Military Clothings

Recently, Time Out New York Magazine asked me to create a New Year’s abs routine inspired from my Hard Core Abs DVD (Amazon and www.nikkifitness.com). Here are the step by step moves and is a link to a FREE 5 minute demo of my video. The best part? Read the rest of this entry »

January 4, 1989 - Two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers (right) are downed over the Gulf of Sidra.? In late 1988 tensions were running high between the United States and Libya after American claims that Muammar Gaddafi was building a chemical weapons plant.? In?response, the US Navy deployed the carrier USS John F. Kennedy to the area.? Operating in the Bay of Sidra, which Libya claimed as territorial waters in defiance of international law, Kennedy was approached on January 4, 1989?by four?Libyan MiG-23s which had?taken off?from Al Bumbaw near Tobruk.? As the lead pair of MiG-23s approached, two?American F-14 Tomcats from the carrier's combat air patrol moved to investigate.? Finding the?MiGs acting in an aggressive manner, the two F-14s repeatedly turned away from head-on approaches with the Libyans.? As the MiGs continued to close in a hostile fashion, the two F-14s acted on orders which permitted them to fire before being fired upon.??Unable to deter the MiG's from approaching further, the F-14s engaged and quickly downed both Libyan aircraft.? Though both pilots?ejected, they were not rescued?by Libyan forces.? Though Libya claimed the next day that both aircraft were unarmed reconnaissance?planes, gun camera footage from the F-14s proved?otherwise.? Though Gaddafi protested and made threats after the incident, he took?no further action.??? Cold War Fighters: MiG-21 Fishbed Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Hawker Siddeley Harrier Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force Libya: MiG-23s Downed Over Gulf of Sidra originally appeared on About.com Military History on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 01:00:32 Read the rest of this entry »

January 2, 1945 - Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay (right) dies in a plane crash outside Paris.? Entering the Royal Navy in 1898, Ramsay saw extensive service during World War I .? Reaching flag rank in 1935, he retired three years later. Coaxed back by Winston Churchill in 1939, he was promoted to vice admiral and given command at Dover.? In this position, he masterminded the British evacuation from Dunkirk in May/June 1940.? Knighted for his efforts,?Ramsay soon became an expert at amphibious?warfare and was instrumental in developing the plans for Operation Torch in North Africa (1942) and the invasion of Sicily (1943).? With the end of the latter campaign, he was given command of naval forces for?the invasion of Normandy.? Overseeing Operation Neptune, Ramsay effectively?led the naval element of the D-Day?landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944.? Supporting the troops?ashore, his vessels aided in the rapid?Allied build-up in the region.? Ramsay was?suddenly killed on January 2, 1945, when his Lockheed Hudson crashed during takeoff near Paris.????? World War II Admirals: Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz Photograph Source: Public Domain World War II: Ramsay Dies in Crash originally appeared on About.com Military History on Sunday, January 1st, 2012 at 01:00:13 Read the rest of this entry »

December?31, 1862 - The ironclad USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, NC (right). Ordered in October 1861, Monitor was a revolutionary warship that utilized a variety of new technology including an iron hull and a rotating turret Read the rest of this entry »

December 28, 1835 - Maj. Francis Dade's column is effectively wiped out by the Seminoles during the opening days of the Second Seminole War .? With tensions between American forces and the Seminoles at a breaking point, Dade received orders to take two companies north from Fort Brooke (Tampa) to reinforce Fort King (Ocala).? Departing on December 23, his 110-men column soon found itself being shadowed by a force of Seminoles under Micanopy.? Believing that if his men were to be attacked it would be in a heavily wooded area or at river crossing, Dade ensured that extra precautions were taken in these types of terrain.? Clearing these areas, he recalled his flanking parties and scouts with the goal of making better time.? Entering an area of palmettos and pines on December 28, Dade's command was ambushed by the Seminoles.? Dade was killed in the first volley and when the fighting ended all but two of his men had been killed or mortally wounded.? Only?Ransome Clarke and Joseph Sprague survived?and escaped back to Fort Brooke.? The engagement was first major battle of the Second Seminole War.? Lasting until 1842, it proved the longest and costliest Native American conflict ever fought by the United States.? 19th Century American Conflicts: War of 1812 Mexican-American War The Civil War Spanish-American War Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Adminstration Second Seminole War: Dade's Command Destroyed originally appeared on About.com Military History on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 01:00:24. Read the rest of this entry »

December 26, 1943 - The Royal Navy wins the Battle of the North Cape .? In December 1943, the commander of the British Home Fleet, Adm. Sir Bruce Fraser, sought to lure the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst (right) from its Norwegian base and into battle so that it could be destroyed.? To accomplish this, he intended to use Arctic convoy JW 55B as bait.? As the convoy moved north of Norway, Fraser hoped that Scharnhorst would sortie allowing him to attack with a force approaching from Murmansk and another from the south.? Fraser's plan succeeded and on December 26, 1943, off the North Cape of Norway, Scharnhorst was engaged by VAdm. Robert Burnett's Force 1 which consisted of three cruisers.? Damaging the German ship, Force 1 maintained contact until Fraser's Force 2, centered on the battleship HMS Duke of York , arrived.? Collectively hammering Scharnhorst , the British ships sank it late in the day Read the rest of this entry »

December 24/25, 1914 - Along several sections of the Western Front, informal truces are called to celebrate Christmas. On Christmas Eve 1914, four months after World War I began, Christmas trees began to appear atop the German trenches in British sections of the lines. Listening from their trenches, British troops could hear the German soldiers singing Christmas carols and celebrating the holiday season Read the rest of this entry »

If health and wellness is what you want in 2012, here is your plan. The key is to set goals that are realistic and specific, and having a set time period as your goal will help you stick to a new fitness regime. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Read the rest of this entry »

December 23, 1968 - The crew of USS Pueblo? (right)?is repatriated after the Pueblo Incident .? Originally built during World War II as a small freighter for the US Army, USS Pueblo was transferred to the US Navy in 1966.? Converted into a signals intelligence ship, it was dispatched to Japan for service off China, North Korea, and the Soviet Union.? Sailing?on January 11, 1968,? Pueblo ?began a signals intelligence mission off North Korea under the command of Cdr. Lloyd Bucher.? On January 23, while international waters, Pueblo was confronted by a North Korean sub chaser.? This vessel was later joined by four torpedo boats?and two MiG-21s .? Turning to escape, Bucher soon came under fire from the North Koreans.??Pressing on while the crew attempted to?destroy classified material and equipment, Pueblo was hit by numerous 57 mm shells and sprayed with?machine gun fire.? Seeing no alternative, Bucher stopped and?obeyed North Korean orders to follow them to port.??Soon boarded by the North Koreans, Pueblo 's crew was secured and the vessel taken to Wonsan.? The first US?Navy vessel captured at sea since the War of 1812 , Pueblo also proved an intelligence windfall as a large amount of classified material remained on board.? Though some in the US desired immediate military action, Pres Read the rest of this entry »