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tgmsunmontue · 7 months

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You need to learn how to fall 10/10

Hangster (and IceMav) - Bradley is too tall to be a naval aviator and instead becomes a sky diver, specialising in spin recovery. He is a civilian contractor to the military to teach pilots how to survive parachute spins from ejections. A more in-depth version of this post.

PROLOGUE 2003-2006 2007-2010 2011-2015 2016+ ~2019 ~2019 (contd 1) ~2019 (contd 2) ~2019 (contd 3)

He can’t get back to sleep. Doesn’t want to be alone despite having declined to join Ice in dropping Mav off, letting them have their time together after Bradley had hugged Mav and told him he loved him, but also refusing to say goodbye. Today is just going to suck all round. He walks around his space aimlessly, not sure what to do, worry already nibbling away at his insides. Fuck. This is awful. He decides to busy his hands, baking the cookies will give him something to do, and Ice will appreciate them if nothing else. He works in Mav and Ice’s kitchen, wants Ice to come back to someone.

Sure enough he returns not long before five, obviously not wanting to hang around and make a fuss about the COMPACFLT being there to see the entire detachment off. They don’t talk, both unwilling to voice their worst fears, not wanting to give them any credibility despite both of them being very pragmatic. He removes the cookies, places them on cooling racks and then makes breakfast, simple scrambled eggs on toast with sliced tomatoes on the side, seeps the weird peppermint and lemon tea that Ice favors and sets it on the table.

They eat in silence, and he realizes he’s not going to be able to do any jumps until he knows, either way. Three, maybe four days, where he won’t be able to focus on his own safety and while he could force the issue, he doesn’t need to, wants to be allowed to worry, even if it’s all outside of his control. Ice’s thumb is twitching, one of his very few tells and Bradley says nothing, is sure he has silent tells of his own that Ice is clocking right this second.

“Fuck this…” Ice says, pushing his chair back from the table so hard it screeches against the hardwood floor and he looks up.

“What?”

“He left wearing his wedding ring. He’s never done that before. I’m going to be on the carrier. I can’t… I need to be there.”

“Oh. Okay…” he says, his stomach plummeting, because he doesn’t want to be left alone, the one having to wait, wondering what’s going on. The next forty-eight hours are going to be hell regardless of where he is, but he’d at least been thinking he’d have Ice there to be with him.

“You want to come with me?”

“You can do that?”

“Watch me,” Ice says with grim determination and he’s reaching for his phone.

Bradley forgets sometimes just how powerful and stubborn Ice is, but he runs and packs a quick bag, enough for three days. Small and compact with the bare minimum considering he’s probably going to be in a rack if he’s unlucky. Maybe an officer’s quarters if there’s one spare, even if he’s sharing with Ice it’s better than staying here alone. … … …

It’s a flurry of activity then, they’re several hours behind even with the powers that be moving mountains in order to get Ice and him to the carrier. They hop from one carrier to another and he has no idea what time or day of the week it is anymore when he steps off after Ice onto the carrier, following him directly into the control room. He recognizes both Admiral Bates and Simpson, nods tightly and neither man look happy at his presence. Bradley knows Ice doesn’t throw his rank around very often, knows that this is an exceptional case that he’s made so that Bradley can be here. There are not many people who can discipline him at this stage, however Ice does respect the word of those under his command.

“Admiral Kazansky sir. You brought a civilian on board?”

“I brought my son, who is a private contractor with the US Navy and knows full well how to be safe onboard a carrier. He grew up around carriers. He is neither a child nor an idiot.”

“Yes sir.”

“We are not here to interrupt anything, it looks like they’re already suited up. No need to let them know we’re here. They need to have all their attention on the mission ahead of them.”

That announcement seems to make both the other Admirals relax, and Bradley agrees with him, but as he watches the jets catapult from the ship and listen to them take attack formation he wonders if he’s made the right choice being here.

When he hears Warlock number off the miracles he swallows, feels the tension in the room and tries to make himself invisible.

Mav’s plane goes down.

He grips Ice’s hand, neither of them saying anything.

He can hear his teeth squeaking as he clenches his jaw tightly.

Hondo reaches out and silently grips his forearm and Bradley nods his gratitude, although he can’t bring himself to say anything.

Then Dagger two, Jake, disobeys the order to return and Bradley sways, closes his eyes against the pitch of his body as it moves against the motion of the carrier.

“Jake you fucking idiot…” he mutters under his breath, and he leans back into the corner where he’s as out of the way as possible.

“Dagger two is hit.”

Ice is there then, expression grim, and he wonders whether it is actually better, knowing immediately or having another day thinking, hoping, that Jake and Mav would both be back safe and sound.

Time drags slowly.

The other jets return.

He’s forced to the ground and realizes he might be going into shock, refuses the food and drink, knows his body will reject anything he tries to eat. Says as much to Ice when someone else tries to insist he eat something.

Then he hears them say they’re receiving a signal from an ESAT and Hangman is Jake.

Jake.

He’s airborne.

In an F14.

Maverick and Jake.

The time that was dragging now speeds up.

There’s an uptick of sudden activity, Hondo disappears and Bradley forces himself to standing, shoves himself as hard as he can back into the corner, hunches down and tries to stay out of the way. Ice is tense and pale, but hasn’t moved from standing between Warlock and Cyclone. Another jet takes off and he swallows, listens mindlessly to the chatter in the control room but then Ice is grabbing him, steering him out and he lets him, realizes they’re headed toward the control tower and he sucks in lungful’s of stinging cold fresh air. He has hope.

He doesn’t pay attention to what is happening, simply pays attention to Ice and the feel of the room. There’s still tension, but there’s something else now, layered with the hope he’s been slowly let build. Then there is another jet landing and then he feels the entire tower vibrate and he winces and flinches away from the vibrating windows.

“What the fuck was that?!”

“That was Maverick…” Cyclone says, face unimpressed.

“Buzzing the tower,” Ice adds, and Bradley can tell he’s hiding his amusement.

“Oh, so he’s still a dick huh?”

