Well there you go again Pete, wrong again trying to besmirch the U.S. anytime you can. Like the ungrateful baby you are even complaining about being on his mum's teat. Black Hawk Down was the name of a movie that was a Delta Force mission where a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu Somalia. Eighteen Americans died in the rescue effort including a local boy from my area. 

Well there you go again Pete, wrong again trying to besmirch the U.S. anytime you can. Like the ungrateful baby you are even complaining about being on his mum's teat. Black Hawk Down was the name of a movie that was a Delta Force mission where a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu Somalia. Eighteen Americans died in the rescue effort including a local boy from my area. 

It seems two Black Hawks were shot down in Somalia, not one.

Team Courage was in Somalia as part of the UN mission. And as a UN asset, it fell to TF 2-14 to respond to the crash. A Pakistani with the  UN went in with an APC to try and get them out but he was shot and killed when he first stepped out of his carrier.

Seems like 1993 was a bad year for Black Hawk helicopers If your own boys weren't shooting them down then the Somali's were. Have you ever flown in one Tommy? I have in Fort Campbell with the 101st Air Assault. Still have somewhere around the house the certificate making me an honourary members of that group.

The sight of dead US soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu was a turning point in one of the United States' most high-profile interventions in Africa.

The images, broadcast around the world, outraged many.

In October 1993, elite American troops launched a disastrous raid in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Their aim was to capture key allies of the powerful Somali warlord, Gen Mohamed Farah Aideed. But US forces met fierce resistance from Aideed's militia. A side note here,  Gen Mohamed Fare]ah Aideed was backed and but in place by Russia.

Two US Black Hawk helicopters were shot down.

In the ensuing battle, hundreds of Somalis were estimated to have died. Some 18 Americans and two UN soldiers were killed.

At the time, the United States was leading a UN mission to end the civil war and famine in Somalia.

Within six months, the US had withdrawn its forces from Somalia. The perceived failure of the Somali mission made the US wary of intervening in African crises.

My one and only helicopter trip was in Las Vegas, when we flew over the Colorado. I thought it was amazing, the wife crapped herself. The pilot was a young dolly.

I've flown in a Chinook on a joyride over Stafford, it was on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Watching it land was like watching a house descend in front of you. 

My one and only helicopter trip was in Las Vegas, when we flew over the Colorado. I thought it was amazing, the wife crapped herself. The pilot was a young dolly.

  I flew from Cold Lake Alberta to Norway in a C-130 in the middle of winter. Besides us techs we had two Kiowa helicopters in with us with their blades and tail rotor removed and packed in boxes.

Besides being on the metal sliding cargo pilates we had the landing skids of the helicopters on mattresses before we strapped them down. It's a terrible plane to try and sleep on sitting up so I decided instead to lay down between the mattresses and the underside of one of the copters. I was having a great sleep until I found myself air born lifted off the mattresses completely and hitting against the under side of the copter. In kind of a bit of shock to what just happened my mind started racing to did the plane just hit something or did we just hit a very bad air pockets and drop leaving me up in the air because I wasn't in a seat belt.

Well you always think the worse first and so I rolled off the mattress as fast as I could because I know if we just hit something the first think that going to happen is the pilot is going to ditch the cargo which is on the sliding pilates out the back door with me still on them. I said what the hell was that and the guys in the seats along beside me who were in seat belts said we just hit a bad air pocket and dropped in altitude sharply.

I went back to sleeping in a seat with a belt on after that. We are now approaching Happy Valley Gander Newfoundland where we will land and refuel but we are in the middle of a snow storm and you can't see the ground. 

We seemed to drop out of a snow cloud and there we were touching down on the runway. The pilot is reversing prop to try and slow down which is blowing the snow worse which makes it look like we are in one of those snow globes. He gets the plane stopped but we can't get out of the plane because the snow it too deep and they can't open the door and lower the steps. A couple of guys show up and had to dig out a place so they can get the door open.

