How long was your flight?

[Tnic 5]

Yeah, we drove past the scary men/guns/fences on our way to Cheboksari, and it seemed pretty damn big. Couldn't really see much from the road, but it was pretty obvious that this is a high-value target installation. I'll have to go check out the Google satellite pics, thanks for pointing that out!

We went to Chebasary two or three times last year. I didn't notice the fences as I was bracing for the high speed head-on that I was sure would happen, but my future SIL had everything under control. Plus I was trying in vain to convince them that there were much better places than McDonalds, but I lost.

There is however an HQ compound just around the corner from Mama's house.

[Tnic 5]

YO used to be a major missile base (I think ICBMs) and was not shown on any maps. The airport was an airbase if my info is right.

Still is. There's a big area just outside the city limits that's fenced off and guarded by lots and lots of guys with lots and lots of guns.

If you head over to Google, click on the maps, punch in YO and then switch to the satellite mode, you can see a HUGE weapons storage area to the west of YO adjacent to the area called "krasnooktyabr'skiy."

What's really neat about this map is it's green and summery in the expanded mode but once you zoom in a little, it switches to winter mode! Awesome for aerial recon because it's a lot easier to see "the path less traveled" when there's snow covering it. When you can see roads with tire tracks on them, it's pretty much a given that it's being used. Same with clear parking lots, etc. Cars with snow on them haven't moved in a while. Clean cars have. Fencelines are easily recognized as a straight white path through the brown trees. Pretty simple, huh?

If you look at this particular piece of satellite imagery you'll notice certain things right away about this place. First of all, there's an awesome triple fence all the way around the area, complete with perimeter lighting and fighting positions, outposts, even a few guardshacks. A nice paved road, too! Many of the buildings have berms built around them, and we all know what those are for! And for some reason, there are more than a few long trucks/trailers. Some are snow covered, some are not. Hmmmmm.

To really grasp the size of this place, check out one of ours that's just up highway 83 in Minot, North Dakota. Can't believe all this stuff is on the freaking internet? Neither can Al Qaida! "Thank you Mr. Bush."

That is definately a Weapons Storage Area. I used to have business at the old one in Bangor, ME when I was in the ANG there. It was used as our rifle range after the AF left and some of the guys I worked with had some very interesting war stories from when they kept Genie Nukes there for our alert fighters. Dow AFB was a small SAC bomber base in it's day.

Did you check out the Airport to the north (about 9 km) of YO? A lot of planes parked in nice neat rows.

[mox 298]

Yeah, we drove past the scary men/guns/fences on our way to Cheboksari, and it seemed pretty damn big. Couldn't really see much from the road, but it was pretty obvious that this is a high-value target installation. I'll have to go check out the Google satellite pics, thanks for pointing that out!

We went to Chebasary two or three times last year. I didn't notice the fences as I was bracing for the high speed head-on that I was sure would happen, but my future SIL had everything under control. Plus I was trying in vain to convince them that there were much better places than McDonalds, but I lost.

There is however an HQ compound just around the corner from Mama's house.

It's quite possible that we went the "scenic" way. The driver had never met an American, and was keen to show me around. He wasn't gaming the meter either, as I paid him a flat rate for the day. So we drove around YO for at least an hour before actually heading out to Cheb. Wish he'd been our driver for our Kazan trips.

[slim 1,525]

That is definately a Weapons Storage Area. I used to have business at the old one in Bangor, ME when I was in the ANG there. It was used as our rifle range after the AF left and some of the guys I worked with had some very interesting war stories from when they kept Genie Nukes there for our alert fighters. Dow AFB was a small SAC bomber base in it's day.

Did you check out the Airport to the north (about 9 km) of YO? A lot of planes parked in nice neat rows.

I have many good stories from the WSA up in Minot. A lot of fun times, a lot of, uh, not so fun times. Either way though, good experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. There's nothing like digging through six feet of snow to expose a manhole cover to ensure it hasn't been tampered with. As if the six feet of snow on top wasn't proof enough. That's Uncle Sam for you!

Bangor ANG still looks like they're working. There's a C-141 and two C-130s on the south ramp, three KC-135s on the west ramp, two more on the north ramp along with another C-130. And is that an F-101 Voodoo up on blocks in front of the squadron?

