The military is awash in tradition. Challenge coins, the Court of Neptune, Mustache March. When bullets fly, folklore becomes psychic armor, offering magical protection as long as certain rules are followed. One of the most bizarre and stubborn superstitions emerged some time in the 1990s, perhaps as early as Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Rumor has it that the Air Force handed out yellow Stress Cards that permitted a recruit to “take a break” should the training become too strenuous. They were essentially “get out of jail free cards” that could be handed to a Recruit Division Commander, or RDC, for a chance to calm down. If this
In October, 1944, Americans across the country opened their newspapers and saw this photograph of a B-17 Flying Fortress with a nose grotesquely flayed open by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The accompanying story recounted the crew’s miraculous flight back to an English air base after coming under attack during a bombing mission over Cologne, Germany.
A few weeks ago, Chinese authorities charged that a US U-2 spy plane had violated Chinese air space during a People’s Liberation Army training exercise. The most pointed detail of China’s claim was the reference to the U-2, a 65-year-old aircraft with a fabled Cold War history. The U-2 became famous on May 7,
Image: US Army eSports/Facebook The United States Army has recently established a new team that is more selective than the vaunted Rangers and no, it’s not a team of super soldiers. It is a team of professional video game players. We are all familiar with normal sports such as hockey, baseball, and
Nine years ago, World War II veteran Don Chaney from Chester, West Virginia, came to a Veterans Breakfast Club event with a little “Caterpillar Club” pin shaped like the insect on his lapel. I asked him about the pin and got a great story in return. Don was a B-26 pilot in Europe. He
