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).
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If you're looking for something to do, reader Toluca Nole sends along this link to an NLOS Cannon simulator. Pretend you are an artilleryman! Get abused by CAPT H about being "Ubique!"
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From Mike D we get this from Sly Stallone about why John Rambo goes after Burmese Bad Guys, vice jihadis:
The question:
In the eighties, John Rambo took on villains who were the real villains of the day: ruthless, invading Russian commie b—-rds hellbent on global communism. So I always assumed that if Rambo returned he’d be taking on the real villain of this day: extreme, radical Islamist b—rds hellbent on worldwide jihad. It seems like all of today’s movies have [wimped] out on making Islamofacists the bad guys even though they are clearly the bad guys in the real world right now. Why is Rambo [wimping] out on this mission? Has he become politically correct?
Stallone’s answer:
I thought the idea of Rambo dealing with Al-Qaeda, etc. would be an insult to our American forces that are actually dying trying to rid the world of this cancer. To have at the end of a 90 minute movie the character of Rambo seizing Osama bin Laden in a choke hold then dragging him into the Oval Office then tossing him in the President’s lap declaring “The world is now safe, Chief ” would be a bit insulting. We’ve seen today every film that deals with the Middle Eastern situation has failed because it is a subject people find incredibly painful to sit through while it is ongoing. Maybe ten years in the future a good film will be produced on the subject. Right now I believe revealing a situation like the ongoing genocide in Burma provides a compelling story simply because it is true and is the longest running civil war in the world.
If you'd like to see the rest of the interview - click here. -the Armorer
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Via multiple sources comes Iowahawk's application of New York Times Invesitgative Techniques as applied to combat vets - applied to journalists. Here's how it starts:
Bylines of Brutality
As Casualties Mount, Some Question The Emotional Stability of Media Vets
An Iowahawk Special Investigative Report
With Statistical Guidance from the New York Times
A Denver newspaper columnist is arrested for stalking a story subject. In Cincinnati, a television reporter is arrested on charges of child molestation. A North Carolina newspaper reporter is arrested for harassing a local woman. A drunken Chicago Sun-Times columnist and editorial board member is arrested for wife beating. A Baltimore newspaper editor is arrested for threatening neighbors with a shotgun. In Florida, one TV reporter is arrested for DUI, while another is charged with carrying a gun into a high school. A Philadelphia news anchorwoman goes on a violent drunken rampage, assaulting a police officer. In England, a newspaper columnist is arrested for killing her elderly aunt.
Unrelated incidents, or mounting evidence of that America's newsrooms have become a breeding ground for murderous, drunk, gun-wielding child molesters? Answers are elusive, but the ever-increasing toll of violent crimes committed by journalists has led some experts to warn that without programs for intensive mental health care, the nation faces a potential bloodbath at the hands of psychopathic media vets.
"These people could snap at any minute," says James Treacher of the Treacher Institute for Journalist Studies. "We need to get them the help and medication they need before it's too late."
The mission will begin Sunday at 1000 Mariott Hotel, 775 Brasilia @ KCI. His remains will be escorted to the funeral home at I-435 and Holmes. If you are in the area, please join us. Cages (cars) are welcome and expected considering the weather.
*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."
I tried to leave a message at the guestbook for Cpl Davis, but the quintuply-damned program they have there did not co-operate with my old system, even after I had turned on the javascript.
So, I'll say here and now that I regret his passing, and that I confide he gave a good account of himself in the living of his life, and that his friends and family can be certain that I mourn with them, and sympathize with them for their loss.
So, anybody here planning to be the next John Kerry? Or, if being John Kerry isn't your cup of tea, would you like to be present when the next John Kerry "makes his bones" as an ant-war veteran to jump-start a political career? So you can record it for posterity?
Huh?
Anybody want to go to IVAW's Winter Soldier? In the "I got mail" post below this one, "Army Sergeant" made me an ivitation to attend the event. They are looking for bloggers, pro-war, anti-war, pro-military, anti-military, or just bloggers in general who meet the criteria laid out in this post at ActiveDutyPatriot. They're looking for bloggers - especially active duty bloggers, who meet this criteria:
I can almost hear the protestations from here. People are probably readying their typing fingers now, getting ready to blog all about how IVAW will only be choosing their personal favorites, established anti-war bloggers.
If so, I have to say: you could not be more wrong.
