Greetings all around! It has
been a good run and a great year. We
have accomplished so much and
should all be proud. As we part ways
for the summer, a small recap and a
little closure would go a long way in
helping things end on a high note. So
for the last time I ask that you read on
and see what we have been up to!
Detachment 475!
Good Luck! A salutation to all,
FTP’s in particular! You
have all put so much into
the program and have giv-
en everything to be where
you are now. Now your
journey has come to a
junction where you must
test all you have learned.
On behalf of us all, we
wish you good luck!
May Issue 2014
The Eagle Monthly
Special points of
interest:
Lead Lab Recaps
Plane of the Month
Thoughts of an IMT
Article of the Month For those of you who do
not know, a competition is taking
place for cadets who have submit-
ted articles for the Eagle Monthly!
They need your vote to win. Go
to: https://www.facebook.com/
theeaglesnest475 to vote for the
best article this month.
Activities! Day Away: “Multiple Days
Away” as it more realistically should be
called, was a blast! Early morning PT ses-
sions, GLP exercises and warrior
knowledge sprinkled on top made for an
authentic AFROTC experience. We per-
formed, and I dare say, outperformed the
other schools at this event. This is what we
do, and this is how well we do everything.
Commander’s Call: Nothing is
more entertaining, and at the same time
more informative than SSgt. Padilla giv-
ing a safety briefing. Laughs were had and
commendations were given. A good fin-
ish; the Commander’s Call lab was a great
way to end this semester. Good luck on
finals and have a great summer!
{Cadet Enos Saluting at the SPEED OF EXCELLENCE}
{An Eagle}
This is an inter-
esting point I've come to
at the end of my fresh-
men year. I have a full
year of experience with
the AFROTC program
and yet in terms of both
knowledge and experi-
ence, I can tell that I
have seen only the tip of
a gargantuan iceberg. As
the year draws to a
close, I feel a strange
mix of sensations ob-
serving both what is
happening in the near
future for myself and
what is happening for
others within the detach-
ment. This state of mind
is hard to describe, alt-
hough many may share
this feeling. The closest
equivalency I can come
up with goes back to my
18th birthday present.
As a gift for my
18th birthday, I was giv-
en the opportunity to go
skydiving. 10,000 feet
was the height of the
jump. I had to sit
through a fourty-five
minute briefing legally
signing my life away in
the event something
should happen. The sen-
Looking Out the Door
Patriotism and Popcorn!
either a condition inher-
ent to the original prob-
lem, or a rule made
thereafter. Contextually,
one of the catches in the
movie and book states
"that agents enforcing
Catch-22 need not prove
that Catch-22 actually
contains whatever provi-
sion the accused violator
is accused of violating,"
and as stated later on by
an old woman. "Catch-
22 says they have a right
to do anything we can't
stop them from doing."
The movie and
book, although pieces of
fiction, are a grim re-
minder of the very real
and tempting potential
to abuse power. As a
member of the Air
Force, I find "Catch-22"
to be a vital piece in re-
alizing a number of
things about leadership.
First, I have learned
from it that the enemy,
though we may want
them to, may not distin-
guish themselves with a
separate uniform, and
that as leaders, we must
be aware that they may
surface among us. Sec-
ond, I have learned that
power is inherently a
"Catch-22" in which
powerful people can op-
press in subjugate those
who are powerless. It is
Adapted from a
book published in 1961
by Joseph Heller, "Catch
-22" is a 1970 film Star-
ring Alin Arkin. It is
about a WWII pilot
named Captain John
Yossarian in the Medi-
terranean theatre. The
film is a black-comedy,
and like the book, is a
critique of the many
manifestations of the
abuse of power; the con-
text of the time of publi-
cation being McCarthy-
ism. The title itself of-
fers a synopsis of the
book through its defini-
tion. A "Catch-22" is a
self-contradictory piece
of circular logic in
which the only solution
is made impossible by
Page 2
May Issue 2014
See page 3
See page 3
{Cadet Hart trembles with
excitement!}
{Catch-22 by Joseph Heller}
sation I am remember-
ing comes from the mo-
ment when we had
reached the height of our
climb in a rickety twin-
prop aircraft and I'm be-
ing called up first to
jump. I had an instructor
strapped to my back, but
as I gazed out the win-
dow, to me he was not
there. I was standing on
the edge of a shaking
ledge off a drop that
would end catastrophi-
cally should even some-
thing small go wrong.
Even if I survive that
error, I will have no one
to blame but myself. Of
course the instructor was
actually still at my back.
I would soon jump and
the thrill of that fall
would immediately su-
persede whatever anxi-
ety I had just felt.