We start getting out and on our way to the underground tunnel system to get to I guess what you would call the terminal, I here the pilot say to one of his crew members, sure glad I'm finish here and don't have to take it up again. I thought what, maybe I should just hide out in a washroom and maybe they won't miss me until after the plane has left. We were on the ground for probably an hour or so while they re-fueled and clear one strip of snow off the centre of the runway. We get air born again and we seem to be clmbing higher and higher and not leveling off. The pilot was trying to get us above the cloud layer to better weather. We do reach better weather higher up and everything when smooth until we hit the coast of Norway. We had been taking turns riding in the cockpit and it was my turn now and it a very clear moon lite night and I can see that we seem to be flying over some mountains but beside others. Them all of a sudden the pilot pulled the plane up and then just as fast dropped it down and we are on the ground.I was thinking who would ever build a runway in the middle of the mountains. It wasn't until the next day that I found out why. In the side of this one mountain they had a large tunnel system build with nuke proof doors and that where they kept their jet fighters. We used it as a place to put the two copers back together and was surprised how warm it was inside. The rest of our sqn which had our Hueys and the remainer of our techs came by sea.

After you see the top secret picture you will have to poke out your own eyes and cut out your tongues.

As you can see, Norway is all mountains and fjords.

I'm pretty sure I have shown these pictures before and the last one is of an ice covered shaded sharp corner where I almost went over the edge dropping into a fyord while driving a duel and a half (the flying kitchen) pulling a loaded trailer with no brake on the way to get it loaded on the ship in Narvik.

I was forced in a split second to throw the automatic truck in neutral and crank the wheel hard to the left to spin the truck and trailer completely around in a circle so I ended up going the opposite way back up the hill I was coming down.

My one and only helicopter trip was in Las Vegas, when we flew over the Colorado. I thought it was amazing, the wife crapped herself. The pilot was a young dolly.

  I flew from Cold Lake Alberta to Norway in a C-130 in the middle of winter. Besides us techs we had two Kiowa helicopters in with us with their blades and tail rotor removed and packed in boxes.

Besides being on the metal sliding cargo pilates we had the landing skids of the helicopters on mattresses before we strapped them down. It's a terrible plane to try and sleep on sitting up so I decided instead to lay down between the mattresses and the underside of one of the copters. I was having a great sleep until I found myself air born lifted off the mattresses completely and hitting against the under side of the copter. In kind of a bit of shock to what just happened my mind started racing to did the plane just hit something or did we just hit a very bad air pockets and drop leaving me up in the air because I wasn't in a seat belt.

Well you always think the worse first and so I rolled off the mattress as fast as I could because I know if we just hit something the first think that going to happen is the pilot is going to ditch the cargo which is on the sliding pilates out the back door with me still on them. I said what the hell was that and the guys in the seats along beside me who were in seat belts said we just hit a bad air pocket and dropped in altitude sharply.

I went back to sleeping in a seat with a belt on after that. We are now approaching Happy Valley Gander Newfoundland where we will land and refuel but we are in the middle of a snow storm and you can't see the ground. 

We seemed to drop out of a snow cloud and there we were touching down on the runway. The pilot is reversing prop to try and slow down which is blowing the snow worse which makes it look like we are in one of those snow globes. He gets the plane stopped but we can't get out of the plane because the snow it too deep and they can't open the door and lower the steps. A couple of guys show up and had to dig out a place so they can get the door open.

We start getting out and on our way to the underground tunnel system to get to I guess what you would call the terminal, I here the pilot say to one of his crew members, sure glad I'm finish here and don't have to take it up again. I thought what, maybe I should just hide out in a washroom and maybe they won't miss me until after the plane has left. We were on the ground for probably an hour or so while they re-fueled and clear one strip of snow off the centre of the runway. We get air born again and we seem to be clmbing higher and higher and not leveling off. The pilot was trying to get us above the cloud layer to better weather. We do reach better weather higher up and everything when smooth until we hit the coast of Norway. We had been taking turns riding in the cockpit and it was my turn now and it a very clear moon lite night and I can see that we seem to be flying over some mountains but beside others. Them all of a sudden the pilot pulled the plane up and then just as fast dropped it down and we are on the ground.I was thinking who would ever build a runway in the middle of the mountains. It wasn't until the next day that I found out why. In the side of this one mountain they had a large tunnel system build with nuke proof doors and that where they kept their jet fighters. We used it as a place to put the two copers back together and was surprised how warm it was inside. The rest of our sqn which had our Hueys and the remainer of our techs came by sea.

Yepper, the C-130 was never designed for passenger comfort. Hence the prefix "C" eh.

