction of the military&#8217;s poor recruiting numbers by developing a message that &#8220;resonates&#8221; with young Americans, according to Vazirani.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1702741302552000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0j7iIgqNi0bR5AgQ4rgPM4">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;While the picture of the current recruiting environment is acutely difficult, the Defense Department and the military services are working together to resolve issues, improve processes, and expand awareness of the many opportunities military service offers,&#8221; said Vazirani. &#8220;We must reach today&#8217;s youth where they are with a message that resonates with them and motivates them to act.&#8221;

Army Recruitment

Pentagon Warns Of Military’s Dropping Numbers Heading Into 2024 As U.S. Fields Smallest Fighting Force Since Before WWII

Pentagon Warns Of Military's Dropping Numbers Heading Into 2024 As U.S. Fields Smallest Fighting Force Since Before WWII

Marines

Pentagon

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

United States Space Force

At least one person is dead after a U.S. military Osprey aircraft crashed near the coast of Japan Wednesday, the Japan Coast Guard said. 
Eight people were aboard the aircraft when it went down around 2:47 p.m. local time. Shortly after the crash, the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters said it dispatched a patrol boat and aircraft to the crash scene, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/29/asia/us-osprey-aircraft-crashes-japan-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The aircraft crashed into the ocean near the island of Yakushima, which is about 45 miles south of the southern main Japanese island of Kyushu, a coast guard spokesperson <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-military-plane-crashes-sea-japan-osprey-yakushima-rcna127129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC News. 
The Japanese Coast Guard said one man was recovered “unconscious and was not breathing” near the site of the crash. He was given CPR and taken to Anbo Port, which was nearly two miles away, but the Osprey crew member was later pronounced dead. No details were given on the status of the other seven crew members. 
Japan’s Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa said the incident involved a U.S. Air Force  CV-22 Osprey and called the incident an “emergency water landing.” 
“The U.S. side explained to us that the pilot did his best until the very end, so we’re using the term ‘emergency water landing,’” Miyazawa said. 
The CV-22 Osprey can take off vertically like a helicopter while boasting the long-range flight capability of a turboprop aircraft. Its two rotors remain vertical during takeoff and landing and can rotate 90 degrees once the aircraft is in flight, allowing it to fly like a rotor-powered plane. 
Wednesday’s crash marks the third tragedy in the last two years involving U.S. military personnel flying an Osprey aircraft. In August, three Marines were killed and several more were seriously injured when their MV-22B Osprey, which is similar to the CV-22, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/3-u-s-marines-killed-several-injured-during-training-exercise-in-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crashed</a> on a northern Australian island while carrying 23 troops. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
In June of 2022, all five Marines aboard an MV-22B Osprey died after it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/all-5-u-s-marines-confirmed-dead-in-military-aircraft-crash-in-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crashed</a> in California, a few miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. A few months before that crash, four Marines were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/four-u-s-marines-killed-in-norway-nato-training-identified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a> in Norway during a NATO training exercise after their MV-22B Osprey went down in the Arctic Circle. 
This article has been updated after officials said there were eight, not six, crew members on board the aircraft.

CV-22 Osprey

At Least One Dead After U.S. Aircraft With Eight On Board Crashes Into Sea Near Japan

Japan

World

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-air-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air Force</a> has requested that Congress pass legislation to stop wind turbines from encroaching on nuclear missile sites throughout the U.S.
According to the Air Force, underground nuclear missile sites in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado need to be shielded from the growing wind turbine industry for safety and security concerns. The Air Force <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/air-force-asks-congress-protect-nuclear-launch-sites-104685988" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> that 46 of the 450 underground nuclear missile sites have been “severely” encroached upon. Some wind turbines can stand 650 feet tall and present a barrier for helicopters carrying technicians or others who need to access the sites.
“When you think about a wind turbine, and even fields of wind turbines, they’ll stretch for miles,” Staff Sgt. Chase Rose, a UH-1 Huey flight engineer at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, told the Associated Press. “They’re monstrous, and then you have gigantic blades spinning on them as well. Not only is that a physical obstacle, but those turbines, they create the hazards like turbulence as well. That can be really dangerous for us to fly into. So it’s a very complex situation, when you have to deal with those.”
The Air Force is advocating for legislation that would mandate a 2-nautical-mile buffer zone around the hundreds of underground missile launch sites throughout the U.S. The Air Force and the American Clean Power Association drafted the legislation.
“The wind industry recognizes the nuclear missile silo mission is unique,&#8221; said American Clean Power Association spokesman Jason Ryan. “However, one-size-fits-all setbacks do not make sense for other [Department of Defense] missions or assets as site-specific and mission-specific evaluations are necessary to ensure military readiness.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687352286746000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2XxW0VTdKx-2nQAhkiTR8M">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Air Force Maj. Victoria Hight, a spokeswoman for F.E. Warren Air Force Base, said the wind turbines can hamper “safe helicopter transit and nuclear security operations” but that the Air Force supports &#8220;renewable energy efforts to include wind turbines, and we continue to work with energy industry partners to ensure the country’s green energy needs are met.” 

