It's the Labor Day weekend. Surely you have better things to do than hang here.
I hope you all are mostly going to be away from computers, and celebrating American Labor. Whatever you may think of unions these days, they served their purpose in the beginning, certainly. Besides, if yer a filthy steeenking rich corporate fat cat, *every* day is Rich Guy Exploiter of the Masses Day, right? 8^ )
We're going to spend the weekend moving. Prodigal Son and his GF are here, so I have some quasi-muscular flesh to impress into service with moving furniture. We just spent 20K on getting that bedroom, by golly, we ought to get some use out of it!
But, I guess I should let you guys off the hook about the Whatzis.
JTG and Rikkochet actually got it, good on yaz, guys!
Why is it that every time I get leisure time I work harder than during the work week? This weekend it's "Paint the fence, up - down." or something to that effect. I don't think Mr. Miaggi had the kid paint a picnic table and benches plus a few other outdoor pieces of furniture. I'm prayin' for rain.
The thick brown piece of glass sits upon the thin clear piece of glass. The thin piece holds the thick piece up off the detonator, until some poor schmo or cow steps on it.
Don't I even get a half brownie point for my guess of a couple of days ago?
And a completely off the wall guess. A non-metallic fuse for a land mine.
Posted by NevadaDailySteve at August 31, 2007 1:45 PM
I mean really! It's the closest I've ever come to naming the Whatzis. Besides, if I'm the one responsible for starting this I'd like to have a little bit of credit for closing it. ;-D
posted by NevadaDailySteve on September 2, 2007 4:31 PM
OK, I see the thin piece of glass now.
From the camera angle it looked like whole top was a clear glass lid with a lip.
It's been a tough week for the Transition Teams in Afghanistan.
Some people wonder why I do the memorial posts. They posit that doing so actually undermines support for the war. I suspect it might, in people who's support for the war is already slipping. I don't intend it to fan support for the war, either, however. "Redeeming their sacrifice" is not a good reason to continue a war. If your only reason to continue fighting is to avenge the dead... well, then you're starting to sound a lot like... oh, gosh, all those people who's only good reason to kill people is because someone killed their great-grandfather 100 years ago, and so the feud must continue. Ya gotta have better reasons than that to continue the fight, and we do.
All this is inspired by the comments to Bill's Clearing Out A Cobweb post of yesterday. If you skipped it - you should read them, but one in particular inspired these words, along with the group of casualties I'm going to honor in this post.
Denizen Just This Guy said:
On thinking about this for a while, I think it's better to remember how dead comrades died, than not to remember them. Minimise the worst of the suck that way. Can't eliminate the suck, of course.
I remember people, and things, which are just gone, and which I miss horribly. Some of their going I may have been somewhat involved with. Trying not to think about it sorta works, but not very well. Thinking about it can drive one nuts. Try not to drink too much (Hah! such advice from *me*!)
Which cascaded a train of thought that ended with the lyrics of one of my favorite songs (I tend to favor dark, true enough), The Green Fields of France, by Eric Bogle:
Most especially the second verse.
And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined?
And though you died back in 1916,
In some faithful heart are you forever 19?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
imprisoned forever behind a glass frame
In and old photograph, torn, tattered, and stained,
And fading to yellow in a bound leather frame?
I guess I just don't want them to be nameless faces imprisoned forever in an old photograph.
TWO TRANSITION TEAM SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Two Soldiers were killed Aug. 24 in Herat, Afghanistan, when the vehicle they were traveling in rolled over.
Killed were:
Master Sergeant Scott M. Carney, 37.
Sergeant First Class Daniel E. Miller, 43.
Carney was a mobilized Iowa National Guard Soldier assigned to the same transition team. He entered the National Guard in June 1991. He began serving with the 1st Inf. Div. in February 2007.
Miller was an infantryman serving on a transition team assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. His home of record is Rossford, Ohio. He entered the Army in June 1986. He began serving with the 1st Infantry Division in November 2006. This was his first deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
This one is an unusual one. We don't often lose Finance Corps officers, especially field grade and above. It's a very small branch, so they're comparatively rare, especially in the wild where the bullets fly. The Finance Corps is feeling this one.
THREE TRANSITION TEAM SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Three transition team Soldiers died Aug. 27 at Forward Operating Base Naray, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit during combat operations in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Killed were:
Major Henry San N. Ofeciar, 37
Sergeant First Class Scott R. Ball, 38.
Sergeant Jan. M. Argonish, 26.
Ofeciar was a finance officer serving on a transition team assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. His home of record is Agana, Guam. He entered the Army in February 1994 and deployed to Afghanistan in January 2007. This was his first deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Ball was a mobilized Pennsylvania National Guard combat engineer serving on the same transition team. His home of record is Mount Holly Springs, Pa. He entered the Army in July 1987. This was his second deployment in support of the Global War of Terrorism.
Argonish was a mobilized Pennsylvania National Guard infantryman serving on the same transition team. His home of record is Peckville, Pa. He entered the Army in February 1998. This was his second deployment in support of the Global War of Terrorism.
To date, 125 Fort Riley Soldiers and 1 Airman have been killed while serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam.
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...
Blogworld Expo, in Vegas this November, will have a Milblogging section. I'm not playing in this one, but if TDY allows, SWWBO and I will try to attend. The interesting thing about Blogworld Expo is that it's all bloggers, not just Polibloggers, Milbloggers, or Clogbloggers... Kinda like a Shot Show, or E3 for bloggers. I've met the guy pulling it together. Interesting fellow. -the Armorer
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Real pain in the Cotillion today - if you're a fan of Cotillion blogs, you probably already know what happened in Kat's family (not our Kat, Kat of Cathouse Chat). If you're a praying kind of person, send some their way.