Ice and Cyclone both snort and roll their eyes, but Warlock shoots him a grin and Bradley feels the relief bubble up through him. If Maverick is pulling dumb stunts he’s alive and well. Thank god. Then he hears Mav’s voice come through loud and clear…

“Maverick is downwind. No front landing gear. No tail hook. Pull the cable and raise the barricade.”

He hears the call for foul deck and Bradley knows that that means it’s going to be a crash landing. Lots of fancy words for a crash landing. But it also means that they’re landing and you can walk away from a crash, especially one everyone is preparing for.

“Miracle number three…” Warlock murmurs quietly as they all watch as the F14 slides across the deck before it’s caught by the huge net barricade.

It is chaos down there, he’s not stupid enough to think he can walk around down there, just soaks up the sheer relief and joy that no one has died today. Miracle three indeed. He doesn’t even think, is automatically following Ice as he steps out onto the balcony on the tower, and he can see the deck crew and Daggers celebrating, Jake’s grin wide and looking so fucking good Bradley feels choked up with the knowledge that he came so close to never seeing it again. Then Mav has seen them, is pushing through the crowd of people and heading right for them.

… … …

“Is that… Admiral Kazansky?”

“What? Where?” Jake asks, his head feeling slightly wobbly as he tries to turn too quickly, and he’s going to have to be checked over, normal even when everything goes according to plan. Throw in an ejection, crash landing, he’s pretty sure he has a concussion.

“Up there on the tower… holy shit, is that Bradley with him?” Javy asks, and he’s shifting them closer despite the press of bodies and Jake lets him, squints against the glare, tries to see what Javy is looking at, and his head is starting to swim. He remembers something about wanting to see Javy when he realized who Bradley’s other parent was but he can’t focus on that right now.

“Bradley? My Bradley?”

“Yeah, your Bradley. Wait. Mav is kissing Kazansky. What the fuck.”

“Oh yeah… scary in-laws.”

“What? Jake?” Javy asks, and his voice sounds more concerned than anything.

“I want to see Bradley.”

“Anything you want buddy, come on.”

There’s more moving, and he’s sure the carrier isn’t pitching as much as his stomach would imply and he’s coming down from the adrenaline rush, concussion kicking in, body and ribs protesting, but then he’s staring up at Bradley, and it’s definitely Bradley. No one else is that fucking tall. He feels Javy pushing him up the ladder and he climbs, grips the railing at the top and just stares.

“You’re here…”

“Yeah well, Ice asked if I wanted to come along and it’s not like I could sit around at home twiddling my thumbs.”

“Well, I’m alive.”

“Yeah, you are. Thank fuck. Worst hour of my life.”

“Can’t say I’d want to repeat it, but I’m a fan of the outcome…”

“So am I Lieutenant,” Admiral Kazansky says and Jake nods.

“Maverick! Hangman! Medical!” Simpson barks.

“I’ll take them,” Javy says, and Jake is glad because he’s pretty sure he’s getting close to needing to throw up and he’d rather not do it in front of Bradley. Or Iceman. Or any of the other Admiral’s watching to be honest.

“Don’t go anywhere. Not until I’m cleared.”

“I have to go wherever Ice goes, they’re not going to give me free reign.”

“Okay, I’ll come find you. Love you.”

He slides down the ladder, only stumbling a little before what he just said registers and he looks back up, almost doesn’t move fast enough before Javy is landing beside him, followed by Mav.

“I…”

“Yep. You just said that. Let’s get you to medical.”

… … …

Fortunately Ice wants to follow them to medical, so Bradley takes the high-vis vest and pulls it on and doesn’t even roll his eyes. He’ll do whatever It takes to be near Jake, because he’s pretty sure he’s at least got a concussion, however that’s incredibly low stakes considering that death had been a potential outcome, and he’s still feeling shaky from the relief of that not becoming his reality. He follows Ice closely, having to walk at a crouch the whole fucking time and no wonder the Navy have a fucking height restriction, wherever he looks there’s something else about to knock him out.

They reach the sick bay and Javy Machado is just coming out, pulls him in for a surprising hug and back slap and Bradley can’t help but return it, knowing now that Javy had been in the plane that went and saved Mav and Jake from being shot down.

“Thank you…” Bradley says quietly, sincerely, and of course Javy just shrugs it off.

“Just doing my job. Had a vested interest. He’s my best friend.”

“I know. Don’t care, just… thank you.”

“He’s a persistent mother-fucker. Loyal too.”

“Yeah, yeah he is,” Bradley says, and he’s closer to tears now, the relief and shock finally hitting him and he sucks in a deep breath.

“Thank you Lieutenant. I am rather fond of my husband too,” Ice says, and Javy’s mouth falls open minutely before snapping shut and Bradley’s glad for the distraction.

“Of course sir. Any time.”

“Maybe don’t throw him anywhere while he recovers from today, hmm?”

“Oh my god… of course not sir.”

“It’s fine, I’m sure he deserved it. He usually does.”

Javy looks like a deer in headlights, looks to Bradley and this is more like how he expected Jake to react, instead of the cool calm acceptance he’d exhibited.

“You’re fine, go celebrate with the others. Ice, stop terrorizing people,” Bradley mutters, slapping Ice on the chest before ducking into the sick bay. Mav is sitting on the edge of a bed, feet swinging and chatting away. He’s bare chested and Bradley can see redness where the harness has pressed, what will later bruise, but he looks fine and Bradley suspects he’s still high on adrenaline.

“Tom! Bradley!” Mav exclaims, clearly happy to see them again.

“Admiral Kazansky, uh, can I help you sir?” the Corpsman asks, and Bradley wonders how much more weight Ice is going to throw around.

“I’m here to see my husband. That one,” Ice says, pointing to Mav. “Bradley here is our son, but is also dating that one…” Ice says, this time pointing to Jake who is being examined by another Corpsman on another bed, but who is now blinking, face scrunched up as a light is flicked in and out of his eyes and Bradley can see the failure to dilate from where he stands. No ones told him to leave, clearly assuming that he might be on Jake’s papers and has permission, and he’s not going to correct them, gives Mav a quick hug before sidling close to Jake, making sure to stay out of the way as the Corpsman moves around.

