South African Air Force

The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force has seen service in World War II and the Korean War. From 1966 the SAAF was involved in providing infantry support in a low intensity war ("The Border War") in Angola, South-West Africa and Rhodesia. As the war progressed, the intensity of air operations increased until in the late 1980s, the SAAF were compelled to fly fighter missions against Angolan aircraft in order to maintain tactical air superiority. On conclusion of the Border War in 1990, aircraft numbers were severely reduced due to economic pressures as well as the cessation of hostilities with neighbouring states.
History.
World War I.
After a visit to observe the 1912 military manoeuvres in Europe, Brig. Gen. C.F. Beyers (who was then Commandant-General of the Defence Force) gave an extremely positive report on the future use of aircraft for military purposes to General Smuts. Smuts initiated an arrangement with private fliers in the Cape and established a flying school at Alexandersfontein near Kimberley, known as the Paterson Aviation Syndicate School, to train pilots for the proposed South African Aviation Corps. Flying training commenced in 1913 with students who excelled on the course being sent to the Central Flying School at Upavon in Great Britain for further training. The first South African military pilot qualified on 2 June 1914.
At the outbreak of World War I, the Union Defence Force had realised the urgent need for air support which brought about the establishment of the South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) on 29 January 1915. Aircraft were purchased from France (Henri Farman F-27) while the building of an airfield at Walvis Bay commenced in earnest in order to support operations against German forces in German South West Africa. By June 1915 the SAAC was deployed to its first operational airfield at Karibib in German South West Africa in support of Gen. Botha's South African ground forces. The SAAC flew reconnaissance and leaflet dropping missions from Karibib and later from Omaruru, where improvised bombing missions were added when pilots started dropping hand grenades and rudimentary bombs by hand. On 9 July 1915, the German forces capitulated and most of the pilots and aircraft of the SAAC were sent to Britain in support of the Imperial war effort.
Although the SAAC remained active, its activities were limited to ground training at the Cape Town Drill Hall, while the pilots who had been detached to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) were grouped to form No. 26 Squadron RFC and later becoming an independent squadron on 8 October 1915. No. 26 Squadron was equipped with Henri Farman F-27's and B.E.2c's and was shipped to Kenya in support of the war effort in German East Africa, landing in Mombasa on 31 January 1916. The squadron flew reconnaissance and observer missions throughout the campaign until February 1918 when the squadron returned to the UK via Cape Town and arrived at Blandford Camp on 8 July 1918 and was disbanded the same day. While the SAAC were engaged in German South West Africa and 26 Sqdn RFC in East Africa, many South Africans traveled to the United Kingdom to enlist with the Royal Flying Corps. The number of South Africans in the RFC eventually reached approximately 3,000 men and suffered 260 active-duty fatalities over the Somme during the war. Forty-six pilots became fighter aces.
Founding and the inter-war period.
On conclusion of the First World War, the British Government donated surplus aircraft plus spares and sufficient equipment to provide the nucleus of a fledgling air force to each of its Dominions. As part of this donation, which was to become known as the Imperial Gift, South Africa received a total of 113 aircraft from both the British Government (100 aircraft) as well as from other sources (13 aircraft).
On 1 February 1920 Colonel Pierre van Ryneveld was appointed as the Director Air Service with the task of forming an air force, the date is used to mark the founding of the South African Air Force. In December 1920 the South African National insignia was added to aircraft for the first time. An Orange, Green, Red and Blue roundel was added to an Avro 504K for trial purposes but the colours were found to be unsuitable and were replaced with a Green, Red, Lemon, Yellow and Blue roundel in December 1921. These colours remained until 1927 when they were replaced with the Orange, White and Blue roundels.
The first operational deployment of the newly formed Air Force was to quell internal dissent, when in 1922 a miner's strike on the Johannesburg gold mines turned violent and led to the declaration of martial law. 1 Squadron was called to fly reconnaissance missions and to bombard the strikers' positions. Sorties in support of the police amounted to 127 flight hours between 10 and 15 March and this inauspicious start for the SAAF led to two pilot losses, two wounded and two aircraft lost to ground fire. The SAAF was again deployed to suppress the Bondelzwart Rebellion at Kalkfontein between 29 May and 3 July 1922.
World War II.
 At the outbreak of war, South Africa had no naval vessels and the UDF's first priority was to ensure the safety of the South African coastal waters as well as the strategically important Cape sea-route. For maritime patrol operations, the SAAF took over all 29 passenger aircraft of South African Airways: 18 Junkers Ju 86Z-ls for maritime patrols and eleven Junkers Ju 52s for transport purposes. SAAF maritime patrols commenced on 21 September 1939 with 16 Squadron flying three JU-86Z's from Walvis Bay. had been established, eventually consisting of 6, 10, 22, 23, 25, 27 and 29 Squadrons.
By the end of World War II in August 1945, SAAF aircraft (in conjunction with British and Dutch aircraft stationed in South Africa) had intercepted 17 enemy ships, assisted in the rescue of 437 survivors of sunken ships, attacked 26 of the 36 enemy submarines that operated around the South African coast, and flown 15,000 coastal patrol sorties.
East Africa.
In December 1939 the Duke of Aosta had sent a report to Mussolini recording the state of chronic unpreparedness of the Allied Forces in East Africa. The collapse of France in 1940 had prompted Mussolini to join the war on the side of the Axis and as a result, air force elements were moved to forward positions in occupied Ethiopia to mount air attacks on Allied forces before they could be re-inforced. These deployments prompted Allied action and on 13 May 1940, 1 Squadron pilots were sent to Cairo to take delivery of 18 Gloster Gladiators and to fly them south to Kenya, for operations in East Africa. 11 Squadron, equipped with Hawker Hartebeests, followed to Nairobi on 19 May 1940 and were joined by the Junkers Ju 86s of 12 Squadron on 22 May 1940.
Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 and on the following day, the Ju 86s of 12 Squadron led the first air attack by the SAAF in World War II. During the campaign, numerous SAAF aircraft were involved in air combat with the Italian "Regia Aeronautica" and provided air support to South African and Allied forces in the ground war. By December 1940, ten SAAF squadrons plus 34 Flight, with a total of 94 aircraft, were operational in East Africa (1 Squadron, 2 Squadron, 3 Squadron, 11 Squadron, 12 Squadron, 14 Squadron, 40 Squadron, 41 Squadron, 50 Squadron and 60 Squadron). During this campaign, the SAAF formed a Close Support Flight of four Gladiators and four Hartebeests, with an autonomous air force commander operating with the land forces. This was the precursor of the Desert Air Force/Tactical Air Force "cab-rank" technique which were used extensively for close air support during 1943–1945. The last air combat took place on 29 October and the Italian forces surrendered on 27 November 1941. A reduced SAAF presence was maintained in East Africa for coastal patrols until May 1943.
Western Desert and North Africa.
SAAF fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance squadrons played a key role in the Western Desert and North African campaigns from 1941 to 1943. One memorable feat was the Boston bombers of 12 and 24 Squadrons dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on Axis forces pushing the Eighth Army back towards Egypt during the "Gazala Gallop" in mid-1942. SAAF bombers continually harassed retreating forces towards the Tunisian border after the Second Battle of El Alamein; the South African fighters of No. 223 Wing RAF helped the Desert Air Force gain air superiority over Axis air forces. Between April 1941 and May 1943, the eleven SAAF squadrons flew 33,991 sorties and destroyed 342 enemy aircraft.
Conditions were however not ideal and pilots and crew were required to operate under critical conditions at times. Pilots were frequently sent home to the Union after gaining experience and did not return for many months, after which conditions in the desert had changed significantly and they were required to regain experience on different aircraft, different tactics and operations from different bases. There were cases where experienced fighter pilots were sent back to the Western Desert as bomber pilots for their second tour – compounding the lack of continuity and experience. The South Africans did however command the respect of their German adversaries.
The South Africans had the distinction of dropping the first and last bombs in the African conflict – the first being on 11 June 1940 on Moyale in Ethiopia and the last being on the Italian 1st Army in Tunisia. The SAAF also produced a number of SAAF WWII air aces in the process, including John Frost and Marmaduke Pattle.
Madagascar.
In fear of Japanese occupation and subsequent operations in the Indian Ocean in close proximity to South African sea lanes, Field Marshal Smuts encouraged the preemptive Allied occupation of the island of Madagascar. After much debate and further encouragement by General de Gaulle (who was urging for a Free French operation against Madagascar), Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff agreed to an invasion by means of a strong fleet and adequate air support. In March and April 1942, the SAAF had been conducting reconnaissance flights over Diego-Suarez and 32, 36 and 37 Coastal Flights were withdrawn from South African maritime patrol operations and sent to Lindi on the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania, with an additional eleven Bristol Beauforts and six Martin Marylands to provide ongoing reconnaissance and close air support for the planned operation – to be known as "Operation Ironclad".
During the amphibious / air assault carried out by the Royal Navy and Air Force on 5 May, the Vichy French Air Force consisting mainly of Morane fighters and Potez bombers had attacked the Allied fleet but had been neutralised by the Fleet Air Arm aircraft from the two aircraft carriers. Those remaining aircraft not destroyed were withdrawn by the French and flown south to other airfields on the island. Once the main airfield at Arrachart aerodrome in Diego-Suarez had been secured (13 May 1942), the SAAF Air Component flew from Lindi to Arrachart. The air component consisted of thirty-four aircraft (6 Marylands, 11 Beaufort Bombers, 12 Lockheed Lodestars and 6 Ju 52's transports). By September 1942, the South African ground forces committed to "Ironclad" had been party to the capturing the southern half of Madagascar as well as the small island of Nossi Be with the SAAF air component supporting these operations. During the campaign which ended with an armistice on 4 November 1942, SAAF aircraft flew a total of 401 sorties with one pilot killed in action, one killed in an accident and one succumbing to disease. Seven aircraft were lost, only one as a result of enemy action.
Sicilian and Italian campaigns.
By the end of May 1943, the SAAF had two Wings and sixteen squadrons in the Middle East and North Africa with 8,000 men. With the end of the North African campaign, the SAAF role underwent change – becoming more active in fighter bomber, bomber and PR operations as opposed to the fighter role performed in the desert.
Five SAAF squadrons were designated to support the July 1943 invasion of Sicily – 1 Squadron operated combat air patrols over the beaches for the "Operation Husky" landings while 2, 4 and 5 Squadrons provided fighter bomber support during the Sicilian campaign. 30 Squadron (flying as No. 223 Squadron RAF during the campaign) provided light bomber support from Malta and 60 Squadron was responsible for photo reconnaissance flights in support of all Allied forces on the island. After successfully invading the island, a further three squadrons were moved to Sicily and the eight squadrons on the island were tasked with supporting the invasion of Italy: 12 and 24 Squadrons were responsible for medium bomber missions to "soften up" the enemy prior to the invasion while 40 Sqn was responsible for tactical photo-reconnaissance. 1 Squadron provided fighter cover for the 3 September 1943 landings while 2 and 4 Squadrons were responsible for bomber escort.
The South African Air Force participated in the Allied campaigns in the following theaters:
Mobile Air Force Depot.
The Mobile Air Force Depot (MAFD) was based in Pretoria. Its role in World War II was a location where Air Crew could be stationed, on stand-by, prior to being posted to a more active squadron.
Berlin airlift.
Post-war, the SAAF also took part in the Berlin airlift of 1948 with 20 aircrews flying Royal Air Force Dakotas. 4,133 tons of supplies were carried in 1,240 missions flown.
Korean War.
At the outbreak of the Korean War the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of North Korean forces in South Korea. A request was also made to all UN members for assistance. After a special Cabinet meeting on 20 July 1950 the Union Government announced that due to the long distance between South Africa and Korea, direct ground-based military participation in the conflict was impractical and unrealistic but that a SAAF fighter squadron would be made available to the UN effort. The 50 officers and 157 other ranks of 2 Sqn SAAF sailed from Durban on 26 September 1950 – they had been selected from 1,426 members of the Permanent Force who had initially volunteered for service. This initial contingent was commanded by Cmdt S. van Breda Theron and included many World War II SAAF veterans. The squadron was moved to Johnson Air Base near Tokyo on 25 September 1950 for conversion training on the F-51D Mustangs supplied by the US Air Force.
