Free Republic

SIERRA VISTA — A recent international airspace incident involved a critic of the government’s illegal-immigration policies and two F-16 fighter jets. Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol, apparently triggered a security trip wire on Jan. 15 as he was flying from El Paso, Texas, in a Cessna 206. “I was monitoring the progress of the government in securing our border, and I was intercepted by an F-16!” Spencer stated in a letter to his supporters. He uses the letter to drum up support for his watchdog cause. The incident happened shortly after noon, about eight miles east of...

7/27/2007 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here destroyed an al-Qaida training camp southwest of Baghdad July 21. In a coordinated attack, joint air terminal controllers on the ground cleared seven F-16s to drop 500-pound and 1,000-pound guided bombs on the terror complex near Karbala. The precision-guided weapons destroyed the target, degrading al-Qaida's ability to mount attacks on the Iraqi government, coalition forces and innocent civilians. The destruction of the terrorist facility is part of aggressive and comprehensive operations to hunt down, capture or kill terrorists trying to prevent a...

11/14/2006 - POZNAN, Poland (AFPN) -- The first F-16 Fighting Falcons acquired by the Polish air force arrived at the 31st Air Base here Nov. 9 and were featured at a special roll-out ceremony. Gen. Tom Hobbins, Allied Air Component commander and U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, represented the Air Force chief of staff at the event which included speeches by the Polish president, as well as a blessing of the aircraft and consecration ceremony. "Poland's acquisition of the F-16 cements the relationship between the U.S. Air Force and the Polish air force for several decades to come," said...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- An airport spokeswoman says Dutch F-16s have escorted a Northwest Airlines flight back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

WASHINGTON: Following reports that the Bush administration might be supplying F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, the Indian American community has started lobbying with the Congress and the Bush administration to deter Washington from supplying the fighters to Islamabad. The Daily Times quoted a report as saying that two Indian-American community stalwarts Krishna Reddy and Sudhir Parikh, who co-chair the Indian Congressional Caucus, have begun circulating a "dear colleague" letter through their respective channels to dissuade the Bush administration from going ahead with the plan to supply the jets to Pakistan. It's expected that the letter co-signed by Rep. Gary Ackerman...

Gentlemen, I just wanted to share with all of you my most recent Air Force Reserve trip. As most of you know, I have decided to go back into the Air Force Reserves as a part time reservist and after 6 months of training, I have recently been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and have been fully mission qualified as an Aircraft Commander of a KC-135R strato tanker aircraft. On Friday of last week, my crew and I were tasked with a mission to provide air refueling support in order to tanker 6 F-16's over to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey....

THESE IS HOW OUR MILITARY WAS DECIMATED UNDER (COMMANDER IN CHIEF)CLINTON, SUPPORTED 100% BY JOHN KERRY (THESE VOTES HE DID SHOW UP FOR). THEIR TERRIBLE JUDGMENT IS WHY OUR MILITARY IS STRETCHED NOW...ALL DUE TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY LEADERSHIP (I USE THE TERM LOOSELY). Send to all...people need to know what they're voting for. 709,000 REGULAR (ACTIVE DUTY) PERSONNEL. 293,000 RESERVE TROOPS. EIGHT STANDING ARMY DIVISIONS! 20 AIR FORCE AND NAVY AIR WINGS WITH 2,000 COMBAT AIRCRAFT 232 STRATEGIC BOMBERS. 9 STRATEGIC BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINES WITH 3,114 NUCLEAR WARHEADS ON 232 MISSILES. 500 ICBMs WITH 1,950 WARHEADS. FOUR AIRCRAFT CARRIERS...

Was Reagan the 1st neoconservative? Posted: June 14, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc. Would Ronald Reagan have invaded Iraq? Would he have declared a doctrine of preventive war to keep any rival nation from rising to where it might challenge us? Would he have crusaded for "world democratic revolution"? Was Reagan the first neoconservative? This claim has been entered in the wake of his death. Yet, it seems bogus, a patent forgery, a fabricated claim to the Reagan legacy, worked up in the same shop where they made the documents proving Saddam was buying up all...

(IsraelNN.com) Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled over Eilat this afternoon after an unidentified civilian aircraft entered Israeli airspace. It appears the aircraft, on its way to a neighboring Arab country, strayed from its air lane in Jordanian airspace. The pilot obeyed instructions to return to the proper aerial lane. The low altitude flight of the fighter craft resulted in the sonic boom disturbing the tranquil afternoon in the Eilat area.

DRAWSKO POMORSKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland (AP) - When Polish soldiers take command in part of postwar Iraq this summer, they will build on steady progress in transforming a lumbering Soviet-bloc force into a modern army and reap the benefits of serving alongside U.S. troops. For a nation that emerged from communism little more than a decade ago, the mission rewards changes that have won high praise from U.S. military leaders and helped lift Poland to the status of a leading European ally. Poland will contribute troops to and command a 7,000-soldier multinational force in central Iraq beginning in mid-August, and...

Buckley AFB F-16s take up residence as runways improved By Dominic Weilminster, Rocky Mountain News June 11, 2003 Sleek, sharp curves make Buckley Air Force Base's F-16 squadron look like Ferraris parked in a lot of buslike jumbo jets. But their presence at Denver International Airport so far has caused little commotion. The 15 fighters are stationed away from home temporarily while their runway system is revamped. "Everything is really integrated well," said Maj. Jerome Dyck, acting public affairs spokesman for the squadron. According to Dyck, despite minor delays for F-16 practice flights to accommodate airliners, there have been almost...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Pakistani F-16 Jets Going to U.S. Navy, USAFCharles R. SmithThursday, June 13, 2002 Fighters Find New Top Gun Home After 10 Years The U.S. Navy "Top Gun" school, long neglected and nearly disbanded during the Clinton years, is finally getting some new life. The Naval Air Station at Fallon, Nev., is slated to obtain 14 of 28 F-16 Lockheed-Martin Fighting Falcons originally sold to Pakistan. The 1992 sale of the 28 Falcons to Pakistan was canceled during the last days of the Bush Sr. administration because Islamabad had openly purchased nuclear weapons technology from China. The sudden...

<p>Sunday, May 26, 2002 12:01 a.m.</p> <p>So Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta would rather let an F-16 shoot down a hijacked airplane than let pilots carry guns in the cockpit. That's the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the Transportation's announcement last week that it won't arm pilots. When Congress passed legislation last fall authorizing Transportation to give pilots guns, it probably assumed the decision would be a no-brainer. Instead, John Magaw, director of the Transportation Security Administration, says pilots don't need firearms because federal air marshals will do the job. In fact, the only way an air marshal might foil a hijacking is to be aboard a hijacked flight, an extremely unlikely occurrence since less than 1% of flights are protected by marshals.</p>