Since these planes were so obvious, I don’t think that I will be giving away any big military secrets in this post.
Our home is located in an area where there is a large Iraqi population. We are also within five miles of an airport which probably has a military component. We also have a National Guard Armory nearby, but I never can remember if it is an Air National Guard unit or not.
Last night, a little after dark, I heard the sudden ROAR of a fairly low plane approaching quickly. Curious, I made a dash for the front porch, but it was beyond our house by then. I could hear another approaching. Within about five seconds after the first, the second passed over. And then a third. There were five all together, one after another – extremely loud, mind-bogglingly fast, and fairly low.
What would be the purpose of such a display? Would it be to discourage anyone considering considering an act of terrorism if Iraqi voting was to take place in Nashville today? (I don’t know if there was voting here today; there was in the first election.)
There has been some hot-dogging before, but that has been done on an individual basis and not as a group.
It was frightening. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I don’t like being terrorized by my own country. They got some ‘splainin’ to do.
I don’t know. I grew up about 45 miles from a mega-AFB (Barksdale) and our town was apparently part of their training area. I saw all kinds of crazy stuff and got freaked out at night a few times. Planes used to fly supersonic over our little elementary school so often that we got used to the sudden boom and shake.
The military runs training excercises all the time. It is hard to say when and where they are.
Smyrna, TN? Lots of civil airports get military traffic when aircrews are on the road for training or repositioning planes. What you heard could very well have been a trail departure of several military jets, where one takes off followed a few seconds later by the second and so forth. Their engines would be near maximum thrust and therefore quite noisy. Assuming they weren’t B-1s, be glad they weren’t B-1s. Sound of freedom, etc.
Hate to say it, but this post is wrong in so many ways. First off I think that many of the more reactionary parts of Civil Rights groups would take offense at the implication that having an Iraqi population is cause to assume there’s a high chance of terrorism. As a matter of fact, one of the largest Iraqi/Muslim populations is in and around Detroit/Flint Michigan, and it has never been a target of any terrorism.
Secondly, even if there was a credible terrorist threat a USAF fly-over would be one of the last tactics in preventing it unless this terrorist group is supposed to have acquired an Air Force. A more likely display would be a heavy police presence and perhaps a National Guard showing in a more severe threat.
I find the use of the term “terrorized” to be more than a little irritating. Frankly it diminishes all the real acts of terrorism that occur all over the world to the point of being insulting. Something that may happen to frighten you isn’t an act of terrorism.
There may be many reasons for this activity, the least likely IMHO is any type of “display”. It’s probable that if they were able to do it in total secrecy it’d be prefered. Most likely is that it’s some type of training routine or a logistical action. I suppose it’s fair to ask why it needs to happen at night, though the fact that you say it’s a “little after dark” makes that seems like a stetch. Had it happened at 2AM you’d be right to expect some type of explaination or think it something other than routine. Since it happened during what most of the world considers to be typical waking hours, you should probably just let it go. Odds are it was simply some form of low light/night time training for the flight crews.
I work out at Nashville International, & we see military aircraft of every possible descriptionall the time.
Nashville has an Air Guard facility with a stopover dormitory for tired aircrews to sleep in. Additionally, they have a snack bar run by a WW2 Vet that has been feeding Air Force boys since he lost his leg in the Pacific. He’s something of a legend, so a lot of flights get routed through, just so greenies can meet him. His knickname’s “Toopie”.
I knew his son, before he died of a sudden illness. I used to eat there, before 9/11, when State Employees were allowed onto the base without a pass. That’s all over now, of course.
Some Air Force/ Marines/Navy planes are pretty cool. We had some Osprey VTOLs here a Summer or so ago, & I got to see em take off.
So I’m right about the military facility at the airport. Thanks for confirming that, Bosda.
I’ve lived in this house for twenty years and never heard or seen such a ruckus before. That’s why it was so unnerving. I think it would have been for most people who have never been around military excercises before – even though I have been to Fort Campbell a couple of times.