We welcome bloggers, regardless of political affiliation or stance on the war
IVAW believes that Winter Soldier will stand on its own merits. We have no need to preach to the choir-we think that this testimony is and needs to be an important part of the dialogue about the war.
Preference will be given first to active duty military bloggers. Active duty military bloggers, regardless of their stance on the war, will have a seat. Active duty military bloggers unable to afford the financial burden of transportation to DC but still wishing to attend, please contact me at sgtivaw@gmail.com . It will next be given to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and following that, all other veterans. This is an event by military and former military, and we want to help as many of you get there as possible.
There will, of course, be some criteria and ground rules. If you are active duty, some are waiverable.
1. This is nonwaiverable: you must not be associated or have endorsed radical violence, in your blog or in person, against idealogical opponents. This is for both sides of the political spectrum and war dialogue. If your words have suggested you will be unable to control and behave yourself with a gathering of your fellow bloggers and/or a large group of veterans with differing political views, you will not be permitted to attend said gathering.
2. You must have an established and regularly updated blog.
3. You must be willing to provide bonafides, particularly at the door, and especially if you claim military service for preference. (Nonwaiverable)
4. Many active duty members and veterans will be attending but not testifying at the Winter Soldier hearings. They are not the news, and they are not fair targets for blog attack. You must be willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement about these people and these people only-that you will not reveal audience members or publish audience words without their explicit consent.
5. Opinions are great. Diversity in ideas is welcome. It is by having the best ideas, not by distorting the facts to match the ideas, that success is possible. You must at least demonstrate the capability for an open mind-and have demonstrated via your blog that you are committed to the factual accuracy, whatever your personal spin.
6. You must have displayed a capacity for making arguments other than ad hominem attacks, and kept personal bile against military members and veterans to a minumum. For entirely fictitious example: saying "Army Sergeant was taken into custody by the police once for animal abuse, thus making all testimony suspect." is fine. "Army Sergeant is a filthy moonbat commie dog-kicker and should burn in hell" is not fine. Remember that whether you believe them or not, whether you believe in what Winter Soldier is trying to accomplish or not, the fact remains that everyone testifying has raised their right hand and swore an oath to their country. Many of them will never be the same again, and some may in fact suffer from PTSD. They do not deserve that kind of treatment.
I admit, I'm tempted. But I couldn't make the entire event because I have a bill-paying-employment travel requirement that conflicts.
What's truly extraordinary is that they have no idea how much the name of their little event makes so many peoples' skill crawl as bile rises in their throats.
Like you said, FBL! I can appreciate the protest effort, but the choice of name shows that these people haven't got a clue what transpired at the original Winter Soldier travesty, nor any sense of the power of words to provoke disdain and disgust--and to instantly alienate a large number of people. With that simple choice, probably thought to be oh-so clever and cool, they have shown they either haven't any idea what they are doing or that they are not really as serious about protesting the war as they are about just making the news.
To me, John Kerry was and always will be, at worst, a lying traitor, or at best a rich opportunist padding his political nest with an eye to the future. As well, the original Winter Soldier hearings will always be associated with traitors and liars. For any organization to choose that name as an homage to the originals is like throwing down the gauntlet at the decent, moral people who lived through that era. Of course this assumes the protestors actually know what and who they are honoring...
Also, I have a real problem with their insistence on people signing a gag-order (non-disclosure) to protect those folks who are not at the event as witnesses: "You must be willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement about these people and these people only-that you will not reveal audience members or publish audience words without their explicit consent." This ill-reasoned bit of tripe seems to me to be nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to ensure 1) they have total control over what gets reported (in spite of expected claims to the contrary), and 2) that they and others can say whatever they want without fear of being 'outed,' as long as they don't claim 'witness' status. I suspect this is actually the meat of the concern, and that the other so-called ground rules were tossed in to make this one seem more reasonable. As far as I'm concerned, if a person shows up, he or she is making a public statement one way or the other, and that statement is newsworthy, even if only in the aggregate (as in 25 former members of unit x were in attendance), etc. On the other hand, active duty people are not supposed to participate in this sort of thing (in uniform), and if any of them do, that too is newsworthy and should be reported. Frankly, I find this requirement disconcerting and dishonest.
And finally, I hope this event will not be like the original, which will always be characterized in my memory as a circus of sideshow freaks, strident malcontents, dull-witted misanthropes, and the congenitally disaffected. All except for John Kerry of course, who was none of those things. He was just a liar.
