Flying drones

Slate has an article on the flying of drones (ie UAVs). It is interesting that the operators of US Air Force UAVs are officers and highly trained pilots while the operators of US Army UAVs are enlisted men (one of whom is a cook).

Airlift info

The Torch has an excellent primer on the airlift options for the Canada Forces. It includes maps showing the ranges of the various planes.

Canada's new commandos

The Ottawa Citizen has an article on the new Canadian Special Operations Regiment which is currently being formed.

Another article has some more information.

September 11 tapes

Vanity Fair has an article on the recently released tapes of conversations and phone calls from NORAD's North East command post as they responded to the events of September 11 2001. The article shows how there day evolves from a normal morning with a planned exercise ahead, to a the chaos of a full blown attack.

I was surprised at how hard it was to track the planes once the terrorists had turned off the jets' transponders. The limited number of fighters available to defend the US eastern seaboard was also a surprise.

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Ombudsman's recruiting report

For those who are interested here is a link to the Canadian Forces' Ombudsman's report and recommendations on recruiting. (It is a PDF file.)

Blind US Army officer continues his career

The Virginian-Pilot has an article about US Army Captain Scott Smiley who was blinded in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq but is continuing his army career.