The Entire Arizona National Guard Currently Has Only Four OH-58 Kiowa Helicopters Available for Border Missions

Gov. Brewer’s letter to President Obama: 

http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_052110_BorderAircraftProposalLtrtoPresObama.pdf 

AZARNG has an Assault Helicopter Battalion,  an Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, and the Western Army Aviation Training Site  and can only make 4 OH-58′s available for Military Support to Civil Authorities. 

The following AZARNG Aviation units are reported as activated and thus under Big Army control unavailable to the State of Arizona: 

CO A 1ST BN 285TH AVN MARANA 

CO C 1ST BN 285TH AVN MARANA 

CO D 1ST BN 285TH AVN MARANA 

CO E 1ST BN 285TH AVN MARANA 

DET 1 CO B 640TH AVN SPT BN MARANA 

DET 1 CO C 3BN 140TH AVN MARANA 

HHC 1ST BN 285TH AVN MARANA 

WESTERN ARNG AVN TNG SITE MARANA 

0285 AV BN 01 CO C FWD MARANA 

0285 AV BN 01 ATK HEL REAR MARANA G1 

0285 AV BN 01 HHC FWD3 MARANA G1 

CO A 2ND BN 285TH AVN RGMT PHOENIX 

CO D 2ND BN 285TH AVN RGMT 

CO E 2ND BN 285TH AVN RGMT PHOENIX 

HHC 2ND BN 285TH AVN RGMT PHOENIX 

0285 AVN BN 02 HHC ASLT REAR PHOENIX 

0140 AV CO DET 1 CO D PHOENIX 

0385 AV HHC CBT PHOENIX G3

CO C (-) 1ST BN 189TH AVN RAPID CITY

 

 

The Midas Touch

There’s PMC’s, PNC’s and Private Aerospace Companies.

While googling for a pic I ran up on this comment

The Truth behind the Airplane
Posted by The Truth On The Airplane, Texas – Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 12:38 p.m.

The legal dispute over the aircraft has been going on for over 2 years. The Aircraft is owned by a company called Air Support Systems LLC. They leased the aircraft to a company called Tactical Air Defense Services. The “company” that leased the aircraft and was doing the repairs on the aircraft in Texas, have done this type of thing before. They put out this great business plan tell everybody this great story, lease and/or gain control of all kinds of aircraft, run up some enormous repair bill to the owner, and then file liens and sue to try to get the aircraft. The problem is that the company and project was never funded to what they say it was. There were supposed to be 4 or 5 of these Russian Jets coming to Texas as well as F-16′s and all of these great military contracts to provide training and support for the military. Sounds good right..Wrong. All that happened was one IL-78 barely made it here and sat to rot on the ramp at the airport for years because TADS who leased the plane could not afford to make repairs or operate the aircraft and the company that is sueing for the repairs, the owner is a major stockholder in TADS. As for the military training, 3 of the largest hangar leases were tied up by this company that could never seem to pay their rent on time. Its the same people all the time. They just keep changing the company name. They started out in Tulsa as the National Aviation Museum. After they wore out their welcome there, they moved to Melborne, Fl under the name Aerogroup. Once Melborne kicked them out of there, they moved to Jacksonville. When they would not pay the rent there, they moved to North Texas Regional Airport (KGYI) under the names ITTC, North American Tactical Aviation, Tactical Air Defense Services, Air 1 Flight Support, and Hawker Jets Inc. as far as I know. They are curently moving out of the NTRA and who knows where they will be heading. All of the companies above are ran by the same people. They have conned more aircraft owners out of their airplanes, money and who knows what else. Their mission statement is based on false hopes and deceit. I am glad that the IL-78 is gone from NTRA. I am sorry that it has to sit on your airport. Who ever is storing the aircraft or providing ground support, get your money up front.

Interesting. Vaguely recall hearing about this. Have no way of knowing how credible the above is. Could be true. Ex-Soviet heavies flown by ex-Soviet aircrew have been involved in similiar shaky shit all over the world for the last two decades. Could be actionable libel. Who to believe?

The idea of Soviet water bombers fighting forest fires in America would have freaked me out once. Two years of seeing and hearing Ilyushins and Antonovs at KAF and TQ have somewhat deprogammed my Warsaw Pact aircraft identification shoot-no shoot Pavlovian conditioning.

H/T: TheDewLine
UPDATE found a pic of N78GF taken at Sherman/Denison – Grayson County Airport, TX July 31, 2006.

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?id=1088298

UPDATE 20100521: Midas is the flying gas station, Candid can haul the  135,000 lb. water tank.

What civilian and/or paramilitary organizations can The State of Arizona call upon to defend its southern border?

See FeralJundi’s Strategy: The Defense Of Farms And Ranches

Arizona Forces

Arizona Department of Public Safety Illegal Immigration Prevention Apprehension Co-op Team

Arizona Rangers

Arizona State Guard

Arizona Unorganized Militia 

County Forces:

Cochise County Sheriff’s Assist Team

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Community Service Volunteers

Pima County Sheriff’s Department Auxiliary Volunteers

Yuma County Sheriff’s Posse

 

Private Forces:

Arizona Cattlemen’s Association

Private Security Companies

 

UPDATE 20100504

Cafepress, via Iowa Presidential Watch, by way of iOwnTheWorld.com and Moonbattery, as tweeted by mikepfs

UPDATE 20100508: Cochise county militia ready to monitor border H/T The Freedomist .