Speaking of strong women, after all that hoopla about the teen-aged beauty queen that stumbled and fumbled with the "Why people need more geography lessons" question, I ran across this little gem and thought, now there is the kind of beauty queen we need to represent the US: Mrs. Tennessee America Bitten by Rattlesnake, Saved by Mrs. Iowa
Reminds me of that song, "I can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in the pan. And never, ever let you forget your a man. Because I'm a WOMAN!"
*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.
Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.
*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*
The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.
I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone"
Bill...LOL You're killing me. I was just thinking that same thing.
I despise any attempts to create a Utopian "workers paradise", even if it is a washed out version because someone always wants to tell you that you aren't "utopian" enough. Then they want to arrest you or have you stricken from the "rolls" through some manner or the other.
I say, give me some good ol' fashioned greedy capitalist laissez faire and let the chips fall where they may.
posted by kat-missouri on August 31, 2007 11:30 AM
On another comment, you know what really stinks? To see "Westboro Baptist Church" from "Kansas". Gives Kansas an bad name. Then people don't want to come here because they get all freaked out about the "religious nut balls" who they think are running the joint because, you know, the DA went after late term abortions and under age abortions and under age sex via the "report as possible rape" laws that are supposed to protect the young from being exploited, but the news made it out to be "those darn evangelical Christian people messing in people's business".
So, we add some fruit cakes who claim to be a "church" and the aryan nation trying to set up shop here and we're a bunch of racist, religious zealot nutballs.
And, I'm complaining because I'm from Kansas, live in close proximity to Kansas and suffer for the bleed over.
For the PGR and folks...I just want to say "Hoo-ah!", "Semper fi" and what ever else goes for the armed forces. Get some!
posted by kat-missouri on August 31, 2007 11:38 AM
Give 'em a Bravo Zulu!, Kat. That covers the Navy.
So anti-fscism is now bad? You guys really have to drop the fantasies, figure out a principle and stick with it. And stay south of Canada as you might just run into a worker's paradise. We couldn't have that confusion unsettle your day dreams.
I have no problem with the anti-fascists. Even if they are socialists. I love those kind of socialists (big kisses).
Just, when that's all done, please don't tell us we should be like Canada and build worker's paradise. I won't come up there (to stay) and you can make it all you want if you can.
posted by kat-missouri on August 31, 2007 12:40 PM
Hey K-M, I don't want you guys to be like us or we would not be enjoying that 50% increase in spending power of the WPD (Workers Paridise Dollar) against the USD allowing me to head south for good shopping this weekend. ;-)
...we would not be enjoying that 50% increase in spending power of the WPD (Workers Paridise Dollar) against the USD allowing me to head south for good shopping this weekend.
Alaaaan! C'mon down!
And bring beer.
Then you can tell me why, when offering to pay a cabbie in Montreal with his choice of WPD or the equivalent in USD, he'll grin and say, "We *like* green money up here" and snag the USD.
Oh, yeah -- bring beer.
You like our money, we like your beer -- a win-win situation...
NevadaDailySteve, in the comments to the Stokes Mortar Whatziss, gave up on the object in question, and chose to focus on the item I was using for a prop to hold the fuze level.
NevadaDailySteve, in the comments to the Stokes Mortar Whatziss, gave up on the object in question, and chose to focus on the item I was using for a prop to hold the fuze level.
Ok, it's my fault. I apologize.
A question. Is the wax paper wrapped package what enclosed the round objects in the two previous posts?
And a completely off the wall guess. A non-metallic fuse for a land mine.
We Danced when I listed them as members of our Thirty Nine, so they'd been introduced. Just not in context.
Usually they took the Path solo, or in wing formation, but we had a couple of crews who walked to FG as a crew. They're the ones who own the tables in our corner of the place.
Thanks, John.
Got a compartment leaking. I've gotta fix that after a bit...
Your horoscope for today: There’s wisdom to be gained from combing through the recesses of your soul and clearing out the cobwebs.
Helicopter pilots don’t have recesses, we have compartments. Whether we’re born compartmentalizers or we learn the trick in Flight School doesn’t matter, we’re fully-functional compartmentalizers before they shake us out of the bag with Junior Wings on our chests.
When you’re in the air and nothing is going wrong, you have the luxury of browsing the compartments. When things turn sour, the lids to the compartments slam shut except the one labeled “Fly The Aircraft!” -- that mental trick allows us to survive in the air.
Memories (as distinct from experience and knowledge) may have relevance to the “Fly The Aircraft!” bin and are usually in close proximity -- emotions occupy entirely separate compartments on the periphery. Makes us really lousy at relationships, but it helps keep us alive when the cockpit turns into the last place in the world you want to be.
Sometimes, the compartments leak. Details in the memory bins furthest from “Fly the Aircraft!” fade, unless something hammers them into place -- but when that happens, nothing will budge them…
I’m putting the rest of this in flash traffic/extended entry. It’s not one of my War Stories, it’s a story about one incident that happened during my war.
