"The mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace."

Hickam AF Base, Hawaii is home to the 15th Airlift Wing (15AW) and 67 partner units including Pacific Air Forces Headquarters and the Hawaii Air National Guard. 

History shows Hickam played a pivotal role in past Pacific operations - bullet-scarred walls are still visible from the December 7th, 1941 attack that pushed the U.S. into WW II. 

Today, the 15AW remains the launch point of strategic air mobility and operational missions in support of the Global War on Terrorism as well as special air missions in support of the commander, Pacific Command and commander, Pacific Air Forces. 

May their newest member be safe, strong, and the best airman ever.

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For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.

Richard Feynman

E.M.P. (Electromagnetic Pulse)  

Weapon of Mass Destruction!

• This is a 2008 National Security Report we should all be aware of and dealing with! 
  
• The Commission and Its Charter The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack was established by Congress through Title XIV of Public Law 106-398. Looking out 15 years, the Commission was tasked to assess: 1) The nature and magnitude of potential high-altitude EMP threats to the United States from all potentially hostile states or non-state actors that have or could acquire nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles enabling them to perform a highaltitude EMP attack against the United States within the next 15 years. 2) The vulnerability of United States military and especially civilian systems to an EMP attack, giving special attention to vulnerability of the civilian infrastructure as a matter of emergency preparedness. 3) The capability of the United States to repair and recover from damage inflicted on United States military and civilian systems by an EMP attack. 4) The feasibility and cost of hardening select military and civilian systems against EMP attack. The Commission was also tasked to recommend any steps it believes should be taken by the United States to better protect its military and civilian systems from EMP attack. In accord with its charter, the Commission focused on the electromagnetic pulse produced by high-altitude nuclear weapon detonations, as opposed to other types of nuclear and non-nuclear EMP phenomena. Unless clearly indicated to the contrary, all references to EMP are to the electromagnetic pulse produced by a high-altitude nuclear detonation. This report presents the unanimous conclusions and recommendations of the Commissioners.
  
• I urge you to read about this critical potential "Uber-Weapon"    It's just a pdf. Download it and take some notes. http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf 
• Think about what you can do.
  

I wonder where YouTube is in the calculation?....

Yeh, baby! Found a great new blog about research as it applies to design. Good stuff, Maynard!

Check this one out @ http://www.sylverconsulting.com/blog/.

and here is the second 1:25 hour....(if you MUST - jump to minute 16 for a piano TREAT!)

This is the first hour of the You Tube Symphony at Carnegie Hall, April 15 2009: (They're all amateur musical gems!)

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change. 

U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet

505TH COMMAND AND CONTROL WING The 505th Command and Control Wing is a subordinate unit to the United States Air Force Warfare Center, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The USAFWC serves as the lead agency to pull command and control together across the Air Force. Under the mantle of the USAFWC, the 505 CCW is the focal point for integration of all aerospace campaign command and control processes, including rapid technology assessment on behalf of the warfighter. Through their facilities at Hurlburt Field and several geographically separated groups, squadrons and detachments, the 505 CCW possesses the unique ability to test, exercise, experiment and train all elements of C2: people, processes and systems.  With exercises such as BLUE FLAG and Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment, the men and women of the 505 CCW conduct specialized training in planning and execution of joint operations for the USAF, sister services and coalition partners, as well as readiness training for Numbered Air Forces.  In addition, the 505 CCW manages operational tests and evaluations and conducts acceptance tests of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. Unit personnel evaluate capabilities and limitations, determine optimum operation configuration, identify operating deficiencies and recommend corrective action for United States C2 architectures.  On behalf of the USAF, the 505 CCW is proud to host the future of joint training: Joint RED FLAG. Joint RED FLAG, primarily staged from Nellis AFB, has expanded to include many bases throughout the U.S. including Hurlburt Field. Planners from the 505 CCW help to write the exercise scenario and craft unexpected events to challenge America's warfighters. Through virtual scenarios and networked training, participants are able to participate through actual, virtual or constructive means, allowing the 505 CCW to train for tomorrow's scenarios regardless of a unit's location.  The 505 CCW is also responsible for dynamic evaluation of emerging technologies and procedures for inclusion in the Air Force's C2 architecture.  The wing is comprised of a group and five squadrons located at Hurlburt Field; a group at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; a group at Nellis AFB, Nevada; and a detachment at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron has detachments in Seattle, Washington and Melbourne, Florida. The 505th Training Squadron has a detachment at Ft. McPherson, Georgia and liaisons from the Army, Navy and Marines. Emblem Significance The blue background represents the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. The bamboo curtain signifies the units service in Vietnam. The control and direction of strike aircraft against the enemy by Forward Air Controllers is symbolized by the flight symbols in chief. The flight symbols in base allude to the control of aircraft for effective air defense. The double bevile refers to lightning and represents the unit's complete ground/air communications support, search and direction capability. The crescents symbolize the moon going through its phases and represent the Wing's continuing performance of its mission month in and month out. The emblem bears the National colors and the Air Force colors of gold and ultramarine blue.