My one and only helicopter trip was in Las Vegas, when we flew over the Colorado. I thought it was amazing, the wife crapped herself. The pilot was a young dolly.

  I flew from Cold Lake Alberta to Norway in a C-130 in the middle of winter. Besides us techs we had two Kiowa helicopters in with us with their blades and tail rotor removed and packed in boxes.

Besides being on the metal sliding cargo pilates we had the landing skids of the helicopters on mattresses before we strapped them down. It's a terrible plane to try and sleep on sitting up so I decided instead to lay down between the mattresses and the underside of one of the copters. I was having a great sleep until I found myself air born lifted off the mattresses completely and hitting against the under side of the copter. In kind of a bit of shock to what just happened my mind started racing to did the plane just hit something or did we just hit a very bad air pockets and drop leaving me up in the air because I wasn't in a seat belt.

Well you always think the worse first and so I rolled off the mattress as fast as I could because I know if we just hit something the first think that going to happen is the pilot is going to ditch the cargo which is on the sliding pilates out the back door with me still on them. I said what the hell was that and the guys in the seats along beside me who were in seat belts said we just hit a bad air pocket and dropped in altitude sharply.

I went back to sleeping in a seat with a belt on after that. We are now approaching Happy Valley Gander Newfoundland where we will land and refuel but we are in the middle of a snow storm and you can't see the ground. 

We seemed to drop out of a snow cloud and there we were touching down on the runway. The pilot is reversing prop to try and slow down which is blowing the snow worse which makes it look like we are in one of those snow globes. He gets the plane stopped but we can't get out of the plane because the snow it too deep and they can't open the door and lower the steps. A couple of guys show up and had to dig out a place so they can get the door open.

We start getting out and on our way to the underground tunnel system to get to I guess what you would call the terminal, I here the pilot say to one of his crew members, sure glad I'm finish here and don't have to take it up again. I thought what, maybe I should just hide out in a washroom and maybe they won't miss me until after the plane has left. We were on the ground for probably an hour or so while they re-fueled and clear one strip of snow off the centre of the runway. We get air born again and we seem to be clmbing higher and higher and not leveling off. The pilot was trying to get us above the cloud layer to better weather. We do reach better weather higher up and everything when smooth until we hit the coast of Norway. We had been taking turns riding in the cockpit and it was my turn now and it a very clear moon lite night and I can see that we seem to be flying over some mountains but beside others. Them all of a sudden the pilot pulled the plane up and then just as fast dropped it down and we are on the ground.I was thinking who would ever build a runway in the middle of the mountains. It wasn't until the next day that I found out why. In the side of this one mountain they had a large tunnel system build with nuke proof doors and that where they kept their jet fighters. We used it as a place to put the two copers back together and was surprised how warm it was inside. The rest of our sqn which had our Hueys and the remainer of our techs came by sea.

Yepper, the C-130 was never designed for passenger comfort. Hence the prefix "C" eh.

Have landed in them on dirt runways in the western provinces and have taken off on very short runways where they seemed to rev up the engines to as fast as they could before releasing the brakes. Seemed as like we went straight up after that. I flew back in one from Norway that one engine had a motor leak in so they will fill the engine with oil and them once off the ground would feather it and we would fly on to the next leg of the journey on 3 engines. Iceland then Greenland, Gander Newfoundland  Valcartier Quebec and finally Petawawa. You have to be careful what seat you pick in a Herc because if not you can have hydraulic fluid dripping on you as I found out flighting from Germany to Gatwick England.

Over all, it has been a very good plane and served the NATO countries well.

The scariest ride I ever had in a copter was in a Cobra gun ship in Gagetown New Brunswick and I was in the front seat. It was an American warrent officer that took me up for a ride and he was just about turning it up side down which it can't do. Then down straight toward the ground and then pulling up at the last second. I thought the skids were going to touch. The small air tower the Sqn had set up, showed it doing this on the radar screen and the operator though it was a jet fighter coming in.

Then he makes an attack on a herd of Holstein cows down below and the cows scatter in all different directions. I don't imagine the farmer got much milk that day.

Right now countries around the world are holding million if no billions of Russia and it Origarchs money and holdings. Give it to the Ukrainians to buy bigger and better equipment to fight the Russians with. When the Origarchs see and hear were all their money is going never to be replaced, then maybe, just maybe the will try and over throw Putin from the inside.