It’s not a TINS. It’s also a bit long and decidedly dark…
I had four different callsigns in Vietnam. When I first got there, the Boss discovered I was fluent in Normal English and could spell my way out of a paper bag, so he blessed me off as the Admin Officer, which meant that I took care of the daily foothills of paperwork while he and the XO were out flying -- we never had a full complement of pilots, and they took up the slack in the Gun and Flight Platoons. So, I started as Vulture Three, which I used maybe twice. Make that three times -- I think I used it the first time I got shot down.
My second callsign was Vulture One-Five -- the Assistant Platoon Leader, First Platoon. One-Six, the Platoon Leader, was a short-timer, and he started grooming me to take over the Platoon after he left.
Before he departed, our Gun Platoon Leader was KIA, and I was made Copperhead Three-Six. One of the senior Warrants in the guns had previously applied for a direct commission and his paperwork was approved a few days after the first time I got shot down in a Charlie-model gunship -- I was more than happy when the Boss asked if I’d step down so our newest Lieutenant could claim command time on his OER.
I resumed using One-Five. My Platoon Leader DEROSed about a month later, and I became Vulture One-Six. I never had an assistant PL, so I used One-Five and One-Six pretty much interchangeably, depending on whether I was flying as the C&C (Command and Control), Flight Lead, or Trail.
In June, 1970, we got a newbie Captain; he outranked me, so I started grooming him as the new One-Six. He was a pretty quick study, so we started concentrating on the survival skills. We had maybe two flights together before I started NightHawking again, so the senior ACs took over his tutelage. I was officially One-Five again.
In mid-August, I was back flying CAs with the Flight and on the 26th, One-Six was Chalk Two and I was Chalk Three in a flight of five. We were flying staggered right -- odd-numbered in trail behind Lead, even-numbered offset to the right. My Peter Pilot was "Little Mac," one of our Test Pilots, and I was giving him some formation flight refresher training; I was on the controls, flying in the left seat so I could scan the instruments while I maintained my sight picture on Chalk Two. We were on a left base to pick up some troops we’d inserted for a sweep several hours earlier -- the PZ was a couple of klicks from the area in which we’d inserted them. Lead gave us a heads-up that the final approach would be steep because the PZ was in a nasty area and there were thick treelines along our approach path. I told Mac to get on the controls with me when we started our descent. Then Lead turned left to establish us on final.
In a staggered formation, when Lead makes a turn, the aircraft in trail behind Lead usually slow slightly to avoid overtaking Lead and the aircraft on the outside of the formation have to increase airspeed to maintain their positions in the formation. As I was turning left, I watched Chalk Two drift slowly to the rear -- I knew One-Six hadn’t mastered all the tricks yet, and imagined what the AC was saying to him. Our normal radio chatter had died to the essentials -- negative suppression inbound, but if the flight takes fire, suppress it without hitting the friendlies. By the time we rolled out of the turn to final, I had to look over my right shoulder to see Chalk Two. I saw the aircraft nose dip and knew that Two had just increased power to put on a burst of speed to get back in position -- ahead to my right front and offset 135 degrees from Lead. We flew tight formations going into an area; the Book recommends a minimum of two rotor-disk separation between aircraft. We never got that far away from each other. Chalk Two was now about sixty feet outside my door, closing the gap between himself and Lead.
Hell opened up.
I watched Chalk Two rise a hundred feet above us and begin a left roll. By the time he was fully-inverted, I was looking up at him through the greenhouse. I distinctly remember thinking, “They’re inverted -- oh, my God…”
You don’t survive going inverted in a Huey a thousand feet above the ground.
“Fly The Aircraft!”
He's inverted and falling out of the sky and he's directly above me…
“Fly The Aircraft!”
His rotors are gonna mesh with mine and the two of us will disintegrate in mid-air…
“Fly The Aircraft!”
Mac was gaping up at Two through his greenhouse -- he couldn’t believe what he was seeing…
“Fly The Aircraft!”
I slammed the cyclic left and pulled the collective to the stops.
I rolled the aircraft 90 degrees because anything less wouldn’t get us away from four tons of metal and fuel closing with us at 5,000 feet-per-minute.
I overtorqued the transmission and overtemped the engine.
Three seconds later, I rolled the Huey upright and there was chatter on all three radios:
“Are we taking fire?” “Two hit Three on the way down -- wait, no, Three just rolled out of it.” “Flight, are you guys taking fire down there? The troops just called and said a rocket hit a helicopter.” “Copperheads are up north and we haven’t fired anything!” "Five's in after Two." “Damn it! One of the crew just fell out!” “I don’t think it’s small arms -- no muzzle flashes. No tracers.” “Five’s approaching Two -- they just hit.” “Trail, watch yourself -- the troops are still saying it was a rocket.” “Lead, this is Five. I'm in the PZ. They’re all dead. One of the enlisted guys fell out on the way down, but everybody else is still inside. It’s flat. The aircraft is flat.”
Silence.
C&C: “Who was it? Who was on board?”
Silence.
Lead: “Laurence was the AC.”
Silence.
Lead’s Crewchief: “Jacobson.”
Silence.
My Crewchief: “Halstead was flying in the gunner’s seat.”
Silence.
Me: “One-Six was with Laurence. Captain Carr.”
Silence.
C&C: “Flight, return to Can Tho and stand by.”
Five: “I’ll stay for the recovery.”
C&C: “No. You go back with them. We’re going to insert troops out to the west and south to catch whoever shot Two down.”
Me: “Four, Three’s now Chalk Two. I’m sliding right. Break. Lead, I think I overtorqued back there. I’ll be shutting down to have maintenance take a look at it.”
Silence.
