People are faulting Biden for not bringing out “American equipment”. If you looked at the insignia of the Black Hawks and Humvees – military kit now with the Taliban, it belonged to the Afghan military, not the US.

US equipment is great, but… it requires a lot of TLC. Aircraft require a lot of maintenance and a supply chain for spare parts. Different aircraft require different fuels and different pilots. Rotary wing pilots have very different controls that do significantly different things. Multiengine aircraft are not the same as Cessna 172s. You could probably manage to fly a 172 after a few months of playing with Flight Simulator, but chances are you will prang it on landing.

Even the HMMWVs (Humvee) will be ditched in short order as they are really ‘thirsty’ and you will burn through the total number scavenging for parts. The Toyota Hi-Lux is a better, more reliable vehicle that can be repaired by blacksmiths in villages. The same for M4s vs. the AK-47. The M4 is more precision, but the AK ‘just works’ with a heavier round and more available ammo in the area.

All US troops are out of Afghanistan as of this afternoon. It is finally over.

Position: 32.6N 90.3W [ 4:00PM CDT 2100UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [020°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 999 mb ↑.

Currently about 20 miles [ 35 km] North-Northwest of Jackson, Mississippi.

This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Ida.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 22.7N 50.9W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 6 mph [ 9 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 75 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1006 mb.

Currently about 805 miles [1295 km] East-Northeast of the Leeward Islands.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]