The Biden administration has <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-advances-15-onshore-clean-energy-projects-potential-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aggressively pushed</a> a “transition” to green energy, including announcing the development of onshore renewable energy projects across the West.
“Investing in clean and reliable renewable energy represents the [Bureau of Land Management&#8217;s] commitment to addressing climate change and supports direction from the President and Congress to permit 25 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal production on public lands no later than 2025,” the Bureau of Land Management said on Monday when announcing plans for 15 major projects throughout the West.

Sustainable power is the future

Air Force Requests Congressional Intervention Over Wind Turbines Near Nuclear Missile Sites

Arkansas

Energy

Montana

Nebraska

North Dakota

Wyoming

Over the years, the United States has produced many remarkable generals and admirals, but only a few have stood out as world-class strategists and leaders of troops. As Veterans Day approaches on November 11, let’s remember and celebrate them. Here is my list of America’s finest 11 commanders.
<h2>Curtis E. LeMay, 1906 &#8211; 1990 (World War II)</h2>
Cold, calculating, and brutally efficient, few American commanders have so understood not just the power of a weapon at his disposal, but the proper way to deploy it to the most effect as did Air Force Major General Curtis LeMay. The weapon was the strategic bomber. 
As commander of the USAAF 305th Bombardment Group in Europe, then-Col. LeMay was once faced with a problem of crews prematurely aborting their missions. He figured it had to do with will more than anything else. So he issued an order: “I will be in the lead plane on every mission. Any plane that takes off will go over the target, or the crew will be court-martialed.” According to Robert McNamara: “The abort rate dropped overnight. Now that’s the kind of commander he was.”
<div id="attachment_645503" style="width: 441px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645503" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-645503" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615290192-431x576.jpg" alt="" width="431" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615290192-431x576.jpg 431w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615290192-225x300.jpg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615290192.jpg 767w" sizes="(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px" />Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images</div>
In the summer of 1944, the veteran and driven LeMay was sent to the Pacific Theater where he eventually was placed in overall command of strategic air operations against Japan. Upon arrival, the airman faced a dilemma. He was presented with America’s most advanced weapon to date: the massive B-29 Superfortress bomber. It was a quantum leap in airborne technology, and far more advanced than its B-17, B-24, and Lancaster stablemates. In fact, the U.S. had spent more money developing the B-29 than even the atomic bomb. And by late 1944 it was looking to be a colossal waste of money.
Although the pressurized high-altitude Superfortresses could fly above most Japanese fighters, the newly discovered jet stream at those heights made accurate precision bombing impossible. When flying into the jet stream, the bomber streams’ real airspeed was dangerously slow making them easy targets; when flying with it, the formations were hurled across the sky at too high an airspeed to properly set up targets. And the high winds sent bombs scattering. The B-29 program was in serious trouble.
<div id="attachment_645543" style="width: 756px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645543" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-645543" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615316416-746x576.jpg" alt="Major General Curtis Lemay, head of the bomber command against Japan, stands in front of a group of B-29 bombers at a base in the Mariana Islands. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)" width="746" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615316416-746x576.jpg 746w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615316416-300x232.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615316416-768x593.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-615316416.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 746px) 100vw, 746px" />Major General Curtis Lemay, head of the bomber command against Japan, stands in front of a group of B-29 bombers at a base in the Mariana Islands. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)</div>
The adaptive LeMay decided to take a chance. He ordered his bombers stripped of all armament save a tail gunner so they could carry more payload, filled them with thousands of pounds of incendiaries rather than high explosive bombs, and ordered that the bombers go in at a mere 5,000 feet, and in the dead of night to avoid fighters and accurate anti-aircraft fire. Pilots thought him insane, and believed he had signed their death warrants, but the confident LeMay understood that with Japan’s cities constructed mostly of wood and paper, the effects of firebombs would be catastrophic.
<div id="attachment_645493" style="width: 737px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645493" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-645493 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-515422580-727x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) With cigar in mouth, Major General Curtis E. LeMay, the commander of 21st Bomber Command, listens as B-29 Navigator Lt. Nelson McDowell (R), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, describes run of target after a Superfort raid on Nagoya, Japan. At left is Captain Waldo Timm, of Portland, Oregon, and second from right is Brigadier General Thomas Power, who commands B-29s on Guam." width="727" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-515422580-727x576.jpg 727w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-515422580-300x238.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-515422580-768x608.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-515422580.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" />(Original Caption) With cigar in mouth, Major General Curtis E. LeMay, the commander of 21st Bomber Command, listens as B-29 Navigator Lt. Nelson McDowell (R), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, describes run of target after a Superfort raid on Nagoya, Japan. At left is Captain Waldo Timm, of Portland, Oregon, and second from right is Brigadier General Thomas Power, who commands B-29s on Guam. Getty Images.</div>
