Study Shows Female Marines Less Combat Ready

The US Marine Corps reported this week results of a lengthy experiment studying women during combat skills tests found . The study that all-male units performed better than mixed-gender ones in most tactical areas and that women suffered more injuries than men.

One measure showed that the musculoskeletal injury rate for women was 40.5%, compared with 18.8% for men.

The report, however, drew swift criticism from leaders who support opening military combat roles to women. On Friday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the civilian head of the Navy and Marine Corps, told National Public Radio that the Marines had used flawed methodology in designing the study and exhibited prejudicial thinking about certain results from the testing.

Check out an LA Times article here describing the study and comments in greater detail.

The DoD has mandated that on January 1, 2016 all military jobs will be open to females. The Air Force already has opened all billets to women, with the remaining services required to follow suit by 01 Jan 16.

Damning F-35 Report

Surprising news about the deficiencies in close-in dog-fighting capability of the F-35. Check out the fighter pilot's report here from the site War is Boring.  If the report is authentic (which based on verbiage and content it appears to be), quite alarming that this $400 billion aircraft would be such a grape.

According to Pentagon officials, the nominated but not yet appointed JCS Chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, USMC, has ordered a complete review of the F-35 development and purchasing plan (estimated by some to top out at up to $1.5 trillion).

Top Gun 2

Looks like Top Gun 2 is getting green-lighted.  See latest buzz here and here.  Can't wait to see who they cast other than TC. Can't imagine they'll bring back Val Kilmer, Rick Rossovich or Tim Robbins. Would love to see a Vice Admiral Tom Skerrit!

Blue Angels Transitioning to UAVs

In a surprise announcement today, the US Navy announced that the Blue Angels will transition from their current F-18 Hornets to unmanned F-47 aircraft for their 2018 airshow season. The team will still fly a full ‘delta’ aerobatic routine, including tight formations, using six of the cutting edge drones. The only difference is that the pilots will never leave the ground and will instead monitor the pre-programmed flight routines from special trailers set up at each show site.

Since the aircraft are unmanned, the team will no longer offer media rides but will allow selected media representatives to ‘sit in’ on practice demonstrations using a virtual reality headset that will be known as Blue Angel 7, the same callsign as the team’s current two-seat media jet. The pilots will also be expected to post to social media during the routine to increase their interaction with fans.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Navy to showcase our advanced technology and cutting edge aircraft,” said Jack Herndon, the Navy’s Chief of Public Outreach. “Honestly, the Hornets are getting to be quite old and worn out. We saw the need to replace them and decided to take advantage of the timing by leaping straight ahead to our very newest fighter aircraft, the F-47.

The Blue Angels’ primary mission is to inspire America’s young people to join the Navy, and with this transition we are able to demonstrate that even young men and women who only want to sit at a computer all day can have a successful Navy flying career. Those are exactly the people we are looking to recruit in the future.”

Russia Starts Major Show of Force

More than 45,000 Russian troops, as well as war planes and submarines, started military exercises across much of the country today in one of the Kremlin's biggest shows of force since its ties with the West plunged to Cold War-lows.

President Vladimir Putin called the Navy's Northern Fleet to full combat readiness in exercises in Russia's Arctic North apparently aimed at dwarfing military drills in neighboring Norway, a NATO member.

 

"New challenges and threats to military security require the armed forces to further boost their military capabilities. Special attention must be paid to newly created strategic formations in the north," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, quoted by RIA news agency.

 

More on the "Cold" War Games reported from CBS News here.

 

Anyone doubt the Big Bad Bear is coming back? Apparently, even a 6-year low in oil prices isn't keeping Russia down [see article here in Moscow Times regarding Kremlin's 2015 record $81B defense budget].

 

 

First Female Submariners Taped in Showers

Navy criminal investigators are looking into who secretly filmed female officers of a submarine crew while they were showering and changing clothes aboard the USS Wyoming's unisex heads.

Petty officers recording female shipmates in showers, really? Really guys?!  It's noteworthy that this is the first submarine to have women serving onboard, and these are the first female submariners. 

According to a Navy Times article, up to a dozen sailors are suspected of viewing secretly recorded videos of their female shipmates undressing in a submarine shower over a period of 10 months.

Navy Vice Adm. M.J. Connor wrote that "an investigation is in progress." He also noted the women affected were provided assistance and the alleged perpetrators were removed from the ship pending the investigation's results.  "The Navy has successfully integrated women into our aviation, surface warfare and expeditionary warfare communities," Connor wrote in the letter. "It would be inaccurate to say that we achieved this without incident, but I can say unequivocally that we are a better force because of that integration."

At least official Navy acknowledges the service has had its share of "incidents" in transitioning into a seamless, fully integrated force.

No More Challenging Carrier Traps?

Saw this article last week in the San Diego Union-Tribune with the catchy title: "No More Tricky Landings" and had to laugh.  Do the pointy-head engineers really think they can program carrier landings to a science?  Hmm, seem to remember ACL and auto-throttle systems from the 70s and 80s. Sure, the technology is leaps and bounds better, but once the ship starts rocking and rolling, turbulence and lightening strike and a black box or two fails, dare to say it is more than "tricky" to land a 60,000-pound jet--even one with the most sophisticated computer system.

