Last Air Force POW officialiy retires

Lt. Cal. Rob Sweet, lhe Air Force's last-serving prisoner of war, retired June 6 alter 33 years of service. On Feb. 15, 1991, Sweet and his flight commander, Capt. Stephen R. Phillis, crossed lhe northern border of Kuwait further into lraq than any A-10 pilai had gane before. Their mission was to eliminate lraqi Republican Guard tanks about 80 miles past lhe border of Kuwait. As Sweet moved in to attack it, he felt a bump. Looking back, he saw lhe rear end of his right wing in flames.

ln an interview, Sweet said his first thought was "oh, man, l'm hit" before racing to lhe border. lt was too late. Within minutes, he was forced to eject and landed 50 feet from lhe sarne tanks that shot him down.

Alter crashing, 200 lraqi soldiers ran towards him and took him captive. For 19 days, Sweet experienced brutality as a prisoner of war. Despite his suffering, Sweet endureci. He credits his military training, specificaliy his Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) school, with his survival. "There were very few surprises in lhe jailhouse," he sai d. "I knew what to expect."

Lt. Cal. Rob Sweet found a sense of purpose in mentoring and_ instructing young airman, particularly fighter pIlots. The Ch1ef of Staff of lhe Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, commended Sweet during his · retirement ceremo_ny. "Rob, I want to take this opportunity to recognize your service to our nation and congratulate you on your retirement," said Brown. "You've had an outstanding career that I know you, your family, friends and feliow Airmen are proud of. ln closing, thank you for ali you've done."

Sweet's advice to young airmen is to take every experience day by day. "Bloom where you're planted," Sweet said. "You're going to have assignments you don't like, but make the most of them and move on."

(Adapted from https://www.militarytimes.com)

Pacific Northwest Wineries Are Shaking Off the Extreme Heat Wave, But Are Worried What It Means for the Industry’s Future

The unprecedented heat wave that descended on the Pacific Northwest this week has alarmed many in the region’s burgeoning wine industry, leaving them worried over the deepening challenges climate change could bring to their businesses.

Earlier this week, temperatures skyrocketed as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit in Oregon’s Willamette Valley—an area known for cool-climate wines like Pinot Noir—while Washington state might have broken its all-time state record with Chelan County recording a high of 119 degrees on Tuesday. Mark Chien, an experienced grape grower and the former program coordinator for Oregon State University’s Oregon Wine Research Institute, tells TIME that wineries may have come away largely unscathed from this week’s sizzling temperatures. However, he says continued extreme weather events could threaten the industry’s future.

“With a heat spike like this, there are the immediate concerns and then there are the medium-to-long-term consequences of climate change—especially in a place like the Willamette Valley, which is prized for its cool climate,” Chien says. “Climate change is taking the region away from its hallmark reputation. The industry is going to have to deal with that.”

At Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon, CEO and founder Jim Bernau says that, fortunately, this week’s heat occurred at the point in the growing season when it could cause the least amount of damage.

“Mother nature picked the absolute best time for this heat because we’d already been through flowering, we’d already been through fruit set,” he said. “It rained twice the average amount in June so the ground was charged with water and our vines had produced very vigorous canopies and leaf cover. Our little berry clusters had yet to start to grow so they didn’t experience any dehydration.”

But if the extreme temperatures had lasted more than a few days, Bernau says it could have spelled major trouble for the vineyard’s vines.

(Adapted from https://time.com)

Pacific Northwest Wineries Are Shaking Off the Extreme Heat Wave, But Are Worried What It Means for the Industry’s Future

The unprecedented heat wave that descended on the Pacific Northwest this week has alarmed many in the region’s burgeoning wine industry, leaving them worried over the deepening challenges climate change could bring to their businesses.

Earlier this week, temperatures skyrocketed as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit in Oregon’s Willamette Valley—an area known for cool-climate wines like Pinot Noir—while Washington state might have broken its all-time state record with Chelan County recording a high of 119 degrees on Tuesday. Mark Chien, an experienced grape grower and the former program coordinator for Oregon State University’s Oregon Wine Research Institute, tells TIME that wineries may have come away largely unscathed from this week’s sizzling temperatures. However, he says continued extreme weather events could threaten the industry’s future.

“With a heat spike like this, there are the immediate concerns and then there are the medium-to-long-term consequences of climate change—especially in a place like the Willamette Valley, which is prized for its cool climate,” Chien says. “Climate change is taking the region away from its hallmark reputation. The industry is going to have to deal with that.”

At Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon, CEO and founder Jim Bernau says that, fortunately, this week’s heat occurred at the point in the growing season when it could cause the least amount of damage.

“Mother nature picked the absolute best time for this heat because we’d already been through flowering, we’d already been through fruit set,” he said. “It rained twice the average amount in June so the ground was charged with water and our vines had produced very vigorous canopies and leaf cover. Our little berry clusters had yet to start to grow so they didn’t experience any dehydration.”

But if the extreme temperatures had lasted more than a few days, Bernau says it could have spelled major trouble for the vineyard’s vines.

(Adapted from https://time.com)