And opposition from civil rights groups would automatically make my post wrong? Nyah. Nevertheless, I have been a supporter of that very “more reactionary part” of a civil rights group since the mid- 1960’s. I did not imply that having an Iraqi population is cause to assume that there is a high chance of terrorism. You inferred that. I believe that * if voting took place in Nashville*, the federal government might assume that there might be efforts to interfere with that process. They certainly took precaution against terrorist acts last time, so my thinking is not unreasonable.
I think that you are probably right about the training routine. I included the information about its happening at night only because it might have been relevant. The situation would have been just as frightening to me in the daylight hours.
Yes, I suppose you are right about use of the word terrorized. But for those twenty seconds or so, I was terrorized. I was more frightened than I was on 9/11. I had no idea what was going on.
I am always aware of the presence of the nuclear reactor at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. And I am aware of the military jet that crashed in a nearby neighborhood. I am aware that forms for ordering assault weapons were found in the remnants of a store owned and operated by Middle Easterners when the mall that is two blocks from my home was about to be torn down. I am aware that terrorist organizations have been busted on the street that is two blocks from my house.
And, most of all, I know that my government has made a concerted effort to make me very aware of terrorists, terrorists,terrorists!
Meanwhile, the military jets were back tonight. It wasn’t as frightening the second time and there were only two or three of them. I assume that it is a weekend training exercise designed to keep us safe. But they woke me from a peaceful nap and over the sound of the football game my husband was watching. That is LOUD. Even babies are born with an inate fear of loud noises.
The next time I hear it, it will be even less frightening. But I don’t think that I am the only one in the neighborhood that was scared out of her wits.
Heck, I’m as anti-war as they come and I’d be outside watching (noise levels allowing.) Military fly-overs are just cool. I’ve loved seeing them since I was a kid. Though most of the ones we saw were scheduled so we could watch.
It’s so wierd to me because my dad was in the WSAF and I grew up on or near Bases that I’m so used to the noise of flyovers that I miss them now.
Based on what you said, It sounds like they were in some sort of landing pattern. Fighters usually fly in a tight group but when stetting up for landings they split off from the group and form a line of regular intervals.
WAG, but there was a Busch race in Charlotte on Friday night that started around 8:00ish. There is usually a flyover of some sort after the National Anthem. Could they have taken part in that?
I don’t know why they wouldn’t use planes based out of the Carolinas, but I just thought I’d throw it out there for consideration.
I seriously doubt that the airplanes were supersonic. Exceeding the speed of sound is illegal except in emergencies or without prior FAA permission in the continental United States.
They certainly would not have done so routinely, even if it did happen on occasion. In addition, Barksdale AFB was never home to supersonic aircraft. They mainly hosted bombers and tankers, and the current A-10s cannot even get close to the sound barrier.
That is something I have been trying to figure out for a while now because I am an aviation buff. Barksdale is headquarters to the B-52. It is the primary strategic long-range bomber and is nuclear capable. We were always told growing up that Barksdale had a full nuclear command facility and had one of the largest nuclear stockpiles for the U.S.
Barksdale was were the military whisked George Bush away to on 9/11 so there has to be something really important there like I heard all along.
Here is my point. I went to elementary school in the early 1980’s. We did hear sonic booms routinely. It sounded a little like thunder and the room would shake for a few seconds. Some kids would get scared so the teachers always told us about the AFB and sonic booms and the Soviets. It was the height of the Cold War and I am pretty sure that the military was running training drills all the time. There were plenty of fighters too and you could see them because they practiced runs run on Toledo Bend. Most stuff at Barksdale was very hush hush during that time but I am pretty sure they had just about everything.
Barksdale used to have T-38s, which are supersonic. Additionally, sonic booms were not always so uncommon - as recently as a few years ago a supersonic flight was part of the USAF pilot training syllabus.