Lead: "Flight, come up trail. Keep it spread out."
On the way back to Can Tho, I concentrated on the engine and transmission instruments. I concentrated on keeping off Lead's tail. I concentrated on the mechanics of flying, because that was the only thing that kept me from seeing the last thing I saw before I rolled left. I was looking straight up through my greenhouse and I could see straight through Chalk Two’s greenhouse into the cockpit.
He raised his head and looked at me…
“Fly The Aircraft!”
Yeah. “Fly The Aircraft…”
Even when the compartments are leaking…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
WO1 William H. Laurence, Jr.
CPT Stephen Douglas Carr
SP5 Larry Bruce Jacobson
SP5 Benny Ray Halstead
Panel 07W-010 of the Wall.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I tried to do this a couple of times over the years and I could never get it right.
BillT, I am...speechless. I am so sorry. We ask so much of our fighting men, and seldom stop to think of the terrible price. They have not been forgotten.
posted by Cricket on August 30, 2007 11:59 PM
You done good, Chief. I don't have anything like that, but there are a couple of faces I see some nights as well. They're never really gone as long as we remember them.
Bill, this happened on the day I left country. I was getting my short, shortimer tan when summoned by Maj. B. He told me I had 3 hours to leave if I wanted a 3 day drop. They had secured a spot for me on a Caribou. I left so quickly I never properly said goodbye to anybody. It was only a few years ago that I was told of this. I have met Laurence's family. He would be very proud of them! Here's to fallen comrades; long remembered, ne'er forgotten.
V29.
posted by V29 on August 31, 2007 9:08 AM
BillT, first, THANK YOU, for your courage. Not just then, but NOW. You may not think of of it this way, but you have done the toughest task of your life. You have helped the whole Veterans community.
Thank you, for your service to this GREAT NATION and HER VETERANS.
Grumpy
posted by Grumpy on August 31, 2007 10:50 AM
V29 -- Remember the debate last year about giving our KIAs' kids the full story -- before we realized that the "kids" were now older than we were when it all happened?
Cricket -- You could *never* be accused of failing to remember prices paid...
On thinking about this for a while, I think it's better to remember how dead comrades died, than not to remember them. Minimise the worst of the suck that way. Can't eliminate the suck, of course.
I remember people, and things, which are just gone, and which I miss horribly. Some of their going I may have been somewhat involved with. Trying not to think about it sorta works, but not very well. Thinking about it can drive one nuts. Try not to drink too much (Hah! such advice from *me*!)
posted by Justthisguy on September 1, 2007 12:47 AM
I do remember that conversation. It's still very tough to tell family the real story. Larry Moore's brother found me through the web and asked what really happened to his brother. I don't know who wrote to the family, but they were told he died in a blaze of glory, guns blazing, Stars and Stripes waving in the breeze, America and her women folk saved from the tyranny of communism. I exchanged a few emails with him dodging the question until he demanded the details. When I told him what really happened, I never heard from him again and he has never responded to any email I have sent him since. Wish I'd kept my mouth shut on that one.
posted by V29 on September 1, 2007 7:55 AM
If it's any consolation for anyone, remember that for humans, flying _is_ an un-natural act, and if they indulge in that kind of fun very much they are going to get killed from time to time, even if nobody is shooting at them. Up to now I have managed to get killed less than once, while in aerial flight.
posted by Justthisguy on September 1, 2007 10:48 AM
Larry and his crew went the hard way, Two-Niner.
I won't tell the story here, either.
To forestall inquiries, they died doing their duty, and honorably.
That's horrifying, Bill. I know you've been through a lot, and had a lot of close calls... but damn. That one was just gut-wrenching to read- I can't even begin to imagine living it.
love ya- and yes, you got it right.
posted by AFSister on September 1, 2007 9:41 PM
Ok, I’ll assume the Huey got hit by a rocket… There could have been one heck of a fire.
But, by this time I would guess there is an office report of the incident. I know rotor wing aircraft are inherently unstable. I guess it’s better left unsaid.
Bill ~ As a spouse, I am grateful for a pilot's ability to compartmentalize. I would hate to think that a memory - good or bad - from their "non-flying life" could possibly get in the way of their ability to "Fly the Aircraft!". And, given the horrors that we all know are experienced in wartime, the ability to compartmentalize those horrors and "Fly the Aircraft" are nothing less than survival tactics. How else would you all be able to continue with your mission day in and day out if not for that ability?
V29 ~ Don't regret telling the truth to Larry's brother. You were honest. You gave him what he was asking for. More than likely he doubted the "official" story from the get-go. If that were the case, I would be that his imagination had created a scenario that was equally as horrific as the truth, if not worse. It could possibly be that the truth you told him put an end to the wondering and he has been able to finally move on from his brother's death after all of these years (as to the reason why you've never heard from him again).
And Bill, you got it right. Thank you so much for sharing them with us and reminding me never to forget that THIS war is not the only one fought by incredible men and women.
posted by HomefrontSix on September 2, 2007 1:35 AM
Thanks, BillT.
posted by Cobar on September 2, 2007 3:32 AM
THIS war is not the only one fought by incredible men and women.
Amen, HF6. They *all* were.
Ledger -- The official report says they died as a result of injuries sustained when the aircraft was brought down by small arms fire. There was no post-crash fire and no one saw him trailing smoke.
That said, no one in the flight saw muzzle flashes or tracers.
