AR-623

Photo (C) Steve Douglass

Cannon AFB Open House Next Weekend!

by Greg Allen
27th Special Operations Public Affairs

4/9/2010 - CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The 27th Special Operations Wing will open its main gate to the public April 17, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., for its first-ever open house. The event is free and visitors will have the chance to see numerous aircraft on the flightline as well as meet the Air Commandos who operate, maintain and fly them.

Aircraft on display will include the AC-130H Gunship, MC-130W Combat Spear, MC-130H Combat Talon II, CV-22 Osprey, MQ-1 Predator, HH-60 Pave Hawk and more. The Navy SEALs, military recruiters and booths with various services will also be part of the event.
Food and drinks will also be available,

"We will have several aircraft on display such as our light tactical airlift aircraft, the remotely piloted MQ-1 Predator and the venerable AC 130 Gunship, as well as many other combat vehicles and equipment used in operations around the world," said Col. Stephen Clark, 27 SOW commander in a public service announcement.

Colonel Clark added that everyone on base was looking forward to introducing the
AFSOC command mission to everyone who attends.

In 2005 Cannon was recommended for closing by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission by 2009, but a groundswell of local community support was rewarded when the Air Force Special Operations Command stepped forward with a plan to establish a second AFSOC wing. On Oct. 1, 2007, the 27 SOW was formally activated.

As of April 9, there are nearly 3,500 active duty Airmen, 600 civilians and 4,500 family members here, according to Manny Brooks, 27th Special Operation Force Services Support Squadron. This compares to fewer than 1,900 military personnel shortly after 27 SOW assumed control of the base.

Parking for the event will be at Doc Stewart Park in Chavez West housing, across from Allsup's. Guests will pass through security and will be transported to the open house by bus. The following items will not be allowed on base during the open house: alcohol, coolers, backpacks/duffle bags, large camera bags, chairs or glass (except for baby items).

Visit Cannon AFB's Web site at http://www.cannon.af.mil, and then click on the open house tab for more information, updates and a schedule of events. For questions not addressed on the Web site, contact the 27 SOW Public Affairs office at (575) 784-4131.

Cannon Exercise Warning

Clovis, NM--Cannon Air Force Base will be hosting simulated wartime training soon.

Starting Saturday and ending on April 15 residents on or near the base may notice increased activity.

Residents may hear sirens and or simulated explosions near the base.

Base officials are asking not to be alarmed at the activity as it is only training to help keep the pilots at the best of their abilities.

Osprey crashes in Afganistan

UPDATE:

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG

KABUL—A U.S. Air Force aircraft crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing three American soldiers and a civilian employee. The U.S.-led coalition said it's trying to determine what brought down the CV-22 Osprey.

The crash took place late Thursday night in an arid and remote stretch of territory where the Taliban are active west of the city of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, which borders Pakistan, the coalition said.

The Taliban quickly claimed that insurgent fighters downed the Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft that can take off and land as a helicopter, and that flies as a fixed-wing plane once its engines roll forward.

A Taliban spokesman said that the Osprey was shot down around 1 a.m. Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, the spokesman, claimed that around 30 people were killed in the crash. The U.S.-led coalition said that, in addition to the four fatalities, "numerous" other coalition service members were injured.

Mr. Ahmadi warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should expect to lose more helicopters in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban have mastered the ability to shoot down allied aircraft.

Downing an Osprey would be a victory of sorts for the insurgents. The sophisticated aircraft, which travels at much higher speeds than conventional helicopters, is primarily used to transport troops on long-range infiltration missions and for resupply purposes.

The Taliban usually take credit whenever coalition aircraft experience problems. NATO and Afghan officials say most of these crashes and hard landings have been caused by technical problems rather than insurgent activity.

Three coalition helicopters crashed in Afghanistan last month. Only one of these incidents, involving a civilian chopper contracted by U.S. forces in the northern province of Kunduz, was caused by insurgent fire, say NATO and Afghan officials. No one died in that incident.

NATO said it was investigating what caused Osprey's crash. Afghan officials in Zabul blamed it on mechanical problems.

Original post:

A U.S. Air Force tilt-rotor aircraft crashed in south-eastern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one government contractor, NATO said on Friday.