This last portion over at the IVAW web site makes me very suspicious.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
From March 13-16, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because ours is a story that every American needs to hear.
To me it sounds like an attempt to get a large crowd and then use it to show overwhelming support for their side of the story. The restrictions on what can be reported on also seems too restrictive.
posted by Just A Grunt on January 20, 2008 11:08 AM
...the choice of name shows that these people haven't got a clue what transpired at the original Winter Soldier travesty.
As shocking as that is (considering that they're tying themselves so closely to it), I think you may be right. That has been the underlying theme of the conversation I linked to above.
I agree with Just A Grunt – but I wonder if it goes deeper.
I wonder who are the actually financial backers of this operation? The likes of CAIR? Or, could they be from an unfriendly country trying to inject agi-propaganda during the political season?
I'm going to say HIJMS Mikasa, as she was in the fifties. Obviously not an armored cruiser, as there are two of those left. The four asymmetrical mounts for the biggest of the secondary guns also say "Mikasa!" to me.
posted by Justthisguy on January 19, 2008 11:43 AM
Well, I'm not a Sailor..........
But am I headed in the right direction if I guess that the ship in question was originally part of the Great White Fleet? Perhaps the USS Illinois (BB-6)?
In keeping with the "Where once there were many, there is only one," theme, I'm going with the USS Texas, BB-35...the last of the surviving Dreadnoughts
Nope. Cerberus was a *monitor* -- low deck, no sponsons, both turrets installed on the superstructure. She was sunk in Port Phillip Bay in 1926 as a breakwater.
Pic here looks like it was taken in that period of post WWII, and before Nimitz helped get her restored in '58.
It looks a lot different today than that picture for sure.
Last pre-dreadnaught era ship and one of the three great historical warships of the World.
posted by OlafTheTanker on January 20, 2008 9:56 AM
Well, it's not the USS Drum, in the Philippines...
So it must be the Mikasa, but before the restoration... All the pieces and gun holes are in the right place, even with the hut built over the rear gun.
Either that or it's a trainer remnant, or a design mock-up, though unlikely...
posted by J.M. Heinrichs on January 21, 2008 1:31 PM
Not Mikasa nor Olympia. Appears to be moored within the USA. Why, note parking spaces against barbed wire fencing at left. Dark circle to lower right of vessel could be disappearing barbette of coastal defense gun type. Note individuals embarked in athletic event or PT - white t-shirts and mixed in with personnel in darker shirts. I will guess WWII when a lot of old ships were converted to moored command posts - even Constellation, in Baltimore harbor now, served in this capacity.
posted by Citizen Deux on January 21, 2008 7:59 PM
Press release on Dole Institute Milblog Panel. Note that two of the guests, Holt & Carroll will meet with military and journalism faculty, classes and students on Jan29 & 30.
Jan. 17, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Earle, Dole Institute of Politics, (785) 864-4900 .
Dole Institute to host panel discussion on military blogs
LAWRENCE — As a follow-up to a successful program in early 2007 on political Weblogs, the Dole Institute of Politics will host a panel discussion about another dynamic and growing community on the Internet: military blogs (also known as “milblogs”).
Blogs from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan have allowed readers at home to connect with soldiers, contractors and civilians who are serving their countries, and they have forced the Pentagon to rush headlong into this 21st century medium.
Milblogs began to appear shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They saw a dramatic increase in usage following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to Joshua Patterson, a KU graduate student studying journalism, Milblogging.com had indexed more than 1,800 military blogs in more than 30 countries as of Dec. 1, 2007.
“Milblogs and soldier blogs are often gripping and graphic firsthand accounts of the author’s life and experiences,” said Jonathan Earle, interim director of the Dole Institute. “This program will give our audience a window onto a new and fast-changing part of the so-called ‘new media.’ I can’t recall a similar program anywhere else in the country.”
The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the Dole Institute. It is free and open to the public.
Like last year’s “Blog to the Chief” program at the Dole Institute, this discussion will be moderated by David Perlmutter, associate dean of KU’s William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications and author of the books “Visions of War” and “Blogwars.” The panel will feature Charles J. “Jack” Holt, chief of New Media Operations for the Department of Defense, and leading military bloggers Ward Carroll, editor of Military.com and Milblog.com; and John Donovan, lead blogger of Argghhh! The Home of Two of Jonah’s Military Guys.
Holt is a career Pentagon civilian employee. He served with the National Guard at the National Guard Bureau and was deployed to Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia. The New Media Outreach program, which he leads, studies how new technologies inform the public of defense policy and operations.
