June 2, 2007
H&I* Fires 02, JUN 2007
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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I’m in a musical mood. Sorry.
No dancing. Unless you’re digital dancing Armorer, then it’s okay. For the Young Sheepdogs, something I know many have felt even if they haven’t said it as much it as much as they’ve felt it. “All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you.” We all know who ‘you’ is. For myself, because I just want to start this over, and see sorrow no more. (Language and visuals warning)
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Bill Lind presents a piece about the role of maximalism in strategy. Sort of in the same vein as Fehrenbach. Sort of.
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Zenpundit talks about the state of US-RUS affairs and how we got here.
ry
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Damn sailors. I tell ya, you can't trust 'em.
From MNF-I:
Surge improves security, quality of life in Baghdad
U.S. Soldiers, Iraqis open wells in Nineveh
Kurdish Regional Government assumes control over security
From the WaPo: Residents of Western Neighborhood Join Groups' Fight Against Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Because the first three stories are from MNF-I, they must be judged with extreme suspicion. But since the last one is from the Washington Post, it may be read with uncritical acceptance. I am one with the Borg.
Absent more information - count me in with the VFW on this one. Like I said - absent more info than that which has been provided to date - ignoring Adam Kokesh rather than martyring him is a better approach. Even if he *is* an IRR reservist - he does not appear to have been presenting himself as a serving Marine.
Lastly for the nonce - Footprints in the Sand, Algore version. -the Armorer
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A little gunner zen.
The Russians built themselves some interesting artillery pieces - and still do.
But the B2/B19 series of 152mm howitzers and 203mm guns have always been in my fave list.
A side view, here.
The Museum of Artillery, Engineers, and Signal Corps, in the old Arsenal in Saint Petersburg is a place I need to get to before I die.
New veteran's cemetery for Kansas.
Heh. Fort Riley donates 90 acres. I remember the squawking and whining and breast-beating when they tried to acquire some land (because there isn't enough there to properly conduct BDE-level training with heavy brigades) back in the 80's. Now they're giving it up. Not a complaint, just an observation.
KCVA ANNOUNCES TIMELINES FOR STATE VETERANS’ CEMETERY AT FORT RILEYTopeka – The Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs (KCVA) is pleased to announce plans for the final Kansas state veterans’ cemetery, to be built on grounds donated by Fort Riley . The official groundbreaking and start of construction will occur in the fall of this year.
In 1999, the Kansas Legislature authorized the KCVA to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the construction of four state veterans’ cemeteries in Kansas . Cemeteries are already built and open at Fort Dodge , Winfield, and WaKeeney, and plans are being completed on the fourth cemetery, which will officially be called the State Veterans’ Cemetery at Fort Riley .
Governor Kathleen Sebelius is announcing the groundbreaking ceremony will occur on Sunday, November 11, 2007 – Veterans Day. “The creation of the veterans cemetery at Ft. Riley is the culmination of a lot of hard work by veterans, local residents, legislators and the KCVA. It will allow us to honor the memory of the men and women who bravely served our state and nation,” she said.
According to Kafer Peele , State Veterans’ Cemetery Program director for KCVA, the Fort Riley project was to have been the first in Kansas . Land transfer requirements, however, significantly delayed this cemetery. The federal land was finally passed from the U.S. Army to the State of Kansas in March 2006, and at that point design work went into high gear. The State’s plans are now pending final approval with the VA, and the KCVA hopes to put out construction bids in July or August. Actual work could begin as early as October 2007 with the beginning of the federal fiscal year. Cemeteries require almost a year for construction.
Fort Riley donated 90 acres from its southeast training area for this project on land just west of Wildcat Creek Road and south of the Manhattan industrial park. Phase 1 of construction will support operations for a decade, with about a third of the area being fully developed during this initial period. The cemetery is expected to support 11,000 interments in this stage. State veterans’ cemeteries give veterans and their families a full range of interment options: in-ground casket burials, above-ground columbarium walls, in-ground cremains burials, and a scattering garden with memorial wall.
Under the state veterans’ cemetery concept, the federal government fully funds the construction of the cemetery and furnishes all necessary equipment. Phase 1 is expected to bring approximately $7 million to the state for this purpose. Once construction is complete, the state performs all burials and maintains the cemetery in perpetuity.
“Our cemeteries are kept to the highest standards,” says Peele. “They are memorials and shrines to the men and women who have served this country.”