None of the rest of us took any hits from small arms fire -- considering our altitude, how close we were flying and normal dispersion of ground fire by the time it gets to a thousand feet, at least two of us would have had bullet punctures, even from one quick burst.
The ground troops repeatedly stated it was a rocket that came from directly beneath our flight path. Not an RPG. A rocket.
We think he was hit with a Strella that went into the hellhole, exploded, and jammed the control linkages. Although the Army insists the SA-7 was not introduced into South Vietnam until 1972, in 1970, a couple of us dodged what could only have been missiles. On one flight into Cambodia, I saw a crashed Huey near the border north of Chi Lang and was told by one of the SFs on board it had been hit by a missile; the aircraft was crushed, but pretty much intact.
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...
Guess what? Opposing segregation is a thought crime, suitable to get you fired. No, not in West Byrdinia, home of former Klansman and pork king Senator Robert Byrd... but in the Ohio Democratic Party.
In honor of Denizen Bloodspite's new wheels - a little Redneck Rappin'. But don't miss his tribute to Old Faithful, either. Heh. The Armorer has a similar vehicle, a white Ford Taurus that has been in the family since it rolled off the factory floor. Originally a pampered pet, driven by the Armorer's now-passed Mother, the "Muti Car" was booted from her covered estate out into the driveway of a distant state, and suffered the indignities of being the learning venue for the Armorer's son Andy to master the intricacies of driving... and she suffered due to some depth perception problems... and now she sits, forlorn and lonely, a/c not working, transmission cranky... with me having trouble letting her go because she was... Mom's. Which Mom would find silly.
Let's close this section with some more Tank Pr0n...
Anybody besides me think that thing looks like a Sheridan? A really big Sheridan on steroids? A Barry Bonds-style Sheridan? -the Armorer
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Heh. I've been ignoring the Senator Craig thing, not to "protect" some Republican with a morals issue hanging around his neck, but because heck, I've got nothing to add to it, except to say that based on my experiences as a college student and a campus cop back in the day, Senator Craig would not want me on his jury in a trial. And even though it just further reinforces the fact that Dems get away with this kind of stuff while Republicans don't - I think he prolly ought to resign. The library was particularly rife with that kind of behavior, as to a lesser extent was the old student union (there being a new, far busier one across campus, the old Union was a much quieter building. I'm just astounded that a place as busy an airport has enough of a problem they're stationing cops in the latrines...
But mostly, I added this just because I wanted to see how many Googlehits it would generate. Me so bad. -the Armorer
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Things have been hopping over at Talking with Heroes blog. Bob has been doing everything from accompanying patrols to sitting in on meetings between bigwigs. And on the homefront, getting linked on Blogspot's homepage has made things rather interesting... Just start here and scroll down for all the latest posts. -FbL
*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.
Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.
*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*
The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.
I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone"
dang if that ain't exactly what it does look like...
..and i would know, having put on a couple pounds meself!
posted by MajMike on August 30, 2007 8:53 AM
Re: Senator Craig.
1st, he is a nitwit. 2nd, he should resign. 3rd, yes this is a perfect example of how the two different parties operate. 4th, I know only what I have read on the internet.
Now that we have those disclaimers out of the way.....
Senator Craig would want me on his jury.
IMO, this was a baseless arrest. The man was unjustly arrested. What law prevents you from hitting on another adult male (if that is what he was doing and I'll concede he probably was)?
Did the Senator verbally solicit a sex act? Not that I can see.
Did the undercover officer state that non-verbal contact was unwanted? Not that I can see, so that leaves out harrassment.
Did the undercover officer appear underage? Not that I could see.
Did the Senator expose himself? Was he seen by anyone else? Not that I have read.
IMO, that police officer jumped the gun. Not only would I have encouraged Senator Craig to fight this, I would further have called for an investigation of this officer in particular and that police department in general. Clearly there was an abuse of the process by people who knew that were dealing with a class of accused who were very unlikely to fight back.
This does not mean that Senator Craig's actions were smart, or honorable. But his mistakes do not excuse the actions of the officer.
Strikes me, Maggie, that you probably want the law changed to where hitting on the guy in the next stall in a public restroom isn't illegal.
I can live with that.
I'm just saying that if I got selected for the jury, absent knowing anything more than what was in the police report and the Senator's public statements, he wouldn't want me on his jury.
That said - one wonders how much and how blatant the activity was that the Minneapolis police/airport authority felt the need to put undercover vice cops in the latrines.
Strikes me, Maggie, that you probably want the law changed to where hitting on the guy in the next stall in a public restroom isn't illegal.
Are you telling me that it is currently illegal? Holy smokes! If the law allows you to be arrested for *suggesting* you are interested in sex with another adult....hell, yes! I want it changed.
BTW, what will we charge you with? You are the one who sent me into a men's room in Seattle.
Because they have Bigazz mosquitoes there. Some suspect that they cross bred with croc's. They all hang out in the restrooms down by the river and it gets really perverted there.
so the glass roundie thing breaks, and the black metal roundie thing then does something?
posted by MajMike on August 30, 2007 8:59 AM
Appears to be a pulley of some sort. I see that it's got the groove for a belt, but I don't see any way to retain the unit
I can't read the stamp very well, so it could be a weight for a old measuring device like a bail weigh unit. The dust suggests it's used outside as does the paint scrapes.
Small (probably) glass disk + presumably same sized disk with a wavy surface.