“Hi again…”

“Hi. You’re here…”

“Yep. Sure am,” Bradley repeats, and he’s not sure if it’s the concussion or whether Jake just can’t get his head around the fact that Bradley’s actually here.

“I told you I loved you…”

“Yeah, you did.”

“I’m not taking it back,” Jake says, defiantly, like Bradley would ever make him. The firm tone of his voice is pretty much ruined by the fact that he’s got his eyes closed, face and neck covered in abrasions and he’s being asked to remove his flight suit, which he starts to do without opening his eyes. Bradley steps forward and murmurs that he’ll help under his breath, feels Jake sag a little.

“Glad to hear it. Makes it less awkward for me to say it back.”

“You love me?”

“Yeah. That okay?”

“More than okay. My head hurts…”

“Yeah, pretty sure you’ve got a concussion,” Bradley says, looking to the Corpsman who gives him a sharp nod of confirmation.

“That tracks. Man I want to sleep.”

“I need to finish checking you for internal bleeding and any fractures.”

“Let them do their job. I’ll be right here. Not going anywhere.”

“Good. Neither am I.”

---THE END---

#Top Gun fanfic #Hangster #you need to learn how to fall #IceMav #Sereshaw

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mightyflamethrower · 1 month

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Biden’s ironically named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was supposed to create millions of green jobs and launch the “sustainable power” industry.

Subsidies flowed to support electric vehicles, wind farms, and solar energy. We have been covering the slowdown in the EV market, and residents of the East Coast are questioning all the promises made by the wind energy companies after the Vineyard Wind blade failure.

Now, it’s time to turn our attention to solar power. SunPower, the company that provides solar panels to many Californian homes in the sunny Coachella Valley area, filed for bankruptcy this week.

It is the latest development in a saga that has seen the company facing numerous serious and seemingly escalating challenges over the past several months, including allegations about executives’ misconduct related to the company’s financial statements and a recent decision that SunPower would no longer offer new solar leases. Days after the latter announcement, Coachella Valley-based Renova Energy, which markets and installs SunPower systems, said it was ending its partnership with SunPower and temporarily pausing operations after not receiving required payments from SunPower. SunPower’s executive chairman wrote in a letter posted on the company’s website on Monday that the company had reached an agreement to sell certain divisions of its business and suggested it was looking for one or more buyers to take on the rest, including the company’s responsibilities to maintain solar systems it has previously sold or leased.

It is important to note that SunPower was the industry’s “darling” to understand the magnitude of this development.

Founded in 1985 by a Stanford professor, SunPower was, for the past two decades, a darling of the solar industry. The company helped build America’s biggest solar plant, called Solar Star and located near Rosamond, California, and has installed solar panels on more than 100,000 homes. The company’s stock price has fluctuated dramatically, peaking during the solar stock frenzy of late 2007. As recently as January 2021, SunPower’s valuation momentarily reached $10 billion, buoyed by the expansion of its residential solar panels program. But since then, the company’s value has cratered — and this year, its situation became particularly dire.

It is also important to note that earlier this month, the bankruptcy of a solar-powered company in South Florida created an array of problems on the South Coast of California. Subcontractors are scrambling to find ways to guarantee payment for work on homes with equipment from the firm.

Meanwhile, homeowners are regretting their misplaced trust in eco-activists and city officials.

The business — Electriq Power Inc. — was putting solar panels and batteries on Santa Barbara rooftops at no expense to homeowners and with the blessings of the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria. But then Electriq filed Chapter 7 on May 3, freezing all its operations. This prompted one of its subcontractors, Axiom 360 of Grover Beach, to place mechanics liens on homes for which it had yet to be paid. This preserves Axiom’s options for full payment of its installation work and is not unusual among contractors. But for homeowners who didn’t expect any financial outlay, it came as a shock, especially as the recording notice lists foreclosure in 90 days among the penalties. “You’re helping the environment. You’re not paying high rates to Southern California Edison,” said homeowner Randy Freed, explaining why he signed on to Electriq’s PoweredUp Goleta program. He was pleased with the savings in the solar array and storage batteries, but then he received the mechanics lien in June. The possibility of foreclosure was unanticipated, Freed said, and he’d relied on the cities’ endorsements. “It’s a great program; we’ve checked them out,” he recalled the cities saying on a postcard he received.

Hot Air's Beege Welborne takes an in-depth look at the cascade of warnings that indicate SunPower and the residential solar market are in serious trouble. She also hits on a point that is true for all green energy schemes: Today’s technology cannot keep up with the promises being made about tomorrow.

The technology side still hasn’t ironed itself out and may never with as saturated as the market is. With interest rates as high as they are and home prices through the roof, no one wants to pay a fortune for something that’s not rock solid. …That “sustainable” growth is only possible once all the artificial supports are knocked away and the technology proves viable and worth the cost once and for all.

Of course, the solar industry isn’t helped by the fact that the cost savings for customers aren’t quite as lavish as originally promised.

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lonestarflight · 9 months

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"As the Apollo moon program wound down in the early 1970s, NASA's attention turned toward the next phase in its manned space agenda: the development of a reusable 'space truck' that could ferry men and material into low orbit quickly and cheaply.

Various designs and configurations were proposed and evaluated. All had their strengths and weaknesses. In 1972, North American Rockwell -- one of America's top aerospace contractors -- asked engineer Harry Scott to develop a design that would minimize the propose craft's length without sacrificing cargo space. His solution was to turn the cargo bay sideways, resulting in this unique 'flying breadbox' concept.

Although theoretically practical, North American Rockwell's Shuttle Concept C-0157 never developed beyond the proposal stage."

"Released in early January 2007, this solid-cast resin kit was patterned by Scott Lowther, cast by Controlled Energy Designs and featured custom decals by JBOT."

1/144 scale model by Allen B. Ury of Fantastic Plastic: link

#Space Shuttle #Space Shuttle Development #Space Shuttle Program #Space Shuttle Phase B #Phase B #NASA #model #artwork #1970s #North American Rockwell #Rockwell International #C-0157 #my post

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filenetaylor · 2 months

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40 Years Old; Moved; Threats; Death of Dragoneer; About Filene, Me

[cw: Child Trafficking, Sex Crimes, Genocide, Nakba, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes, Security, Panopticon, Child Abuse, Commercialized Control, Systemic Violence, Healthcare Violence, Systemic oppression, Death, Grief, Coercive Control, Stochastic Violence]

Bismillah, in the name of Allah'; If you're a minor, you need to ask an adult you trust to read this post instead.