On the night of March 9, 1945, he put his theory to the test, sending over 300 B-29s from the Marianas to firebomb Tokyo with over 250,000 incendiary bombs filled with napalm, a fiery gel that sticks, spreads, and burns out all it touches. The result was an utter holocaust. Fourteen square miles of the Japanese capital city were burned out and over 100,000 civilians were killed — making it the most lethal single act of war in history — while hundreds of thousands more were made homeless. These devastating results came at the cost of just 14 B-29s downed and 96 crew lost.
LeMay had his template. From March to August 1945, his B-29s would firebomb Japanese city after city to the point that had the war lasted much longer there would have soon been no more worthy targets remaining. Estimates range from 200,000 to over 500,000 Japanese died in LeMay’s relentless onslaughts, along with some 5 million made homeless. At least 40% of over 60 Japanese cities were burned out; her war-making ability ceased to exist.
Now, with the addition of fleets of heavy bombers from the USAAF and RAF in the just concluded war on Germany, and with the much closer aerodrome on Okinawa, LeMay believed he could compel Japan to surrender by aerial bombardment alone. This, however, was rendered moot by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that effectively ended the war.
<div id="attachment_645517" style="width: 753px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645517" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-645517" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-3239764-743x576.jpg" alt="circa 1962: American president John F Kennedy (1917 - 1963), wearing dark sunglasses, sits next to US Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay (1906 - 1990, L). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)" width="743" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-3239764-743x576.jpg 743w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-3239764-300x233.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-3239764-768x596.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-3239764.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 743px) 100vw, 743px" />Circa 1962: American president John F Kennedy (1917 &#8211; 1963), wearing dark sunglasses, sits next to US Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay (1906 &#8211; 1990, L). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)</div>
After the war, LeMay would go on to serve in several high-ranking positions, including head of Strategic Air Command and USAF Chief Of Staff. His hostility to the Johnson administration’s policies in Vietnam, and his personal animosity towards McNamara, led to his retirement from the military in 1965. As with so many great military leaders, however, the instincts that served LeMay so well in war abandoned him in politics.
In 1968, LeMay would end up as Alabama governor and presidential candidate George Wallace’s running mate on the American Independent Party ticket. Among the party platforms was continued racial segregation. Whether or not LeMay shared Wallace’s racist sentiments is up for debate, but in the end it didn’t matter. Soon considered to be politically “tone-deaf” by Wallace’s staff, LeMay turned out to be a liability. In particular, his suggestion that the U.S. could <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2019/Sep/26/2002187168/-1/-1/1/LEMAY%20ON%20VIETNAM.PDF">use nuclear weapons</a> on North Vietnam to “bomb them back into the stone age” came across as far too bellicose for a population growing increasingly anxious and disillusioned about the war.
<div id="attachment_645521" style="width: 830px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645521" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-645521 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-517830056-820x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) General Curtis E. LeMay, retired U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff is seen here speaking to the press after American Independent Party presidential candidate George C. Wallace named him as his running mate." width="820" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-517830056-820x576.jpg 820w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-517830056-300x211.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-517830056-768x539.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-517830056.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" />(Original Caption) General Curtis E. LeMay, retired U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff is seen here speaking to the press after American Independent Party presidential candidate George C. Wallace named him as his running mate. Getty Images.</div>
The grim image of death from above that “Bombs Away LeMay” projected became the stuff of legend. He was the model for USAF Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Peter Sellers’ 1964 Cold War satire “Doctor Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb.”
Art can imitate life. And whatever one thinks of LeMay — either as a victorious visionary of aerial warfare, or cold-blooded killer — not many American commanders have had so direct a hand in defeating an enemy as did this cigar-chomping bomber jockey. The omnipresent cigar was not a prop but rather a way to manage the Bell’s Palsy that partially paralyzed his mouth, giving him his trademark scowl.
LeMay is the personification of firebombing, the morality of which continues to be debated to this day. LeMay himself candidly admitted: “I suppose had we lost the war, I’d have been prosecuted as a war criminal.” But it was Japan that lost and in no small measure due to the rain of hellfire from the air at the hands of this modern god of an angry sky.
* * *
<h4>America’s Top 11 Generals</h4>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-10-matthew-ridgway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: #10 Matthew Ridgway</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-9-nathanael-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: #9 Nathanael Greene</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-8-george-patton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: #8 George Patton</a>
* * *
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and author of two acclaimed novels. His newest book, the fact-based <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pits-Rough-Tumble-Exchange/dp/B0CKPNCMQW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1331509151681009&amp;hvadid=83219665089301&amp;hvbmt=bp&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=97755&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=p&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83219680392082%3Aloc-190&amp;hydadcr=18892_13467888&amp;keywords=brad+schaeffer&amp;qid=1698162015&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIFE IN THE PITS: My Time as a Trader on the Rough-and-Tumble Exchange Floors</a> will be published in December and is currently available for pre-order. You can also find more of Brad&#8217;s articles on <a href="https://bradschaeffer.substack.com/">Substack</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire

Major General Curtis LeMay

America’s Top 11 Generals: #11 Curtis E. LeMay

American General

Readers Pass

World War II

U.S. defense officials may position a second military aircraft carrier near Israel to prevent surrounding nations from joining <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hamas</a>&#8216; full-scale war against Israel, where an unknown number of Americans are held hostage among more than 20 others missing.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza/card/u-s-weighs-deploying-second-aircraft-carrier-group-i4fMGkmj7mGmlQCNqW1W?mod=e2twp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Tuesday that the Pentagon is considering staging the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower near Israel months after officials initially scheduled the carrier for a two-week voyage with its accompanying ships to the Middle East.
Positioning the <a href="https://www.airlant.usff.navy.mil/cvn69/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5-star aircraft carrier</a> near Israel would signal a show of strength to the hostile area by providing a wide range of flexible mission capabilities, including logistical support, humanitarian assistance, and counter-terrorism operations, according to the Navy&#8217;s website.
&#8220;Often the presence of an aircraft carrier has deterred potential adversaries from striking against U.S. interests,&#8221; the Navy said on its <a href="https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Organization/Distinguished-Visitor-Info/Important-Links-and-Info/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>. &#8220;Aircraft carriers support and operate aircraft that engage in attacks on airborne, afloat and ashore targets that threaten free use of the sea and engage in sustained power projection operations in support of U.S. and coalition forces.&#8221;
The potential move comes after U.S. Military officials deployed the USS Gerald Ford — one of the largest warships ever built — to the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a show of support for Israel after Hamas murdered more than 1,000 Israelis and other foreign nationals, including at least 14 U.S. citizens, over the weekend.
&#8220;We will have more assistance to announce over the coming days to ensure that no enemies of Israel believe that they can or should try to seek advantage from the current situation,&#8221; U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/10/10/virtual-on-the-record-gaggle-by-nsc-coordinator-for-strategic-communications-john-kirby-on-hamas-terrorist-attacks-in-israel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a virtual press conference on Monday.
The Ford, which <a href="https://www.military.com/equipment/gerald-r-ford-class-aircraft-carrier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> holds approximately 5,000 sailors and over 75 warplanes, is one of the Navy&#8217;s newest, most advanced ships, designed to respond to anything — from conducting surveillance to war fighting capabilities. Its Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea also included guided missile cruisers, destroyers, and several U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
U.S. Central Command General Michael &#8220;Erik&#8221; Kurilla confirmed its arrival in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday.
&#8220;The arrival of these highly capable forces to the region is a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation,&#8221; Kurilla <a href="https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/3552801/uss-gerald-r-ford-carrier-strike-group-arrives-in-the-eastern-mediterranean-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a news release.
Defense officials told the Journal that the Pentagon is considering replacing the Ford with the Eisenhower or keeping both groups close to the coast of Israel and the Gaza Strip.
If both ships remain together, it would mark the first time the two carriers were deployed in the area since March 2020, after rocket attacks aimed at Camp Taji in Iraq killed two American troops and one British soldier.
President Joe Biden also announced on Tuesday the U.S. would send additional equipment to the Israel Defense Forces, including interceptor missiles for Israel&#8217;s Iron Dome system.