Put those two together and you can get a valve. Tieing back to the ill fated CPAP masks leads one to speculate that these are components from an old gas mask, probably WWII or WWI.
posted by KCSteve on August 30, 2007 1:07 PM
German. 1943. I think MINE in the first answer.
posted by rikkochet on August 30, 2007 1:27 PM
BTW I realize you were in a hurry but where did you go that they hit you for $180 for a CPAP mask? I've replaced mine a couple of times now and the most I've been bitten was a dollar or two over the century mark.
The last time I bought one, a few months back, it was $80. Admittedly I didn't by the headband and swivelly thingie with it.
The pharmacy I bought my last mask at suggested I get a prescription from my doctor so the insurance would pay for part of it. I did. The doctor visit cost me $30. The insurance saved me nine dollars and change. You do the math.
Needless to say I'll just go buy one outright next time.
Well, about the *only* thing you got right Bill was...
5. some suitably snide remarks.
NDS - I could have gotten it cheaper, mail-order, but that would have meant waiting *another* day. That was why I had... two.
Recruit Private (bucking for Permanent) Gunner destroyed the harness, ate the seal, uncoiled the small hose, and broke the nosepiece and forehead rest.
In other words, very little was usable.
The little bugger is a WWI-era Gunner. Pulverize everything in sight.
Since the use of the CPAP is actually service-related, I can voucher the cost to the VA. I am reluctant to levy the taxpayer just because I can when it was my fargin' dog that did the damage.
Just like I haven't applied to the US Taxpayer to pay me to not grow crops I have no intention of growing, but could apply and get paid to not grow them.
I'm a conservative, not a Republican or a Democrat. I'll pick your pocket for what I earned, but as far as I can, I'll pay for my own mistakes and not ask you to pay me to not do something I wasn't doing in the first place.
I know you weren't really suggesting otherwise - I'm just being preachy because I can.
My instinct is that it's a hubcap. That's probably wrong, though, as my first guesses here usually are. So second (also usually wrong) is that it's a plug for a 40 mm barrel, to keep weather out.
posted by htom on August 30, 2007 9:50 PM
Lid to the Mk III wire bail combat canning jar.
posted by Old Fat Sailor on August 31, 2007 5:02 AM
Boudoir Edition, is mostly complete, as revealed yesterday. Acceptance inspection is this afternoon.
Work on the Gun Room of Argghhh! continues apace - the wiring is almost done, the light cans installed and tested, and a surprising number of code violations/dangerous conditions from the previous owner fixed.
Here's 'Vic" trying it on for size.
The builder and cabinet/rack maker and I brought a few of the boys out to check the fit and such... and see what they thought about it all.
With the boudoir done, and SWWBO now able to hang out all day at the New Castle (still working on a name for the demesne overall) we'll probably start moving in this weekend.
The Armorer's sister, however... still lives in remodel he11.
Gasp! Sputter! Hack! Sneeze! The sheet rockers are at my house. They leave dust everywhere. They also leave really large piles of mud in unusual places. Like the middle of the floor. Silly me, I thought it was supposed to go on the ceilings and walls. It looks a little like meringue, but I don’t think we’ll taste it.
Although there is really no point in cleaning at all right now, we are still trying to pretend we are civilized. Someone at work commented that I wear clean clothes everyday. I’ll bet they’ve lived in a home while it was being remodeled.
I never entertained the notion that I would have to dust my plates when I set the table, but I do. I also have to rinse off the pots and pans before I can cook. Little piles of wood shavings and nails and screws are appearing in odd places, as well. Like in my knife rack and on the stove. It is not safe to walk barefoot in my house right now.
Before the sheet rockers came, we got insulation. We are very grateful because we have had heat indexes above 100 degrees recently and the house was hot even with air conditioning. Of course a good deal of the air conditioning was comforting the squirrels and birds as it leaked out of the house. I do not think they were grateful. Some of the insulation escaped from where it was meant to be and meandered around the house. It wasn’t too hard to sweep it up on the wood floors, but the carpeted stairs were tricky. I would have just left it alone, but I didn’t want the dog or the cats to eat it.
Our regular crew got to work on replacing some more of our windows. Ed and I had been carefully moving our bedroom furniture away from the windows each morning. We have kept all of out toiletries in a box in the bathroom so it would be easy for them to get to that window, as well. This has been going on for almost a week. Yesterday, I asked the foreman when they would get around to it. He replied, “When the replacements come in.” Replacements, what replacements? The ones that came were 41” windows. We need 48” windows. The window guy is going to take a bath on this order.
Most of the furniture from the living and dining rooms has been moved into the bedrooms. Things are a bit, well, stuffed. I had a treasure hunt last weekend trying to find some skewers for the grill, but I was victorious! I just had to move two tables and several boxes to get there.
You will have to use you imagination for this. Our large upright piano is now in the hallway to the bedrooms. The hall has a jog in it and the piano is too big to turn the corner, so it just sits in the hall. Suffice it to say, it is a good thing we are not obese people or we couldn’t get to our bedroom. Erin is practicing for a solo audition at school. There is no room for the piano bench, so she must stand in the hall, play the piano, and sing. The girl has talent and fortitude! Pray she does not choke on the dust!
This year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous will be donating all money raised to
Project Valour-IT. Major Chuck Ziegenfuss of TC Override will be our Guest of Honor.
Any publicity you can get out that would encourage Gun and/or Milbloggers or readers/commenters to attend would be greatly appreciated.
It is a small and informal event that allows everyone to get to know everyone else, so you get to put a face to the bloggers you've been reading! It's a great lot of fun hanging out with an amazing bunch of folks!