On completion of conversion training, the squadron was deployed as one of the four USAF 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing squadrons and on 16 November 1950 an advance detachment consisting of 13 officers and 21 other ranks (including the Squadron Commander and his four Flight Commanders who made the crossing in their own F-51D Mustangs) left Japan for Pusan East (K-9) Air Base within the Pusan Perimeter in Korea to fly with the USAF pilots in order to familiarise themselves with the local operational conditions. On the morning of 19 November 1950, Cmdt Theron and Capt G.B. Lipawsky took off with two USAF pilots to fly the first SAAF combat sorties of the Korean War from K-9 and K-24 airfields at Pyongyang.
On 30 November the squadron was moved further south to K-13 airfield due to North Korean and Chinese advances. It was again moved even further south after the UN forces lost additional ground to the North Koreans to K-10 airfield situated on the coast close to the town of Chinhae. This was to be the squadron's permanent base for the duration of their first Korean deployment. During this period (while equipped with F-51D Mustangs) the squadron flew 10,373 sorties and lost 74 aircraft out of the total 95 allocated. Twelve pilots were killed in action, 30 missing and four wounded.
In January 1953 the squadron returned to Japan for conversion to the USAF F-86F Sabre fighter-bombers. The first Sabre mission was flown on 16 March 1953 from the K-55 airfield in South Korea, being the first SAAF jet mission flown. 2 squadron was led by ace pilot, Major Jean de Wet from AFB Langebaanweg. The squadron was tasked with fighter sweeps along the Yalu and Chong-Chong rivers as well as close air support attack missions. The squadron flew 2,032 sorties in the Sabres losing four out of the 22 aircraft supplied.
 The war ended on 27 July 1953, when the was signed. During the first phase of the war, the main task of the squadron Mustangs was the interdiction of enemy supply routes which not only accounted for approximately 61.45% of SAAF combat sorties, but which reached an early peak from January to May 1951 (78% and 82%). A typical interdiction mission was an armed reconnaissance patrol usually undertaken by flights of two or four aircraft armed with two napalm bombs, 127 mm rockets and 12.7 mm machine guns. Later, after the introduction of the Sabres, the squadron was also called on to provide counter-air missions flying as fighter sweeps and interceptions against MiG-15's, but interdiction and close air support remained the primary mission. Losses were 34 SAAF pilots killed, eight taken prisoner (including the future Chief of the Air Force, General D Earp) with 74 Mustangs and 4 Sabres lost. Pilots and men of the squadron received a total of 797 medals including 2 Silver Stars, the highest US military award given to foreigners, 3 Legions of Merit, 55 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 40 Bronze Stars. In recognition of their association with 2 Squadron, the OC of 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing issued a policy directive "that all retreat ceremonies shall be preceded by the introductory bars of the South African national anthem. All personnel will render the honour to this anthem as our own."
On conclusion of hostilities, the Sabres were returned to the USAF and the squadron returned to South Africa in October 1953. During this period, the Union Defence Forces were reorganised into individual services and the SAAF became an arm of service in its own right, under an Air Chief of Staff (who was renamed "Chief of the Air Force" in 1966). It adopted a blue uniform, to replace the army khaki it had previously worn.
Rhodesian Bush War.
The SAAF loaned aircraft and flew occasional covert reconnaissance, transport and combat sorties in support of the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (renamed the Rhodesian Air Force in 1970) and the rest of the Rhodesian Security Forces from 1966 onwards. Notable operations included Operation Uric and Operation Vanity in 1979.
Border War.
From 1966 to 1989, the SAAF was committed to the Border War, which was fought in northern South West Africa and surrounding states. At first, it provided limited air support to police operations against the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (the military wing of SWAPO, which was fighting to end South African rule of South West Africa). Operations intensified after the defence force took charge of the war in 1974.
In July 1964, South Africa placed a development contract with Thomson-CSF for a mobile, all-weather, low-altitude SAM system after a South African order for the Bloodhound SAM system was refused by the UK government. This became the Crotale, or 'Cactus' in South African service. The South African government paid 85 per cent of the development costs of the system with the balance being paid for by France. The system was in service with 120 Squadron SAAF from 1970 until the late 1980s without any successful combat shootdowns.
The SAAF provided air support to the army during the 1975–76 Angola campaign, and in the many cross-border operations that were carried out against PLAN bases in Angola and Zambia from 1977 onwards.
During the bush war period, South Africa manufactured six air-deliverable tactical nuclear weapons of the "gun-type" design between 1978 and 1993. Each of the devices contained 55 kilograms of HEU with an estimated yield of 10–18 kilotons designed for delivery by Blackburn Buccaneer or English Electric Canberra aircraft. See History of the South African Air Force#Nuclear and ballistic weapons.
At least two MIG-21s of the Angolan Air Force were shot down by 3 Squadron SAAF Mirage F1s in 1981 and 1982.
From 1980 to 1984, the command structure was reorganised. Instead of units of the separate Strike Command, Transportation Command SAAF, and Maritime Air Command SAAF often being based at the same base but responsible to different chains of command, regional commands were established. Main Threat Air Command (MTAC) was made responsible for the northern half of the country, and Southern Air Command SAAF and Western Air Command SAAF for those areas. MTAC was co-located with the Air Force Command Post at Pretoria, with 20 subordinate squadrons (8 reserve). Southern Air Command at Silvermine was allocated nine squadrons (three reserve), based at AFS Port Elizabeth, Cape Town Airport, and AFB Ysterplaat, including 16 Squadron SAAF (Alouettes), 25 Squadron flying Dakotas frpom Ysterplaat, 27 Squadron SAAF (Piaggio 166), 35 Squadron SAAF (Avro Shackleton), and 88 Maritime Training School. Western Air Command at Windhoek relied on aircraft temporarily detached from MTAC and SAC. Airspace Control Command, Training Command and Air Logistics Command remained largely unchanged.
The SAAF was also heavily involved in the 1987–88 Angola campaign, before the New York Accords that ended the conflict. The international arms embargo imposed against the then-apartheid government of South Africa, meant that the SAAF was unable to procure modern fighter aircraft to compete with the sophisticated Soviet-supplied air defence network and Cuban Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23s fielded in the latter part of this conflict. South Africa was able to secure the transfer of technology from Israel through the Israel–South Africa Agreement, thereby allowing the Cheetah derivative of the IAI Kfir to be produced.
From 1990 with the perceived reduction in threat, SAAF operational strength began to be reduced. The first short term steps entailed the withdrawal of several obsolete aircraft types from service, such as the Canberra B(1)12, the Super Frelon and Westland Wasp helicopters, the Kudu light aircraft and the P-166s Albatross coastal patrol aircraft. Other initial measures included the downgrading of Air Force Base Port Elizabeth and the disbanding of 12, 16, 24, 25, and 27 Squadrons. Two Commando squadrons – 103 Squadron SAAF at AFB Bloemspruit and 114 Squadron SAAF at AFB Swartkop – were also disbanded.
Air Defence Artillery Group.
The 250 Air Defence Artillery Group, also known as the 250 Air Defence Unit (ADU), was a group of air defence squadrons that operated under the control of the South African Air Force tasked with airbase defence. The group consisted of 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129 and 130 Squadrons and had its own active Citizen Force component. These squadrons were equipped with the Tigercat mobile surface-to-air missile system, The Cactus surface-to-air missile system, the ZU-23-2 23mm Anti-Aircraft Gun and the Bofors 40 mm gun.
120 Squadron mainly operated the Cactus missile system operationally in platoons from 1973 until the late 1980s with each platoon consisting of one Acquisition and Co-ordination Unit (ACU) and two or three firing units, with a battery having two platoons. 121 Squadron, 123 Squadron and later 129 Squadron mainly operated the Tigercat mobile surface-to-air missile system. In South African service it was given the name "Hilda". 123 Squadron was deployed for Operation Savannah in 1975 to provide air defence for Air Force Base Grootfontein in South-West Africa. 129 Squadron was deployed to Air Force Base Ondangwa for the remainder of the Border War to provide air defence for the logistics base and airfield there, as it was an important staging area for the South African Defence Force for their operations in neighbouring Angola.
The Air Defence Artillery Group was disbanded in 1992 after the Cactus missile system was retired, with only remnants of 120 Squadron, operating the upgraded Cactus Container system, becoming a part of Air Command Control Unit at Snake Valley opposite Air Force Base Swartkop on the eastern side of the shared runway. 120 Squadron was finally disbanded in 2002 after these systems were retired.
Major operations.
During the bush war, the SAAF lost a total of 22 aircraft (1974–1989) to enemy action. A further 11 aircraft were lost in the operational area due to pilot error or malfunction.
Since 1994.
After the first South African multi-racial elections in 1994, the SAAF became part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The South African Air Force is currently considered to be the most effective air force in sub-Sahara Africa despite the loss of capability as a consequence of defence cuts after the end of the Border War.
These financial cuts have brought about a number of severe operational limitations, compounded by the loss of experienced air-crews. This has placed strain on the bringing new types of aircraft into service, specifically the Gripen, Hawk, Rooivalk, A 109 and Lynx. The cancellation of the SAAF participation and procurement of the A400M in November 2009 has denied the SAAF the strategic airlift capability needed for domestic, regional and continent-wide transport operations.There is no clear indication as yet regarding how the heavy/long-range airlift gap will be addressed.
Current air combat capabilities are limited to the Gripen multi-role fighter and the Rooivalk combat support helicopter although in insufficient number to allow regional deployments while maintaining national air security and current training commitments. To overcome this shortfall, the SAAF has designated the Hawk Mk 120 trainers for additional tactical reconnaissance and weapon delivery platforms for targets designated by the Gripens. Financial constraints have further limited flying hours on the newly acquired aircraft; it was planned to keep Gripen pilots current flying the lower cost Hawk aircraft with "Gripenised" cockpits. It was reported in 2013 that the Gripen fleet wasn't fully manned with some pilots redesignated as reserve pilots and others being assigned instructor roles at Air Force Base Makhado. The SAAF stated that the Gripen fleet is being rotated between short-term storage and active use by the regular active pilots to spread the limited flying hours among the whole fleet.
During this same period it was reported that 18 of the SAAF's AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters have been grounded due to an accident involving one of the helicopters several months prior and a lack of funds for regular maintenance, however in November 2013 after five months of not flying, the grounding of the helicopters was lifted after more funds became available.
Despite all its setbacks and financial woes, the South African Air Force continues to undertake and complete the tasks and obligations assigned to it. The SAAF still plays a vital role in national security operations, United Nations peacekeeping missions, and other foreign deployments. the Air force has several aircraft, aircrew and ground crew on foreign deployments. Three Rooivalk attack helicopters from 16 Squadron SAAF and five or six 15, 17, 19 and/or 22 Squadron SAAF's Oryx transport helicopters were stationed in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The Rooivalk and Oryx Helicopters are part of the South African contribution to the 3000-strong United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) and they have flown several sorties against rebel factions who are operating in North Kivu province, particularly the notorious M23 militia group who were routed from their strongholds after an offensive by the UN Force Intervention Brigade and the Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Several 28 Squadron SAAF C-130BZ Hercules aircraft also regularly flew to Sudan, DR Congo and Uganda, including Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, Goma, Beni, Bunia and Entebbe, as Entebbe is the logistic hub for MONUSCO in the eastern DR Congo. They mainly fly missions ranging from logistic support for SA National Defence Force continental peacekeeping and peace support operations, humanitarian operations, support to the South African Army, and general airlift. A C-47TP Turbo Dakota from 35 Squadron SAAF permanently based in the Mozambican city of Pemba to provide maritime patrol capability for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) counter-piracy mission in the Mozambique Channel, Operation Copper. There is also a Super Lynx from 22 Squadron SAAF operating from the South African Navy frigates whenever they are stationed in the Mozambican channel. The air force also assists Operation Corona from "time to time" by deploying either AgustaWestland AW109 or Atlas Oryx helicopters to its borders.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup the South African National Defence Force was deployed in order to provide security for the event. The air force deployed armed Gripen Fighter aircraft and Hawk advanced trainer aircraft to conduct air patrols to monitor air traffic. Rooivalk, Atlas Oryx and AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters were also deployed during the event.
