Author: Michael

If Santa had a Christmas list for the Cold War, it might look something like General Harold K. Johnson’s. A Finnish immigrant, a Vietnam War widow, and a future president of the United States all made the cut — a testament to the global reach and personal touch of a man who led the Army during the 1960s.  Each name on the list tells a story about the Cold War’s “where” and “who.” Alpo K. Marttinen emigrated from Finland and wrote the U.S. Army’s winter warfare doctrine.

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The air crews of Carrier Air Wing 9 deployed to sea not expecting to end up in dozens of sorties, taking part in the largest naval conflict the United States has been in since World War II. But that’s what happened earlier this year when the air wing, assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, was ordered into the 5th Fleet’s area of operations in the waters around the Middle East. The wing ended up flying more than 200 sorties in direct combat during the deployment.
The nine squadrons that make up Carrier Air Wing 9 returned to the United States this weekend.

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In the dense woods of the Ardennes Forest, during a biting and cold winter in December 1944, American troops found themselves facing a sudden large attack from German soldiers. Undersupplied, partially cut off and dealing with the elements and the Nazi bombardments, U.S. soldiers along with forces from the United Kingdom and Canada faced weeks of brutal combat while holding the line. 
Monday, Dec. 16 marks 80 years since the start of the Ardennes offensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge.

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It takes a lot of power to airlift tons of humanitarian aid, particularly to islands across the Pacific Ocean. It takes, for instance, seven C-130J Super Hercules and C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft. And this weekend those large cargo planes came together on a runway in Guam for an “elephant walk.” 
An “elephant walk” is basically a tight grouping of planes on a runway, taking off one after the other. It’s a term and tradition going back to World War II. And it was alive and well on Saturday, Dec. 14 on the runway at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

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There’s a bigger message we are sending to the world.

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The images of drones flying over numerous American cities and coastlines have captured the attention of Americans. Drone experts then came out of nowhere to postulate theories about what could be happening. They are only theories, and few plausible answers exist. I will not pile on to the media noise and attempt to explain who is doing this and why. Instead, I want to highlight critical points that we as a nation should learn from these events.

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