SWWBO and I went last year, and intend to go this year - though the job situation (mine, not hers) may get in the way, with a TDY complicating things.
Ah - what you missed, Bill, is that the Adj has been suffering from digital stuttering all week. She just usually catches it and uses her global access to do a digital handwave "There's nothing to see here, move along..."
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...
In the spirit of the post about the new study on guns, that finds our society awash in the things, yet we really aren't living in Dodge City (some neighborhoods excluded, of course), this poll result is refreshing, as well. From the NRA-ILA:
Poll Finds 66% Of Voters Want No New Gun Laws
A recent Zogby International poll conducted for Associated Television News found that 66% of the American voting public rejects the idea that new gun control laws are needed.
The poll asked: "Which of the following two statements regarding gun control comes closer to your own opinion?
Statement A: There needs to be new and tougher gun control legislation to help in the fight against gun crime.
Statement B: There are enough laws on the books. What is needed is better enforcement of current laws regarding gun control."
Conversely, the poll found that just 31% of the American public thinks new and tougher gun control laws are needed, and that voters who support better enforcement of existing gun laws are found across virtually all demographic groups, and in all regions of the country.
Put me in that 66% group. Dems running for office might want to take note.
UPI/Zogby Poll: Most Americans Say Iraq War Not Lost
Survey finds two in three Democrats believe the war is already lost
A majority of Americans - 54% - believe the United States has not lost the war in Iraq, but there is dramatic disagreement on the question between Democrats and Republicans, a new UPI/Zogby Interactive poll shows. While two in three Democrats (66%) said the war effort has already failed, just 9% of Republicans say the same.
The poll comes ahead of a September report to Congress by David Petraeus, commander of the multi-national force in Iraq, on the progress of the so-called surge in quelling attacks by insurgents and creating an atmosphere where the new Iraqi government can develop.
This strong skepticism of success in Iraq among Democrats echoes the position of some party leaders, most strongly worded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said in April that he believed that "this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything." This latest UPI/Zogby poll shows Americans are divided on the success of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq - while 49% believe it is not working, nearly as many (45%) said the surge has been effective. The vast majority of Democrats (86%) don't believe the surge is working, compared to just 11% of Republicans.
The solution is obvious. No, not this HuffPo idiot's idea of having General Petraeus arrest the President... let's just send a whole lot of new people to Congress next year. In both parties.
And then... after 8 years or so... do it again.
Just sayin'. It's a plan. -the Armorer
**********************************
We've been giving furrin' tankers lotsa props here of late - let's give some 'Murican tankers some juice!
*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.
Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.
*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*
The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.
I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone"
When you consider the fact that it's a good bet at least 66% of Americans don't know how strict / onerous gun laws already are (believing the MSM line that you can buy a machine gun at a gun show cheaply and easily) those poll numbers are even more amazing.
posted by KCSteve on August 29, 2007 1:10 PM
First off, thanks for the link!
Count me in on that 66% who think that we just need to enforce what's on the books. Of course, that goes for a whole bunch of subjects, not just guns. It would be interesting to see what percentage think that the laws are already too strict.
I'd fit into that 54% who think the war's not lost. On a somewhat related note, I'd like to say that as a resident of the wonderful state of Nevada, I'd like to find a way to get Harry Reid either out of office or over to Iraq for an extended embed with the troops.
Recruit Private Gunner ate both my CPAP masks yesterday. That meant, essentially, that I've been up all night, because I really can't sleep without the damned thing.
Then, finding that CPAP masks are not conducive to good intestinal health, he had diarrhea all over one of my favorite shirts. Teach me to leave it on the floor.
So, since you have nothing to do with my problems today, I'm going be progressive and make you pay for it.
Whatzis?
No, you can't just say, "countertop" and expect credit. What's on top of the countertop?
Clear plate, two holes and a tail. Guessing sizing from the countertop those holes look to be around finger size. They're probably for bolts to hold it in place so I'd say they're not small bolts. Can't tell if those are 'little finger sized' or 'big hairy finger sized' holes but I'd guess they're at least 5/16".
There's a faint hint of a bevel to the edge so this might be a lens of some sort - slight magnifier.
Ah, but wait!
Moving the image over to a viewing program and turning up the brightness you can clearly see that the edge of the plate crosses one of the 'holes' - and there's no tail.
So let's reset: It's a clear glass plate laying on a countertop that has two circular plugs in it and what looks like a small crack on the left.
Still seems to be a slight bevel to the edges.
Could be a dinnerware, could be a magnifier.
posted by KCSteve on August 29, 2007 1:19 PM
...the edge of the plate crosses one of the 'holes' - and there's no tail.
So, it's not just a Whatziss, it's a Whatziss sandwich.
I'm betting that thing is smaller than it appears. John is sneaky and if he has lost some sleep I'm sure he's even more ornery than usual. I think it's probably no larger than a half-dollar so I'll go with the front lens on a WWII era sniper scope.
U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.
About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.
"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.
Interestingly, the report does not go all Pollyanna on the subject.
From the Fox News report:
The figures dispel the idea that gun ownership and high levels of violence necessarily go hand in hand, he said.
"There's no clear relationship between more guns and higher levels of violence," Krause said, pointing to low ownership and high crime rates in Latin America.
He said studies had shown that gun violence often occurred in places undergoing rapid urban growth, and when lawless areas are created by extreme poverty and the absence of effective policing.