The KCVA appreciates the strong and patient support of local residents from Fort Riley , Junction City , Manhattan , and the surrounding area who began discussions on this cemetery eight years ago. A dedicated, informal working group linked up with state and federal legislators to bring this concept to life, and with design approval now a few months away, construction will soon follow. The KCVA also appreciates the roles of Riley County and the City of Manhattan in integrating utilities with the site.
Once the final plans are approved, George Webb, executive director of the KCVA, will have a public briefing so local residents can see what a beautiful cemetery will be built and made available to veterans. Webb understands how site selection challenges, flood plains, federal rules, and requirements for explosive ordinance and environmental surveys had all complicated and delayed the land transfer. Even after those were solved, the process took more time. “We are looking forward to approval of the plan and the beginning of construction,” Webb said.
The Fort Riley leadership has been concerned that the post cemetery is almost out of space. In addition, the post facility can only support retirees and those personnel who die on active duty – and their dependents. A state veterans’ cemetery has much broader eligibility options, covering veterans who served honorably on active duty or are retirement eligible from the reserve components, as well as their dependents.
Besides the four state veterans’ cemeteries, Kansas has national cemeteries in Leavenworth , Fort Leavenworth , and Fort Scott .
June 1, 2007
H&I* Fires, 01 JUN 2007
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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Continuing the recent focus around here on the military families:
For the families: We don't know what you're feeling, but we're trying to understand.
I do anticipate that this one from Fehrenbach may annoy some: Equipment, troops strained for ... what was it? Not even going to attempt to defend it. It’s an either you get it or you don’t situation. If you don’t well, me trying to ‘splain is just going to get me into more trouble. So I’m not even going to try. Don’t ask.
[Heh. Fehrenbach and I are at least in the same chapter, if perhaps not exactly on the same page. -the Armorer]
A post by Opposed Systems Design about the sailing of USNS Comfort in a Long War mission, that doesn’t take it anywhere near the Middle East.
Another from OSD, a discussion of why command and control is currently done wrong because it focuses on tech instead of people.
[Ah, the tales I could spin. Suffice it to say - and I've been paid a lot of money to work in *exactly* this arena - "Amen, brother." -the Armorer]
Just a fun one: De Re Militari. Feed your inner historian.
--ry
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Hmmm. Overheard recently (as in about 20 seconds ago) "You know you're not awake when you spray your underarms with nasal spray." Indeed.
Here's a trend we can hope continues... Sunnis revolt against al-Qaida. Reported by the AP, so it must be true.
From the email box yesterday:
Perhaps if instead of requiring convinience stores to install bullet proof glass, more lighting, locks etc. It would be more useful and cost effective to follow ol' Cooter here in his response to a robbery. Notice how Mr. Mouthy punk gets real humble, real fast.H/t, Kevin G. -the Armorer
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Peggy Noonan announces the death of the Conservative Coalition, stabbed in the heart by President Bush. There will be much rejoicing in KosLand, should this be true. But if the Prez has lost Peggy, he's lost the center of his mass.
I disagree as often as I agree with Ralph Peters, but this one struck a nerve.
We may have waited too long to operate on the cancer killing Iraq. (Washington's still arguing about the diagnosis.)Since Saddam's statue fell, we've tried one grunt-level technique after another, hoping tactics would produce a strategy. That's backward. First, you establish your strategy. Then you select the tactics that can achieve it.
Oh, we had nebulous goals regarding democracy and peace in the Middle East. But goals aren't a strategy. And neither the Bush administration nor the Pentagon ever laid down a coherent and comprehensive strategic plan to get us from A through B to C. Even if the current troop surge works, it gets us only to B - with C still undefined after more than four years.
The terrorists have done a better job. We sent them reeling in Afghanistan, and the invasion of Iraq stunned them, but when we reached Baghdad we turned out to be the dog that caught the fire truck. Civilian ideologues insisted our troops wouldn't be needed long, if at all, and forbade our military from running a no-nonsense occupation with sufficient resources to impose and maintain order.
We gave the terrorists and insurgents time to regain their balance. And they did. Oh, they went through trial-and-error phases, including ill-judged mass confrontations with U.S. firepower. But they ultimately proved more adaptable than we've been: We restrict ourselves to supposedly humane theories of counterinsurgency warfare that have failed us for 60 years; our enemies simply do whatever works.
And we can't. Because "whatever works" usually involves a lot more killing than we and the international community are willing to stomach - until you have no choice but to either surrender or engage in *real* killing. WWII-style killing. -the Armorer
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� The Jump Blog links with: Episode 1: In Which GoldFalcon Advocates Socialism
A reminder of some upcoming events in the region...