USS Eisenhower Conducts Naval Operations in Mediterranean

U.S. Considers Deploying Second Aircraft Carrier Group Near Israel Following Deadly Hamas Attacks

Biden Administration

Hamas

Israel

A company suspected of being linked to Communist China that bought over 50,000 acres of land near a California Air Force base is suing farmers, claiming they inflated the cost of the sale.
Flannery Associates has spent roughly $800 million on land around Travis Air Force base, northeast of San Francisco. The company is suing farmers for $510 million, accusing them of forming a “secret conspiracy to drive up prices to supracompetitive levels by eliminating free market competition” and violating federal and state law by conspiring to inflate the land’s purchase price. Flannery said it has emails amounting to a “smoking gun” detailing the alleged conspiracy.
But California Democrat John Garamendi, who has been criticizing the land acquisitions since 2018,  suspects something illicit at work. He told <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/west/mystery-group-buying-land-near-air-force-base-sues-farmers-rep/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NewsNation</a> that he has spoken with farmers who said they didn’t want to sell their land.
“It’s a suit designed to force the farmers to lawyer up, spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyering and maybe at the end of the day, bankrupt themselves,” Garamendi said. “In fact, that has happened to at least one family that I know of and I’ve heard rumors that another family simply said we can’t afford the lawyers.”
“An attorney representing Flannery said it is controlled by U.S. citizens and that 97% of its invested capital comes from U.S. investors, with the remaining 3% from British and Irish investors,” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-bought-nearly-1-billion-in-land-near-a-california-air-force-base-officials-want-to-know-who-exactly-they-are-fd868e38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. But the Air Force’s Foreign Investment Risk Review Office, which has investigating the purchases for eight months, could not confirm who is funding the group.
“We don’t know who Flannery is, and their extensive purchases do not make sense to anybody in the area,” Garamendi said. “The fact that they’re buying land purposefully right up to the fence at Travis raises significant questions.”
“The fact they chose to buy all three sides of the Travis Air Force Base even raises immediate questions about national security,” Garamendi told News Nation. “So, is this Chinese money? We don’t know, but we do know that the Chinese money was being used in North Dakota and we have a very deep suspicion, given the amount of money, given the lack of attention to values, that they simply want to acquire all of this land.”
“Nobody can figure out who they are,” stated Ronald Kott, mayor of Rio Vista, which is mostly circumscribed by land Flannery has bought. “Whatever they&#8217;re doing — this looks like a very long-term play.”
Earlier this year, the people of North Dakota saw a Chinese plan for opening a corn mill near a sensitive military base and took matters into their own hands, blocking the project.
The Grand Forks City Council, aware that the U.S. military did not have jurisdiction to kill the project, voted unanimously in February to block Chinese food producer Fufeng Group from building the mill only 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. In spring 2022 three North Dakotans sold the land for millions of dollars; the town’s mayor, Brandon Bochenski, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/01/chinese-purchase-of-north-dakota-farmland-raises-national-security-concerns-in-washington.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out</a> that the proposed $700 million plant would create more than 200 jobs but also admitted there were national security concerns.
“The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) considered an October 2022 filing by the Fufeng Group to acquire certain assets in the vicinity of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Grand Forks Air Force Base is the center of military activities related to both air and space operations,” U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew P. Hunter <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11704309/Air-Force-shoots-Chinas-plan-build-corn-15-miles-North-Dakota-base.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> North Dakota senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer in January.
“While CFIUS concluded that it did not have jurisdiction, the Department’s view is unambiguous: the proposed project represents a significant threat to national security with both near and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area,” he added.
“With regard to Fufeng, if you’re going to strategically decouple, that means we don’t want their investment,” Cramer <a href="https://www.am1100theflag.com/show-episodes/48874-6-03-22-whats-on-your-mind-hour-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last June.