Look no further than the death announcement of the person known as Dragoneer, and you'll find folk promptly celebrating due to one small scandal of virtue or another. None of this compares to the people Preyfar (aka Dragoneer) stood up to, folk who insulate and stop conversations about the Israeli Defense Force's Nakba continuing in Palestine, about the invasion and threats on Ukraine (Feb 4th) which threaten the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant to cause another Chernobyl Disaster as well as the people of Ukraine themselves. He fought those who will turn education about human and reproductive rights into sex crimes. People (like a former president) who have said "Jeffrey Epstein" is a good guy despite being at the center of an international child sex trafficking ring that coerced people in positions of power to becoming his assets and clients. And Dragoneer? He was a kind-hearted, jovial artist (to those who knew him) who was allowed to take over Alkora's FurAffinity project in 2007, as Alkora was already being targeted for scandal. Dragoneer worked internationally as a contractor prior to IMVU's purchase, and in the last ten years, he has fought to keep FurAffinity together despite his own impoverishment.

Dragoneer tried many ways to keep the site going. After FurAffinity was blocked from being paid by the major payment processors, after he changed the content permissions to be ethically and virtuously clean with regards to content and these payment authorizers' tightening rules, and after temporarily allowing IMVU to be in possession of the site's legal entity before Dragoneer purchased it anew, he was without health insurance in Virginia. Virginia, for those of you not aware, has regularly sued people on the USA-funded poverty healthcare option, Medicaid, under claims of bills that should not have been paid. Even though I was familiar with Dragoneer on a first-name basis as he was a long-term acquaintance and friend of mine, Twitter's purchase and gutting by Elon Musk left his reach and visibility erased. I had no idea Dragoneer, my friend, was suffering from a life threatening condition for months, and was repeatedly being failed and deferred by healthcare providers he saw. Of course he would be, when you know doctors also need to be paid by a healthcare system founded on austerity and punitive lawsuits against needy peoples. (This is compared to the President Donald administration getting paid to forcibly sterilize undocumented refugees and migrants. I don't have the link about my Medicaid claim right now.)

And so, Dragoneer died last night. I had found out at 4am, because my complex household needs means I was up at 1:30am. (You'd think merely 'being awake' can make praying the Salaat easier, but it doesn't even as a Queer, Trans, and 2022-recently Islamic Muslim.) I am so beside myself with grief, as I am aware my own father needs 24/7 healthcare and care work but can't afford it. He is the same age as the DoorDasher who humbly needed my help to provide our needed groceries (like toilet paper) that we 'financed' on the exploitative APR credit cards we need to get by. Even if my dad has pushed Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer back to its smallest this year, he still needs help to recover his memory. In my house, we are 24/7. So when followers show up with tags like "im_1nside_your_house", or when I am subject to a "Miscreant In the Middle" attack while at the laundromat, I am as ready as I can be on hours of sleep and gratitude from constant prayers.

He didn't need to die. My dad doesn't need to be nickle-and-dimed for healthcare. And people don't need to go broke paying for health insurance for themselves, their dogs, or the life of their land. If you're as angry about this farcical austerity--treating currency bills like they're invaluable and limited-edition collector's items only fit to be horded ala the Panama Papers--then I pray fellow furries like me and Dragoneer can still do something about it.

In his last tweets on TwXtter, you can still see Dragoneer fighting fascists. I'm no expert on fascism, so let me try to summarize it by the line: "Might makes right." This 'might' being people or organizations employing technology (ala "Djinn," "Egregores," or in this case, just corporate bodies and the 'thoughtforms' employees have) exploiting these massive systems of power to create a lie into reality by the fact their power enables it to happen. Why else can some of the most far-right Israelis feel like they're protecting their homeland, when it only exists in the dwindling darkness of ignorance a Hebrew-only state (no Yiddish allowed) birthed in children? This kind of dark enlightenment is still poisoning us today, even as it is one JD Vance advocates for.

And, today, someone from a popular UNDERTALE world record holder's Discord community found one of the other places I am also combating this international system of exploitation: VANtics. If you think I'm against lies being used to control children, which I am, look to your own television, or your YouTube Kids app. Therein, besides Elsagate and the USA's weak attempts to stop this via KOSA, you will find a surreal INTERNATIONAL normality. This normality has existed since before USAian Cigarette Marketing invented marketing: paid commercial advertisements.

VANtics is my hope to reveal that, not only do non-consentual airing of commercial publications exploit the children who might see them, they exploit the children cast within them. You can see Nickelodeon-network scandals regarding content that unnecessarily and unhealthily pushed child actors to pose for scenes that graphically held on their bodily features that were unnecessary to the plot. Am I using more words than a 14 year old might understand? No, as I was a very clever 14 year old who could not dispel the images, their realism, and the intimacy in their performances in these ads. Who could be OK participating like this in an ad for a large audience? Why would this piece of art be made to be aired when I would see it, to plausibly and intentionally shape my thoughts for a lifetime? It's called "Image Marketing" and executives are as aware of this as the Exxon executives were aware of the problems of climate change.

I had no idea this crossover would happen hours after Dragoneer's passing, and continue to expose the internet-wide exploration, presence, and communities I'm a part of. My act of boldly or humbly living my life as a visible trans* person since 2014 has required me to have faith in higher powers, all the way up to a single unifying Creator: as I've survived multiple attacks completely outside of this SansIsSleeping art project. These attacks aren't merely physical violence, but legal, social, economic, and bureaucratic. The fact I am here today is not just because of my faith in One transcendental Creator (Tahwid) keeping all of this order on Earth quietly operating despite chaos. It's because of people like my spouse. It's because of my children who lead and inspire me. It's because of the community members I've met who wonder why commodity fetishism is a normal and accepted marketing tactic for children. It's because of old friends who still continue to commune with me, and other friends who don't hesitate to help with money, or networking, or other aid. It's because of people like Mari who is also facing a similar healthcare and financial crisis like Dragoneer did. It's because of people like atax1a , aka Alex, who inspire me and teach me by xer own dictionary-like addressing of all the space xe hold. This is just like the Bo Burnham special "Inside," tackling this same topic (and the Outtakes which are great): my inside is outside now, and we're entering a world where "Everybody Knows." This even reminds me of the coercive/puppeteering blackmail-like control that I found suggested by lyrics within a music video composed by Toby Fox but I am soon courageous enough to finally witness. This is much like SnowGrave for me, which I had put off for months out of fear I would, again, be haunted ala the Genocide/Ecocidal ending of UNDERTALE. Does "No Mercy" even cut such a story of increasingly consolidated power choices?

