THE EAGLE MONTHLY. Detachment 475! In This Issue. I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.

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1 THE EAGLE MONTHLY Detachment 475 Newsletter October 2014 Detachment 475! Family, friends and cadets of Detachment 475, here s a little update and overview on what we have been doing this month! I regret that I have but one life to give for my country. - Nathan Hale In This Issue Leadership Labs Plane of the Month CrossFit PT Meet Major Duston and more!

2 CrossFit Physical Training In Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, researchers are starting work on a study to discover whether CrossFit or traditional military physical training is more effective. Everyone has his or her own opinion, and many similar studies have been done in the past. This particular study is hoping to find comprehensive evidence of one or the other. Twenty groups of soldiers (over 200 total troops) will be tracked for a period of four years by the researchers of Kansas State University s kinesiology lab. Ten of these groups will participate in a CrossFit training program, and the other ten will do regular PT. The study will begin with many different fitness tests including the standard Army PT test (push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run), deadlifts, pull-ups, a standing horizontal jump, and a 40-yard sprint. The soldiers will then train for six months, get tested again, and again, over the next four years. In addition to testing fitness, the researchers will compare the soldiers flexibility, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and body fat percentage. The standard PT groups will use a training plan pulled right out of the Field Manual 7-22, Army Physical Readiness Training, which includes the most up-to-date regulations. In terms of the CrossFit workouts, the military version will be very similar to what people have come to expect from the WODs (CrossFit s acronym for their daily workouts, Workout of the Day ). The only main difference will be slight adjustments for when soldiers do not have access to a gym (i.e. when they are in the field). All of the armed services, especially the Army and the Marine Corps, have been making efforts to improve their PT programs over the past couple years, and while each branch has slightly different methods when it comes to PT, they all come together with similar tests of fitness. This means that results from this test will likely be applicable to all of the branches, even though they are pulling the PT workouts from the Army regulations. Representatives from CrossFit are happy that the military is making an effort to find out the true merit of the program from a military perspective. A former Navy SEAL, Joe Alexander, who is now a high level CrossFit instructor, is head of the CrossFit side of this study. He states, The beauty of CrossFit, at least what attracted me to it, was the simplicity of the program. With some humble equipment, you can do a lot. That s valuable for the military. Kansas State kinesiology professor Katie Heinrich is leading the study. When interviewed, Heinrich hypothesized that the CrossFit training will not only facilitate greater increases in fitness, but also changes in body composition. She goes on to say, we also expect, because we ve seen this in previous studies, that those who do the CrossFit training will spend less time actually exercising. see Page 5 2

3 Plane of the Month P-38 Lightning This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, considered to be possibly the largest naval engagement in history between the Imperial navy and the combined American and Australian forces. In honor of this colossal engagement, I'd like to honor a plane that served faithfully over the Pacific theatre in WWII. The distinctively twin-boomed Lockheed P-38 Lightning was introduced to the US Military in This was in response to the Army Air Corps demand for a twin-engine interceptor capable of partaking in hostile engagements at high altitudes. A feat of innovation, the Lightning featured turbo-charged Allison engines which enabled top speeds of 414 mph at 25,000 feet with a service ceiling at 44,000 feet. With a range of 1,300 miles, the lightning saw service as a light bomber, escort fighter, ground attack fighter, and nighttime dogfighter. The power of the engines gave the P-38 the speed and altitude advantage. With no propeller to obscure the pilots line of sight, the guns of the Lightning were mounted on the nose without fear of reducing the rate of fire with an interrupter device. This meant that the lightning gained the advantage of not needing a convergence point. Convergence point is a point in which the guns line of fire converge, increasing the effective accuracy. The close proximity of the guns to each other also concentrate the cone of fire to a small enough area that they can cause enough damage to severe portions of machines from each other in a manner akin to a bullet-based buzz saw. This suited the craft in strafing and air-to-air combat. Unfortunately, the low control surface area to power ratio meant that the lightning was not maneuverable, especially against the Japanese A6M "Zero" fighter. Adapting to their machines, American pilots developed tactics that suited the P-38 better than the A6M. Using the lightning's superior ceiling, pilots would take steep dives at high speeds and fire a single volley at a specific target. The pilot would then use his relatively high kinetic energy and veer up and translate that energy into lift. The pilot would then retreat to higher altitudes and repeat the process. This gives the Japanese pilots minimal time to react and little opportunity to use their superior maneuverability to their own advantage. A prime example of the creative minds of air-minded people, the P-38 shows how airmen took new tech, and then adapted themselves to it to overcome an otherwise difficult challenge. With devastating firepower, and lightning-fast speed, the P-38 earns its name and its place as plane of the month. - C/3C Hart 3