The problem is worsened when members of government or police forces sell ammunition on the black market, Krause said.
In Rio de Janeiro, "a combination of factors suggest that state security forces — most notably the police — are the source of much of the assault rifle ammunition in the hands of criminal gangs," the report said.
Amusingly, Reuters didn't see fit to print *that* part. As close as they got to it was...
"Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.
Guess it didn't fit their preferred narrative.
Fox also had this bit:
The problem is worsened when members of government or police forces sell ammunition on the black market, Krause said.
In Rio de Janeiro, "a combination of factors suggest that state security forces — most notably the police — are the source of much of the assault rifle ammunition in the hands of criminal gangs," the report said.
Thousands of arms supplied to Iraq by the United States are believed to have been acquired by insurgents through rogue elements in the Iraqi security forces.
Sudan, meanwhile, has purchased more than 25 million firearms in recent years — mostly from China and Iran — despite well-documented human rights violations committed by government-backed militias.
Krause said wealthy countries with lower crime rates, such as those in the 27-nation European Union, are dealing with an increased flow of small arms across borders where controls have been loosened.
Recent shootings in Britain — where ownership is severely restricted and the gun crime rate is low — highlight the need for greater police cooperation in Europe, he said.
As has been noted elsewhere, the greatest threat *most* people in the world face from firearms is from firearms in the hands of government personnel, or people who *want* to be government personnel (i.e., revolutionaries and their ilk). But, just as that statement paints with a ludicrously broad brush, lumping everything into the same pot, so too do the number comparisons in the study, as reported by those media outlets - a caveat I put in because I've not yet read the actual report, it doesn't appear on the Institute's website (at least I couldn't find it).
Think of your circle of friends - d'you think the number holds true as a broad comparison? Given the readership of this blog, it might well - though if you feel like you know me... then I'm skewing the hell out of the number - because I'm carrying 166 slackers living somewhere... and I know two other collectors, in town, who between the three of us are carrying 500 of you guys.
What's the point? The number, while interesting, is still a bit misleading, because what's missing is that there probably aren't 90 weapons *available* to every 100 people (leave aside local laws and other impacts on ownership). It's still instructive that it does punch a hole in the "more guns, more violence" argument and supports a more nuanced view of the problem and more useful approaches to containing gun violence.
Of course, that won't be popular, because it's easier to demonize the tool, than acknowledge that there might be societal sub-groups who's behavior is the root problem. No, much easier to demonize and attack the law-abiding societal group who aren't the major component of the problem... law-abiding gun owners.
As always - you should read the articles yourself, and draw your own conclusions based on the full context, not what I excerpt. That's the power of the web - use it!
Hmmm.... down to about a dozen, myself- from a high of mebbe three dozen at one time when I collected first-generation military semi-auto pistols.
Perhaps I'll bump the numbers with one of those StG 44s....
posted by Neffi on August 29, 2007 7:13 AM
Let's see - carrying others, why is that familiar? Oh yeah, taxes. Not only do I support a bunch of no-job, drug-taking criminal lay-a-bouts with my taxes now my mini-arsenal is part of the 90 guns for every 100 people statistic.
BTW, I have two guns I've never fired. One is a sporterized Arisaka that no one around here seems to have ammo for and the other is a Turkish Mauser that I have been getting ready for mumblety-mumble weeks. I really have to get that front sight soldered on and get that out to the range. If I feel rich enough one of these days I'll even spring for some of that high-dollar ammo for the Arisaka
hmmm... if that averages out to nine free citizens for every subject, one is forced to wonder why we can't get good laws made (and only the few laws that are necessary) ...
posted by MajMike on August 29, 2007 8:20 AM
How many Americans have taken advantage of their right to own expended TOW tubes?
Darned few. I figger I'm carrying -- ummmmmmm -- divide by *mumblemumble* -- carry the 'lebenteen -- fifty million of ya.
I need to get one... I've been thinking about it for a while now. But first I've gotta find a safety class and figure out what paperwork I need. If I'm gonna do it, I want to do it right.
Suggestions for a SWF first time owner? Any other advice?
Should I just stick with pepper spray?
posted by One of many Tracys on August 30, 2007 11:31 AM
I'm happy to be picking up the slack for several of my neighbors as well. This so-called "study" is so blatantly aimed at gun owners insinuating that a high ratio of gun ownership is somehow wrong.
Time to lug my range bag out to the range again this weekend.
posted by ProudMarineDad on August 30, 2007 11:53 AM
One of many Tracys:
Take a shooting class, it covers gun safety but also gives you shooting time which is important. You need to feel comfortable shooting the gun. Look around for a class that will let you shoot various caliber pistols and rifles to see what you might want to buy. Most gun stores can point you in the right direction. I bought myself a nice Kimber .45 semi-automatic - that is one smooth shooter - and want to expand my arsenal to include some nice rifles. I took a shooting class with my daughter to get her comfortable around firearms. Continue to carry the pepper spray (otherwise you need to jump through all the hoops for a concealed carry permit - in which case you should probably go with a smaller caliber) but make time to shoot regularly in case you are forced to defend your home/family.
posted by pcake on August 30, 2007 12:13 PM
Oh, sweet Broomhandle!
But when is bazooka season in your state?
posted by richard mcenroe on August 30, 2007 8:21 PM
Right after mortar season and before heavy machinegun season, of course.
Trias,
The wife and I are looking after your interests! We have enough for a number of Americans, even. When the revolution comes, all right minded people get a .303 and some char