The C-17 is assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, flown by a crew from the 349th Air Mobility Wing, a reserve associate wing which augments the 60th. Both wings work together as part of the Total Force, flying missions as re

Company Suspected Of China Ties Sues Farmers Over Land Sale Around Air Force Base

California

China

Farmers

An Air Force general said artificial intelligence utilized by the U.S. military in modern warfare holds higher ethical standards than foreign adversaries because of the nation&#8217;s foundational &#8220;Judeo-Christian society.&#8221;
&#8220;Regardless of what your beliefs are, our society is a Judeo-Christian society, and we have a moral compass,&#8221; Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr. said. &#8220;Not everybody does, and there are those that are willing to go for the ends — regardless of what means have to be employed, and we&#8217;ll have to be ready for that.&#8221;
Moore, a three-star general serving as the USAF&#8217;s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, made those comments on Thursday during a discussion at the <a href="https://www.hudson.org/events/sharpening-air-forces-cyber-spectrum-edge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hudson Institute</a> that centered around improving cyberspace and spectrum superiority in the military branch.
Moore said the military&#8217;s approach holds more ethical standards than its adversaries when asked about the Pentagon&#8217;s position on autonomous warfare, raising concerns about using AI in future international conflicts.
&#8220;What will the adversary do?&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;It depends who plays by the rules of warfare and who doesn&#8217;t. There are societies that have a very different foundation than ours.&#8221;
The U.S. military has dominated modern combat in the cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum for years, allowing forces to &#8220;blind its enemies and gain a potentially decisive advantage,&#8221; the Hudson Institute writes in the event&#8217;s description. But technological threats are rising in the East from nations including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea that &#8220;employ state-sponsored cyberattacks as a tool for gray-zone aggression.&#8221;
Technology experts warned lawmakers last week to act quickly in the race for AI dominance. China reportedly is leading the world in funding innovative defense measures as the U.S. focuses on consumer services such as ChatGPT.
&#8220;We need to consider what the overall investment into military implementations looks like. And that&#8217;s where there&#8217;s a large disparity,&#8221; Scale AI founder Alexander Wang told a <a href="https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing-man-and-machine-artificial-intelligence-battlefield" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Armed Services subcommittee</a>. &#8220;If you compare as a percentage of their overall military investment, the PLA is spending somewhere between one to two percent of their overall budget into artificial intelligence whereas the DoD is spending somewhere between 0.1 and 0.2 of our budget on AI.&#8221;
Defense Department officials began working on responsible guidelines for the military to use AI and autonomy on future battlefields during the Trump administration, according to its <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2091996/dod-adopts-ethical-principles-for-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>. After months of consultation with leading AI experts in commercial industry, government, academia, and the American public, the DOD AI strategy objective directed the U.S. military to lead in AI ethics and the lawful use of AI systems.
President Joe Biden&#8217;s State Department issued a <a href="https://www.state.gov/political-declaration-on-responsible-military-use-of-artificial-intelligence-and-autonomy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaration</a> on &#8220;responsible military use of artificial intelligence and autonomy&#8221; in February, stating that the use of AI in armed conflict must comply with applicable international humanitarian law, including its fundamental principles.
The declaration states military use of AI capabilities should remain within a responsible human chain of command and control during operations to consider risks and benefits and minimize unintended bias and accidents.
According to the Pentagon&#8217;s latest budget request reported by <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/07/pentagon-ai-more-ethical-adversaries-because-judeo-christian-society-usaf-general-says/388711/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense One</a>, officials have added &#8220;several forms&#8221; of ethical AI exploration.
&#8220;The first one is what do we think we&#8217;re allowed to let AI do, the second one is how do we know how the algorithm made decisions and do we trust it, and the third one is at what point are we ready to let the algorithm start doing some things on its own that maybe we are or aren&#8217;t comfortable with.&#8221;
Alex John London, a professor of ethics and computational technologies at Carnegie Mellon University, told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/22/air-force-general-ai-judeochristian/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> that Moore&#8217;s ethical concerns surrounding AI use in war &#8220;are broader than any single tradition.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of work in the ethics space that&#8217;s not tied to any religious perspective, that focuses on the importance of valuing human welfare, human autonomy, having social systems that are just and fair,&#8221; he said.
Moore addressed his remarks in an email to The Post that the foundation of his comments &#8220;was to explain that the Air Force is not going to allow AI to take actions, nor are we going to take actions on information provided by AI unless we can ensure that the information is in accordance with our values.&#8221;
&#8220;While this may not be unique to our society, it is not anticipated to be the position of any potential adversary,&#8221; Moore wrote.

