Greetings all around! It has

been a good run and a great year. We

have accomplished so much and

should all be proud. As we part ways

for the summer, a small recap and a

little closure would go a long way in

helping things end on a high note. So

for the last time I ask that you read on

and see what we have been up to!

Detachment 475!

Good Luck! A salutation to all,

FTP’s in particular! You

have all put so much into

the program and have giv-

en everything to be where

you are now. Now your

journey has come to a

junction where you must

test all you have learned.

On behalf of us all, we

wish you good luck!

May Issue 2014

The Eagle Monthly

Special points of

interest:

Lead Lab Recaps

Plane of the Month

Thoughts of an IMT

Article of the Month For those of you who do

not know, a competition is taking

place for cadets who have submit-

ted articles for the Eagle Monthly!

They need your vote to win. Go

to: https://www.facebook.com/

theeaglesnest475 to vote for the

best article this month.

Activities! Day Away: “Multiple Days

Away” as it more realistically should be

called, was a blast! Early morning PT ses-

sions, GLP exercises and warrior

knowledge sprinkled on top made for an

authentic AFROTC experience. We per-

formed, and I dare say, outperformed the

other schools at this event. This is what we

do, and this is how well we do everything.

Commander’s Call: Nothing is

more entertaining, and at the same time

more informative than SSgt. Padilla giv-

ing a safety briefing. Laughs were had and

commendations were given. A good fin-

ish; the Commander’s Call lab was a great

way to end this semester. Good luck on

finals and have a great summer!

{Cadet Enos Saluting at the SPEED OF EXCELLENCE}

{An Eagle}

This is an inter-

esting point I've come to

at the end of my fresh-

men year. I have a full

year of experience with

the AFROTC program

and yet in terms of both

knowledge and experi-

ence, I can tell that I

have seen only the tip of

a gargantuan iceberg. As

the year draws to a

close, I feel a strange

mix of sensations ob-

serving both what is

happening in the near

future for myself and

what is happening for

others within the detach-

ment. This state of mind

is hard to describe, alt-

hough many may share

this feeling. The closest

equivalency I can come

up with goes back to my

18th birthday present.

As a gift for my

18th birthday, I was giv-

en the opportunity to go

skydiving. 10,000 feet

was the height of the

jump. I had to sit

through a fourty-five

minute briefing legally

signing my life away in

the event something

should happen. The sen-

Looking Out the Door

Patriotism and Popcorn!

either a condition inher-

ent to the original prob-

lem, or a rule made

thereafter. Contextually,

one of the catches in the

movie and book states

"that agents enforcing

Catch-22 need not prove

that Catch-22 actually

contains whatever provi-

sion the accused violator

is accused of violating,"

and as stated later on by

an old woman. "Catch-

22 says they have a right

to do anything we can't

stop them from doing."

The movie and

book, although pieces of

fiction, are a grim re-

minder of the very real

and tempting potential

to abuse power. As a

member of the Air

Force, I find "Catch-22"

to be a vital piece in re-

alizing a number of

things about leadership.

First, I have learned

from it that the enemy,

though we may want

them to, may not distin-

guish themselves with a

separate uniform, and

that as leaders, we must

be aware that they may

surface among us. Sec-

ond, I have learned that

power is inherently a

"Catch-22" in which

powerful people can op-

press in subjugate those

who are powerless. It is

Adapted from a

book published in 1961

by Joseph Heller, "Catch

-22" is a 1970 film Star-

ring Alin Arkin. It is

about a WWII pilot

named Captain John

Yossarian in the Medi-

terranean theatre. The

film is a black-comedy,

and like the book, is a

critique of the many

manifestations of the

abuse of power; the con-

text of the time of publi-

cation being McCarthy-

ism. The title itself of-

fers a synopsis of the

book through its defini-

tion. A "Catch-22" is a

self-contradictory piece

of circular logic in

which the only solution

is made impossible by

Page 2

May Issue 2014

See page 3

See page 3

{Cadet Hart trembles with

excitement!}

{Catch-22 by Joseph Heller}

sation I am remember-

ing comes from the mo-

ment when we had

reached the height of our

climb in a rickety twin-

prop aircraft and I'm be-

ing called up first to

jump. I had an instructor

strapped to my back, but

as I gazed out the win-

dow, to me he was not

there. I was standing on

the edge of a shaking

ledge off a drop that

would end catastrophi-

cally should even some-

thing small go wrong.

Even if I survive that

error, I will have no one

to blame but myself. Of

course the instructor was

actually still at my back.

I would soon jump and

the thrill of that fall

would immediately su-

persede whatever anxi-

ety I had just felt.