I didn't check on YO's airbases last night after seeing that FREAKING HUGE WSA, but I did tonight. The base due north near "shoybulak" seems like it has a relatively low priority since there are several breaks in it's perimeter fencing and not much activity on the ramps. It does have a plowed runway though so it's at least a little bit important! The only aircraft I could see were a few old Colts and some smaller fighter trainers. All looked to be pretty old. Maybe two Bears sitting on the south ramp near the helo? Anyway, the only thing modern I saw was the big Antonov cargo plane. I'm guessing that's their training base.

There's another strip to the east of town near "Savino" but I couldn't zoom on it. It looks to be a bigger runway with more access so maybe that's where they keep the good stuff. I'm too lazy to research it right now, but I'm sure a trip over to globalsecurity.org, fas.gov, or any of the tinfoil hatters favorites, like the CIA factbook website would quickly shed light on which cookie jar holds the pichinushki.

I still can't believe the amount of unclassified ####### that's out there today. Reminds me of a "SECRET/NOFORN" briefing I had several years ago where the "intelligence" officer came in and told us about our deployment location, etc., etc., etc. When it came time for pictures, she said, "OK, these were taken a few years ago during the construction phase of the base." I pulled out a few pics I'd downloaded from Google, held them up, passed them around and said, "yeah, these were from like three days ago." She told me to put them away and not to show anyone else as they were now "CLASSIFIED." WTFO? Classified? They were downloaded off the freaking Internet. You know, the thing that has world wide access for anyone and everyone? She seemed quite irritated, and not at the fact that my intel was better than hers and there was something inherently wrong with that, but just irritated by the fact that I'd beaten her at her game.

I just wanted good info. I'm a visual person, so before I go anywhere I like to check maps and stuff to make sure I know what I'm getting into. My buddy recently graduated from intel school and he's assured me the information out there is so much better now. "We get it like 10 minutes after CNN now. It used to be like 20, but now it's only like 10. We're making improvements!" Without getting into details, let's just say he calls me for "confirmation" on all things FSU-related before he produces his briefings. It's not that his super-secret classified network is ineffective, it's just that TV1 shows it on their news several days before it appears on his computer screen.

I think Obama just fixed all that with his recent trip, right?

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

.

I think Obama just fixed all that with his recent trip, right?

Yeah he had to hook up the digital TV converters in our stations over there. They were still broadcasting in analog.

[johnj 0]

.

I think Obama just fixed all that with his recent trip, right?

Yeah he had to hook up the digital TV converters in our stations over there. They were still broadcasting in analog.

Do we really believe the Russians are that stupid to believe that Obama fixed anything between these two countries? I love it when the news said the two Presidents saw "eye to eye" on many issues but that Putin and Obama had major differences, duh

It is like to featherweights going up against one heavyweight. Sure, they will get in a couple pretty good swings but they do not have a prayer against the big guy. Don't kid yourselves, Putin has the final say in any treaties, togetherness, etc.

Edited July 10, 2009 by john and natalya

[mox 298]

She told me to put them away and not to show anyone else as they were now "CLASSIFIED." WTFO? Classified? They were downloaded off the freaking Internet. You know, the thing that has world wide access for anyone and everyone? She seemed quite irritated, and not at the fact that my intel was better than hers and there was something inherently wrong with that, but just irritated by the fact that I'd beaten her at her game.

I think what immediately classified your pictures was the fact that you had an interest in them. I.e., if the "bad guys" thought there might be something brewing or want to know if something is brewing, and then they see satellite pics of an "area of interest" sitting out in Slim's car parked in front of the PX, it becomes pretty important even though that information is available to everyone on the net. Of course, I'm sure her being pissed off at you also had a little to do with it, but I do think her actions made a certain level of sense.

Do we really believe the Russians are that stupid to believe that Obama fixed anything between these two countries? I love it when the news said the two Presidents saw "eye to eye" on many issues but that Putin and Obama had major differences, duh

It is like to featherweights going up against one heavyweight. Sure, they will get in a couple pretty good swings but they do not have a prayer against the big guy. Don't kid yourselves, Putin has the final say in any treaties, togetherness, etc.

From what my imaginary Russian tells me, the general feeling is that nobody was really impressed with Obama. They felt like nothing was accomplished, and felt especially snubbed when Obama chose to spend his second evening secluded with his family instead of rubbing elbows with, you know, some Russians. Of course, you can't really expect a lot to have gotten done with just a 2-day meet-and-greet, but the Russians are definitely much more skeptical of Obama than the Europeans.