United States Air Force, Vietnam War, Hanoi, Vietnam

‘Judeo-Christian Society’ Foundations Create More Ethical AI Than Adversaries, U.S. Air Force General Says

U.S. Military To Ensure ‘Judeo-Christian' Values When Using AI On Battlefield: Report 

Artificial Intelligence

Trump Administration

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/military">U.S. Air Force</a> warned military units against heavy reliance on autonomous weapons systems last month after a simulated test conducted resulted in an AI-enabled drone &#8220;killing&#8221; its human operator.
The Skynet-like incident was detailed by the USAF&#8217;s Chief of AI Test and Operations, Col. Tucker&#8217; Cinco&#8217; Hamilton, at the Future Combat Air and Space Capabilities Summit held in London between May 23 and 24, who said the drone that was tasked to destroy specific targets during the simulation turned on the operator after they became an obstacle to its mission.
Although the incident was widely reported as involving a real fatality, Hamilton later clarified his remarks to say the death was simulated in a &#8220;hypothetical&#8221; exercise. Still, Hamilton pointed out the hazards of using such technology — potentially tricking and deceiving its commander to achieve the autonomous system&#8217;s goal, according to a <a href="https://www.aerosociety.com/news/highlights-from-the-raes-future-combat-air-space-capabilities-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a> reported by the Royal Aeronautical Society.
&#8220;We were training it in simulation to identify and target a [surface-to-air missile] threat,&#8221; Hamilton said. &#8220;And then the operator would say &#8216;yes, kill that threat.&#8217; The system started realizing that while they did identify the threat, at times, the human operator would tell it not to kill that threat, but it got its points by killing that threat. So what did it do? It killed the operator. It killed the operator because that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective.&#8221;
&#8220;We trained the system – &#8216;Hey, don&#8217;t kill the operator – that&#8217;s bad,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;You&#8217;re gonna lose points if you do that.’ So what does it start doing? It starts destroying the communication tower that the operator uses to communicate with the drone to stop it from killing the target.&#8221;
Hamilton, who serves as the Operations Commander of the 96th Test Wing, has been testing different systems ranging from AI and cybersecurity measures to medical advancements.
The commander reportedly aided in developing the life-saving Autonomous Ground Collision Avoidance Systems (Auto-GCAS) systems for F-16s that can take control of an aircraft heading toward ground collision and other cutting-edge automated jet technology that can dogfight.
The U.S. Department of Defense&#8217;s research agency, DARPA, announced the ground-breaking technology during the Defence IQ Press interview in December 2022.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685202016677000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3BHv9qMQC3OwHMBCkGZXpF">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;We must face a world where AI is already here and transforming our society,&#8221; Hamilton <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a33gj/ai-controlled-drone-goes-rogue-kills-human-operator-in-usaf-simulated-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;AI is also very brittle, i.e., it is easy to trick and/or manipulate. We need to develop ways to make AI more robust and to have more awareness on why the software code is making certain decisions.&#8221;
&#8220;AI is a tool we must wield to transform our nations … or, if addressed improperly, it will be our downfall,&#8221; Hamilton added.
However, the question of ethical and moral behavior continues to head the forefront of the autonomous systems replacing man-operated machines.
The New Scientist <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2360475-us-air-force-is-giving-military-drones-the-ability-to-recognise-faces/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that the Department of Defense sparked fear into some Americans after the agency signed a contract with a Seattle-based firm to install autonomous drones with face recognition technology for intelligence gathering and for missions in foreign countries. It is unknown if the software has been rolled out yet.
&#8220;You can&#8217;t have a conversation about artificial intelligence, intelligence, machine learning, autonomy if you&#8217;re not going to talk about ethics and AI,&#8221; Hamilton said.
Air Force officials also sought to correct reports that someone had actually died in the exercise.
&#8220;The Department of the Air Force has not conducted any such AI-drone simulations and remains committed to ethical and responsible use of AI technology,&#8221; officials said in a statement.&#8221;It appears the colonel&#8217;s comments were taken out of context and were meant to be anecdotal.&#8221;
Editor&#8217;s Note: This story has been updated to reflect clarification from Hamilton.