Apparently Iran is now supplying Putin with high tech top of the line drones. Putin has now lowered himself to burning and destroying Ukraines wheat crops in the fields. What hasn't been destroyed by fire is littered with hundreds of pieces of missile and drone parts and a lot of unexploded ordinance. Ukraine supplies 25% of the worlds grain, so a lot of people around the world will be starving to death soon. The Western world could see a loaf of bread go up to $10.00 because countries will be buying up all the wheat that comes on the markets this fall. With farmers being capitalists, they will sell it to the highest bidder.

Was just looking at the pictures I posted of Norway above and remember my last trip over flying by copter in heavy over cast weather to a small village up a fiord to go for a reindeer dinner with some pilots and air crew a couple of days before returning to Canada. I managed to pick up Giardiasis from eating there. I was sick as a dog by the time we got back to base in Canada. So sick, I had to go on sick parade and the doctor had me bring in a stool sample. I guess the tested it and got a call at work a couple of days later by a female doctor this time and she asked me how I felt. I told her and she said she wanted me to come to the hospital and ask for her right away. When I get there,she said you have giardiasis. I'm thinking how long to I have to live and she said it's treatable with antibiotics but takes time to get rid of. I asked her what giardiasis was in laymen terms and she says, Beaver Fever. I couldn't help myself and said to her, I thought only 13 year old boys got that. She smiled and said no, its from eating or drinking contaminated food or water. She told me to stop eating solid foods for now. After a week I'm so weak from not eating I go on sick parade again and this time I get a male doctor. He asks me can you keep anything down. I said, I don't know, because I haven't eaten solids for a week now and have lost 10 lbs. He said who told you not to eat solids, I said it was a female doctor and he just shakes his head and said start eating solids again. It took a month or so before I felt normal again. 

Right now countries around the world are holding million if no billions of Russia and it Origarchs money and holdings. Give it to the Ukrainians to buy bigger and better equipment to fight the Russians with. When the Origarchs see and hear were all their money is going never to be replaced, then maybe, just maybe the will try and over throw Putin from the inside.

Apparently Iran is now supplying Putin with high tech top of the line drones. Putin has now lowered himself to burning and destroying Ukraines wheat crops in the fields. What hasn't been destroyed by fire is littered with hundreds of pieces of missile and drone parts and a lot of unexploded ordinance. Ukraine supplies 25% of the worlds grain, so a lot of people around the world will be starving to death soon. The Western world could see a loaf of bread go up to $10.00 because countries will be buying up all the wheat that comes on the markets this fall. With farmers being capitalists, they will sell it to the highest bidder.

Aha, it is the evil capitalist farmers to blame for all of this. 

Right now countries around the world are holding million if no billions of Russia and it Origarchs money and holdings. Give it to the Ukrainians to buy bigger and better equipment to fight the Russians with. When the Origarchs see and hear were all their money is going never to be replaced, then maybe, just maybe the will try and over throw Putin from the inside.

Apparently Iran is now supplying Putin with high tech top of the line drones. Putin has now lowered himself to burning and destroying Ukraines wheat crops in the fields. What hasn't been destroyed by fire is littered with hundreds of pieces of missile and drone parts and a lot of unexploded ordinance. Ukraine supplies 25% of the worlds grain, so a lot of people around the world will be starving to death soon. The Western world could see a loaf of bread go up to $10.00 because countries will be buying up all the wheat that comes on the markets this fall. With farmers being capitalists, they will sell it to the highest bidder.

Aha, it is the evil capitalist farmers to blame for all of this. 

True Tommy, it's always those evil capitals fault. No different that why the price of oil is so high. Create a shortage and then blame it on everyone else but themselves.

Can you imagine what a wheat farm of 6,000 acres looks like Art at harvest time. Wheat dust is very dangerous to the lungs and it is at it's worse when it's being loaded into storage or when being loaded on to rail cars. I have talked to farmers in Saskatchewan with 6,000 acres in seed and with flooding only 365 arces are workable. It can be a feast or famine business.

Rape seed or what is now called Canola because people were offended by the word Rape.

Here's where I meet the farmers with the big 6,000 acre farms, Art. They were siting outside a small (sell everything store) drinking a pop. Notice the tracks in all these small place go right up to the storage places. Many of the train spur lines have closed now and everything is being shipped by truck.