H&I Fires* 18 DEC 2007

December 18, 2007 | | Comments (25)

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...

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).

*************************
So, I'm taking a shower this morning, and I hear SWWBO shriek. It would seem that Gunner has brought her a possum head. Sans body. Ripe-ish. Unknown at this time if its name was Alfredo Garcia or not.

Sigh. She's all... squiggly about it.

I just observed that now that we've moved the Castle to the country, we live on a small island of civilization, surrounded by a sea of primeval savagery. The flotsam and jetsam of same is bound to wash up on the beach now and again. And has. Does. And will.

Get used to it! -the Armorer

*********************************

*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."

Share This Article:

Categories:

25 Comments

     
By Beth Donovan on December 18, 2007 12:07 PM
am not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
By Barb on December 18, 2007 12:14 PM
So, Beth - are you all squiggly? heh.
 
By Beth Donovan on December 18, 2007 12:22 PM
Barb, I open the back door, I see a grinning head of some sort looking up at me. I was startled, and it is John's job to be manly and dispose of such things. I may have squealed, but it's not because I'm squiggly!!
 
By bad cat robot on December 18, 2007 12:24 PM
Sheesh. Gunner saved you the best part, and this is your thanks? It could be worse. A friend's cat once brought in a copperhead snake. A *live* copperhead. And proceeded to dump it in the bathtub to "play" with it some more. Dead possum heads (hey, what a cool punk rock band name!) don't even rate.
 
By Princess Crabby on December 18, 2007 12:41 PM
Armorer - You should (for many reasons) thank your lucky stars that you are married to SWWBO and *not* the Empress of La Moata...........because that "grinning head" would have ended up somewhere that would have been very painful for you. Perhaps something along the lines of that whole "a wound more severe than decapitation but less serious than death".
 
By John of Argghhh! on December 18, 2007 1:34 PM
Hee! Struck a nerve, methinks!~ Oh, and... Are too!!!
 
By HomefrontSix on December 18, 2007 2:33 PM
Yeah but, PC, you'd have to TOUCH it to get it there. I don't see that happening. Though I do think I'd rather be decapitated than go with your plan. Cass...what do you think?
 
By J.M. Heinrichs on December 18, 2007 4:04 PM
GIRLS!!!! Cheers
 
By Princess Crabby on December 18, 2007 4:19 PM
I could so touch it. To quote a drinkin' buddy of mine......
Maybe it's the red hair. Or the stubborn streak. Or both. But I've never been one to admit defeat or give up. So I sucked it up, got back on my feet, and kept moving forward. And every time I did, it added to the feeling that I *could* do this. I might not like it but I could do it.
 
By Justthisguy on December 18, 2007 4:32 PM
I'm gonna send y'all a pic from my cell phone. Please don't give Captain Heinrichs the number. Or Captain Nowak.
 
By Maggie on December 18, 2007 5:35 PM
What about me? hehehehehe
 
By HomefrontSix on December 18, 2007 5:36 PM
So TOTALLY not fair PC!!! And in completely wrong context as well...kind of. Actually, not so much. I've not dealt with smiling possum heads but I have battled cockroaches the size of B52s. Phooey. I still say you couldn't do it. Maybe we should see if John will let us test out my theory...
 
By jim b on December 18, 2007 5:50 PM
Sounds like opossom head soup time. I would come by for some but I am trying to cut down.
 
By Cricket on December 18, 2007 6:12 PM
Awww...did you praise the critter for paying the rent? *pats the nice exterior guardian and gives extra lovey skritches* It's okay Beth. I got grossed out by a freshly dead guinea pig. It had died in a Child's arms, and said child put it on my sewing table. He reasoned that if Wendy could sew Peter Pan's shadow to him, I could do the same for the piggie. *shudders even now* Fortunately, Fort Lewis has a Pet Cemetary.
 
By Justthisguy on December 18, 2007 6:25 PM
Maggie, it was a picture of a possum's head, still attached to a very live possum, thankyouverymuch, which I found on the back porch, or lanai as wrongly called here, one night, terrorising my kitteh. I have not yet given up hope of transmitting the image, of the visage, of that possum across and along the intartubez for the delectation and disputation of all.
 
By Justthisguy on December 18, 2007 6:32 PM
Now comes Cricket, and complicates things with Reality. Or, why we say grace before meals.
 
By Princess Crabby on December 18, 2007 7:32 PM
HF6 - YGTBFKM!!!!! Did you just *dare* me to do something? Do you think there is something I *wouldn't* do???????? I guess I could understand *some* people doubting that mine roll and clank......but you have *met* me. You have been out *drinking* with me! You have actually seen that I have no morals or scruples or boundries or whatever those pesky things are that keep you people inside the pale. I, Princess Crabby, the Empress of La Moata, she who has no equal, Princesa Malhumorada, Maggie would most assuredly *touch* whatever required *touching* of that you can rest assured.
 
By jim b on December 18, 2007 8:41 PM
An open letter from Sergeant Andrew Robinson USMC to Nancy's Boyda and Pelosi ... as seen in the Topeka Crapitol-Urinal
 
By jim b on December 18, 2007 8:50 PM
Newer carbines outperform M4 in dust test By Matthew Cox - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Dec 18, 2007 17:41:35 EST The M4 carbine, the weapon soldiers depend on in combat, finished last in a recent “extreme dust test” to demonstrate the M4’s reliability compared to three newer carbines. They go on to say: the results of the test were “a wake-up call,” but Army officials continue to stand by the current carbine, said Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, commander of Program Executive Office Soldier, the command that is responsible for equipping soldiers. “We take the results of this test with a great deal of interest and seriousness,” Brown said, expressing his determination to outfit soldiers with the best equipment possible. The test results did not sway the Army’s faith in the M4, he said. “Everybody in the Army has high confidence in this weapon,” Brown said. Lighter and more compact than the M16 rifle, the M4 is more effective for the close confines of urban combat. The Army began fielding the M4 in the mid-1990s. Brig Gen Mark Brown is a moron. I hope Senator Coburn has his stars for breakfast. I hope this maggot is looking for a job by tomorrow. I have never seen more criminal behavour than to knowingly send US Soldiers out with an inferior weapon. I need to stop now before I blow out the rest of the rules.
 
By HomefrontSix on December 18, 2007 9:26 PM
hee hee Mission accomplished. I can hear your accent from here! Now the trick is getting John to stand still while you try to complete the dare...heh.
 
By emdfl on December 18, 2007 9:26 PM
One of our cats used to bring the wife(females are always the head of the pride) an occasional mouse or rat head.
 
By AFSister on December 18, 2007 11:16 PM
LOL... my cats are getting pretty good at catching moles- much to my complete happiness!