X-47B Update

It's been a while since I posted on the Navy's X-47B program. Here's a link from late Aug where the navy was conducting integrated flight ops on the THEODORE ROOSEVELT alongside an F-18 Hornet. I understand further carrier ops are scheduled in the coming months.

In researching unclassified websites and news reports, it looks like the navy is still at least five or six years away from IOC of the drone. Capitol Hill and the Pentagon continue to fight over what type of platform and mission is best suited for the X-47B-- light strike in a permissive or contested environment. In the meantime, trials and testing continue.

At a Bookstore Near You?

On a business trip to the East Coast this week, a good friend of mine texted me these photos from Chicago O'Hare and DFW airports. Already on Amazon.com and Kindle, striving for a bookstore near you next.

And to the readers of "The Last Top Gun" who have written reviews on Amazon, thank you!

The Sierra Hotel Break

The "Shit Hot" Break explained in titillating detail in Fightersweep.com.  The author describes the penultimate carrier break perfected by Mike "Nasty" Manazir, a former F-14 fighter pilot and Landing Signal Officer, now serving as Director, Air Warfare (OPNAV N98).  A great article! 

Review from Warbird News

Review of "The Last Top Gun" by Warbird News here.

Thanks for the promo, warbirdnews.com.  Great site for news, events, books and other aviation-related gee-dunk.  Check them out!

Female U.A.E. Pilot Bombed ISIS

Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot in the history of the United Arab Emirates, led the Gulf state's bombing raids over Syria last week.

From a Washington Post article:

It's not clear how vital her and her compatriots' efforts were in the air campaign against the Islamic State, which is entrenched over a vast swath of territory in Syria and Iraq. More important was the sheer fact of her presence. "While Arab participation in the strikes is of more symbolic than military value," writes the Wall Street Journal's Ahmed Al Omran, "analysts described it as a bold move for a group of countries that for long preferred to act via proxies instead of any direct involvement."

Gotta love the irony of ISIS fighters being bombed by a woman. Good for MAJ al-Mansouri and good for the U.A.E.; though, as the Post article points out:

The U.A.E. is no paragon of women's rights either. Female migrant workers in the country face harrowing conditions and abuse, while Emirati laws still don't provide legal recourse for marital rape. 

 And what about Saudi Arabia, where women are not permitted to drive cars or vote?

As played out in the contentious relationship between "Spyder" and "Drone" in The Last Top Gun, integration of women into combat forces is almost as complex as finding peace in the Middle East.

 

The Last Top Gun Available on Kindle

Not sure why it took so long, but the book is finally available on Kindle for just $2.99.  Click here to order.

Sep 3rd Press Release

The Last Top Gun: F-14 Pilot’s New Novel Rocks the Wings of Fact & Fiction, Paying Homage to Culture of Last Generation All-Male Navy Fighter ‘Jocks’.

‘The Last Top Gun: A Story Of The Last Generation Of Navy Fighter Jocks’ catapults readers off the carrier deck and into a world that only a privileged few have experienced.  Author Dan Zimberoff tells a collective story of 1980s and 1990s fighter pilots who were part rock star, part airborne warrior and 100% male. Zimberoff was himself a Top Gun graduate, and part of an elite group whose lifestyle and out-of-the-cockpit experiences will never be repeated in today’s diverse new military.

For Immediate Release

Seattle, WA – Each time Dan Zimberoff fired up an F-14 Tomcat perched on the deck of an aircraft carrier, he knew that flying a fighter jet demanded a level of brashness and rock star-esque aplomb. He never forgot that he was part of an all-male team that was the envy of many – a culture that has now crashed and burned like the fiery mishaps he witnessed too many times over his distinguished career.

Zimberoff now practices law and, acutely aware of the military’s growing use of drones and embracement of women and openly gay pilots, is proud to have been a part of a fraternity that no longer exists. His novel, ‘The Last Top Gun: A Story Of The Last Generation Of Navy Fighter Jocks’, depicts this changing culture and gives readers an opportunity to don their flight suits for an inside look at how life as a navy fighter pilot used to be before political correctness took over the military.

Synopsis:

While flying fighters in and out of combat, US Navy pilot Eric "Spyder" Greene repeatedly came face-to-face with his own mortality. But none of his cockpit exploits prepared him for what lay ahead. The same navy that had Spyder piloting the last manually flown fighter on and off aircraft carriers, now has the reserve commander assigned to a staff job where he grapples with a post-9/11 world filled with unmanned aircraft and drones, politically-driven policies, women in combat, and doubt as to his role in any of it.

In The Last Top Gun, a novel by Dan Zimberoff, Spyder meets the future of naval aviation in the form of two young, aspiring aviators. The grizzled fighter pilot, raw and anything but politically correct, recounts his harrowing experiences when he and his squadronmates were part rock stars, part Olympic athletes in the air--and all male. Spyder's encounters and chronicles intrigue the young officers, and like the reader, they want more.