D-Day Commemoration at Forbes Field June 2World War II will come to life in Topeka on June 1 and 2 during the 7th Annual Heartland Military Day at the Kansas National Guard Museum, at the main entrance of Forbes Field. “German” and “Allied” troops will show what life was like during World War II through dramatic reenactments and encampments. All events are free and open to the public. The event will commemorate the D-Day invasion and the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
Preparation for Heartland Military Days begins Friday evening, June 1, with camps being constructed and participants wearing WWII uniforms. All re-enactors are invited to participate. A locally owned WWII Sherman Tank and Tank Retriever will be on display along with tank crew veterans of the Normandy Invasion, who will reminisce about their time inside a Sherman Tank and their personal insight into the battle. Vehicle owners, re-enactors, gun and uniform collectors should contact Gary Nicholson at 785-242-7839 to enter their display.
Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 2, re-enactors will be living the life of World War II troops in the encampments on the museum grounds. There will also be an extensive display of World War II and Korean War era vehicles and equipment, which have been meticulously restored by their owners. Mock battles will be staged at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the museum grounds featuring German and American soldiers. Between battles, visitors may view the equipment and visit with the individuals who do the restoration work and study the history of the war. In addition, there will be a Civil War display, World War I display, World War II display and a uniform display spanning from the Mexican War to present.
The museum features Kansas National Guard history displays and weapons. Other displays inside the museum focus on Kansas Army and Air National Guard participation in conflicts including the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo. Weapons are also on display for those engagements, which have been assigned to the museum from the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama . Outside displays include 1/4 ton Jeep, 2 1/2 ton and 5 ton trucks, M-60 Main Battle Tank, M-109A5 155mm Self Propelled Howitzer, M-110A2 8 Self Propelled Howitzer, M-113 Personnel Carrier, M-42A1 Duster Twin 40 mm Anti-Aircraft gun, UH-1 Huey helicopter, OH-6 Cayuse, AH-1 Cobra helicopter, OH-58 Kiowa helicopter, CH-54 Skycrane helicopter and a recently restored F-4D Phantom II jet fighter.
Museum board members and volunteers will operate a food stand Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Kansas National Guard Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is always free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Jack Elliott at the Kansas National Guard Museum (785) 862-1020.
If you're out in central-west central Kansas looking for something to do but don't want to head to Topeka - Fort Riley is offering up a concert from the Big Red One band.
DIVISION BAND TO PERFORM FREE CONCERT JUNE 2 IN MANHATTANFOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT April Blackmon, Community Relations Officer (785) 239-2022
May 31, 2007
The 1st Infantry Division Band will perform June 2 at Manhattan's City Park. The concert, which begins at 8 p.m., is part of the Manhattan Arts in the Park Concert Series. It is free and open to the public.The event will feature the concert band, the premier ensemble of the 1st Infantry Division Band. Musical selections come from all genres of music from classical to popular.
Featured soloists include vocalist Staff Sgt. Renatta Draper. The band will also perform traditional concert selections and marches.
The 1st Infantry Division Rock Band is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. June 29 in Manhattan's City Park. The performance also is part of the Manhattan Arts in the Park Concert Series. It is free and open to the public.
About the 1st Infantry Division Band: The 1st Inf. Div. Band was constituted Oct. 12, 1943 in the Regular Army, 1st Infantry Division. The band has promoted Esprit de Corps to American Soldiers around the world while serving in WWII, Vietnam and Desert Shield/Storm, Bosnia, Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
While the band has spent most of its time in Kansas, the unit departed with the 1st Inf. Div. in the 1990s and spent 10 years in Germany promoting German/American community relations and serving the troops overseas.
The band returned to Fort Riley in 2006 with the 1st Inf. Div. headquarters.
Go to Manhattan and give a listen to combat-experienced musicians.
A moveable Castle.
No, not a tank. That Master and Mistress of Argghhh! have decided they are going to see if they can't capture this place and expand the demesne by several orders of magnitude, to 77.5 acres.
Larger view available here.
If we are successful in this campaign - this would be Firing Point 1 at Castle Argghhh!.
This looks down range, towards the hill that will be the backstop, and since the range is angled downhill, that will reduce the chances of "overs".
Range 2, Field Fire.
Goin' down to the Lake. Well, pond, but it ain't a cement pond. It's about 100m x 75m. And stocked, for those who care about such things. Some algae to get rid of.
I don't have pictures of it yet, but there's a Tank Table 8 in the lower (literally) 40.
