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\n(Gas in the Air. That bird is full.)<\/p>\n
\n(Gas in the Air. That bird is full.)<\/p>\n
Good morning! Miles here, back from thirteen straight days over in Arlington pretending to know something about wars. The President has announced another pause before what everyone is already calling the Really Big Strike, so I decided to reclaim Sunday morning and wander back over to the Conference Room.<\/p>\n
First things first.<\/p>\n
My thanks to Deirdre, Holly, Rocket and the entire Galley crew for keeping The Daily and the cookbook moving while the rest of us were trying to make sense of explosions.
\nRocket’s herb-crusted prime rib yesterday was worth the wait.
\nThere should even be enough left for sandwiches this afternoon if Splash doesn’t discover it first.
\nOne thing caught my attention this week.
\nThe airplane at the top of the page.
\nQantas accepted delivery of one of the new Airbus A350-1000 Ultra Long Range aircraft and flew it directly from Toulouse, France, to Melbourne, Australia.
\nNineteen hours.
\nWithout stopping.
\nThat got the old patrol pilot in me thinking.
\nOur P-3 Orions routinely spent ten or twelve hours on station, but we weren’t hauling fifty tons of fuel for someone else.
\nCarrier aviation is different.
\nRocket, Splash and Vic joke that some Hornets begin looking for a tanker before they’ve finished retracting the landing gear.
\nThat isn’t much of an exaggeration.
\nSo the obvious question became:
\nWhat if you built the biggest flying gas station anyone had ever seen?
\nTake something like the A350 ULR.
\nStrip out the passenger cabin.
\nFill it with fuel.
\nPark it well outside missile range and let strike aircraft cycle through all day, topping off before heading back into the fight.
\nNo one is suggesting it would be simple.
\nBut it is the sort of question aviators enjoy arguing about over coffee.
\nCould it replace the KC-135?
\nProbably not entirely.
\nCould it supplement the fleet in some circumstances?
\nNow we’re having an interesting conversation.
\nAs always, somebody eventually asked the larger question:
\nCan air power alone settle problems that have existed for generations?
\nHistory suggests the answer is usually “not entirely.”
\nWe may soon learn whether history still applies.
\nFortunately, breakfast is much less controversial.
\nSince yesterday featured Rocket’s magnificent prime rib, I asked Deirdre to come up with something light to go with coffee this morning.
\nShe disappeared into the Galley for half an hour and emerged carrying a tray of these”<\/p>\n
Deirdre’s Almond Biscuits<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/072626-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
These little almond biscuits are exactly what a Sunday morning ought to taste like.<\/p>\n
Light.<\/p>\n
Buttery.<\/p>\n
Not too sweet.<\/p>\n
Just enough vanilla to make the Conference Room smell like somebody’s grandmother has quietly taken over the kitchen.<\/p>\n
They’re excellent with coffee, tea, or whatever keeps you awake through the morning briefing.
\nThe sliced almonds on top toast beautifully and add just enough crunch to make people reach for a second one.
\nWhich they always do.<\/p>\n
(Recipe follows. in “Cooking for a Crowd.” I am excited about “Cooking With Oil,” which will be out in September!)<\/p>\n
A last note from the Galley, Miles can have his tankers. Rocket can have his prime rib.
\nMe?
\nI’ll take a warm almond biscuit, a fresh cup of coffee, and fifteen quiet minutes before someone discovers another international crisis. Happy Sunday.”<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Gas in the Air. That bird is full.) Good morning! Miles here, back from thirteen straight days over in Arlington pretending to know something about wars. The President has announced another pause before what everyone is already calling the Really Big Strike, so I decided to reclaim Sunday morning and wander back over to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33735,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33731\/revisions\/33735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}