Fifty percent of the profits from the sale of this book are donated to charity organizations that support US active duty and veterans organizations.

Author's Comments:

“This book shares the story of my generation’s military,” explains Zimberoff.  “We truly were a fraternity of airborne warriors; a generation that no longer exists as the military works diligently to form a ‘best of the best’ team of Top Guns representing every cross-section of society,” he adds.  “I’m certainly not saying that diversity is a bad thing—far from it—but times have changed and the all-boys club I was once a part of, and every generation of military man before me, is now just a shadow of its former self.”

Continuing, “Readers get to experience all of the bravado of the ready room and heroic actions at 30,000ft, as a group of “men’s men” would say goodbye to their families without notice to travel the world fighting or keeping the peace. Some never made it home, and we all were just seconds from a fiery death on multiple occasions.  The Last Top Gun s is a true showcase of what being a navy carrier pilot used to be all about.”

Reviews:

Since its release, the novel has garnered rave reviews. Clarion Review states, “A lively, testosterone-driven debut novel. . . Zimberoff puts readers right in the cockpit with Spyder during missions, not only detailing technology and radio chatter, but also conveying the thrill of flight.  Top Gun fans will get the full story here.”

“An insightful, sometimes witty look at the life of a seasoned Navy pilot,” writes Kirkus Review.

Gerald Nielsen Jr. comments, “Fantastic book giving a true and personal prospective of Top Gun naval aviator. Demonstrates what these heroes lives are like defending our country. Great read!”

Edward Malynn adds, “I loved this book. I am a little biased...I relived some of my past life. I flew F-14s and was one of the last few lucky souls to make it to Cubi Point before the Navy closed the base. If you want to know the life of a Naval Aviator (A Navy Fighter Puke), read this book. I hope there is a sequel!”

‘The Last Top Gun: A Story Of The Last Generation Of Navy Fighter Jocks’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1p8kfED. For more information, visit the official website: http://www.thelasttopgun.com.

F-18 Hornets Pound ISIL Militants in Iraq

The U.S. military says American jet fighters and drones conducted four more airstrikes Saturday on Islamic militants in Iraq, taking out armored carriers and a truck that were firing on civilians.

U.S. CENTCOM says the Islamic State militants were firing on Yazidi civilians near Sinjar. The refugees have been taking shelter in the Sinjar mountains.

Fitting that the Hornets flew of the USS GEORGE HW BUSH (CVN-77), eh?

AFA Cadets Rape, Smoke Pot and Cheat

Even in today's highly scrutinized and controlled environment, despicable action by young men continues.  For the latest Air Force Academy scandal as reported on military.com, click here.

Also, in January, the Defense Department released a report stating that more than two-thirds of the sexual assaults reported at the military academies in academic year 2012-13 occurred at the Air Force Academy.

The annual report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Service Academies showed that the total number of sexual assaults reported was 70 at the Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the Naval Academy in academic year 2012-13. That was a decrease from 80 reported at the academies in the previous year.  The Air Force Academy had 45 reports, the Naval Academy had 15, and West Point had 10 reports of sexual assault.

Changing the culture in the military, even for cadets and midshipmen who are just commencing their careers, is proving highly problematic many years after women were fully integrated into the armed forces.

Great Summer Read

Ever wonder what it's like to be catapaulted off an aircraft carrier in 2.2 seconds at 175 miles per hour?  Or how about breaking the sound barrier, or visitng exotic foreign ports of call? Ever think what it would be like to be a Top Gun fighter pilot..no, not the Hollywood version, but the real thing?  Then "The Last Top Gun" is for you.  Available on Amazon (coming to Kindle and many bookstores soon). Check 6!

Book Launch!!

Twelve years in the making!  Hard to believe it's finally out in the public domain.  As stated in the forefront:

This book is dedicated to Eddie, Dinger, Furball, TC, Tuna, Tommy, and too many other warriors who died in the prime of their lives. You are not forgotten.

Fifty percent of the profits from the sale of this book are donated to charity organizations that support US active duty and veterans organizations.

Don't Call Them Drones

Leaders of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Washington this week tried to persuade media members not to use the word "drone" when describing the various types of unmanned vehicles.  Apparently, "drones" connotes images of killer robots, Mad Max and Terminator. 

The trade group and many of its members prefer the terms “unmanned aerial systems” (UAS) or “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAV) or “remotely piloted aircraft” (RPA) or, as they’re officially known in Europe, “remotely piloted aircraft systems” (RPAS).

Check out the full article here. 

Call them what you will, just get used to their proliferation over the next decade--both for combat operations overseas and surveillance and business operations domestically. You can run, but you can't hide.

X-47B Lands on Carrier

Naval Aviation made history yesterday when a X-47B caught the first trap at sea onboard USS George H. Bush.  Here's a link to the story.

The Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) program has been in existence for over ten years, and seems to be ramping up at a record pace recently with the X-47B bomber and Fire Scout MQ-8B helicopter.

With the UCAS aircraft moving quickly along in development and the first F-35C being delivered to Eglin AFB last month to begin joint training with Air Farce, Marine and Navy aviators, it's an exciting time for Naval aviation.