I'm in my final days of work on the architecture of Slumberer Sentinels. I don't know if I will have a complete platform architecture drawn out before I begin, but this is another one of this era's "clarion call" attempts. Just like Tim Berners-Lee believes in a decentralized web rescuing us from this terrorism-technology panopticon, I believe a universal networked system state that Slumberer Sentinels can provide open-source would be an open book all of you can read and teach me from, as the next generation and current generation of experts.

Yes, I'm weird. But I understand consent enough now to refuse power being proof of consent. Perhaps might can create the lie of what is right, but informed/FRIES consent is mightier. Like my welcome new Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz says: it's weird to have this power and say these wrong, revisionist things about living beings. It's beyond weird, it's wrong to claim ability to divine who at our scale deserves to die and live. That's not our job, we need enough of us fools and all living beings alive long enough to learn an unforgettable lesson. We are already living in a time of Genocide, of Nakba.

What are YOU doing?

You're reading this? Thank you. Preyfar, may Ar Rahman Ar Raheem, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful be pleased, and peace be upon you.

Filene "Natalie" Taylor B August 7th, 2024

(v1: got most of the links in there, not all of them, such as a talk Cory Doctorow referred to where "AI" is actually considered Organizations, and their growing authoritarian control is the problem. I think the talk is like, "How did we mess up this bad?" or something)

#SansIsSleeping #Slumberer Sentinels #SlumbererSentinels #UNDERTALE #livestream #Filene Taylor #Dragoneer #FurAffinity #Furry

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months

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This day in history

I'm in TARTU, ESTONIA! Overcoming the Enshittocene (TOMORROW, May 8, 6PM, Prima Vista Literary Festival keynote, University of Tartu Library, Struwe 1). AI, copyright and creative workers' labor rights (May 10, 8AM: Science Fiction Research Association talk, Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures building, Lossi 3, lobby). A talk for hackers on seizing the means of computation (May 10, 3PM, University of Tartu Delta Centre, Narva 18, room 1037).

out of atrocity photos https://www.salon.com/2007/07/23/torture/

#20yrsago Floppy RAID https://web.archive.org/web/20040202110812/http://ohlssonvox.8k.com/fdd_raid.htm

#15yrsago Chinese provincial government orders local officials to smoke more https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5271376/Chinese-ordered-to-smoke-more-to-boost-economy.html

#15yrsago San Francisco Muni begins to enforce imaginary no-photos policy https://web.archive.org/web/20090510023205/http://www.whatimseeing.com/2009/05/06/what-is-munis-photography-policy/

#15yrsago MPAA to teachers: don’t rip DVDs, just record your television with a camcorder https://vimeo.com/4520463

#15yrsago End of Overeating: the science of junk-food cravings https://memex.craphound.com/2009/05/07/end-of-overeating-the-science-of-junk-food-cravings/

#10yrsago Imagineer Rolly Crump on the 1964 NY World’s Fair: audio memoir https://itskindofacutestory.com/?p=135

#10yrsago Vi Hart explains Net Neutrality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAxMyTwmu_M

#10yrsago Kids are mostly sexually solicited online by classmates, peers, teens https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2014/05/05/sexual-predators.html

#5yrsago danah boyd explains the connection between the epistemological crisis and the rise of far-right conspiratorial thinking https://web.archive.org/web/20190427233128/https://points.datasociety.net/agnotology-and-epistemological-fragmentation-56aa3c509c6b

#5yrsago “Steering With the Windshield Wipers”: why nothing we’re doing to fix Big Tech is working https://locusmag.com/2019/05/cory-doctorow-steering-with-the-windshield-wipers/

#5yrsago Facebook hands hundreds of contractors in India access to its users’ private messages and private Instagram posts in order to help train an AI https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-ai/facebook-labels-posts-by-hand-posing-privacy-questions-idUSKCN1SC01T/

#5yrsago People with diabetes are scouring the internet for a discontinued insulin pump that can be reprogrammed as an “artificial pancreas” https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/04/looping-created-insulin-pump-underground-market/588091/

#5yrsago App lets you auction your San Francisco parking spot https://web.archive.org/web/20140506133800/http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/05/05/sell-your-s-f-street-parking-spot-for-20/

#5yrsago How the diverse internet became a monoculture https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/276-20-years-after-napster-cory-doctorow-on-what-went-wrong-2/

#5yrsago Apple’s growth strategy is a textbook case of antitrust abuse https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/6/18531570/apple-company-purchases-startups-tim-cook-buy-rate

#1yrago Don’t Curb Your Enthusiasm https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/07/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm/

#pluralistic

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of-fear-and-love · 5 months

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Urgent and threatening messages - from Mystery in Swing (1940); The Contractor (2007); Dragon Inn (1967); and Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

#mystery in swing #the contractor 2007 #dragon inn #colossus: the forbin project #the forbin project #movie screencaps #handwriting

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rabbitcruiser · 6 months

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Alaska Highway, CDN (No. 5)

Rerouting continues, expected to continue in the Yukon through 2009, with the Haines Junction-Beaver Creek section covered by the Canada-U.S. Shakwak Agreement. The new Donjek River bridge was opened September 26, 2007, replacing a 1952 bridge. Under Shakwak, U.S. federal highway money is spent for work done by Canadian contractors who win tenders issued by the Yukon government. The Shakwak Project completed the Haines Highway upgrades in the 1980s between Haines Junction and the Alaska Panhandle, then funding was stalled by Congress for several years.