During his 20-year Navy career, Caroll served in four F-14 squadrons, accumulating more than 2,800 flight hours in operations that included five extended aircraft carrier deployments to hostile regions. Carroll has worked as a writer and cartoonist for Approach magazine and is the author of five books, including “Militia Kill.” He currently blogs at Defensetech.org and his personal site, wardcarroll.com.
Donovan is a retired soldier who served for 20 years as an artillery expert, military historian, training and simulations expert and weapons of mass destruction response planner. He currently works as a defense contractor for the Army, working on everything from simulation development to operational analysis. He has worked on projects ranging from developing an analytic personnel management model to future Army concepts, structures and equipment. As a blogger, he covers military affairs, firearms, military history and politics.
There's an advantage to being local. I'm cheap, they don't have to fly me in or put me up. I just get a free dinner out of it. As I understand it, Dave is going to take advantage of my localness and have me do with his fall semester classes what he's having Ward Carroll and Jack Holt do for his spring semester classes.
At least that's what my ego hopes, ennyway... 8^ )
It's the whole *less* than usual deal (resulting in chocolate syrup and stale cheese puffs stuck to the cushions) that raises eyebrows in High Places...
*loading the crushed ice chamber in the 'ritamatic*
Y'know, this is going to perplex the normals (as in non-blog-regulars, Ry) who show up because of David telling his students to read the blog.
Hi there, Students of Perlmutter!!!
Um, one thing you guys do have to have clear in your minds... I'm a Mizzou grad, my father I both played ball at Mizzou (well, I practiced more than I played) and I firmly believe in Rock Chalk, Chickenhawk, ***** KU! when it comes to athletic endeavors.
But I'm usually polite when I'm on-campus because I'm well past the time in my life when brawling is fun.
I wrote a bit ago...and maybe got ate by the dungeon trolls...that I'd like to know exactly the location of this panel so I could make kat calls from the back...er...ask pertinent questions of the panelists.
posted by kat-missouri on January 18, 2008 10:52 PM
Hey, maybe you could get it flash-video'd and then you-tubed. Talk about tech changes...
A friend of mine teaches on-line courses for a college out west. He does it from his home in CA, using podcasts and Adobe's WebConnect live. He plans to have me participate sometime in March, I think, probably as an example of a lab-rat who lived... :-) Really though, I'm in Texas, he's in CA, his students are from all over the place, and we're all going to be live together for a couple hours one night.
I've got years of experience with two-way video education and web-curriculum development, and 70-80% of my college degree work is non-traditional (i.e., not on campus, not in classrooms), but to be honest, this is new territory even for me--and a bit daunting. I'm ugly in person and unfortunately, I know what I look like on a video screen, but even so, I can only guess at what I'll look like through a webcam. Yucch.
But it should be interesting. And I'd sure like to see your stuff, John.
posted by kat-missouri on January 19, 2008 2:56 PM
It being in Lawrence, I reckon I wouldn't be welcome there wearing my Quantrill t-shirt?
Actually, I could prolly get away with, considering the abysmal historical ignorance of most people these days. The Armorer might knock me down and kick me, though.
At least the feminists would be on my side; Quantrill only murdered white males.
And while we noted "Mountbatten Pink" for warships, there aren't any color photos of same... so we'll substitute a much brighter shade of pink, as applied to the USS Balao.
Even if it was for a movie...
There are two more in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry... because, well, one is embarrassing.
it certainly appears that you've brought out the big guns today.
posted by MajMike on January 18, 2008 11:00 AM
I'm willing to overlook many things when the photo features a shapely woman in a pinup/noseart pose.The Abbot is only a 105mm anyway, so painting a girly gun pink would be appropriate. :-)
posted by Pat on January 18, 2008 11:21 AM
Not only is that Howitzer pink, it's blowing bubbles. I would think that the beautiful woman sitting on top of it would half make up for that fact...
posted by HomefrontSix on January 18, 2008 11:23 AM
Our friend on the Abbott gives a whole new meaning to "Gunbunny"
posted by XBradTC on January 18, 2008 12:39 PM
...an offense against all that is right and good in the world... a pink howitzer.
I saw the chick and the pink popgun, but I completely missed the offense against all that is right and good in the world -- did you sneak a Twitchy Bill mug or somethin' similar in there?
From an email. Now, there's no denying there's good news in here, if you're a veteran.