It was also reported by the Afrikaans daily newspaper, "Beeld", that on 23 March 2013 when the Séléka rebel group attempted to take power in the Central African Republic by invading the capital of Bangui, four armed Gripen Fighter aircraft from 2 Squadron SAAF were sent along with a C-130BZ transport aircraft (reportedly carrying a stock of bombs) in order to provide close air support to the 200-strong South African garrison who were still fighting in the city. The aircraft were, however, recalled shortly after, as the South Africans and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire and rather opted to withdraw peacefully from the country. Several flights made by C-130BZ aircraft evacuated the bodies of the 13 South African soldiers who were killed and the 27 who were wounded during the Séléka offensive and also the remainder of the deployed soldiers and their equipment after the ceasefire was declared. The deployment of the Gripen fighter aircraft indicated that if the situation called for it, the country will deploy its fighter aircraft in order to ensure the protection of its assets.
The air force was also tasked with maintaining national security before and during the funeral procession of former president Nelson Mandela in December 2013. Several SAAF helicopters conducted patrols over Pretoria while the former president's body was lying in state in the days leading up to the funeral. Gripen fighter aircraft, armed with IRIS-T missiles and Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pods, conducted combat air patrols to enforce a no-fly zone for several days over certain areas in Gauteng province and later during the funeral itself over Qunu, in the Eastern Cape. Two Gripens were also tasked with escorting a C-130BZ aircraft, which was carrying President Mandela's body from Air Force Base Waterkloof to the Mthatha Airport. Five Gripens, three Oryx helicopters and the 6 Pilatus PC-7's of the Silver Falcons performed a flypast in a final salute to the late former president.
On 12 September 2014, a church hostel collapsed within the compound of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria. More than 100 persons died in the collapse, among them 85 South Africans. President Jacob Zuma ordered the South African Air Force to assist with the repatriation of survivors and victims, and the first 25 survivors were flown to South Africa in a specially adapted SAAF Hercules C-130 on 22 September 2014. Due to a lack of airlift capacity, an Antonov aircraft from Maximus Aero was chartered in order to repatriate the bodies of 74 victims, which arrived on 15 November 2014. The last 11 bodies were finally repatriated using an SAAF C-130 on 6 February 2015. The delay in repatriating the last bodies was due to authorities having to wait for DNA test results in order to positively identify the remaining victims.
In spite of its budget concerns, the air force still continues to participate in and support annual air and defence shows and capability demonstrations such as the Rand show, the Zwartkops airshow and the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo.
In 2002 Musa Mbhokota became the SAAF's first black jet fighter pilot. In March 2017 Nandi Zama became for first black woman in SAAF history to command and fly a Hercules C-130 cargo plane.
Symbols.
Rank insignia.
In 2002 the Air Force rank insignia were changed from one which was shared with the Army to a new pattern based on stripes. The Air Force stated that this was "in order to bring it more in line with international forms of rank". The General ranks initially had a thick stripe (thicker than the Senior Officer rank stripe) with thin stripes above, but this was changed shortly after implementation to the crossed sword and baton insignia typical of Commonwealth Generals. The reason for the change so soon after implementation of the new insignia was presumed to be confusion in differentiating between Generals and Senior Officers.
Note: The Rank of Master Chief Warrant Officer is only used when the Sergeant Major of the Air Force is also the Sergeant Major of the Defence Force.
SAAF medals and decorations.
A new set of emblems, medals and decorations were introduced on 29 April 2003, although medals issued by the SADF can still be worn.
Unit emblems.
SAAF command and control units.
The various Forward Air Command Posts and Air Operations Teams were closed on 31 December 2003 and integrated in the new Joint Regional Task Groups under command of Chief of Joint Operations.
Aircraft.
Weapon systems.
For weapon system no longer in use, see List of obsolete weapon systems of the South African Air Force.
Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing.
The Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing (AFMDW) provides combat ready, integrated and deployable air support capabilities to the South African National Defence Force. The AFMDW consists of 18 Deployment Support Unit, Mobile Communications Unit, 140 Squadron and 142 Squadron, 500 Squadron and 501 Squadron.
Reserves.
The Air Force Conventional Reserves are a pool of reserve posts created to serve the SAAF and augment regular units as and when needed. All trades in the SAAF are represented in the reserves, e.g. pilots, security squadron personnel etc.
The Air Force Territorial Reserve currently consists of nine squadrons of privately owned aircraft operated by reserve pilots on behalf of the SAAF who assist in light transport and observation roles.
Other establishments and units.
South African Air Force Memorial.
The South African Air Force Memorial is a memorial to South African Air Force members who have died whilst in service of the South African Air Corps and the South African Air Force from 1915 to the present. The memorial is located at Swartkop outside Pretoria.
South African Air Force Museum.
The South African Air Force Museum houses, exhibits and restores material related to the history of the South African Air Force. It is spread across three locations; AFB Swartkop outside Pretoria, AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town and at the Port Elizabeth airport. Swartkop is the largest of the three museum locations, occupying at least five hangars and contains a number of Atlas Cheetahs as well as a Cheetah C flight simulator.
Silver Falcons.
The Silver Falcons are the aerobatic display team of the South African Air Force and are based at Air Force Base Langebaanweg near Cape Town. The Silver Falcons fly the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Astra, the basic trainer of the SA Air Force in a 5-ship routine. The main purpose is to enhance the image of the South African Air Force, encourage recruitment and instill national pride through public display.
Radar coverage.
The South African Air Force operates several radar systems within the country's borders and can deploy radar systems internationally to support external South African operations such as during UN peacekeeping operations. The Air Force's radar equipment is also supplemented by radar equipment and data from the other branches of the South African National Defence Force, the South African Weather Service and several civilian Airport radars who cooperate with the Air Force to monitor air traffic.
Each air force base is equipped with air field radar approach systems (AFRAS) that monitors air traffic within the Air Field's operational sector 24 hours per day. These systems include primary approach radars, precision approach radars, and secondary surveillance radar and display systems. These systems have a range of more than 120 km. The AFRAS are maintained by Saab Grintek as well as Tellumat. Air Force Base Overberg in the Western Cape is also equipped with a Doppler tracking radar and is used primarily by the Test Flight and Development Centre SAAF and the Denel Overberg Test Range for aircraft and missile development tests. In the Western Cape there is a radar station at Kapteinskop, jointly used by Air Force Base Langebaanweg and Cape Town International Airport to monitor air traffic. Air Force Base Makhado has another radar station located in the mountains to the north of the main base complex apart from its AFRAS radar (located in the main base itself).
The Air Force maintains six Umlindi (Zulu: "Watchman") AR3D long-range early warning radar systems (British AR3D radar systems extensively upgraded by the South African company, Tellumat) which are operated by 140 Squadron SAAF as part of the South African Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing. There are two static radar stations located in Lephalale (Ellisras) and Mariepskop, near Air Force Base Hoedspruit. The other systems are mobile and can be deployed to any part of the country to support operations with the use of 20-ton 8x8 MAN trucks. Each of these systems has a range of 500 km but can only track aircraft flying above 700 metres. The static radars are usually linked to two Air Force sector control centres (SCC), the Lowveld Airspace Control Sector and the Bushveld Airspace Control Sector, while the mobile radar have their own mobile sector control centres (MSCC).
To mitigate this lack of low-level radar coverage, the Air Force also operates four Plessey Tactical Mobile Radar (TMR) systems (in service with 142 Squadron SAAF). These systems can cover altitudes below 700 metres, but they have a shorter range than the Umlindi systems, at 150 km. The deployment of these systems require the use of a MAN 8×8 truck (one per system), one or two light vehicles for command and control purposes, a water tanker, a diesel bowser and a technical workshop vehicle. These systems can operate 24 hours a day with less than 20 personnel (including personnel from other AFMDW units like the Mobile Communications Unit and 501 Squadron).
The South African Air Force's Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft are also equipped with PS-05/A pulse-doppler X-band multi-mode radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi. This all-weather radar system is capable of locating and identifying air targets 120 km away and surface targets 70 km away. It is also able to automatically track multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air. It can guide several beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to multiple targets simultaneously (although the Air Force still lacks modern beyond visual range missile capability). When deployed operationally on combat missions and air patrols the aircraft can link their systems to the South African National Defence Force's digital network protocol, Link ZA, to share data with other radar systems to help create a wider picture as to the situation in the air and on the ground in order to rapidly adapt to a change in short term situations.
Other branches of the South African National Defence Force also operate several radar systems that can assist the South African Air Force. The South African Navy uses four Valour-class frigates, each of which is equipped with the Thales Naval France MRR-3D NG G-band multi-role surveillance/self-defence radar that can detect low and medium-level targets at ranges of up to 140 km and in long-range 3D air surveillance mode targets up to 180 km. In the self-defence mode, it can detect and track any threat within a radius of 60 km. These Frigates can link their data systems to the Link ZA system to help create a broader picture for the armed forces. The South African Army also operates several Reutech Radar Systems (RRS) ESR220 Thutlhwa (Kameelperd/Giraffe) Mobile Battery Fire Control Post Systems. These NATO D-Band radars have a range of 120 km and can also be linked to Link ZA to assist air force operations.
Civilian airport radars in all nine provinces as well as the network of South African Weather Service radars can also share their radar data with the South African Air Force. According to the South African Weather Service, the South African Air Force has access to raw data from their ten long range fixed system Doppler (S-Band) and two short range mobile (X-Band) meteorological radars, and the interpreted information can be used for aviation and defence purposes.
Training Areas.
Ditholo Training Area.
Situated 66 km north of Pretoria, Ditholo Training Area used to house Air Defence Artillery Group until 1992. The 3300 hectare property is used primarily for gravel runway training, radar tracking, and aerial cargo drop exercises such as LAPES. Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) is a tactical military airlift delivery method where a fixed wing cargo aircraft can deposit supplies when landing is not an option in an area that is too small to accurately parachute supplies from a high altitude.
Other training include: Search and rescue exercises, basic training, VIP protection, candidate officer training, task force training and escape and evasion training.
Due to its unique ecology, Ditholo is also a registered nature reserve, being one of the few remaining portions of Kalahari plains thornveld in existence. As of 2013, Ditholo is run jointly with the Gauteng Provincial Government as part of the Dinokeng Biosphere Reserve. As of 24 May 2014 it houses more than 340 species of birds and large mammal species such as giraffe, lion, zebra, tsessebe, blue wildebeest, kudu and waterbuck.
The Roodewal Weapons Range.
Situated in the Limpopo Province, roughly halfway between Polokwane (previously Pietersburg) and AFB Makhado, near the town of Louis Trichardt. This property is used for air superiority training. Buffering the range is the Corbadraai Nature Reserve.
Temporary Air Base Upington.
Activated only for large scale exercises in the Northern Cape.
Dragons Peak Drakensberg.
In 1985 a satellite base at Dragons Peak, in the Drakensberg was established in order to conduct helicopter mountain flying training.
Vastrap.
Vastrap (Afrikaans: "stand firm") is a small military airfield situated in the Kalahari Desert north east of Upington inside a 700 square kilometre weapons test range of the same name[1] belonging to the South African National Defence Force. It was constructed to allow the SAAF to practice tactical bombing operations, and for aircraft to service the SADF's defunct underground nuclear weapon test site.
SAAF Environmental Management.

