TALES FROM A PARAMEDIC, PILOT, CAVER, and FIREFIGHTER, WHO MEET IN ANTARCTICA, AND GO ON TO HAVE MANY ADVENTURES IN NEW ZEALAND, TONGA, FIJI, VANUATU, WEST AFRICA, AND UKRAINE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Structural Firefighting/ARFF/Joint Antarctic Search and Rescue Team at McMurdo Station Winfly- Summer- Winterover. Sailing a 37' Tayana sailboat in the South Pacific. Ebola Response. Wildland firefighting. War Medic in Ukraine.
Friday, November 29, 2024
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Ukraine: "The Russian Military Medicine Experience in Ukraine" from CNA
CNA (the Center for Naval Analyses) is an independent, federally-funded think tank based in Arlington, VA. This November 2024 CNA publication details some very basic analysis of the Russian military medical operations in the Ukraine war.
"We Need a Medic! The Russian Military Medical Experience in Ukraine"
On his podcast, Samuel Bendett interviews one of the paper's authors here. Bendett is a CNA analyst, and his podcast usually focuses on drones and technological developments.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Ukraine: Holodomor Remembrance Day: 23 Nov 2024
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Ukraine: "Hazelnut": the New Russian Missile
On 21 November 2024, Russia hit the city of Dnipro, in E Ukraine, with a new type of missile. The missile traversed the distance from its "Cabbage Canyon" Caspian Sea launch site to Dnipro in 15min. Thirty minutes before launch, Russia used to the ICBM launch protocol to notify the US. Initially, based on flight characteristics and damage assessments, it was mis-identified as an RS-26 Rubezh Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
Further evidence revealed that it was not a Rubezh, but a new type of missile. The "Oreshnik" ("Hazelnut") is a Russian medium-range missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but apparently not capable of traveling the 5,000km minimum needed to meet ICBM definition. Various military experts are currently estimating a possible range of 2,000-3,000km. Ukrainian intelligence assessed that the missile traveled at Mach 11, and was equipped with 6 individually-guided conventional warheads, each with 6 submunitions. Putin claims that "there are currently no ways of counteracting this weapon" The same claim was made of the Iskander, which has subsequently been shot down mulitple times by Patriots. So far, Ukraine has intercepted in extraordinary 80% of all missiles fired from Russia. Mach 11, if true, would put the Oreshnik on the upper limit of current hypersonic capabilities- very hard to intercept. On-the-ground reports indicate that explosions persisted in Dnipro for 3 hours after impact.
Friday, November 22, 2024
Ukraine: US authorizes use of ATACMs and Storm Shadows on interior Russian targets
This week has seen the first use of US ATACMs missiles, as well as British Storm Shadows, on non-frontline targets within Russia.