4 Meet Major Duston! I hope this article is a chance for each of you to learn a little bit about our detachment s newly appointed Operations Flight Commander/ Recruiting Flight Commander, Major Mathew Duston. Beginning chronologically, Major Mathew Duston began perusing his career in the Air Force as an AFROTC cadet at Cornell University, where like many of us at UNH, got involved in ROTC related organizations such as Arnold Air Society. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant, Civil Engineer. Major Duston has held many positions throughout his career, such as Chief of Quality Assurance, Engineer Flight Commander, and Air Infrastructure Staff Officer. His positions have taken him all over the world including Ukraine, Africa, Japan, Italy, Afghanistan, and Germany. Before coming here to UNH, Major Duston had taken a nine year break from the service, at which point he ran an engineering consulting business and worked for the Army. In June 2014, he came to UNH and joined our Detachment. When asked if there was any advice that he could pass on to the cadets, he said realize that you will go into the Air Force knowing nothing. He means when you begin your career in the Air Force, don t think just because you are a second lieutenant you know everything and don t need help from others. There are NCOs and other enlisted members that have years of experience and who s help will be very beneficial. It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag. - Father Denise Edward O Brien, Sergeant, USMC Major Mathew Duston Major Duston, Detachment 475 welcomes you to UNH, and thanks you for all that you have done and continue to do. - C/3C Durant 4

5 CrossFit Physical Training Continued... Here at Detachment 475, we are already moving towards the CrossFit side of workouts through AFSOPT (Air Force Special Operations Physical Training). In this program, we use more functional movements like tire flips, squats, and presses with logs in order to prepare for situations where those sorts of maneuvers might be necessary. This is one of the main concepts that CrossFit was founded upon. - C/4C Thomas The POW/MIA Corner Their mission was codenamed Wild Weasel. The objective: Destroy Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites and other anti-aircraft-artillery installations. The job was tasked to men like Major Leo Thorsness and other F-105 Thunderchief pilots and weapons systems officers. The job was extremely hazardous, as Thorsness would find out on 30 April While flying as element lead in a flight of 4, two communist Mig-21s ambushed them from the 6 o clock position. Thoreness wingman was felled by an Atoll heat seeking missile fired from one of the Migs. Major Thorsness was hit quickly after. Losing all control of the aircraft, he and his backseater bailed out over hostile skies at 700 mph. What resulted was six years of captivity in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Thorsness was tortured on many occasions not unlike any other POW at the camp. He was forced into solitary confinement for a year and developed serious back injuries at the mercy of his captors. Finally, on 4 March 1973, Thorsness was released and sent back to the states to recover and receive the Medal of Honor from President Nixon. It was seen fit to award Thorsness the medal for actions he carried out 11 days before being shot down over North Vietnam. Leo Thorsness retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel on 25 October 1973 due to injuries incurred on ejection and his captivity. C/4C Hoffman Major Thorsness 5

6 Leadership Laboratories Mark Your Calendars! DATE ACTIVITY Career Night 09/02 Commander s Call 09/09 GLP Lab 09/20 New Boston Navigation Lab 09/23 Drill and Ceremonies Lab 09/30 FTP Realization Night 10/07 Career Night 10/14 Transitory Challenge 10/25 Parents Weekend 11/01 Paintball Lab 11/07 Veterans Day Ceremony 11/11 Warrior Challenge /SERE 11/18 FTP Run Lead Lab 12/02 Buddy Care Challenge 12/06 Dining In 12/09 Commander s Call Every year, Detachment 475 hosts members of the military for our Career Night Leadership Laboratory to speak with cadets about their different career options. This is always an interesting lab because cadets have the opportunity to chat with and pick the brains of these military officers and members. Though the lab s purpose is for learning about different careers, it seems as though cadets usually find themselves enthralled in stories of past ROTC experiences, deployments, assignments, advice on the stresses of being in the service, and how to make the best out of every situation they may end up in. 6

7 A Little AF Humor... Contact Us If you are interested in writing an article, sharing pictures or having the next issue of The Eagle Monthly sent to family or friends, please contact one of the cadets listed below! Cadet Adams or Cadet Sou Visit us on the web at theeaglesnest475