FRIDAY FOTO (July 9, 2021)

Nope, Not Mount Fuji This Time.

(U.S. Army photo by Captain Kyle Abraham, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade)

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to  2nd Assault Battalion,158th Aviation Regiment of the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, conducts a reenlistment flight to Whidbey Island, Washington, on June 17, 2021.

The scenic trip was offered to soldiers from 1-2 Stryker Brigade as a reward for reenlisting in the Army. The flight passed by several scenic landmarks including Mount Rainier (above).

When we first saw this photo, we thought it was another lovely image of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji. We were doubly surprised to learn it was Mount Rainier, which is about 100 miles southeast of Whidbey Island. The one time your 4GWAR editor visited Whidbey Island, back in the early 1990s, it was so raining so hard — not only was Mount Rainier unseeable, we could barely see Whidbey Island.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case now as a record-shattering heat wave continues to grip the Pacific Northwest.