And a pretty good spot for an Assault Fire range on the upper 20.
Sweeet.
Heh. Perhaps it's more accurate to say the "Rifle Range of Argghhh!," with a comfortable range shack...
But - on to the important thing... what to name this spread? Let's hear your ideas.
� Nom de guerre: Rivrdog links with: Shire of Argghhh!
Top 10 Signs You Are Blogging Too Much.
Reader Jim C. sends us to CentralSnark to check out this list, and provides us this list.
1. Your immediate reaction to seeing a "ten signs you are blogging too much." is to blog your own top ten. [um... er, ah...]2. You bought a new hard drive just so you had enough room to backup your list of RSS feeds. [Nope.]
3. Your spouse carries a picture of the back of your head in their wallet because this is what they normally see. [Well, it's actually a profile as she sees me when she walks by in the hallway.]
4. Sitemeter goes down and you have a panic attack. [Well, only if the *numbers of visitors* go down. I can live with the server going down - then everybody on my server, at least, is suffering.]
5. Your philosophy comes down to that there are two things in life - bloggable/unbloggable. [um, guilty]
6. You have a bumper sticker that says "I ♥ my Aggregator." [Nope, dodged this one. Don't even *use* an aggregator. Yet.]
7. When you have just got done reading 500 some posts your first instinct is to hit refresh to see if any more have been written. [Thankfully, no. Unless they're comments on *my* site.]
8. You don't always remember your wedding anniversary but can instantly remember the year, month, day, and hour you started blogging. [Nope. SWWBO trained me better than that - besides, that's what the archive thingy is for. So I don't have to remember, I can just look it up.]
9. You are more concerned about comment spam than Homeland Security and while you are against the death penalty in general you think surely for Trolls deserve the exception. [Yeah, so?]
10. The first thing you do when visiting a new blog is to see if your blog is on their blogroll. If not you try to find a post where you can immediately leave an intelligent and witty comment so that they will immediately add you. [Well, sometimes.]
Heh. The #1 reason you know you are too into the whole thing? Aside from having your buddy laser-engrave the Castle logo on your gun rack, and bar mugs?
When you announce to the world that you are #1 on Google for "I bayoneted myself" at the Milblogger Conference... and everybody thought that was funny, vice a shocked silence.
And then you keep mentioning it... because, well, you want to *stay* number one~!
8^ )
So, what's *your* sign, baby?
May 31, 2007
H&I Fires* 31, MAY 2007
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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Heh. Just... heh.
News from MNF-I:
Iraqis take lead at Al Suleikh Joint Security Station.
Earning, maintaining trust of residents.
Iraqi, Coalition Forces clear Muqdadiya -the Armorer
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Castle Denizen Bloodspite continues his assault on the Immigration Bill.
The Four Freedoms, Part 1, and Part 2. -the Armorer
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As Ry notes - at the Castle, everything is fair game - including the kitchen sink. -the Armorer
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Marine DJ Emery finally gets his Purple Heart - and a special invitation, from rather an important visitor. Good. DJ has had a hard fight, and has more to go. That's one tough Marine. I know - that's redundant. Sue me. -the Armorer
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What's the world coming to?
To quote Doctor Venkman: ...Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.
I don't have a clever title for this post.
The death notifications this week have been falling like a badly-aimed mortar barrage - almost randomly, yet damn close.
Several in our little milblog world have been singed by close impacts. or heard the whizz of jagged metal as it zings by, overhead. I sent this note to one of them.
I know how it feels.
And the sense of helplessness that goes with it.
Heh. In the day, whenever I heard civilians talk about how easy military families have it, I just remember those days in 1968-9 and mutter in my little lizard brain, "F**k you, you clueless 'tard."
Cops and firemen's families deal with this, too, of course.
But it just sucks to sit and wait. Especially when there's a spate of notifications. The movie We Were Soldiers came close to catching what it's like to be in the unit family when casualties hit. But only close.
I found out when I did my career - in many respects, it's easier to be the one deployed, because, if nothing else, you have the illusion of more control.
Like I said on the blog - hug the kids, they're better'n margaritas, anyway.
Mom and I used to sit in her bed and watch the 10 O'clock news and then Johnny Carson (well, I got to watch the first half-hour if it was a school night).
I know there's not much we can do from this remove - but if there is... let us know, 'k?
Cheers,
John
I'm not posting this to show what a sensitive guy I am. Quite the contrary.
I have a naked political reason for doing so. And a rather specific audience in mind.