The SAAF's training areas and bases are home to many species of fauna and flora as well as, in some instances, buildings and other structures of historical and cultural value. The Environmental Services sub-department in the SANDF Logistics Division has the overall task of ensuring proper environmental practices are in place not only on training grounds but also at bases.
The following specific management is practiced:


Gendarmerie Search and Rescue Battalion Command

The Gendarmerie Search and Rescue Battalion Command (Turkish: "Jandarma Arama Kurtarma Tabur Komutanlığı") or shortly as JAK, is the Search and rescue unit of the Gendarmerie General Command in Turkey. It has several missions which all kinds of natural and man-made disasters that may occur inside of domestic and abroad places with in mountains, caves, canyons, underwater to conduct search and rescue operations with, was established on 1 September 1999 in Ankara under the command of the Gendarmerie Commando Special Public Order.
To perform these tasks; Within the JAK Battalion Command, there is a Special Search and Rescue Company consisting of Disaster Search and Rescue Companies and Mountaineering, Underwater and Dog Search and Rescue Teams.
Departments.
JAK Battalion Command; has two (3) Disaster Search and Rescue and one (1) Special Search and Rescue Company (CBRN defense). Also (13) thirteen Underwater Search and rescue Teams, twenty-three (23) Mountaineering Rescue Teams and five (5) Gendarmerie Search and rescue dog Team.


USCGC Anthony Petit

USCGC "Anthony Petit" (WLM-558) is a Keeper-class Coastal Buoy Tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she has served her entire career maintaining navigational aids in Southeast Alaska.
Construction.
"Anthony Petit" was built by Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin. She was the eighth of the fourteen Keeper-class vessels completed. The contract price for the entire class was $220 million, suggesting that the original cost of "Anthony Petit" was approximately $15.7 million. The ship was launched on January 30, 1999 into the Menominee River. Speakers at the christening ceremony included Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski, and Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James Loy.
The hull is built of welded steel plate. The ship is long and has a beam of . Her draft is .
Keeper-class ships, including "Anthony Petit", use z-drives for propulsion instead of fixed propellers and rudders. The z-drives may be synchronized to point in the same direction when underway. The ship is steered by changing the direction of the thrust. For fine maneuvering or station keeping while working on a buoy, the two z-drives may be pointed in different directions. These are combined with a bow thruster to allow the ship to remain at the same spot in the sea, a capability known as dynamic positioning. The two z-drives are powered by two Caterpillar 3508 TA Diesel engines.
Electrical power is provided by three Caterpillar 3406 generators.
The ship has a 42-foot long boom crane capable of lifting 10 tons onto her buoy deck. This allows floating buoys to be hoisted aboard for maintenance. The buoy deck is 1,335 square feet in area.
"Anthony Petit", as all Keeper-class buoy tenders, has an ice-strengthened hull so that she may continue to service navigational aids in light ice conditions. There is an "ice-belt" of thicker steel at the ship's waterline to resist ice damage to the hull. The bow is shaped to ride up over the ice and crush it with the ship's weight. Her performance in ice conditions varies with the quality of the ice, the amount of power applied, and other factors. At full-throttle, the ship can maintain a speed of 2 knots in smooth ice thick, but various operational considerations argue against breaking ice this thick.
"Anthony Petit" has one ship's boat, an long Cutterboat ATON – Medium (CB-ATON-M). This boat was estimated to cost $210,000.
The ship's namesake is U.S. Coast Guard Chief Boatswain's Mate Anthony Petit, the keeper of the Scotch Cap lighthouse on the west end of Unimak Island in the Aleutians. Petit and four other members of his crew were killed in a tsunami which destroyed the lighthouse on April 1, 1946.
Operational history.
After her launch and sea trials, "Anthony Petit" sailed down the Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and through the Panama Canal to reach Ketchikan, Alaska, her homeport for her entire career. She arrived in January 2000. The ship is stationed at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan. She replaced USCGC "Planetree" at this station. Her primary mission is maintaining 274 fixed and floating aids to navigation in Southeast Alaska.
The ship has also performed other Coast Guard missions. "Anthony Petit" participated in search and rescue activities as with the charter boat "Fishin' Fool" in 2002, fishing vessel "Yvonne Denise" in 2005, the ferry "Lituya" in 2009, and the fishing vessel "Tsimshian Lady" in 2017.
"Anthony Petit" has trained extensively on oil spill containment. She has participated in several joint United States-Canada exercises to prepare for a possible spill in the Dixon Entrance area. She has deployed the vessel of opportunity skimming system (VOSS) several times in training.


