In May 1999, then-Lt. Col. David Goldfein's F-16CJ fighter jet was rocked by the explosion of a surface-to-air missile during a mission during the Kosovo War. Ejecting from his aircraft, the future Air Force Chief of Staff landed in a ravine and evaded Serbian fighters until he was rescued by a combat search and rescue team, according to the Washington Post; he was just one of two pilots shot downed as part of Operation Allied Force during the short conflict.
More than two decades after Goldfein's harrowing ordeal, the Air Force is exploring a more elegant option for future combat rescue missions: an unmanned system that, air-dropped onto the battlefield, is capable of whisking downed pilots and other wounded service members out of dangerous territory, Aviation Week reports.
Call it Uber for medevac — just without the surge prices.
An Uber driver told Fayetteville police he was assaulted by a Fort Bragg soldier outside Huske Hardware House Restaurant and Brewery, and his wife said he's been hospitalized with brain injuries for more than two weeks.
So you’re riding along in the back of a Uber at the end of a long day of heavy drinking, but your driver tells you there’s a problem and he needs to pull over for a moment to restart the transaction on his cellphone.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian Morales
“SFETY is our number one concern,” read a slide in a recent safety standdown briefing in the Norfolk area. Although the “A” was nowhere to be found, there were plenty of warnings against speeding, motorcycle safety, and of course driving under the influence. Judging from its effectiveness at incorporating spell check, it is unlikely that this presentation, and others like it, had much of an effect in preventing any of the aforementioned behaviors. It’s a shame, too, because entirely preventable incidents like DUIs can have a severe impact on armed forces personnel and the military at large. Surely there must be a more effective way to discourage service members from drinking and driving.