And in this regard, I am *not* a chickenhawk. I've been here, done this - and gotten the telegram. And I *know* how that telegram changed my family (and that was only a wounding, not a death). Yet I went ahead and did it to my mother, at least without the telegram.
But however painful this is for military families - we did know it went with the territory.
And it really sucks for those who lose the game of chance that is the combat calculus.
But the pain of the families is *not* a reason to quit. Because if that were the case, then we should never start.
Any more than the loss of a fireman is reason to pull back from fighting fires.
Or the death of a cop to stop enforcement of the laws.
Passion and emotion make for awful policy, however good a movie they may make.
Certainly, assessments are in order. And one can change policy to prevent reckless carnage.
But the mere fact that military families are in pain, well, that, in and of itself, isn't a good enough reason for stopping. That requires a more sober assessment. Of ends and means. Long term goals, vice short term costs.
And it isn't always easy. But don't let your passion, or, rather, compassion, rule policy decisions.
Inform them, certainly. Be determinants? No.
� links with: I don't have a clever title for this post
� Fuzzilicious Thinking links with: Another Kind of "Waiting"
May 30, 2007
H&I Fires* 30, MAY 2007
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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A twofer on things I might not have gotten right in the past:
1) Was Plame on the NOC list at the time? (Cassie, anything you can say about it? Being who you are and what you do might give us peons(zugzug) a chance to cut thru the bureaucratese.)
2) Verschärfte Vernehmung. Would similarities between modern ‘stress positions’ and Nazi interrogation methods give you pause or change how you approached the topic? They might, and they might not. The Norwegian war crimes trial seems to be rather crucial to me, deciding it legal-like, which nobody in the past has actually drug out. Merely asserted. See, facts do matter more than assertions, and reasonable people do exist on these internets.
Blogs. Where else can opinionmongers admit mistakes other than blogs?(Yeah, shameless dig at Barkin’ Arkin.)
--ry
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Beaver...somethings wrong with Ward
Mainly he's about to in the unemployment line. Thank gawd.
The president of the University of Colorado has recommended that a professor who likened some Sept. 11 victims to a Nazi should be fired, according to the professor and the school.....CU President Hank Brown made the recommendation in a 10-page letter sent to the chair of the committee that handles tenure issues. University spokeswoman Michele McKinney confirmed published reports about the recommendation Monday but said the school would not make the letter public.
Ward Churchill's reaction?
"I've got more faith in almost anything (than in the university process)," he said. "A random group of homeless people under a bridge would be far more intellectually sound and principled than anything I've encountered at the university so far."
Heh.
And Further proof that BloodSpite's Chlorine in the Gene Pool Act should be voted on.
A man accused in a deadly, two-state shooting rampage was trying to prevent space aliens from abducting his daughter, his attorney said Tuesday at the start of his murder trial.
Some folks..you just can't reach.
--BloodSpite
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Over at Right Wing News, John Hawkins has his new poll of the "Reichwing" (H/t, Cassandra for that label) Blogosphere, this one regarding the immigration bill. John's penchant for binary choices makes his polls sometimes rather overstate the Vox Populi of the Reich, drowning out we wimpy centrists, but this time through, the choices really were appropriately binary, if not necessarily nuanced!
Townhall Columnist Ben Shapiro lays out his plan to combat global warming - buy a big powerful car, eat more beef, and buy a carbon offset.
John Edwards, too much the dilettante to be President:
The former senator defended his gig on the grounds that he took the job to learn how financial markets relate to poverty. This is a bit like saying you frequent brothels so you can learn where babies come from. But here's the hilarious part: Edwards said he didn't know the fund was involved in subprime lending. If he was there to learn about poverty and finance, how did he miss this salient fact? He must be a slow learner. No wonder his former political consultant, Bob Shrum, calls him "a Clinton who hadn't read the books."
The blogfather has more.
Speaking of combating global warming by buying a big car (heh, when the Castle relocates to an acreage a Big Truck is on the table) Rich Lowry notes the reaction to higher gas prices and other considerations is to... buy another car. This one smaller. But keeping the big ones for... big reasons. Just like we'll be doing around here.
Cal Thomas, among others, suggests that just because we surrender, doesn't mean the war will be over.
Ry mentioned it yesterday, the fact that Cindy Sheehan is quitting the Democrats because of their hypocrisy. Lets see how the Netroots reacted to her defection... hmmmm, slightly mixed, I think - "Good Riddance, Attention Whore". Heh. What's an anti-war protestor to do? -the Armorer
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Snerk! Another reason people join the services. Tankers at play. -the Armorer
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