Pre-emptive screaming-fighter-jets alert

There was a very visible omission yesterday at Fenway:

Despite a very laudable display of patriotism at Fenway with the unfurling of the huge American Flag and a large contingent of the Vermont National Guard -- and of course the impressive mixed fighter Flyover [F-15's and F-35's] -- there was a failure of the Red Sox home opener program.

No moment of silence nor any comment was made to acknowledge the US Army helicopter crash in KY and the significant casualties

9 Soldiers Killed as Pair of Helicopters Crash in One of the Army's Deadliest Training Accidents
Military.com Network
30 Mar 2023
By Steve Beynon

Nine soldiers are dead after a crash involving two UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on Wednesday night, a training accident that is one of the deadliest in Army history.

"This is a truly tragic loss for our families, our division and Fort Campbell," Brig Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said at a press conference Thursday morning.

On Wednesday night, a pair of 101st Airborne Division Black Hawks were conducting routine training in southwestern Kentucky. The pilots were using night vision, a common practice for units to practice flying in low visibility. There was no hazardous weather, according to National Weather Service data.

It marks one of the deadliest days for the Army outside of combat since the 1994 Green Ramp disaster in which 24 soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, died after a F-16 fighter jet collided with a C-130 with the wreckage hitting a C-141 and igniting jet fuel and ammunition next to a group of paratroopers.

In contrast -- entirely out of the public eye as the LA Times reported:

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III offered his condolences to the families of those killed.

“My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day,” Lloyd said in a statement.

In the Kentucky Legislature, members stood for a moment of silence Thursday morning in honor of the crash victims. State Rep. Walker Thomas said the crash occurred about 15 to 20 minutes from his home.

The LA Times story also provided some additional details about the crash:

Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile from where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his house moments before the crash.

“For whatever reason last night, my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said, ‘Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight,’” he said.

The helicopters flew over and looped back around, and moments later “we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky,” he said, adding: “All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed ... and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball.”

Flyovers for training exercises happen almost daily, and the helicopters typically fly low but not so close together, Tomaszewski said.

“There were two back to back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night,” he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III offered his condolences to the families of those killed.

“My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day,” Lloyd said in a statement.

In the Kentucky Legislature, members stood for a moment of silence Thursday morning in honor of the crash victims. State Rep. Walker Thomas said the crash occurred about 15 to 20 minutes from his home...

Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway during a training exercise.