John R Bruning
9.7K posts
John R Bruning
@JohnRBruning
Writer of military affairs, history, counter-terrorism, espionage and fluffy cat stories.
Katılım Ekim 2009
3.4K Takip Edilen1.6K Takipçiler
@JRM58506966 @holding_shadows That Silver Star needs an upgrade.
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On August 11-12, 2018, in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, Tech Sgt. Gavin Fisher, a US Air Force Pararescueman assigned to the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, was serving as the rear gunner in the lead vehicle of a Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force convoy during a ten-day mission to defend the city against over 500 Taliban fighters.
The convoy suddenly came under heavy ambush with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire. Fisher was struck by grenade shrapnel but immediately returned fire, directed his vehicle out of the kill zone, and dismounted to engage two Taliban fighters at close range (within 50 meters) while beginning life-saving treatment on wounded soldiers.
Despite his injuries, Fisher refused to fall back. He stopped massive bleeding and administered blood transfusions to critically injured troops under direct fire, then continued treating more casualties during a second ambush—driving 75 meters through heavy machine-gun fire to reach additional wounded, treating five more soldiers, and helping call in evacuation.
Over the intense two-day fight, his extraordinary actions as both a combatant and medic saved the lives of 10 critically injured American and Afghan soldiers, enabled the medical evacuation of 20 more casualties, and contributed to the elimination of 118 Taliban fighters. For his gallantry, Tech Sgt. Gavin Fisher was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
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This is sure to be an incredible read!
Congrats James!! Cannot wait to get my hands on it!!!
James M. Scott@jamesmscott3
Just received the first galleys of my latest book, which covers the climatic final months of WWII. Available for pre-order now, Empire of Ashes lands in bookstores nationwide on August 4.
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Japanese F-86s battling a winged monster. For the win, today on X....
Air Safety #OTD by Francisco Cunha@OnDisasters
JASDF F-86 fighting a winged monster was not on my bingo card for the day. Bless this influx of Japanese Media on X now.
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John R Bruning retweetledi
YO!! A huge shoutout to Samantha Billy, the granddaughter of a World War II Navajo Code Talker getting her wings.
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@DefenceGeek @KenithGon @bealejonathan @MATA_osint Great work you're doing. Thank you for the information.
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@JohnRBruning @KenithGon @bealejonathan @MATA_osint An official has apparently now confirmed 4x MH-6 and 2x MC-130J types destroyed on the ground prior to evacuating from the scene, so the 4 helos will be added to my next updated graphic!
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UPDATE: US Aircraft Casualties as of 05/04/2026
--- #OperationEpicFury ---
Following further review of the imagery from Kuwait, I have downgraded the assessment to a single CH-47F damaged (although it is likely to be a write-off), and have added the 2x MC-130J lost due to technical issues during the CSAR mission into Iran to recover the WSO from the F-15E - glad to hear that both crew have now been successfully recovered!!
@MATA_osint
DefenceGeek 🇬🇧@DefenceGeek
US Aircraft Casualties as of 04/04/2026 --- #OperationEpicFury --- Based on currently available information, since the start of Operation EPIC FURY in February 2026, the US military has lost or suffered damage to the following manned aircraft: - 4x F-15E "Strike Eagle" (3 to friendly-fire over Kuwait, 1 to Iranian fire) - 1x E-3G "Sentry" (on the ground at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia) - 1x A-10C "Thunderbolt II" (crashed, circs TBC) - 2x CH-47F "Chinook" (heavily damaged on ground at Camp Buehring in Kuwait - TBC if write-offs) - 2x HH-60W "Jolly Green II" (reported to have taken fire during CSAR over Iran, cited making it into Iraq with significant smoke trail - no casualties reported, extent of damage/repair options TBC) - 1x F-35A "Lightning II" (emergency landing after taking fire, pilot received medical care, extent of damage/repair options TBC) - ?x KC-135R/T "Stratotanker" (1 lost with 6 crew KIA over Iraq, 1 damaged in same incident and hasn't flown since, 1+ destroyed on ground at Prince Sultan Airbase in same incident as E-3G, as yet unconfirmed reports of up to 5 additional damaged or destroyed at same or another base prior) I have no doubt there are probably other incidents that are not publicly known yet, and obviously I've only included manned platforms here - I'm aware the MQ-9A "Reaper" UAV fleet has suffered several losses too. Images of damaged/lost airframes will be included in another tweet below. @MATA_osint
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@DefenceGeek @KenithGon @bealejonathan @MATA_osint Looks like at least one Little Bird was destroyed yesterday with the C-130s based on the photos I've seen.
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@KenithGon @bealejonathan @MATA_osint Not visually confirmed as far as I am aware - if someone out there does have a photo of it i'll be happy to add to the list!
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Tonight, the United States finally put to rest the ghost of Desert One.
1980-2026, the bookends of our relationship with Iran, and the roadmap that led from failure to success through training, doctrine, technology, tactics, applied lessoms --and most of all, the best warriors and IC folks in the world.
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John R Bruning retweetledi
I’m speechless. I know our guys are really good, and I was hopeful but this was as high stakes as it gets. This will be military lore for 30+ years. You make movies about this stuff & people won’t believe it.
