BlackFive

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin launches an anti-submarine rocket during a live-fire exercise in the Pacific Ocean, March 23, 2014. The Mustin is participating in Multi-Sail 2014, an annual exercise in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility to support security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Fidel C. Hart

Rear Admiral and later Senator Jeremiah Denton has passed away.  As one of the senior prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict, shot down in his A-6 Intruder attack aircraft.  RADM Denton displayed what could be called the absolute pinnacle of character, integrity and honor during his days of captivity and later as a Senator from Alabama.

I met RADM Denton many years ago, in the summer of 1974, as he was the guest speaker at the Change of Command at Fighter Squadron 43 when my dad turned over command to RADM Denton's Hanoi Hilton prison mate CDR Ned Shuman, the first returned POW to assume Navy command.  This picture shows RADM Denton as he arrived for the ceremony.

A true American, without question, this bit from his obituary at Al.com says it well:

Denton in the Senate strongly supported then-President Ronald Reagan and Reagan’s buildup of weapons such as the MX missile and development of a space-based ‘‘Star Wars’’ anti-missile shield.

But Denton in an interview in November 2005 said he likely would be best remembered for two events, one when he was a prisoner of war in 1965-1973 and one that happened just after his release from North Vietnam in February 1973.
 
Denton, who served more than three decades in the Navy and retired in 1977 as a rear admiral, was shot down in July 1965 while flying an A-6 Intruder attack plane on a bombing mission about 75 miles south of Hanoi.
 
Denton, a Navy commander when he was shot down, endured years of torture and solitary confinement while imprisoned in or near Hanoi. He often tried to organize resistance by his fellow POWs as one of the senior captured U.S. officers.
 
During a TV interview arranged by the North Vietnamese in May 1966, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse code, repeatedly spelling the word T-O-R-T-U-R-E.

A native of Mobile, AL, Senator Denton served his state and his nation as a senator from 1981 to 1987, and was Alabama’s first Republican senator since Reconstruction, a true testament to his love of country (AL.com)

As we always say to Naval Aviators as they head out on that final deployment, "Fair Winds and Following Seas" means a downwind recovery.  We wish you a good 20 knots of wind down the angle and the carrier with a bone in her teeth.  Godspeed, Admiral.  Thank you for all you did, from a very, very grateful nation.

A U.S. Air Force pararescueman assists U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Gerald Barnett, left, via hoist into a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter as part of a water rescue exercise near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, March 20, 2014. Barnett, senior enlisted adviser, is assigned to the 449th Air Expeditionary Group, and the pararescueman is assigned to the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Staci Miller

A U.S. Air Force pararescueman gathers his parachute and equipment after completing free fall jump training near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, March 17, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Erik Cardenas

Perfect hair, giant ego, the inability to use spell check, an occasional tryst with a koala...this man has it all:

Other Michael Bisping vid after the jump...

At an event last night, I talked with a gentleman who is seeking to hire veterns with experience in cyber security.  If you have military experience in this area; or, are a veteran who has since moved into the field, and are interested in a challenging position in the financial industry, drop me a line via Mission: VALOR.

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier provides security during a clearing operation in Denasaro Kelay village in the Mizan district of Zabul province, Afghanistan, March 8, 2014. The soldiers, assigned to Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, assisted Afghan commandos with efforts to disrupt insurgent movement in the area. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Sara Wakai

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Spencer Greer kisses his wife after the return of the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson to Mayport, Fla., March 20, 2014, from a six-month deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. The Simpson conducted more than 700 flight hours and traveled more than 35,000 nautical miles to support regional and maritime security. Greer is an electronics technician. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Salt Cebe

NSFW...

Hilarious as @#$%. Might be the best one yet...

Seventy years ago, 200 (plus) Allied airmen made a bid for freedom from a German prisoner of war camp. Seventy-three made it out, and only 3 got away.  Seventy were recaptured, and fifty were murdered by the Gestapo.  There's a small movie about it , and it is worth seeing though it is a movie and not a documentary.  Take a moment today, to honor all those who were part of The Great Escape.

Ladies and gentlemen, officers and enlisted:  The Fifty!