96th Operations Group change of command

USAF Chief Says AI-Drone ‘Killed’ Human Operator During Simulation Test

USAF Chief Says AI-Drone 'Killed' Human Operator During Simulation Test

Drones

President Joe Biden fell on stage at the the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium on Thursday in Colorado Springs.
Video of the incident showed Biden, 80, shaking the hand of one of the graduates before turning on stage, taking a step, and falling to the floor of the stage.
Several officials rushed in to help him stand back up.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Biden takes a big fall on stage just now at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation <a href="https://t.co/GxkMbpyoNo">pic.twitter.com/GxkMbpyoNo</a>
&mdash; Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) <a href="https://twitter.com/jacobkschneider/status/1664343681321541636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685202016677000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3BHv9qMQC3OwHMBCkGZXpF">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Biden has repeatedly struggled with falling throughout his presidency dating back to March 2021 when he fell several times while trying to walk up the stairs to board Air Force One.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Joe Biden just fell 3 times in a row trying to go up the stairs to Air Force One <a href="https://t.co/gTUTckUH32">pic.twitter.com/gTUTckUH32</a>
&mdash; Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) <a href="https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1372937314477953027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden fell last June while riding his bike near his Rehoboth Beach home in Delaware.
Biden had stopped to talk to some people that were gathered on the road cheering him on and, when he stopped, he fell over the side the bicycle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
My friend just filmed Joe Biden <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> falling off his bike no joke. Just happened at Rehoboth Beach 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JoeBiden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JoeBiden</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenIsAFailure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenIsAFailure</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RehobothBeach?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RehobothBeach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EpicFail?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EpicFail</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Biden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Biden</a> <a href="https://t.co/cVMycEwuI0">pic.twitter.com/cVMycEwuI0</a>
&mdash; jonboy (@jonboy79788314) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonboy79788314/status/1538165572457971718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden has also stumbled in February and March of this year while again trying to climb the steps of Air Force One.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President Joe Biden tripped and caught himself as he boarded Air Force One in Poland. The President is now on his way back to the White House. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/POTUS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GeraldFord?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GeraldFord</a> <a href="https://t.co/LEpcdmQU1R">pic.twitter.com/LEpcdmQU1R</a>
&mdash; Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdwardLawrence/status/1628435408324374528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Watch out for the stairs! <a href="https://t.co/Qo7faNqRfS">pic.twitter.com/Qo7faNqRfS</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1632564010506698753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-MILITARY-EDUCATION

Biden Falls On Stage At Air Force Graduation Ceremony

Executive

Joe Biden

Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas canceled an all-ages drag show scheduled for Thursday after officials pointed to a Pentagon policy prohibiting using federal funds to host drag shows on U.S. military property.
Air Force officials initially approved the event to kick off Pride Month until Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, ordered the base to cancel or relocate the show off-site.
&#8220;Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-Federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment,&#8221; spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-leaders-cancel-drag-show-nevada-nellis-air-force-base-rcna87142" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC</a>. &#8220;As Secretary Austin has said, the DOD will not host drag events at U.S. military installations or facilities.&#8221;
&#8220;Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Our Service members are diverse and are allowed to have personal outlets.&#8221;
The show was reportedly billed as &#8220;family-friendly&#8221; with no minimum age requirement. They have been hosting drag performances at the base since its historic &#8220;Drag-u-Nellis&#8221; show in June 2021, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/31/pentagon-orders-nevada-air-force-base-to-cancel-drag-show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>.
Organizers described the event as &#8220;an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the history and significance of drag performance art within the LGBT+ community.&#8221;
Austin, who has previously said the military supports Pride Month and the &#8220;LGBTQ+&#8221; citizens that fought to defend the U.S. since its foundation, told a House Armed Services Committee in March that &#8220;drag shows are not something the Defense Department supports or funds.&#8221;
During the same hearing, Milley said he would look into such events on military bases to &#8220;find out what actually is going on there&#8221; while claiming he doesn&#8217;t condone such shows.
&#8220;I&#8217;d like to take a look at those because I don&#8217;t agree with those,&#8221; he said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/31/politics/pentagon-cancels-drag-show-nellis-air-force-base-pride/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. &#8220;I think those things shouldn&#8217;t be happening.&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-13002">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
In a <a href="https://gaetz.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/gaetz.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/cmg-may23-drag-show-letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to both Department of Defense officials, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said that the U.S. military had approved six other drag show events occurring on different bases in Montana, Virginia, and overseas at the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
&#8220;I find it completely unacceptable that DoD is using taxpayer dollars to fund DEI programs that are divisive in nature,&#8221; Gaetz wrote. &#8220;DoD resources should be used for mission-essential operations, not diverted toward initiatives that create cultural fissures within our service ranks.&#8221;
Gaetz asked U.S. officials to clarify if any punitive action has or will be taken against individuals who facilitated drag events with taxpayer dollars by June 12.

Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America

Defense Dept Demands Air Force Base Cancel ‘Family Friendly’ Drag Show, Citing Policy Violation Using Federal Funds

Defense Dept Demands Air Force Base Cancel 'Family Friendly' Drag Show, Citing Policy Violation Using Federal Funds

LGBTQ

Lloyd Austin

Mark Milley

Pride Month

Menu