Coast Guard Station Point Allerton

United States Coast Guard Station Point Allerton is a United States Coast Guard station located in Hull, Massachusetts.
The station is a sub-unit of Sector Boston. It traces its roots back to the U.S. Lifesaving Station and the Massachusetts Humane Society. Its assets include the Motor Life Boat (MLB), the Coast Guard's primary heavy-weather boat used for search and rescue as well as law enforcement and homeland security, and Response Boat – Small (RB-S), a high-speed boat, for a variety of missions, including search and rescue, port security and law enforcement duties.
Gale of 1898.
Portland Gale was an intense storm causing many vessels in the area at anchor, and transiting in and out of Boston to be in distress. Point Allerton responded to many of these distressed vessels and thus saved many lives under the lead of Joshua James (1826–1902), Hull's most famous lifesaver, who became the first Keeper of the Pt. Allerton U.S. Life Saving Station, when it opened in 1889.
Joshua James is honored every year at his grave-site on May 23, Joshua James Day, by the Hull Life-Saving Museum and the Point Allerton Station. His house built in 1850 still stands in Hull, Massachusetts and is marked as having been his home. The Point Allerton station also still stands, but is no longer in use. The Point Allerton station now houses the Hull Life-Saving Museum. In 2003, the Coast Guard created the Joshua James Award to honor the Coast Guard personnel with the most seniority in rescue work and the highest record of achievement. USCGC James (WMSL-754), the fifth National Security Cutter, was named in honor of his life and dedication to saving lives.


Marine Corps Installations West

Marine Corps Installations West (MCI WEST) is the regional authority tasked with providing support and oversight of seven United States Marine Corps installations on the West Coast.
Function.
Implement policies, develops regional strategies and plans, prioritize resources and provide services, direction, and oversight through assigned U.S. Marine Corps Installations in order to support the Operating Forces, tenant commands and activities.
Subordinate commands.
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is also a member of the MCICOM West Command. It is also a TECOM Base like 29 Palms and Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Bridgeport also excluded


Main Staff of the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Serbia

The Main Staff of the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Serbia was the highest military organ that organized and commanded the units of the Yugoslav Partisans (the "National Liberation Army") on the territory of German-occupied Serbia (central Serbia) during World War II (1941–45).
Established on 4 July 1941 in Belgrade by the Provincial Committee for Serbia (PKS), the following were appointed members of staff: Sreten Žujović as commander ("komandant"), Nikola Grulović, Filip Kljajić, Branko Krsmanović and Rodoljub Čolaković as members of staff. All staff members left Belgrade on 8 July and entered the territories of Šumadija and Pomoravlje, while PKS stayed in Belgrade. The emergence of the Main Staff was very important for the directing of the Partisan Detachments and District Committees of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.


United States Coast Guard Buoy Depot, South Weymouth

United States Coast Guard Buoy Depot, South Weymouth is a United States Coast Guard facility located in Weymouth, Massachusetts. It is located to the southeast of the South Weymouth MBTA station and west of the former Naval Air Station South Weymouth.


Wiktor Poliszczuk

Wiktor Poliszczuk (10 October 1925 in Dubno near Rivne – 17 November 2008 in Toronto) was a Polish-Ukrainian-Canadian (a Canadian citizen of Polish-Ukrainian descent) politologist specialising in the history of political thought, who wrote about the Polish-Ukrainian relations during World War II and issues relating to the emergence of Ukrainian nationalism in the 20th century resulting in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Poliszczuk's work has been criticized by several Polish, Canadian, American, and Ukrainian historians, but also acknowledged for his Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation effort.
Biography.
Poliszczuk was born in Dubno (then in the Second Polish Republic), into a family of Ukrainian father and Polish mother. He was raised as an Eastern Orthodox Christian. When he was a child Wiktor, his mother and two sisters were deported to Kazakh SSR by the Soviet authorities (in April 1940). His father (an ethnic Ukrainian who had served as government official in interwar Poland) was executed by the Soviets. After World War II his family resettled in Dnipropetrovsk and in 1946 moved to Poland following Polish-Soviet repatriation agreement, to re-unite with the family of his aunt. In Poland Poliszczuk graduated from the Pedagogical Liceum and worked as a teacher. Later he studied law at the Wrocław University, and political science at the University of Silesia in Katowice, where he obtained a PhD (his doctoral thesis was about the ideology of Ukrainian nationalism). He worked as an attorney in the People's Republic of Poland. In 1981 during the time of martial law in Poland he emigrated to Canada. He lived in Toronto until his death in November 2008.
Work.
Poliszczuk's research and his extensive writing were devoted to the anatomy of bolshevism, theory and practice of national rights in the former Soviet Union as well as the theory and practice of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army activities. His on-line biography does not list any affiliations with a Canadian university. His two books, translated into English-language, were self-published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including: "Legal and political assessment of the OUN and UPA", as well as "Bitter truth : the criminality of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)".
Wiktor Poliszczuk was the author of over 200 papers, books and scientific publications, scientific articles, polemics, reviews, and press releases written in English, Ukrainian and Polish, including five large volumes bearing the title "Integral Ukrainian nationalism as a variant of fascism" (Toronto, 2003). His two books were translated into English-language. In his writing, Poliszczuk clearly separates the issues of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Ukrainian nation, stating that the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists was based on terror. He explores the sources of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists' actions as based on the theories of Dmytro Dontsov. On April 16, 2009, Wiktor Poliszczuk received posthumously the "Polonia Mater Nostra Est" award.
Analysis.
Poliszczuk's main argument in his work on the history of Ukrainian nationalism was that it began only in the period following World War I. Poliszczuk postulated that the earlier political beliefs held by Ukrainian writers such as Mykola Mikhnovsky were oriented toward independence and did not have the same radical character of Dmytro Dontsov's ideology which served as inspiration for the World War II atrocities committed by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. According to Poliszczuk – wrote Dr Anna Dziduszko-Rościszewska of the Jagiellonian University – the main difference among the ideas of Mikhnovsky and Dontsov was the actual definition of a nation. For Mikhnovsky, the reform of the existing social order did not preclude the commitment to the ideal of tolerance, wrote Poliszczuk. For Dontsov, on the other hand, violence and intolerance became the necessary ingredients of the new Ukrainian nationalism providing the vocabulary of motive for the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia in the following years.
Criticism.
Wiktor Poliszczuk was criticised as biased against OUN-UPA and nonscientific by several historians. Polish historian Rafał Wnuk of the Institute of National Remembrance in Lublin categorized Poliszczuk's work as belonging to the "para-scientific" tradition. Although Poliszczuk was described by Wnuk as a "left-wing democrat" (quotes provided by Wnuk), he was said by Wnuk to have used the same jargon and to have reached the same conclusions as the Polish national nonscientific writers. Ukrainian academic Yaroslav Isayevich of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine called Poliszczuk an "expert practitioner of anti-Ukrainian hysteria." Canadian historian David Marples described Poliszczuk's work as detailed, although taking the form of a polemic similar to the views regarding UPA from the Soviet perspective to which Poliszczuk's work can be added.<ref name="Marples-207/208">David R. Marples (2007), "Heroes and villains: creating national history in contemporary Ukraine", Central European University Press, pp. 207-208.</ref> In an interview published in translation by the Warsaw-based Ukrainian newspaper "Our Word" (Нашe Слово), Polish historian Ryszard Torzecki dismissed Poliszczuk as an "NKVD prosecutor" (which he was not) and one of the named writers unworthy of discussion.
Ukrainian nationalist historians also condemned Poliszczuk's works. For example, Volodomyr Serhiichuk of Ukraine published an entire book in response to his writing, defending OUN-UPA and claiming the Polish community's alleged collaboration with the Germans and with the Bolsheviks. However, the aforementioned book also "denigrates the Poles at every opportunity; it is thus a diatribe – wrote Marples – rather than an academic work..." ("Heroes and Villains"). Poliszczuk was a "left-wing democrat" who fully supported [[Operation Vistula]], wrote Rafal Wnuk (referring to the forced deportation of the Ukrainian community from eastern Poland after the assassination of Communist [[defence minister|minister]] [[Karol Świerczewski]] there); however, any attempts at his work's classification "using a national key" (suggested by Motyka) would be the least convincing. Historian of Ukraine [[Timothy Snyder]] from Yale wrote that Poliszczuk's argument about the purpose of resettlement was his "blatant" mistake, because this action was undertaken in order to disperse Ukrainian communities so they "could never arise again in Poland" according to him. The purported removal of the civilian base from the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] after the war was only a pretext used by the authorities in Operation "Wisla" wrote Snyder. Nevertheless, the UPA pacification actions have also ceased permanently as shown through historical data.
External links.
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:Canadian political writers]]
[[Category:Polish political writers]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Polish lawyers]]
[[Category:Polish historians]]
[[Category:Ukrainian male writers]]
[[Category:Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]
[[Category:20th-century historians]]
[[Category:20th-century lawyers]]


USCGC John Midgett (WHEC-726)