The Milepost shows the Canadian section of the highway now to be about 1,187 miles (1,910 km), but the first milepost inside Alaska is 1222. The actual length of the highway inside Alaska is no longer clear because rerouting, as in Canada, has shortened the route, but unlike Canada, mileposts in Alaska are not recalibrated. The BC and Yukon governments and Public Works Canada have recalibrated kilometre posts. The latest BC recalibration was carried out in 1990; using its end-point at the border at Historic Mile 630, the Yukon government has recalibrated in three stages: in 2002, from Mile 630 to the west end of the Champagne revision; in fall 2005, to a point just at the southeast shore of Kluane Lake, and in fall 2008, to the border with Alaska.

There are historical mileposts along the B.C. and Yukon sections of the highway, installed in 1992, that note specific locations, although the posts no longer represent accurate driving distance. There are 80 mileposts in B.C., 70 in Yukon and 16 in Alaska with a simple number marker of the original mile distance. There are 31 "historic signs" in B.C., 22 in Yukon and 5 in Alaska, identifying the significance of the location. There are 18 interpretive panels in B.C., 14 in Yukon and 5 in Alaska which give detailed text information at a turn-off parking area.

The portion of the Alaska Highway in Alaska is designated Alaska Route 2. In Yukon, it is Highway 1 (designated in 1968) and in British Columbia, Highway 97. The portion of the Alaska Highway in Alaska is also unsigned Interstate A-1 and unsigned Interstate A-2.

Source: Wikipedia

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 6 months

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"The category of race was also critical to the second pillar of the CFU’s [Canadian Farmworkers Union] organizing mission: ridding the industry of contractors. Contractors would supply the labour force for the farmers and, in many cases, they held as much power as the farmers. The contractor was responsible for hiring a workforce, maintaining discipline, and making payments. The farmer would not pay the workers directly; instead, the farmer would pay the contractor who, in many cases, would retain the money until the end of the season. In many instances, the contractor was also responsible for transporting workers between the field and their homes. Since labour contractors were trying to maximize profits, the vehicles they used to transport workers predictably violated many road safety standards. As Chouhan remembers, his first contractor: “came to pick me up in an Econoline van which had no seats in it, there were people sitting on the floor which was quite a shock [laughs]. No seat belts, no nothing.” Many workers have been killed due to accidents in these unsafe vehicles, and, as recently as 7 March 2007, three farmworkers died in a rollover accident while riding in an overcrowded vehicle between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Often, contractors were from the same social and ethnic circles as the labourers whom they employed. Charan Gill identified a “colonial mentality” in comments made by farmworkers. Since the contractors who provided them with work shared familial and cultural ties with them, some of which could be traced back to Punjab, many farmworkers did not want to stand up to the contractors. Fears of losing jobs and housing were very real, and such losses could jeopardize their immigration status. Contractors who came from the same community as the workers could manipulate the latter into believing they were on their side, and, because of this, Gill notes: “in spite of our efforts, individual interests [of workers] sometimes invalidated collective interests [of their class]” because some of those workers aspired to be contractors. Simply getting safety information to farmworkers was also difficult. Since many of the workers could not read or write in English, and some were illiterate in their own languages, they were often dependent on information from the farmer and the contractor. Contractors could intentionally mislead, omit certain information, or outright lie to their workers about their legal rights. This delayed organizing efforts. To counter this information block, organizers would try to go to local temples on the weekends, where many workers went to pray. However, the labour contractors also had control over the temple executives, so organizers were often refused the right to speak. Frustrated, the organizers developed a two-part strategy. First, they would have “kitchen meetings” in which the organizer would contact one worker for a meeting in their home, and that worker would contact neighbours and friends, so “that way [they would] not [be] afraid to be seen by a labour contractor or in the temple or in a public place.” Second, because many families used the temples for social events, the organizers would ask family members to invite the CFU and thus circumvent the temple executives as organizers of social events had the “absolute right to invite anyone they want[ed].”

These strategies helped the CFU reach out to potential members and to provide valuable information regarding their legal rights. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the CFU, contractors are still a part of the industry to this day, and anyone driving through the agricultural areas of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland can witness the painted-over shuttle buses that daily transport farmworkers from home to field."

- Nicholas Fast, ““WE WERE A SOCIAL MOVEMENT AS WELL”: The Canadian Farmworkers Union in British Columbia, 1979–1983,” BC Studies. no. 217, Spring 2023. p. 44-45.

#canadian farmworkers union #participatory democracy #union organizing #farm workers #agricultural workers #indian immigration to canada #immigrant workers #racialized workers #farming in canada #working class struggle #academic quote #strike #union politics #labour contracting #exploitation #reading 2024

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tgmsunmontue · 8 months

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You need to learn how to fall 5/10

Hangster (and IceMav) - Bradley is too tall to be a naval aviator and instead becomes a sky diver, specialising in spin recovery. He is a civilian contractor to the Air Force and Navy to teach pilots how to survive parachute spins from ejections. A more in-depth version of this post.

PROLOGUE 2003-2006 2007-2010 2011-2015

HEADS UP - I only post Part 4 yesterday so you might have missed it

2016

Prologue Take 2 - 2016 onwards

“Ice! Do you know a Lieutenant Colonel Sanderson?”

“That’s an Air Force rank…” Tom mutters, looking up at Bradley who is standing in the door to his office wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. He can see the bruises and scars that Bradley’s acquired in the past and more recently. Sometimes the lack of formality annoys him but also seeing him alive will always outweigh that annoyance as it quickly fades into fondness.

“I’m aware of that, I just have an email from him asking me to call him to discuss coming and training their Special Forces…”

“What? Why is the Air Force contacting you?” Tom asks, suddenly concerned.

“I know it hasn’t escaped your notice, but I am the forerunner expert in FMM, HALO and HAHO practices. As well as standard parachute deployment, spin recovery and the physics of jumping out of planes in general. I know you read my thesis and watched me defend it. I just wanted to know if you maybe put in a good word.”

“No, I didn’t. Did you want me to? Wait. You’re considering it?”

“Of course I’m considering it. This is where I can hopefully have some more impact, rather than simply develop training guides.”

