He was driven by one singular mantra that permeated his every action. Snake was driven to serve the greater good of the military. Snake didn’t care about the bureaucrats because that was NOT where he was focused. The half that hated me were bureaucratic weenies!” And if he had to break a little glass along the way, so be it! There simply was no stopping Snake Clark from his relentless mission to aid and assist the warfighter. He cut through bureaucracy and wasn’t afraid to create his own rules as the chief “fixer” in the Air Force. He overhauled the outdated imagery and mapping services to bring near-real-time satellite information directly to the front lines. Snake breathed creativity and innovation back into the military-industrial complex. But his contributions to supporting soldiers in combat stretches far beyond that. He is widely known as the “Godfather” of the Predator, an unmanned aerial assault vehicle that forever changed military combat. “Snake” Clark is, and always will be, an United States Air Force legend. If you accept the morality of going to war, the task then becomes to win at the least loss to your own side. For more information regarding the DOD’s work with snakes, other reptiles and amphibians, visit. Funding for the DOD-wide project was again available for 20, with DOD bases nationwide, including Arnold AFB, participating. Unfortunately, a gray rat snake sampled on base in 2018 tested positive for the fungus. Arnold AFB is participating in the study by capturing snakes on base, taking samples by swabbing their bodies, and submitting them to a central laboratory for analysis. Recognizing the benefits of snakes and the potential loss posed by this emerging pathogen, the Department of Defense initiated a nationwide study to determine its prevalence. The effects can cause more frequent shedding of the skin, which burns energy and can sometimes cause lesions around the eyes and/or nostrils, affecting their ability to hunt. Some of the typical symptoms include lesions, flaking and swelling of the skin. Snakes are currently under threat from an emerging fungal pathogen called Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, or more simply called Snake Fungal Disease. copperheads, rattlesnakes, and cottonmouths) and will eat them and other snakes. King snakes are actually immune to pit viper venom (e.g. Aquatic snakes help maintain healthy fish populations by weeding out sick fish before others can be infected. They also benefit humans directly by eating rodents that cause property damage, spread infectious diseases and damage crops. It is important to remember that snakes serve an important ecological function. There is no set rule for when a venomous snake will dry bite, so always seek medical help if you are bitten. The snake needs its venom to capture food, so there are costs associated with injecting venom for defensive purposes. Sometimes venomous snakes don’t inject any venom when they bite. Copperheads live in a variety of habitats and will take cover under scattered wooden boards, tin sheets and other debris. The copper-colored head and cat-like pupil are good distinguishing characteristics of the copperhead. Other snakes, like water snakes, will flatten their head, making it look broader, and many harmless and beneficial snakes are killed because they are misidentified as copperheads. The head is much wider than the neck, a feature of the pit vipers. The copperhead has brownish crossbands on a tan-to-orangish body and is well-camouflaged amongst fallen leaves on the forest floor. The only venomous snake that has been found on Arnold AFB is the northern copperhead. If that doesn’t dissuade the threat, they will roll over and play dead. Hognose snakes will also flare out the skin around their head and neck similar to a cobra. Some snakes, like the eastern hognose snake can also be mistaken for rattlesnakes based on coloration. They do occur in areas not too far from the base where there is appropriate habitat. Timber rattlesnakes have never been documented on base, most likely because there is not good habitat here for them. Many of the larger-bodied snakes, like gray rat snakes, will shake their tails in leaf litter when disturbed and are easily mistaken for rattlesnakes. This may scare off predators such as skunks or foxes but usually gets them killed by people. It is not venomous, but if threatened will coil, fill its lungs with air and make a loud bloodcurdling hissing sound while shaking its tail like a rattlesnake. The pine snake is a large-bodied snake that can grow up to 6.5 feet long. The rarest of these is the Northern pine snake, which is listed as a threatened species in Tennessee. Twenty-one species of snakes are known to reside at Arnold Air Force Base. By John Lamb, AEDC Facility Support Services
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