Key Veterans Funding Accomplishments in the 110th Congress
Historic increases in support for the VA health care system
o $11.8 billion in increases over 12 months
$3.4 billion increase to FY07 CR
$1.8 billion in Supplemental funding in May 2007 Iraq war spending bill
$6.6 billion increase in FY08 bill (last $3.7 billion as contingency)
o 30% increase in the VA funding baseline from January 2007 (from $33.1 billion to $43.1 billion)
o Other key increases since January 2007 (when the budget was frozen at FY06 levels)
Medical Services $29.1 billion (from $22.5 billion, a 29% increase)
Medical Administration $3.5 billion (from $2.9 billion, a 21% increase)
Medical Facilities $4.1 billion (from $3.3 billion, a 24% increase)
Medical Research $480 million (from $412 million, a 17% increase)
Substance Abuse $428 million (from $358 million, a 20% increase)
Homeless veterans $130 million (from $63.6 million, a 104% increase)
240% increase in non-recurring maintenance at VA facilities since January 2007 to prevent a Walter Reed-like tragedy from occurring there.
o $415 million in FY 2006, $1.08 billion in FY 2008 bill.
o VA’s Asset Management Plan notes that to adequately maintain the $40 billion in infrastructure they have, between $800 million and $1.6 billion is required annually.
Focusing on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
o Required the VA to spend at least $2.9 billion on mental health care. (In FY06, the requirement was a minimum of $2.2 billion, making this a 32% increase.)
o Required that current Level I Polytrauma Centers and the centers of excellence for Mental Health and PTSD will be fully staffed and operational in FY2008
o Added $66 million for a new Level 1 Polytrauma Center in San Antonio
o Added $100 million for mental health care and $32.5 million for medical research into PTSD, TBI and prosthetics in the Iraq supplemental (5/07).
o Added $8 million for additional Polytrauma support clinic teams
o Added $5.4 million for additional Polytrauma points of contact
Focusing serious attention on the 400,000 claims backlog by hiring additional claims processors
o Added 3,100 new claims processors to the VA
400 new hires funded through FY07 CR
800 new hires funded through Iraq Supplemental
1,800 new hires funded by FY08 Omnibus
o Projected total claims processors for Compensation and Pension benefits
End of year FY07: 9,068
End of year FY08: 10,998
o VA projects that even with new employees requiring training time, productivity will increase from 774,378 claims processed in 2006 to 858,906 claims processed in 2008. (84,528 or 11% increase)
Supporting our rural veterans who live far from VA facilities
o Increased the travel reimbursement from 11 cents/mile to 28.5 cents/mile. (First increase since 1979, when gas was 95 cents/gallon.)
Of course, I'm a curmudgeon and a grump at heart.
It's all nice... until I see the last bullet, where they pat themselves on the back for giving vets a somewhat over half of the current gov't reimbursement rate, and this rate, unlike the GSA rate, isn't shifted for prices (as noted in the press release).
I know, I know, we have to live in the realm of the possible and the reality of the budget. I just know the guys in western Kansas have to do some driving to get places where VA offers care. And this has to be spun in a positive manner or you actually shoot yourself in the foot making progress look like a lack of progress (heh, election campaigns anyone?).
Of course, as someone with a 50 year perspective on the issue of gov't health care (DoD and VA, having been a customer since 9 months before my birth) the 240% increase for infrastructure we're so proud of here should be said with heads hung low for letting it happen. "An ounce of prevention.."
Now, as I've noted elsewhere about infrastructure - no one gets their name on a rebuilt bridge, and no one gets re-elected for maintaining things... you get credit for building stuff. Look at West Byrdinia! Just as Colonels and Generals get credit for implementing projects, which, if 5 years later turn out to have been failures... no penalty attaches.
But, when you take a 232 year perspective on it - I live in a Golden Age for veterans, and I know it. My grandfather may not have marched with the Bonus Army, but I have little doubt he was sympathetic to them, as a WWI veteran himself. It's taken three generations in my family to get us this far, and we at least seem to be on a two steps forward, 1 step back path now, vice the "Huh? Veterans? Let's give 'em a parade and hope they go away!" that was the modus operandi of the Republic prior to 1930.
So, perhaps we can let freshman members of this Congress take full credit for what the 110th Congress has done in this regard. But people who served in the 109th, 108th, etc... regardless of party (and the associated Presidents of both parties) shouldn't crow about it, it should come with an apology note depending on how they voted, at the least. The Presidents get the bigger share of the blame in my eyes in that they should been asking for it.
