The Flyby: Navy airstrikes and Jonny Kim
What's been on my mind...
Ah, yes. The everchanging 'newsletter.' Until I settle on a style and focus, expect some fluctuations in format and content. Thanks for sticking around.
For now, I think I prefer not to write on specific topics, nor a set number or structure.
Air Strikes in Yemen
Something that’s been on my mind lately is the increase in U.S.-involved air strikes in Yemen.
Last July, for the first time in Growler history, a VAQ-130 E/A-18G scored an air-to-air “kill”. In an effort to defend and protect commercial shipping lanes in the Middle East from Houthi rebel attacks, the Growler crew engaged an unmanned drone. They successfully neutralized the threat by firing an AIM-120 AMRAAM.
This January, it was confirmed that another “first” happened when an MH-60R attached to the USS Harry S Truman also shot down a Huthi drone using an “unconventional system”.
All pretty cool stuff: good guys stopping bad guys from doing bad stuff.
However, recent developments complicate the picture, shifting the mind from curiosity to contemplation.
March 15 marked the start of an increase in strikes in Yemen to combat the evil Huthi attacks on innocent sailors and vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
But at what cost? It’s become clear now that F/A-18 squadrons attached to the Truman are tasked with this mission, and to say it’s been more complicated than shooting down a UAV would be an understatement.
For those involved, seeing this information widely circulated likely adds another layer of stress to an already dangerous mission.
NASA Astronaut, Jonny Kim
Jonny Kim, who I’m sure most people have heard about by now, is who Chuck Norris would want to be when he grows up.
The man who basically created the need for fact-checking because his accomplishments are so incredible is a Navy Seal, Harvard Medical School physician, and NASA astronaut.
The best part? He’s still in the Navy, and he’s dual qualified as a flight surgeon and naval aviator (fun fact: he was in Corpus Christi at the same time as me).
On April 8, Kim is scheduled to depart for the ISS via the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 for an 8 month stint. He’s been posting all of his training on his Facebook page, and it’s incredible. I highly recommend following his training and preparation as he gets set to take on his next goals too big for Earth.
