The Kumachan – Page 280 – Celebration of free speech

Kadena Circuit Actions

Dave 2000-06-09

Kadena circuit actions airman hard at work.

Pallet Building

Dave 2000-05-30

During Joint military exercise Cobra Gold here are some United States Airmen building a pallet at the Wing 1 exercise complex in Korat, Thailand.

First Thai Kickboxing Experience

Dave 2000-05-29

While in Thailand for joint military exercise Cobra Gold I took the opportunity to see a live Muay Thai kickboxing event. During the event they started out with the lower weight classes and worked their way up to the main event fight. From my observations the lower age and weight class fighters were primarily just trying to get points, but as the skill level got higher you could clearly see the fighters were trying to knock each other out. It was a really neat experience to take in the Thai culture through this sporting event. Unfortunately at the time I did not have a high quality digital camera, so these are the best photos I was able to take.

Deutsches Haus

Dave 2000-05-14

After a 12 hour shift and then a 1 hour bus ride back to the hotel, during Cobra Gold 2000 in Nakhon Ratashima, Thailand I enjoyed going out to a local restaurant called the Deutsches Haus. It was owned by the nicest German man named George. George would cook up some good food, sing karaoke, and he always kept the beer cold.

One night George even closed down his shop to go out to a popular local establishment called “Unique” and have some fun and watch the entertainment.

Navy F-18’s at Cobra Gold 2000

Dave 2000-05-05

During Joint Military exercise Cobra Gold 2000 the U.S. Navy had some F-18 hornet’s on the flight line at Wing 1 of Korat air base in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Cobra Gold 2000 Technical Control

Dave 2000-05-03

After a 12 hour shift this Technical Control airman is waiting to go back to the hotel during Cobra Gold 2000 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Welcome to Thailand

Dave 2000-05-02

This is my first time ever to Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand I took a couple photos looking out of my hotel room window to see what Korat had to offer. Then I decided to go for a walk to see for myself. While walking down the street there was a guy riding an elephant, so I asked him if I could take photo.

Joint Military Exercise Cobra Gold

Dave 2000-04-28

Here is a group photo of the communications team that was taken during the joint military exercise Cobra Gold that was held in the kingdom of Thailand.

DISN Data Services Course

Dave 2000-03-01

While in the Air Force I was sent to the DISN Data Services Course. Here is the manual from that Air Force training.

Power Machines

Dave 1999-12-24

Drove over to the flight line with a friend on Kadena Air Base and snapped some photos of his Nissan Skyline and my Nissan Cima with some Air Force muscle in the background…and a tank.

F-15 Versus Air Force Security Forces

Dave 1999-11-05

While serving in the Air Force I received an e-mail with this safety briefing about an accident that happened at Eglin Air Force base in Florida. Even though they say it was an accident, every part of this looks like people were screwing around.

White’s Bridge

Dave 1999-07-23

Went over to White’s Bridge near Lowell, Michigan to see the historic covered bridge.

Ali Al Salem Air Base Facilities

Dave 1999-05-01

Here are some of the facilities at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait. You can see the base exchange, the recreation center, and the gym in the photos above.

Explosive Ordinance Disposal

Dave 1999-04-15

While at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait my commander was an ex-Explosive Ordinance Disposal (E.O.D.) person so he asked me if I wanted to go out and watch EOD blow some things up. That’s how I was afforded the opportunity to go out with EOD and watch them blow up 24 sticks of C4. They also used a thermite grenade on some classified computer systems and disposed of some British flares. It was a pretty cool experience.

15th Reconnaissance Squadron Patch

Dave 1999-04-12

Digging Cable Trenches

Dave 1999-04-08

Ali Al Salem air base was a tactical base that was quickly setup and it has a mess of cables all over the place. To try to clean the cables up and run them neatly through trenches. The biggest problem though was that it was all rock and digging through that was not easy.

Radio Tower View of Ali Al Salem Air Base

Dave 1999-04-07

The view of Ali Al Salem Air Base from the radio tower. This definitely gives a bird’s eye perspective of what it was like on this base. You may notice a swimming pool in the photos. The swimming pool was only 3 feet deep and the main reason it was there was because it was the largest source of water in case of a fire.