USCGC "John Midgett" (WHEC-726), previously USCGC "Midgett" (WHEC-726), was the twelfth and latest of the United States Coast Guard's fleet of high endurance cutters. With her crew of 24 officers and 160 enlisted men and women, she was homeported in Seattle, Washington under the operational and administrative control of Commander, Pacific Area (COMPACAREA). Prior to Fleet Renovation and Maintenance (FRAM), the Midgett's homeport was Alameda, California.
Coast Guard Cutter "Midgett"'s keel was laid April 5, 1971 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana, and she was launched on September 4, 1971. She was commissioned on March 17, 1972. She had another commissioning ceremony on August 21, 1972 at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. This was soon after reaching her first home port of Alameda, California. The "Midgett" was decommissioned and placed in Fleet Renovation and Maintenance (FRAM) on January 7, 1991 and was placed in "In Commission Special" status as of April 25, 1992. She was fully re-commissioned in February 1993. She was a multipurpose ship, designed to meet the many and varied missions of today's Coast Guard. Her responsibilities included Homeland Security, Search and Rescue, Maritime Law Enforcement, and Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations as well as maintaining military readiness in support of NATO allies and the U.S. Navy. One of ten high endurance cutters on the west coast, her normal patrol areas included the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and Central American waters, enforcing the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( limit) and drug interdiction laws.
The "Midgett" appears on the cover of the 1979 Jefferson Starship album "Freedom at Point Zero".
Namesake.
"Midgett" was the third ship in her class (HERO) to be named for outstanding Coast Guardsmen. Her namesake, the late Chief Warrant Officer John Allen "BOSN/Bosun" Midgett, Jr. was born in 1876 in Rodanthe, North Carolina, and served for nearly forty years with the United States Life-Saving Service and the Coast Guard. He was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal, the country's highest award for saving a life, for his heroic rescue of thirty six crewmen from the torpedoed British tanker "Mirlo" in 1918. Bos'n Midgett and his lifeboat crew rescued the entire crew, despite rough seas and flames from the tanker's cargo of refined oil and gasoline.
The Midgett family (earlier spelled Midgette and Midyett) has lived along the coast of Virginia and the Outer Banks of North Carolina for nearly three centuries, and has a long tradition in maritime service. John Allen "Bos'n" Midgett, Jr. was one of seven Midgett family members to have been awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal. More than 150 living members of the Midgett family have made the Coast Guard a career, including more than thirty who are still on active duty.
USCGC "Midgett" characteristics.
Engines
Successor "Midgett".
As the "Hero" class cutters continue to be retired, the name "Midgett" will remain in use with USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757), a Legend-class National Security Cutter currently in service after being commissioned on August 24, 2019.


Carrier Air Wing Fifteen

Carrier Air Wing Fifteen (CVW-15) is a former United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing that was decommissioned on March 31, 1995. It was previously known as Carrier Air Group Fifteen (CVG-15) before 1963 before being renamed in December of that year.
History.
Early Years and Vietnam War.
Carrier Air Group 15 was established on April 5, 1951, and was deployed to the Korean War in September of that year on board the . The squadron was made up of reserve squadrons during the two cruises during the Korean War. Starting in 1960, CVG-15 would begin a two decade long attachment with the that would continue when in 1963, all CVGs were re-designated as Carrier Air Wings. With this, CVG-15 became Carrier Air Wing 15. CVW-15 however did deploy with the only once in 1966 during the Vietnam War. During the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, CVW-15's aircraft covered the helicopters used to rescue the civilians fleeing the Invasion.
Post Vietnam.
CVW-15 made their final deployment on board the Coral Sea in 1977. This cruise was the only time that the F-4J Phantom and EA-6A Electric Intruder part of CVW-15. After this, in 1979, CVW-15 deployed for the first on a different carrier than Coral Sea in around 13 years when they deployed with and with new F-14A Tomcat and S-3A Viking.
In 1983, CVW-15 deployed on the new "Nimitz"-class carrier 's first post-shakedown cruise. This cruise was significant as it was an around the world cruise that involved stops in St. Thomas, Monaco, Abidjan, Perth, Subic Bay, British Hong Kong, Sasebo, Pusan, Pearl Harbour and the moving the Vinson's homeport from Norfolk, Virginia on the west coast to Alameda, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. During their time with the "Carl Vinson", they took part in RIMPAC 84' and 86'. During the 1986-to-1987 cruise in the North Pacific, VF-51 and VF-111 carried the multiple tail codes of other carrier air wings to confuse Soviet Naval Aviation patrols which carrier VF-51 and 111 was assigned to.
In July 1988, during the Olympics in Seoul, CVW-15 embarked on board "Carl Vinson" and operated off the coast of South Korea. In 1989, they also took part in the large naval exercise PACEX 89.
Post Cold War and Final years.
In 1990, CVW-15 made their last cruise with the "Carl Vinson" before moving back to the "Kitty Hawk" for the rest of their remaining service in the US Navy. This cruise was also the last cruise for the A-7 Corsair in CVW-15 before VA-27 and VA-97 converted to the F/A-18A as well as for the SH-3 Sea King in HS-4.
On January 13, 1993, VFA-97's CDR. Kevin J. Thomas led a night air strike of 110 coalition aircraft, including 35 aircraft from the "Kitty Hawk", against Iraq SAM Command and Control sites in Southern Iraq. This in response to Iraqi violations of U.N. resolutions. On the 18th, an airstrike made of 29 aircraft including F/A-18As and F-14As and E-2Cs in support from CVW-15 was called off when Iraq moved mobile SAM sites into Southern Iraq.On the 23rd, another incident occurred when Iraqi AAA fired on an A-6E SWIP Intruder from VA-52 and two F/A-18As from CVW-15 over Southern Iraq. In response, the Intruder attacked the AAA site with a 1,000 pound bomb.
Between June and December 1994, CVW-15 made their last deployment before being inactivated in 1995 along with many squadrons that were part of CVW-15. During that deployment, the air wing participated in the "first anti-submarine warfare prosecution of Chinese Han class sub contact" as well as the tracking of the larger Oscar II Class Submarine between July 7 and 8, of which were designed to attack American Carrier Battlegroups. The Oscar II Submarine was most likely the K-442 of the Russian Pacific Fleet.


Rachel Windvogel

Rachel Windvogel is a South African politician who has served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since May 2019. Windvogel is a member of the African National Congress. She is the ANC's shadow MEC for Health as she serves on the Standing Committee on Health in the legislature.


USCGC Dexter

Dexter has been the name of more than one ship of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and United States Coast Guard, and may refer to:


USCGC Aspen

USCGC "Aspen" (WLB-208) is the eighth cutter in the "Juniper"-class of seagoing buoy tenders. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Eleventh U.S. Coast Guard District and is home-ported at Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, California. Her primary area of responsibility is the coastal waters, river bars and high seas from the California–Oregon border to San Diego, California. "Aspen" conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.
Construction and characteristics.
USCGC "Aspen" was built by the Marinette Marine Corporation in Wisconsin and launched on 21 April 2001. She has a length of , a beam of , and a draft of . "Aspen" is propelled by two Caterpillar diesel engines rated at 3,100 horsepower, and has a top speed of 16 knots. She has a single controllable-pitch propeller, which along with bow and stern thrusters allow the ship to be maneuvered to set buoys close offshore and in restricted waters. A dynamic global positioning system coupled with machinery plant controls and a chart display and information system allow station-keeping of the ship within a five-meter accuracy of the planned position without human intervention. "Aspen" is also equipped with an oil-skimming system known as the Spilled Oil Recovery System (SORS) which is used in her mission of maritime environmental protection. The cutter has a 2,875 square foot buoy deck area with a crane used for servicing large ocean buoys.
Mission.
USCGC "Aspen" is a seagoing buoy tender with her primary mission being the servicing of aids-to navigation buoys in her area of responsibility (AOR). She services over 100 navigation buoys in her AOR as well as several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data collection buoys. "Aspen"s other missions include maritime law enforcement, homeland security, ensuring the security of ports and waterways, maritime environmental response, as well as search and rescue duties.
History.
"Aspen" was built to replace , a "Mesquite"-class buoy tender, in her area of operations. "Buttonwood" was decommissioned 28 June 2001 after 58 years of service. In 2009, "Aspen" seized of marijuana and arrested four suspected smugglers from a go-fast boat off the coast of Baja California, which as at the time the third largest marijuana seizure in Coast Guard history and the first by a "Juniper"-class cutter. "Aspen" was deployed to the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. During her time on scene, "Aspen" transited over and recovered over of spilled crude oil. She recovered over 35 bales of marijuana of the coast of Baja California and returned thirteen illegal immigrants to Mexico in 2011. In July 2012, she seized 341 bales of marijuana weighing with a street value in excess of 6.7 million. In 2012, USCGC "Aspen" recovered two (NOAA) specialized ocean wave glider buoys worth 750,000 and serviced 7 other NOAA buoys. She also serviced 44 navigational buoys and helped Coast Guard Station Golden Gate with 25 hours of small boat response time.
The original "Aspen".
The original "Aspen" was a buoy tender that was built by Craig Shipbuilding of Toledo, Ohio and commissioned by the U.S. Lighthouse Service on 8 May 1906. She serviced aids-to-navigation on the Great Lakes and brought supplies lighthouse keepers located in remote areas. When the tender was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1942 it was home-ported in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and designated WAGL-204. She carried a crew of 2 officers and 23 men in 1942 and was decommissioned by the Coast Guard on 25 January 1947.