To draw the
parallels, I look to
where I am now. I have
received my instruction
over the past year and I
have signed many pa-
pers. I will be expected
to perform next year as
an FTP. Though I have
an amazing group of
fellow cadets and dis-
tinguished cadre, at the
moment of the jump, I
can still feel that ten-
sion building in my
stomach as I wait for
the countdown. I know
I will do fine, and I am
excited to jump, other-
Looking Out the Door continued...
Patriotism and Popcorn continued...
we may remain a moral
society.
I highly recom-
mend both the movie and
the book. "Catch-22" is a
difficult read and the mov-
ie may be easier to follow
for some but from both an
educational and entertain-
ment standpoint, it is a
great use of time.
-C/4C Hart
up to leaders, those in
power to restrict them-
selves from abusing
power to their own
gains. Third and finally
is that all other morals
are based on the concept
that life is sacred, and
without it, no other mor-
als can be justified. As a
leader in the armed forc-
es of the United States,
it must then be my duty
then to protect life and
only take it when neces-
sary, so as to ensure that
Page 3
May Issue 2014
wise I wouldn't be
here. I know those
around me are all
willing and ready to
help but in this mo-
ment, while my
breath is held, I am
bare with not but a
parachute and no
margin for error. In
the end I am actually
excited for FTP year
to start so I can stop
being anxious and start
performing. There is
nothing left to do but
jump.
-C/4C Hart
{Proof of my story}
{A poster for the movie adaptation as di-
rected by Mike Nichols
The plane I want to
discuss served the United
States Army Air Force in the
waning months of World War
II, and then in the Korean
War under the newly formed
United States Air Force. Con-
ceived and designed as a four
-engine, high-altitude bomb-
er, B-29 "Superfortress" de-
rived its name from its prede-
cessor, the B-17 "Flying For-
tress". The Boeing Model
335, was a submitted design
to meet the USAAF's require-
ment for a bomber that could
deliver a 20,000 lb payload
2,667 mi to a target while
having the capability to fly at
400 mph. Boeing's model
won and was given the desig-
nation XB-29, which later
became B-29 once the planes
entered service. The cost of
development and production
of the B-29 rivaled that of the
"Manhattan Project", which
was still an intensely guarded
secret at the time.
Originally operating
out of bases in China and
then from islands within
striking distance of Japan, the
B-29 served almost exclu-
sively in the Pacific theatre.
Introduced on May 8th, 1944,
the B-29 was capable in war-
time of reaching an altitude of
31,850 ft. and maintain a
speed of 350 mph at that
maximum elevation. This
protected it from Japanese
A6M Zeros and ground
base artillery as it was
quite difficult to reach the
bombers at that altitude.
The Superfortress initially
began with high-altitude,
day-time explosive-
ordinance sorties over Jap-
anese industrial centers, the
USAF switched over to
lower-altitude, night-time
firebomb raids which im-
proved bomb accuracy and
increased devastation on
the largely wooden cities
of mainland Japan. In the
famous "Firebombing of
Tokyo" and subsequent
fires, estimates ranging be-
tween 100,000 and 300,000
casualties and over
300,000 buildings de-
stroyed showed the effec-
tiveness of this tactic.
As it was the only
type of plane capable, the
B-29 was put down in his-
tory as the first and only
plane to drop nuclear
weapons on enemy soil.
The Enola Gay, armed
with the 9,700 lb "Little
Boy" Uranium-based bomb
dropped its payload over
Plane of the Month
Hiroshima on August 6,
1945. The Bockscar
armed with the 10,300 lb.
"Fat Man" Plutonium-
based explosive, bombed
Nagasaki on August 9.
The crews of both bomb-
ers were kept in the dark
about the nature of the
payload until after the
bombs were dropped.
These bombings were in-
tended to force a Japanese
surrender, preventing an
inevitably bloody land
invasion to subdue the
country.
After WWII, the B
-29 served in a strategic-
bombing as well as night-
raid/interdiction role dur-
ing the Korean War from
1950 to 1953. Its age be-
gan to show as it could
Page 4
The Eagle Monthly
{Artists rendition of the B-29}
See page 5
The Eagle Monthly
If you are interested in sharing your
article, submitting pictures for next
month’s edition of the Eagle Month-
ly , or having the issue emailed to
friends and family please contact one
of the cadets listed below!
Cadet Bradbury Hart
not compete with jet pro-
pelled aircraft, foe and
friend alike. Losing roles to
successors like the B-36
Peacemaker, B-47 Stratojet,
and B-52 Stratofortress, the
B-29 and its main variants
were phased out of service
during the 1960's.
The B-29 is a silver
-plated reminder of the
capabilities of American
Ingenuity. From pressur-
ized cabins, to atomic pay-
loads, its resume shows
our ability to take great
strides in technology, and
sew unparalleled destruc-
tion.
-C/4C Hart
Plane of the Month continued...
Page 5