And seriously, ####### was up with the "reset button"? I'm a registered Dem and somewhat of a Hillary fan, but dear god that was about the stupidest thing I've seen in a long time. "Hey, I know! To show good will to our fellow nuclear superpower, let's give them a BIG RED GODDAMNED BUTTON!"

[Tnic 5]

That is definately a Weapons Storage Area. I used to have business at the old one in Bangor, ME when I was in the ANG there. It was used as our rifle range after the AF left and some of the guys I worked with had some very interesting war stories from when they kept Genie Nukes there for our alert fighters. Dow AFB was a small SAC bomber base in it's day.

Did you check out the Airport to the north (about 9 km) of YO? A lot of planes parked in nice neat rows.

I have many good stories from the WSA up in Minot. A lot of fun times, a lot of, uh, not so fun times. Either way though, good experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. There's nothing like digging through six feet of snow to expose a manhole cover to ensure it hasn't been tampered with. As if the six feet of snow on top wasn't proof enough. That's Uncle Sam for you!

Bangor ANG still looks like they're working. There's a C-141 and two C-130s on the south ramp, three KC-135s on the west ramp, two more on the north ramp along with another C-130. And is that an F-101 Voodoo up on blocks in front of the squadron?

I didn't check on YO's airbases last night after seeing that FREAKING HUGE WSA, but I did tonight. The base due north near "shoybulak" seems like it has a relatively low priority since there are several breaks in it's perimeter fencing and not much activity on the ramps. It does have a plowed runway though so it's at least a little bit important! The only aircraft I could see were a few old Colts and some smaller fighter trainers. All looked to be pretty old. Maybe two Bears sitting on the south ramp near the helo? Anyway, the only thing modern I saw was the big Antonov cargo plane. I'm guessing that's their training base.

There's another strip to the east of town near "Savino" but I couldn't zoom on it. It looks to be a bigger runway with more access so maybe that's where they keep the good stuff. I'm too lazy to research it right now, but I'm sure a trip over to globalsecurity.org, fas.gov, or any of the tinfoil hatters favorites, like the CIA factbook website would quickly shed light on which cookie jar holds the pichinushki.

I still can't believe the amount of unclassified ####### that's out there today. Reminds me of a "SECRET/NOFORN" briefing I had several years ago where the "intelligence" officer came in and told us about our deployment location, etc., etc., etc. When it came time for pictures, she said, "OK, these were taken a few years ago during the construction phase of the base." I pulled out a few pics I'd downloaded from Google, held them up, passed them around and said, "yeah, these were from like three days ago." She told me to put them away and not to show anyone else as they were now "CLASSIFIED." WTFO? Classified? They were downloaded off the freaking Internet. You know, the thing that has world wide access for anyone and everyone? She seemed quite irritated, and not at the fact that my intel was better than hers and there was something inherently wrong with that, but just irritated by the fact that I'd beaten her at her game.

I just wanted good info. I'm a visual person, so before I go anywhere I like to check maps and stuff to make sure I know what I'm getting into. My buddy recently graduated from intel school and he's assured me the information out there is so much better now. "We get it like 10 minutes after CNN now. It used to be like 20, but now it's only like 10. We're making improvements!" Without getting into details, let's just say he calls me for "confirmation" on all things FSU-related before he produces his briefings. It's not that his super-secret classified network is ineffective, it's just that TV1 shows it on their news several days before it appears on his computer screen.

I think Obama just fixed all that with his recent trip, right?

Yeh, Bangor's ahoppin all the time. I hired on fulltime in 88 as an SP (guarding planes) then switched to AGE for the rest of my career. They have been steadily building and improving since the mid '90s

That (Google maps) image is from a few years ago. I see some buildings that aren't there now and the AGE equipment is normally parked under cover. That long building near the engine test cell is gone as of 2003 and we had the fancy circus tents put up right next to the shop in 2003 or 04. That big square building just off the north (new) ramp used to be motor pool and CE and it's gone as of 2007. It's a nice shot of one of our tankers taxiing out though. I think I can see my old car too.

Oh yeh, You're right about the 101 and if you look right straight ahead of it across MAINEiac Ave you'll see an F 89. The F 89 was one of ours from the old Genie alert days that we recovered from a small muni airport in Maine and fixed it up for display. The Voodoo was also one of ours that we got back from the Canadians. From the two fighters on display you might guess that we were a Fighter Interceptor Wing (101st FIW) before transitioning into tankers (101st ARW) in 1976. The MAINEiacs have a long and proud tradition.