But hey, Rumsfeld spent his time trying to find ways to get me to stop using TRICARE... damn greedy retirees!
So, don't mind me, a downside of being something of a historian is a sense of "Dang it, we've been down this path before" that the blissfully unaware are not subject to!
John, John, step back for a minute and look at the "benefit". Now, there are things you won't need to worry about, example - hemorrhoids. We have now received the "Government Hemorrhoid Prevention Program". Are you not excited? I just wish they wouldn't use a mature sequoia as their medical tool. They also had this one other annoying habit, during the procedure, they would whisper in your ear, "Don't worry, this is just the pilot hole!" See, there are benefits to having your view enhanced, plus other things.
Now, you know why, I am always-
Grumpy
posted by Grumpy on January 18, 2008 12:51 PM
As much as I hate the way the VA has treated me since I left the service (nothing has ever got done easily, NOTHING at all! Not. One. Thing.), my opinions of it have changed some in the past year regarding its value to people in need.
My indigent brother-in-law was diagnosed with Hep-C, and his condition had worsened to the point of failing liver, etc. It was not pretty. We let him live with us, but we could not cover his medical care. Aside from the SSA (another bruising org. to deal with), he had nothing; however, since he was a former vet (not retired), the VA hospital here in San Antonio took up his case. It wasn't easy to get things done (is it ever, at the VA) because the bureaucracy is still murderous, and the attitude of many of the mid-level worker bees is still that they are doing you a favor even by talking to you, and forget about getting in when you are supposed to (they ALWAYS over-schedule, just like airlines)...
BUT, the VA did take my brother-in-law's case, and they did help him with lots of very expensive treatment and medication and caring service once he got into the system (he really was in dire need). In fact, had he been more willing to listen to the doctors, he'd probably still be alive. Of course, if he were the kind of person who took care of himself and paid mind to advice, he probably wouldn't have got Hep-C, either. Funny how those things correlate, eh?
As for me, I now think the VA is an excellent option for people who have no alternatives or whose own insurance won't handle the costs of needed care. I was all for the dissolution of the VA, with care going to insurance-based service like Tri-Care for all vets, but not any more. There is value to the VA.
Just not for me, not yet, and until I find myself in dire need, I'll stick with what I've got and be glad to pay the extra I do every month.
I like being able to count on being inside my doctor's office within 15 minutes of the time I'm scheduled to be there (exceptions being unusual rather than expected), and I like having the doctor's undivided attention while there, and I like the doctor acting as if it matters if I am satisfied, and I like office people who are pleasant, and who recognize me after the 3rd time I've been there, and who don't treat me like I'm an imposition on their social lives. I especially like that I don't have to listen to insulting BS lectures from the people I am paying to serve me. If I don't want to floss, I don't have to listen to a dentist berate me for not doing it. And I can tell the doctor I am confused and I'd like more information, and he doesn't act like I should just take his word for things and move on so he can get to the next cow in the line. And I like being able to insist on or refuse certain treatments or kinds of care--like I am an adult, not a child. And most important, if any of that turns out not to be true, I can take my business elsewhere without having to ask anyone's permission! I like that part best of all.
But again, for people with no alternatives, the VA is a good thing. That may seem like a left- handed compliment, but it's a lot more than I was willing to give them before. And I still hope _I_ never need its services, at least until I'm old and retired and don't mind spending my entire day waiting to get a couple of tests and some medication.
And on Wednesday, President Bush released the 3.7 billion "emergency" money that was built into the legislation to get it passed sans veto.
Honestly, I didn't think he would, but I know the Legion put a great deal of pressure on him to turn loose of it.
First time in anyone's memory that we have a VA Budget that met and in some cases exceeded the recomendations of the Veterans Service Organizations.
As part of the Legion's national effort, we'll all be in DC in March to start whacking on them for next year.
It's a never ending struggle..........
posted by R. Jewell on January 18, 2008 1:05 PM
Heh. If I had any time left, I'd get in touch with my State Headquarters and get involved at that level. But a feller can only do so much, and the blog *does* have an impact at Big VA. I know from my email.
If we nudge VA to flush the freeloading wannabes (i.e., those claiming vet status without having spent one single minute in uniform), the Legion and the VFW won't *have* to lobby -- the VA's present budget will contain an unbelievable surplus.