“Would you come and do the same with us?”

“With the Navy? Of course I would. Going to bug you that the Air Force got in first though huh?”

It does a little, and he knows Bradley can likely tell from his facial expression.

“I’m a civilian, I can do both. Hell, toss the Army in the there as well. You know I’ll always be a Navy man at heart.”

… … …

“Dr Bradshaw, nice to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to do this.”

“Glad to be of service. My step-father is a little piqued that the Air Force jumped the Navy, but have to reward the forward thinking of the Air Force and Army wanting better training for their Special Forces.”

“Would I know your step-father?”

“I don’t know. Do you know Admiral Kazansky sir?”

That gets him a double take and Bradley grins, because taking people by surprise will never get old.

… … …

Pete goes along the first time Bradley teaches at the Pensacola flight school, watches him take the class and some of the aviators are older than him but he commands their respect in the same way Ice does, quiet, confident and simply expects respect. It’s impressive and he messages Ice and tells him that their son is just like him.

“Captain Mitchell, what are you doing here?”

“Just here for my son’s first day of class. Not here in any official capacity.”

“Who is your…”

“Dr Bradley Bradshaw. You remember Goose? Nick Bradshaw? That’s his boy up there.”

“You raise him?”

“Kid pretty much raised himself, but yeah, I tried to be there.”

“He’s got himself a reputation as a bit of a daredevil, but a very very careful one.”

“That’d be Ice’s influence,” Pete says, and it’s a slip of the tongue, out before he even realizes that it’s not exactly public knowledge, although it does seem that most people know.

“Then he’s a lucky young man to have you both.”

“Thank you sir. We’re very proud of him.”

… … …

Tom hasn’t been this amused in a long time as he listens to Bradley moan about trying to instruct a room full of Mavericks and he wonders if it’s karma re-doubled for the stress Bradley causes Mav with his chosen career path. He’s glad his heart is nice and strong, well aware he’d have likely had many heart attacks between the shit that Mav and Bradley get up to.

… … …

Bradley’s working through a backlog of pilots, the Navy wanting to have everyone retrained and he’s asked to visit Top Gun, train the current class and he agrees readily enough, although both Mav and Ice warn him that they might push him harder than the pilots at flight school and Bradley grimaces. It’ll be fine, he can be out stubborn the best, mainly because he’s got Mav and Ice as parents and if anything else they’ve taught him how to deal with aviators who think they know better than him.

… … …

“Class, this is Dr Bradshaw, one of our civilian contractors. He is an expert on MFF, HALO, HAHO, parachute deployment, spin recovery, landing. Since we employed him our fatalities related to parachute deployment have decreased over fifty-percent. What he teaches you here may save your life.”

The guy is their age, maybe a little older. Jake lets his eyes travel up and up and fuck the guys legs seem endless, and he towers a good four or five inches at least over everyone else in the room. He can’t know as much as they’re letting on, seems far too young to have earnt the deference he’s receiving from the gathered instructors and brass, who are all also apparently sitting in on the lesson. That’s new.

“Afternoon everyone. Some of you already know me, and will know what I’m about to say. You can call me Bradley, or Bradshaw. I don’t quite stand on the same ceremony as many of you are used to,” Bradley Bradshaw says, and what a fucking joke of a name. One of the brass hides a laugh as a cough and Jake wonders if they’re being pranked.

“Now, as to why I’m here? For you it’s primarily ejections. You may be lucky to never experience one. But it’s unlikely. If you’re lucky, your ejection will go flawlessly and you’ll walk away with some bruises and a little whiplash. Less lucky, few broken bones and some scars and unable to fly again. Unlucky, you die. I want to stack the odds in your favor, teach you how to turn those potential breaks into bruises, turn what could kill you into something that you’re able to survive.”

He goes on into more detail, discusses the freefall simulator they’ll be utilizing and he listens with half an ear while he watches the others paying rapt attention.

“What makes you qualified to teach us?” Jake asks, hopes his tone doesn’t come off as disparaging, because he genuinely wants to know. They’re the best pilots. Surely there’s someone in one of the services with the same level of expertise.

“You think you’re the first pilot who thinks they know better than me?”

“I didn’t say you know better, I asked what makes you qualified,” Jake replies firmly.

The guy nods then, accepts the interruption.

“I’ve been flying planes for over twenty years, flying solo since I was sixteen. Jumping out of planes since I was eighteen. Got my license to do tandem jumps when I was twenty-one. I remain the youngest person to become a skydiving instructor. I did my bachelor degree in physics and human performance science, then became quite enamored regarding spin recovery and free fall. I was then approached by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency about doing my doctorate, specially looking further into MFF, HALO and HAHO and also spin recovery. I’ve been teaching at Pensacola, Corpus Cristi, Kingsville, Fort Bragg among others for the last few years.”

Holy shit.

“In addition to that I stay up to date with all the safety and health improvements. Continue to study the physics of spins and calculate the best asymmetry to try and achieve to remove from a spin dependent on a variety of variables. I’ve done over ten thousand jumps, put myself into deliberate spins over and over for the sake of science. And yet I’m standing in front of you today, alive, because I know what I’m talking about. Does that help answer your question Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir. Thank you. I look forward to hearing what you’ve got to teach us.”

… … …

"Mav, have pilots gotten cockier or am I just getting older?"

"You're definitely getting older," Mav replies, and he's cackling madly.

"Seems like a prerequisite for the programme. They know they're good..." Ice provides.

"Ugh. Whole lotta ego in the current batch."

"More than normal?"

"Yeah. Well. One guy in particular. He's fucking insufferable."

"Name?" Ice asks innocently and Bradley laughs but doesn’t say anything.

… … …

Jake Googles him when he gets back to his lodging, clicks through and watches clip after clip of the guy jumping out of a plane. The freefall and spin-recovery ones are the ones which make his heart lodge somewhere in his throat, although he’s not sure why. It’s not like he’s afraid of heights. The guy is good, which he’d already gathered. There’s one filmed crash which he gets up and walks away from which makes his eyes widen, but he’s… interested. Curious. Definitely wants to know more.

… … …

“Sir, do you know anything about a naval aviator with the last name Bradshaw?” Jake asks.