Other personnel aboard were injured and were taken to a military base for treatment, NATO said.

The CV—22 Osprey went down about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, NATO said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

The Osprey takes off and lands as a helicopter, but its engines roll forward in flight, allowing it to fly faster than a standard helicopter.

A Zabul government spokesman, Mohhamed Jahn Rasuliyar, confirmed the crash and the number of casualties.

A Taliban spokesman had earlier claimed militants shot down the aircraft, part of a pattern of the insurgents making such claims to promote their cause of driving foreign forces from the country.

Choppers are used extensively by both NATO and the Afghan government forces to transport and supply troops spread across a mountainous country with few roads. Losses have been relatively light, despite insurgent fire and difficult conditions, and most crashes have been accidents caused by maintenance problems or factors such as dust.

Lacking shoulder-fired missiles and other anti-aircraft weapons, the Taliban rely mainly on machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to target helicopters at their most vulnerable during landings and takeoffs.

One of the heaviest single-day losses of life for allied forces occurred on June 28, 2005, when 16 U.S. troops died aboard a Special Forces MH—47 Chinook helicopter that was shot down by insurgents.

The incident was the first known deadly crash of an Osprey since it entered active service in 2006, although numerous lives were lost in accidents while the aircraft was under development.

The Osprey is the U.S. military’s latest generation transport aircraft, able to travel twice as fast and three times farther than its predecessor, the Vietnam War—era CH—46 Sea Knight. With room for up to 24 passengers, it comes equipped with sophisticated guidance and missile defence systems.

The original programme, a $40 billion joint venture of Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit, was beset by delays and plagued by design flaws and other problems.

It was nearly cancelled several times due to cost overruns - which pushed the bill to over $100 million per aircraft - and a series of fatal crashes and other incidents. In 2000, a crash in Arizona killed all 19 Marines aboard and a separate crash killed four Marines in Florida.

Critics say the aircraft is particularly vulnerable to ground small-arms fire while its engines are shifting from vertical to horizontal flight. They say that, unlike fixed-wing aircraft, the Osprey can’t glide down to an emergency landing in case of a loss of power and its propellers lack the ability to keep rotating on their own even after the engines fail.

Obama to announce new nuclear defence strategy

Barack Obama is set to announce a new defence strategy that would reduce the circumstances in which the US would be prepared to use nuclear weapons.
It would rule out a nuclear response to attacks on the US involving biological, chemical or conventional weapons.
Nor would the US use nuclear arms on non-nuclear states that comply with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Mr Obama said he would make exceptions for states deemed in violation of the treaty, naming Iran and North Korea.

Ahead of the report's release, Mr Obama told the New York Times he was convinced Iran was on a course that "would provide them with nuclear weapons capabilities".

Last week, Mr Obama said he wanted to see new UN sanctions on Tehran "within weeks".
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but its refusal to adhere to international demands has raised fears of a possible strike on its nuclear facilities by the US or Israel.

Reduction pact
The New York Times said Mr Obama described his new policy as "part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions".
The details of his plan - the Nuclear Posture Review - are to be published later on Tuesday.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE


Its release comes ahead of a planned signing by Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, of a new nuclear arms reduction pact in Prague on Thursday.

The pact, agreed last month, commits Russia and the US to big cuts in nuclear warheads.
The pact would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expired last December.
The new treaty restricts both Russia and the US to 1,550 warheads, about 30% less than currently allowed, the US says.

Mr Obama hailed the treaty as the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades.

Mr Obama is hosting a nuclear non-proliferation summit in Washington next week, which is set to be attended by dozens of world leaders.

The US president has said his goal is to have a nuclear-free world, and has promised to cut the number of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal.

A White House statement on Monday said the new nuclear policy offered "an alternative to developing new nuclear weapons, which we reject".

All numbers are estimates because exact numbers are top secret.
Strategic nuclear warheads are designed to target cities, missile locations and military headquarters as part of a strategic plan.

Israel
Israeli authorities have never confirmed or denied the country has nuclear weapons.

North Korea
The highly secretive state claims it has nuclear weapons, but there is no information in the public domain that proves this.

Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2003 there had been covert nuclear activity to make fissile material and continues to monitor Tehran's nuclear programme.

Syria
US officials have claimed it is covertly seeking nuclear weapons.