WSJ & Washington Post also confirming.
Welcome home, friends!
Jennifer Griffin@JenGriffinFNC
Fox News can confirm that the 2nd crew member of the downed F15E fighter jet has been rescued and he and the members of the rescue team that extracted him from behind enemy lines in Iran are all safely out of Iran. That according to two senior US officials and multiple well placed sources in the region. The Weapons Systems Officer ejected along with the pilot when their F15E Strike Eagle they were flying was struck Thursday night (early Friday local time) in southwest Iran. The WSO used the SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training to evade capture, hiding on an elevated ridge after hiking away from the wreckage and putting out an emergency beacon.) US Special Operations rescue forces to include PJs (United States Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs) and many layers of elite rescue forces took part in the complex, layered mission to both find the crew member and also keep the Iranian forces who were hunting the American weapons system operator at bay. There are videos that have appeared from local eyewitnesses that show what appear to have been injured and dead Iranian members of the IRGC and Basij who were looking for the downed American crew member. Fox has learned there was fighting on the ground but no Americans killed during the operation. “It was a very complex operation to retrieve the downed service member,” a well placed source briefed on the operation told me. Many different branches of the US military were involved in the rescue. Fox News can confirm the A10 Warthog that crashed Friday was involved in providing cover for the rescue teams searching for the pilot. That A10 crashed in Kuwait (first reported by ABC Friday) but the A10 pilot managed to eject safely and was rescued. There was destruction of aircraft which have sensitive equipment on board, I am told, all part of this complex CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) mission. The F15E was pretty much destroyed on impact. Two rescue helicopters were hit by enemy fire on Friday and crew members onboard were injured by enemy fire but managed to make it out of Iran. There were a lot of elements to this rescue, I am told.
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Thank God they're safe.
There is no more complex operation than CSAR in a high threat environment. The odds are stacked against the rescuers every time.
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@visegrad24 the thing they used to capture Maduro leading to nosebleed and earbleed or whatever? I imagine its a big JBL speaker
GIF
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Did the U.S. just bring out the discombobulator again?
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@Osinttechnical The Ukrainians have showed us what happens when you line your vital aircraft up like this, even when you think you're hundreds of miles out of the battle space.
The Japanese Army Air Force made this same mistake in the summer of 1943 at Wewak.
Revet your aircraft, USAF.
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Romania continues to quietly serve as a key forward base for American tankers supporting the Iran War.
Seen here, four of the ten USAF KC-135 tankers currently based at Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport.
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@RealAirPower1 I interviewed the skipper who led those attacks, Cdr. Swede Carlson, for my first book, Crimson Sky. The Hwachon Dam and EA-1622 are featured in the narrative. Swede was a great guy, an Oregonian by birth.
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Everyone knows the legendary No. 617 Sqn RAF, the famous Dambusters. But did you know the U.S. Navy had its own version? While the British made history with bouncing bombs in WWII, the pilots of VA-195 earned the title through sheer grit in the Korean War. In May 1951, the Hwachon Dam became a critical target. The North Koreans were using it as a weapon to release floods, stalling UN advances and washing out bridges downstream. Several missions were flown against it, but conventional bombs and rockets barely dented the reinforced structure. So the Skyraider pilots from the USS Valley Forge (CV-45) improvised. They dug up old aerial torpedoes from the ship’s magazine and decided to use them against the dam. Flying low through heavy flak, eight Skyraiders skipped seven torpedoes across the water into the sluice gates. The strike shattered the dam’s control mechanisms, stopped the flooding, and collapsed the enemy’s strategy in one blow. The action earned VA-195 its own “Dambuster” legacy. It also marked the last time the U.S. Navy ever used aerial torpedoes in combat.
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Praying everyone gets out.
CSAR never gets the attention it should.
WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧@WarMonitor3
Can you imagine how brave you have to be to fly a helicopter into Iranian airspace at low altitude to save another one of your brothers. Soldiers deserve every ounce of respect they get and more…
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@vikings1968 @HawkEmDownChris @VinnysCorner1 Dude. I did read. Putting Vick on the list and no Steve Young seems a travesty, and yes I get that we could comment another one not listed. In the meantime, you seem like a very angry person triggered by minor things. I hope you get help with that, it is a rough way to live.
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@JohnRBruning @HawkEmDownChris @VinnysCorner1 This is not a ranking. He just listed a few, then gave you an option to list your own. Damn, people. READ.
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Today I arrived back at the beloved cabin where I've written since 2009. Within minutes, this Canadian Jay appeared. He and his pals have kept me company since i wrote Indestructible up here in 2015.
Might have to hire him to proofread.
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@kamin_amy @ExploreSpaceKSC @CanonUSA @MoonHourSocial That is awesome! I shot with a 7D in Afghanistan and lugged around a Sigma 150-600 back in the day. That lens ended up being a workhorse over there for me. I learned to shoot with it and a 10D in the early 00s in our local wildlife refuges. This adventure you're on is epic!!
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Photographing the SLS from the gantry @ExploreSpaceKSC @CanonUSA . Thanks @MoonHourSocial for the candid shot.
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