Royal Flying Corps Canada

The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917.
Background.
As the war progressed, Great Britain found that it needed more trained aircrew and more training facilities. Training was provided both by the "Curtiss Aviation School" at Long Branch near Toronto (land plane training) and Hanlan's Point on Toronto Island (for flying boat training), and in the United States.
The British realized that thousands of Canadians and Americans had joined British flying operations and more wanted to join, so it made sense to open British air training stations in Canada. Canada also had space for such facilities. After much negotiation with the Canadian government, the RFC, commanded in Canada by Lieutenant-Colonel (later Brigadier-General) Cuthbert Hoare, began operating several training stations in southern Ontario. Stations were opened at Camp Borden (main training site), Beamsville, Hamilton (armament school), North Toronto (Armour Heights, Leaside and Long Branch), and Deseronto (Mohawk and Rathburn). The JN-4 (Canadian) "(Canuck)" was used for training; 500 Avro 504Ks had been ordered but only one had been completed in Canada before the war ended in November 1918 and it was not used.
Hoare made several agreements with U.S. Brigadier-General George O. Squier (US Army Signal Corps) and the US Aircraft Production Board. Squier had overall responsibility for the US Army’s air service, which was short of flight instructors. The RFC released five experienced American pilots to the US Army, where they became squadron commanders. The US Air Board acquiesced in the British opening a recruiting office in New York City, ostensibly to recruit British citizens, but it also solicited US citizens, of whom about 300 were successfully signed up. The RFC would also train many US Army flight personnel: 400 pilots; 2,000 ground-crew members; and 20 equipment officers. These Americans would then collect aircraft and equipment from the UK, before coming under RFC control in France. Ten American squadrons would train in Canada during the summer of 1917, while RFC squadrons were allowed to train during the winter in Fort Worth, Texas.
When the Royal Flying Corps was changed to the Royal Air Force in April 1918, the unit became known as Royal Air Force Canada.
During the last two years of the war 3,135 pilots and 137 observers trained in Canada and Texas for both the RFC and the new Royal Air Force (RAF). Of these trainees, 2,624 went to Europe for operational duty.


Marine Wing Support Squadron 472

Marine Wing Support Squadron 472 (MWSS-472) is a reserve aviation ground support unit of the United States Marine Corps. The Headquarters Element of MWSS 472 (-) is located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. In addition to serving as the squadron headquarters, it is also the primary site for all of the Airfield Operations specific Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs). Communications MOS's are also located at the Squadron (-) location. MWSS 472 Detachment A is located at Wyoming, Pennsylvania and serves as the squadron's primary site for motor transport operations and maintenance, as well as food service. Detachment B is located at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts and serves as the squadron's primary engineer services Site. The squadron falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 49 and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
Mission.
Provide all essential Aviation Ground Support requirements to a designated fixed-wing component of an Aviation Combat Element (ACE) and all supporting or attached elements of the Marine Air Control Group.
History.
MWSS-472 was activated and deployed in the summer of 2004 to Iraq's Al-Anbar province in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. The unit returned to CONUS in the winter of 2005 and deactivated the following summer. In 2009, the unit was again mobilized and sent to the same area of Iraq for its second combat deployment, until its return to CONUS in the early winter of 2010.
External links.
, Massachusetts


LGBT in the United States Air Force


USCGC Joshua Appleby

USCGC "Joshua Appleby" (WLM-556) is a United States Coast Guard "Keeper"-class cutter based out of St. Petersburg, Florida.
History.
The "Joshua Appleby" was commissioned on August 8, 1998. The 6th of 14 "Keeper"-class cutters, the "Joshua Appleby" is one of the most advanced cutters currently in the United States Coast Guard's fleet. The "Joshua Appleby" is named in honor of Captain Joshua Appleby, Keeper of the Sand Key Lighthouse 1837–1846. All 14 Keeper-class cutters are named after lighthouse keepers. The "Joshua Appleby"' takes for its motto, "The Wrecking Keeper" after Joshua Appleby's very colorful history of shipwreck salvaging.
Mission.
The "Joshua Appleby"s primary mission is the maintenance of over 400 aids to navigation in the Tampa Bay and along the west coast of Florida, including the Florida Keys. Secondary missions include Alien Migration Intercept Operation (AMIO), search and rescue (SAR), and pollution response.
Design.
The "Keeper"-class cutters are the first US Coast Guard cutters equipped with Z-drive propulsion units instead of the standard propeller and rudder configuration. They are designed to independently rotate 360 degrees. Combined with a thruster in the bow, they give the Keeper-class cutters unmatched maneuverability. With state-of-the-art electronics and navigation systems including Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) which uses a Differential Global Positioning System, and electronic chart displays, these buoy tenders maneuver and position aids more accurately and efficiently with fewer crew. The advancement in technology has allowed the crew size to be cut from 24-34 members to 18 members.
Namesake.
The ship is named after an American lighthouse keeper Joshua Appleby. Appleby is remembered for having lost his life in the Great Havana Hurricane of 1846. A native of Rhode Island, Joshua Appleby served as keeper of the Sand Key Light in the Florida Keys. Hurricanes in 1841 and 1842 caused considerable damage to the key, destroying Appleby's house and undermining the foundation of the light. The government repaired the damage and built a seawall, in hopes of adding further protection. A hurricane in 1844 swept away half of the key, part of the sea wall, and again destroyed Appleby's house. Seemingly unfazed by the dangers of his station, Appleby rebuilt and remained as keeper of the light. On 11 October 1846, Appleby, his 51-year-old daughter Eliza, and his 11-year-old grandson Thomas were swept away to become additional victims of the hurricane which was calculated to have caused the deaths of at least 255 people.


Naval Support Activity Saigon

Naval Support Activity Saigon or NSA Saigon was a United States Navy logistics support organization located in Saigon, South Vietnam active from May 1966 to June 1972.
History.
A logistics establishment already existed at Saigon when major U.S. forces came ashore in South Vietnam in 1965. The United States Navy's Headquarters Support Activity, Saigon (HSAS) was responsible for providing countrywide administrative and logistics support to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in South Vietnam.
During a single month in 1965 the activity's Saigon port operation offloaded over 330,000 tons of cargo from 96 ships and transshipped 40,000 tons to other coastal centers. Throughout the year HSAS divisions acquired 2.7 million feet of storage space, managed 54 bachelor officer and enlisted quarters, oversaw 318 construction contracts, and distributed 60,000 books and magazines from the library to outlying bases. The Saigon Station Hospital's 109 medical personnel continued to treat thousands of patients.
In September 1965 HSAS gradually began turning over most of its responsibilities for common support of the other services to the United States Army’s new First Logistics Command with the final transfer taking place on 17 May 1966.
Naval Support Activity Saigon, which the Navy activated on 17 May 1966, was charged with providing logistic support to naval units in the II, III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. The newly created Naval Forces Vietnam (NAVFORV) directed the operations of NSA Saigon. The support activity supplied the Navy's Coastal Surveillance Force, River Patrol Force, Mobile Riverine Force and the various specialized headquarters, offices, and detachments operating in the three southern corps areas. NSA Saigon provided the commands with ammunition, weapons, and communications equipment; transported cargo and personnel; repaired and maintained ships and craft; stocked spare parts; and built bases and facilities. Finally, NSA saw to the quartering, messing, payroll, and recreational needs of the naval officers and enlisted personnel in South Vietnam.
NSA Saigon developed subordinate support bases for the combat forces with detachments at Quy Nhơn, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh Bay, An Thoi, Cat Lo and Vũng Tàu primarily serving Operation Market Time, although the last two bases were home to other naval combat units as well. The concentration of the Task Force 115 headquarters, naval air units, and other large contingents at Cam Ranh Bay required greater command authority and logistic resources. As a result, in September 1967, NSA Saigon upgraded the detachment to the Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay. Detachments were also established at Cần Thơ (and later moved to nearby Binh Thuy), Nhà Bè, Vĩnh Long, Sa Đéc, Mỹ Tho, Tân Châu and Long Xuyên. These units saw to the special needs of the Task Force 116 Patrol Boat, River (PBR) commands. The NSA Saigon, Detachment Đồng Tâm, supplied only the Mobile Riverine Force naval units.
To perform its work, NSA Saigon operated many logistic support vessels, including repair and maintenance ships , and ; Landing Ship, Tanks; and barges used for berthing and messing personnel and for providing fuel, water, supplies, and repairs. The support activity also ran an air transportation service, nicknamed "Air Cofat" (the unit operated from a building once owned by the French Cofat cigarette company). The naval unit flew C-47, TC-45J, HU-16 and CH-46 aircraft from Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
By June 1967 NSA Saigon personnel numbered 1,952.
By mid-1968 NSA Saigon had developed its logistic support system to such a degree that naval combat operations were rarely constrained by the lack of supply. By August, the 2,500-man activity transported 6,000 to 8,000 tons of cargo each month by water to forces in the field. Air Cofat delivered another 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of supplies and 3,500 passengers. The repair and maintenance vessels kept the 487 in-country combat and support craft ready for operations throughout the southern corps areas and on the coast.
On 20 June 1972 NSA Saigon was disestablished.


Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne

Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was a U.S. military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1942 to 1999. The site is on Upper New York Bay south of Port Jersey on the eastern side of Bayonne, New Jersey. Since its closure it has undergone maritime, residential, commercial, and recreational mixed-use development. Part of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway runs along its perimeter.
History.
In 1932, a basic plan was initiated to build a port terminal off the east coast of Bayonne into the bay to create additional industrial, maritime, and distribution space. After the plan was completed in 1939, dredging and filling began. At the outbreak of World War II, the United States Navy was looking for a location for a port on the East Coast and became interested in the site for a large dry-dock and supply center. The Bayonne military base was opened by the Navy in 1942 as a logistics and repair base, well connected to the transportation network of the Northeast Corridor. After the war MOTBY became port for part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet or the "Mothball Fleet". The administration of Mayor James J. Donovan lobbied the Navy to locate the base in Bayonne and the trips by Washington officials, including the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, resulted in the base being located in Bayonne. Mayor Donovan's role was finally recognized in December, 2015 when the Bayonne City officials and VFW groups dedicated a park in his honor at the base. The ceremony featured the Mayor, Town Council, many Veteran groups, and Donovan family descendants, including his son and daughter.
In 1967, the peninsula became a US Army base. It was a large shipping terminal by the standards of the day, and had the largest dry-dock on the eastern seaboard. Once cargo arrived at MOTBY, it could be placed directly into covered warehouses, or onto uncovered, but fully secure staging areas. All types of cargo, from heavy, outsized weapons such as the M1A2 tank and the Patriot missile, to the full range of munitions available to fighting forces could be loaded by Bayonne's specially trained unionized work force using state of the art, dedicated rail lines. Every type of roll-on/roll-off vessel in the Military Sealift Command (MSC) inventory could be accommodated. This capability was used during the Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) and during operations in Somalia and Haiti. Dozens of military units (men and equipment) were shipped through MOTBY, as was outsized cargo such as M1A2 tanks from as far as Fort Hood, Texas. The facility closed in 1999 under a US Base Realignment and Closure 1995 directive.
Redevelopment.
After closure, bids to permanently berth the battleship USS New Jersey, which had been decommissioned at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1948 to 1967, were unsuccessful. The long pier has since been renamed The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor by the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) and is being redeveloped into a mix-used waterfront community of residential, light industrial, commercial, and recreational space. Construction is planned to take place in phases, with one section of housing currently completed.
A memorial park for the Tear of Grief, commemorating September 11th, 2001 and the Cape Liberty Cruise Port are located at the end of the long pier. In 2005, eight PCC trolley cars from the Newark City Subway were given to the Bayonne to be rehabilitated and operated along a proposed loop to connect to the 34th Street station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.
Much of the HBO prison drama "Oz" was filmed around MOTBY.
Port Authority purchase.
In 2010, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey purchased along the waterfront for future use. The Port Authority said it would likely not use the land for housing as currently zoned, indicating that additional port facilities would be created. On July 29, the city council approved the sale at a price of $235 million, to be paid out over 24 years, much less than the city had hoped to earn from developing the property for housing. However economic conditions were not favorable to that project, which envisioned 6,700 housing units, and the city needed the cash to balance its budget. The Port Authority planned to develop the property as a container port capable of handling the larger container ships in service after the new, wider Panama Canal opened. Some of these new ships would not fit under the original Bayonne Bridge, preventing them from reaching the large container facilities at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, however, the roadway on the Bayonne Bridge has been replaced with a higher one, removing that obstacle to shipping. Transhipment of containers to the national rail network from the property would be possible via the National Docks Secondary line using Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge over Newark Bay, to the Long Dock Tunnel through Bergen Hill.
Originally, a condition of the land sale was that the monuments to United States Marines who fought in the Korean War, and the "Tear of Grief" would be relocated. However, the move is no longer planned.
In 2015, the Bayonne City Council settled lawsuits with the original developers of the property. As part of the settlement, the Port Authority agreed not to develop its land as a container port for 30 years. Residential development of the western and southern portions of the peninsula will go forward, including a pedestrian bridge over Route 440 connecting to the 34th Street HBLR station.
Ferry service.
The city has negotiated renting land from PANYNJ and is negotiating with SeaStreak to establish ferry service to Manhattan. Service is expected to begin in September 2020.


Guy Tardif

Guy Tardif (May 30, 1935 – May 24, 2005) was a Canadian politician. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson. He is the grandfather of Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
Early life and career.
Tardif was born in Montreal, received his early education in that city, and later studied at the University of Ottawa and the Université de Montréal. He was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer from 1955 to 1960 and was a lecturer and administrative assistant for the Montreal Police Service from 1963 to 1970.
He received a master's degree in criminology in 1966 and earned a Ph.D. from the Université de Montréal in 1974 for a thesis submission entitled "Police et politique au Québec". Tardif also wrote several articles on police and prison issues and was a consultant for various government departments and commissions before launching his own career in politics.
Legislator and cabinet minister.
Tardif was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1976 provincial election, defeating one-term Liberal incumbent Jean Bienvenue in the Montreal division of Crémazie as the Parti Québécois won a historic majority government across the province. He was appointed to René Lévesque's first cabinet as minister of municipal affairs on November 26, 1976.
In 1978, Tardif and André Ouellet, the urban affairs minister in Pierre Trudeau's federal cabinet, engaged in a public dispute as to which level of government was responsible for delays in proceeding with planned housing construction. The journalist William Johnson argued in a "The Globe and Mail" editorial that the Quebec Housing Corporation was at fault, notwithstanding Tardif's statements to the contrary. Tardif had a better relationship with Ouellet's successor Elmer MacKay, who was a member of Joe Clark's short-lived government in 1979–80.
Tardif ended a provincial trusteeship over the Montreal suburb of St. Leonard in 1979. The trusteeship had been imposed by the previous Liberal government in 1975, following allegations of municipal corruption. He also allowed the town of Buckingham, which had been merged into a single entity by the previous government, to dissolve itself into four distinct municipalities following a referendum.
Notwithstanding his criticism of Tardif in other respects, William Johnson also credited him with "[taking] the politics out of municipal financing by establishing formula grants."
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet on November 6, 1980, and appointed Tardif as the minister of state responsible for planning and the minister responsible for housing.
In December 1980, Tardif was forced to defend his hiring of Luc Cyr, two years earlier, to oversee a program of repairs for low-rent housing. Cyr, an associate of PQ organizers, later put his son and brother-in-law on the payroll; the president of the housing corporation overturned this arrangement once he discovered it. Tardif defended Cyr's appointment, saying that it was normal for such contracts not to go to tender because of the difficulties in predicting expenses. He added the government had cancelled the contract in September 1980 once officials had identified irregularities. This notwithstanding, Tardif responded to criticisms by convening a legislative committee to investigate charges of nepotism and patronage within the corporation.
During the 1981 provincial election, Tardif joined Premier Lévesque to promise a new housing loan program that would provide financial benefits to homeowners with one or more young children. He was narrowly re-elected in Crémazie as the PQ won a second majority across the province. After a cabinet shuffle on April 30, 1981, he retained his position as the minister responsible for housing and was given additional responsibilities as the minister responsible for consumer protection. On June 18, after enabling legislation was passed, he was officially styled as minister of housing and minister of consumer protection.
Tardif introduced the government's promised housing loan program, in a somewhat modified form, in August 1981. The opposition Liberals charged that the amended legislation did not adequately protect homeowners affected by high mortgage rates.
As consumer affairs minister, Tardif was once again in regular contact with André Ouellet, who by this time was the minister of consumer and corporate affairs in the re-elected government of Pierre Trudeau. In September 1981, he criticized Ouellet's plan to strengthen the competition laws that protected consumers and small businesses. Tardif said that he did not object to the intention of the bill, but argued that the matter fell under Quebec's jurisdiction rather than that of the federal government.
In 1982, Tardif expressed the PQ government's opposition to any transfer of flights from Dorval International Airport in Montreal to Mirabel International Airport outside of the city. He argued that the change, if imposed by the federal government, would have a devastating impact on Quebec's economy.
During the same period, Tardif convinced construction unions to make concessions and contractors to accept lower profits in order to construct fifty thousand units of low-income housing in a project called Corvée-Habitation. Many years later, PQ leader Bernard Landry cited the project as one of Tardif's greatest accomplishments.
In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis over the nature of its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline "indépendantiste" approach. Tardif was initially seen as close to the latter group; in early November 1984, he joined twelve other cabinet ministers in signing a manifesto that called for the party to re-affirm its commitment to Quebec independence. However, when several "indépendantiste" ministers quit the government later in the month, Tardif did not join them.
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet after the "indépendantiste" resignations and appointed Tardif as transport minister on November 27, 1984.
In April 1985, Tardif said that a provincial agency had purchased a twenty-two per cent interest in the Montreal-based airline Nordair. He added that his government's plan was to facilitate a merger of Nordair and Quebecair, a French-language firm owned by the same provincial agency. The company that owned a controlling interest in Nordair responded that it was opposed to the purchase, and would fight it.
Tardif also announced in August 1985 that Quebec was ending its freeway tolls, after twenty-one years of paying off the original cost of Montreal's four-lane highways.
In the fall of 1985, Tardif asked Velo Quebec to organize a cycling tour on new paths in the city's east end. The resulting event eventually became known as the Tour de l'ile de Montreal; in later years, it became the largest participatory cycling tour in the world.
René Lévesque announced his resignation as premier of Quebec and Parti Québécois leader in June 1985. There was some speculation that Tardif would be a candidate in the race to succeed him, but this did not occur. Tardif initially supported Bernard Landry's candidacy, and then declined to back another candidate after Landry withdrew from the contest. Pierre-Marc Johnson succeeded Lévesque in October 1985 and kept Tardif in the transport portfolio when he announced his cabinet. In early November, he reached a deal with the federal government to re-open Quebec City's downtown rail line.
Tardif was defeated in the 1985 provincial election, as the Liberal Party was elected with a majority government across the province. He resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Graham Fraser has written Tardif was known for his "ferocious work habits" during his time in government, sometimes calling civil servants during the night to discuss office matters.
After politics.
Tardif co-founded a company called "Le Clos Saint-Denis" in 1989, operating a fruit orchard and vineyard. In 1999, he introduced a new brand of ice cider called "Pommes de Glace". He also returned to academia in 1989, teaching criminology at the Université de Montréal. The Civic Party of Montreal tried to draft Tardif as a possible mayoral candidate in the 1990 municipal election, but he declined.
He died on May 24, 2005, of pleural mesothelioma, which was apparently caused by asbestos inhalation many years earlier.


Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento

Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento is an Air Station of the United States Coast Guard, located in Sacramento County, California. The station has 189 personnel assigned and operates 6 Alenia C-27J Spartan aircraft on medium-range patrol and search-and-rescue missions. It is located at McClellan Airfield, formerly McClellan Air Force Base, where it is the only remaining military tenant.