“Oh… yes. Very tragic what happened to him.”

“What was that?”

“He was killed in a training exercise while at Top Gun.”

“Oh shit…”

“Language.”

“Sorry sir. I just, I’ve been talking with Dr Bradshaw, his son I think?”

“Ah yes, Bradley. There’s an accomplished young man.”

Jake guesses all the instructors probably know each other, but there’s still a level of familiarity there which isn’t usually present with other civilian contractors.

… … …

“Lieutenant. Can I help you?”

“You can call me Jake.”

“Or I can call you Lieutenant.”

“Sure thing, I mean, I’ll answer to anything you want to call me.”

Bradley frowns, because otherwise his eyebrows would be up in his hairline. The man’s got balls, he’ll give him that.

“Just wanted to see if I could tempt you into having a drink with me…”

Bradley isn’t stupid, knows that far more than a drink is being offered and while he would have taken him up on it ten, hell, five years ago, he’s not really into the one-night thing anymore.

“Sorry Lieutenant, this isn’t my home base. Neither is the flight school. I actually live in San Diego. How about if you’re ever in North Island you look me up… then we can talk about that drink.”

He still gives Jake his number, meaning it about the drink, but it’s as gentle a rejection as he can manage.

PART 6

#IceMav #Top Gun fanfic #Hangster #you need to learn how to fall

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noneofthisisreal · 8 months

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Described as “large and costly” by celebrated Georgia historian Charles C. Jones Jr. in 1890, the old Chatham County Jail is noteworthy for its exuberant Moorish-influenced tower (106 feet high) which replaced the original octagonal Byzantine style tower (93 feet high) following a fire in 1898. The McDonald Brothers Jail Building Company of Louisville, Kentucky, constructed the brick and iron 117-cell jail with the assistance of local architect DeWitt Bruyn and contractor W. F. Bowe. The jail was closed in 1978 with the completion of the new Chatham County Jail on Montgomery Street and the building gradually became a largely ruined shell. The Savannah College of Art and Design acquired the old jail in 1989, restoring only the jailer’s residence and tower.

#it was the old jail

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germanpostwarmodern · 2 years

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The different forms of habitation were the core objective of Gert Eckel’s (*1940) architecture: his entire oeuvre, exclusively located in Berlin, revolves around single-family homes, row houses and apartment buildings. In many instances Eckel also was his own client since he often bought difficult plots of land in order to then develop an architectural solution and win over buyers for it. Eckel, who graduated from Technical University in Berlin in 1966, already in 1965 designed and built his first own house thanks to a building loan contract and the then generous subsidies granted by the Berlin administration for buildings realized within social housing regulations. The house marked the starting point of Eckel’s career as architect/contractor and is an early demonstration of his trademark architectural idiom: round corners, open spaces and interlocking volumes.Some 40 years after the completion of his first building Eckel together with friends and family looked back on his uncompromising oeuvre: the book „Gert Eckel Architekt: Zwischen Traum und Function - Die Lust am Bauen/Dramaturgie des Wohnens“, edited by Richard Röhrbein and published by Joly Weinberg in 2007, collects a personal selection of buildings, memories by his son and former clients as well as self-reflective essay by the architect. But the primary focus is on the architecture: more than 20 buildings and projects are featured in photos and plans that emphatically demonstrate the qualities of Eckel’s architecture, namely the surprising perspectives, the flowing spaces and the sophisticated use of natural light. Another aspect that always remained dear to his heart was privacy: in his apartment buildings in particular Eckel went to great lengths to create the feeling of a single-family home for every inhabitant.Since Gert Eckel seemingly never got much coverage in journals and magazines the present volume remains the sole source to the fascinating work of the architect that is very worth exploring!

#gert eckel #monograph #architecture #germany #nachkriegsmoderne #nachkriegsarchitektur #architektur #berlin #architecture book #book

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usafphantom2 · 10 months

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Commercial tanker refueled USAF fighters that were going to exercise in Singapore

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 11/16/2023 - 16:00 in Military

The U.S. Air Force conducted its first air refueling of combat aircraft using a commercial tanker on November 6.

The commercial resupply of the F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan Air Base in South Korea took place as part of the joint Commando Sling 23 exercise conducted in Singapore. The bilateral training event with the Air Force of the Republic of Singapore is sponsored by the Pacific Air Forces and aims to improve the way the island nation operates with the United States.

This air refueling marked a major step forward in the efforts of the U.S. Air Force to expand this capacity. For several years, the service has considered increasing its refueling operations with commercial tanker aircraft. Earlier this year, a commercial tanker refueled an E-3 Sentry and an RC-135 Rivet Joint during an Air Combat Command exercise, the service reported in a statement on November 9.

This month's refueling during the Commando Sling was carried out by a KDC-10 aircraft, the service said, and the photographs showed that the tanker carried the Omega Air Refueling markings. The Virginia-based company, formed in 2004, has been the U.S. Navy's main contractor for commercial refueling services since 2007. It also supported the air forces of U.S. allies, such as Australia and NATO nations.

Lieutenant Colonel Curtis Holtman, head of air mobility operations for the Pacific Air Forces, said this refueling served as a “proof of concept” to show that a commercial tanker can fuel U.S. Air Force fighters during exercise and training, while keeping its own tanker planes available for real-world operations.

“If we can use commercial air refueling to cover movements from point A to point B for participation in exercises throughout the unit's readiness training, this will free up our fleet of combat tanker planes to be ready to respond to emerging contingency requirements,” Holtman said. "This is another mechanism that we can take advantage of to increase the readiness of our fighters."

Photographs showed at least four F-16 jets from the 36º Osan Fighter Squadron flying alongside the Omega tanker on the way to Singapore. The KDC-10 can carry up to 247,000 pounds of fuel to fuel other aircraft.

Holtman said that this tanker carried more than 40 passengers and four cargo pallets to show how it can also perform air transport missions. The KDC-10 can carry up to 100,000 pounds of cargo or passengers.

Holtman said that commercial tankers should also refuel the F-15C Eagle and F-22 Raptor fighters when the exercise ends.

Tags: Military AviationKDC-10Omega AirREVOUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.