To draw the

parallels, I look to

where I am now. I have

received my instruction

over the past year and I

have signed many pa-

pers. I will be expected

to perform next year as

an FTP. Though I have

an amazing group of

fellow cadets and dis-

tinguished cadre, at the

moment of the jump, I

can still feel that ten-

sion building in my

stomach as I wait for

the countdown. I know

I will do fine, and I am

excited to jump, other-

Looking Out the Door continued...

Patriotism and Popcorn continued...

we may remain a moral

society.

I highly recom-

mend both the movie and

the book. "Catch-22" is a

difficult read and the mov-

ie may be easier to follow

for some but from both an

educational and entertain-

ment standpoint, it is a

great use of time.

-C/4C Hart

up to leaders, those in

power to restrict them-

selves from abusing

power to their own

gains. Third and finally

is that all other morals

are based on the concept

that life is sacred, and

without it, no other mor-

als can be justified. As a

leader in the armed forc-

es of the United States,

it must then be my duty

then to protect life and

only take it when neces-

sary, so as to ensure that

Page 3

May Issue 2014

wise I wouldn't be

here. I know those

around me are all

willing and ready to

help but in this mo-

ment, while my

breath is held, I am

bare with not but a

parachute and no

margin for error. In

the end I am actually

excited for FTP year

to start so I can stop

being anxious and start

performing. There is

nothing left to do but

jump.

-C/4C Hart

{Proof of my story}

{A poster for the movie adaptation as di-

rected by Mike Nichols

The plane I want to

discuss served the United

States Army Air Force in the

waning months of World War

II, and then in the Korean

War under the newly formed

United States Air Force. Con-

ceived and designed as a four

-engine, high-altitude bomb-

er, B-29 "Superfortress" de-

rived its name from its prede-

cessor, the B-17 "Flying For-

tress". The Boeing Model

335, was a submitted design

to meet the USAAF's require-

ment for a bomber that could

deliver a 20,000 lb payload

2,667 mi to a target while

having the capability to fly at

400 mph. Boeing's model

won and was given the desig-

nation XB-29, which later

became B-29 once the planes

entered service. The cost of

development and production

of the B-29 rivaled that of the

"Manhattan Project", which

was still an intensely guarded

secret at the time.

Originally operating

out of bases in China and

then from islands within

striking distance of Japan, the

B-29 served almost exclu-

sively in the Pacific theatre.

Introduced on May 8th, 1944,

the B-29 was capable in war-

time of reaching an altitude of

31,850 ft. and maintain a

speed of 350 mph at that

maximum elevation. This

protected it from Japanese

A6M Zeros and ground

base artillery as it was

quite difficult to reach the

bombers at that altitude.

The Superfortress initially

began with high-altitude,

day-time explosive-

ordinance sorties over Jap-

anese industrial centers, the

USAF switched over to

lower-altitude, night-time

firebomb raids which im-

proved bomb accuracy and

increased devastation on

the largely wooden cities

of mainland Japan. In the

famous "Firebombing of

Tokyo" and subsequent

fires, estimates ranging be-

tween 100,000 and 300,000

casualties and over

300,000 buildings de-

stroyed showed the effec-

tiveness of this tactic.

As it was the only

type of plane capable, the

B-29 was put down in his-

tory as the first and only

plane to drop nuclear

weapons on enemy soil.

The Enola Gay, armed

with the 9,700 lb "Little

Boy" Uranium-based bomb

dropped its payload over

Plane of the Month

Hiroshima on August 6,

1945. The Bockscar

armed with the 10,300 lb.

"Fat Man" Plutonium-

based explosive, bombed

Nagasaki on August 9.

The crews of both bomb-

ers were kept in the dark

about the nature of the

payload until after the

bombs were dropped.

These bombings were in-

tended to force a Japanese

surrender, preventing an

inevitably bloody land

invasion to subdue the

country.

After WWII, the B

-29 served in a strategic-

bombing as well as night-

raid/interdiction role dur-

ing the Korean War from

1950 to 1953. Its age be-

gan to show as it could

Page 4

The Eagle Monthly

{Artists rendition of the B-29}

See page 5

The Eagle Monthly

If you are interested in sharing your

article, submitting pictures for next

month’s edition of the Eagle Month-

ly , or having the issue emailed to

friends and family please contact one

of the cadets listed below!

Cadet Bradbury Hart

bah11@wildcats.unh.edu

not compete with jet pro-

pelled aircraft, foe and

friend alike. Losing roles to

successors like the B-36

Peacemaker, B-47 Stratojet,

and B-52 Stratofortress, the

B-29 and its main variants

were phased out of service

during the 1960's.

The B-29 is a silver

-plated reminder of the

capabilities of American

Ingenuity. From pressur-

ized cabins, to atomic pay-

loads, its resume shows

our ability to take great

strides in technology, and

sew unparalleled destruc-

tion.

-C/4C Hart

Plane of the Month continued...

Page 5