[Tnic 5]

Ok, it won't let me edit.

I said north ramp, but meant to say the West. I also see where they were building the new commercial vehicle security insp. facility at the main gate which puts the image at sometime in 02. The SPs got tired of crawling under trucks in the rain and snow and holding up the only lane into the base.

[Rob_Lesya 4]

And seriously, ####### was up with the "reset button"? I'm a registered Dem and somewhat of a Hillary fan, but dear god that was about the stupidest thing I've seen in a long time. "Hey, I know! To show good will to our fellow nuclear superpower, let's give them a BIG RED GODDAMNED BUTTON!"

And I'm assuming you saw that for 2-3 days before Obama arrived, the Russians put the button in Pushkin Square in the center of Moscow so that everybody could get a big kick out of pushing the BIG, RED, MISLABELED BUTTON and laughing to themselves thinking, "those stupid Americans!"

[mox 298]

And I'm assuming you saw that for 2-3 days before Obama arrived, the Russians put the button in Pushkin Square in the center of Moscow so that everybody could get a big kick out of pushing the BIG, RED, MISLABELED BUTTON and laughing to themselves thinking, "those stupid Americans!"

Yep, saw that. Some of the gaffs our government makes (not just Obama, but probably clear back to the original "Dubbya") just amaze me. The State Department employees some of the best and brightest cultural experts in the world, and yet a single post in this very forum to dumb Americans whose only experience with Russia is through their spouses, could have told them that a reset button would have been seen as stupid and vaguely insulting. I just wonder if Hillary had a few extra minutes before her flight, swigged a little cough syrup while passing a Staples store, and thought "heeeeeeyyyy now, here's a good idear!!!"

[slim 1,525]

but I do think her actions made a certain level of sense.

Of course they did, and OPSEC is very important but she was more concerned with being "one up" than having good intel.

From what my imaginary Russian tells me, the general feeling is that nobody was really impressed with Obama.

Hmm, kind of sounds like what's going on here. Nobody is really impressed with him either.

Yeh, Bangor's ahoppin all the time. I hired on fulltime in 88 as an SP (guarding planes)

I did SP from '98 til '04. What a job.

then switched to AGE for the rest of my career.

Good move!

They have been steadily building and improving since the mid '90s

That (Google maps) image is from a few years ago. I see some buildings that aren't there now and the AGE equipment is normally parked under cover. That long building near the engine test cell is gone as of 2003 and we had the fancy circus tents put up right next to the shop in 2003 or 04. That big square building just off the north (new) ramp used to be motor pool and CE and it's gone as of 2007. It's a nice shot of one of our tankers taxiing out though. I think I can see my old car too.

Oh yeh, You're right about the 101 and if you look right straight ahead of it across MAINEiac Ave you'll see an F 89. The F 89 was one of ours from the old Genie alert days that we recovered from a small muni airport in Maine and fixed it up for display. The Voodoo was also one of ours that we got back from the Canadians. From the two fighters on display you might guess that we were a Fighter Interceptor Wing (101st FIW) before transitioning into tankers (101st ARW) in 1976. The MAINEiacs have a long and proud tradition.

Plus they have the best sticker! Maineiacs stickers are all over the world as the KC pilots and crew do a lot of traveling. The 101st has been all over. I'm pretty sure I've guarded more than a few of their planes on more than one continent. They get around. Pretty neat how the history of each unit develops and changes but still the unit keeps it's pride.

Google maps are not up to the minute, but for a general overview of what's out there, they're pretty good.

I just wonder if Hillary had a few extra minutes before her flight, swigged a little cough syrup while passing a Staples store, and thought "heeeeeeyyyy now, here's a good idear!!!"

That's exactly what I thought when I heard "reset button." Sounds too much like a Staples commercial. But, while we're at it, we might as well throw a few billion their way. - "Staples cleaned up the whole nuclear mess for us. That was easy."

[Tnic 5]

Plus they have the best sticker! Maineiacs stickers are all over the world

I see you've heard of us. We do like to stay busy.

I say "we" but I retired on a med discharge in 05. Still have my 1st Shirt hat, but ran out of stickers awhile back. We have a pretty nifty retiree hat too. I'll try to dig it out and snap off a pic sometime.