Something like 130 fake SEALs for every legit one out there and four out of five guys claiming Viet Vet status are phonies -- and these days, every time one of us kicks off, six or seven pop up and holler "I wuz *there*, man!"
Well, Chief, I proposed to Sgt. Mom a few years ago that McNamara should get the "Clockwork Orange" treatment, that is, strapped into a chair with his eyelids clamped open, and forced to watch every bad movie about the Vietnam War three times. At least. With electric shocks. She seemed to be OK with that.
Oh, and Bill? I wuz *not* there, and to this day think about that. You guys and the locals had it won, and Congress threw that away in 1975. I'm with Jerry Pournelle; it was probably not a good idea to go into Iraq, but we ought not to abandon those who have come to trust us, as we did in Vietnam. Of course Dr. Pournelle also said something like, "Individuals are sometimes honorable, governments, hardly ever."
Owhell, the Republic lasted longer than expected, and maybe ain't quite dead, yet.
Dang! Seems that way at times, doesn't it? I reckon I'm trying to turn your readers on to Jerry's stuff, as I don't think he gets enough repute in the blogosphere. I haven't commented (actually email only to his blog) in a while, because he scares me, a bit.
Now you, Sir, are a big, genial Irish cop, the kind of guy one would confide in.
Yes, I do know that you are capable of being a big, grumpy Irish cop.
Dang......you're right, John. I don't get here every day. Bill compares Rumsfeld to Macnamara and I'm too late to jump in with both feet on that one........dang............dang........dang
We do what we do, you with Boda, and me with what I do. It's all for what's right.
Since Ledger posed me some interesting questions in the comment section a couple of days back (rather than relying on my spotty e-mail reading habits), I figure I’ll answer right out in the open so that
a. anybody (who isn’t / hasn’t been a contractor) who’s also curious about the subject won’t start bugging me in the comments and
b. anybody (who is / has been a contractor) who’s got a completely different set of experiences can start bugging me in the comments.
1. Are contractors really so cost efficient that they replace two divisions (let’s say a division is 15,000 men)?
Well, you wouldn’t *want* to replace an entire division or two (man-for-man) with contractors because
a. it definitely wouldn’t be cost-effective, even in the long run and
b. that infantry gig is too rough on the knees when you’re my age.
What *is* cost-effective is replacing small elements (say, platoon-to-company-sized – and not from the tooth, but from the tail) with an even smaller number of high-speed, low-drag, multitalented, multitasking, Jack-of-All-Trades-and-Masters-of-a-Whole-Bunch contractors, such as, well, *me*. Contractors function most-effectively in a supporting role, freeing up uniformed folks to weight the pointy end. F’rinstance, six of us contractor-type instructor pilots will be replacing about a dozen Air Force ‘structor pilots plus a half-dozen ground instructors and a couple of flight simulator operators on the fixed-wing side. When the rotary-wing portion opens up, I’ll be teaching that group, too, and six more contractor IPs will replace all the Army IPs plus the Army ground instructors *and* augment the two contractor simulator operators. Our one logistics guy will replace four military supply types.
Another thing you get is focused specialization – say, you’ve just been awarded the gate-guard portion of the Force Protection contract for an LSA – the first thing you do is hire vet-MPs and -APs, because they’ve already spent at least one tour being successful at guarding gates. They’ll hit the ground running, rather than spending “unproductive” time training up for the job, and chances are *excellent* that they already know all the sneaky tricks the opposition uses to try to get HE surprises into the base.
Don’t forget, most contracts are short-lived (a year or three), so the contractors “go away” sooner than troops do -- at least, until the next contract award, which may be for something entirely different in an entirely different area. Since the better part of the Defense Budget is obligated for personnel (pay and allowances, etc.), you hire contractors for the short run and spend a boatload of money, but you’re saving it in the long run because you’re not paying for training, base pay, bonuses, family housing for dependents, etc., for the equivalent number of troops over the course of several years (twenty or thirty), nor are you incurring obligations for their retirement pay.
2. Do contractors really make $400 a day or about $140,000 per year? I am sure rotor wing pilots like BillT would be paid a higher amount because of his skills. Is this $400 a day net take-home pay?
The salary depends on the job description, the amount of physical danger involved, the outfit that was awarded the contract and the hiree’s experience, pretty much like any job in New York, Philly, Amsterdam or Oslo. Oh, yeah – the gummint sets terms, too.
I worked with a guy in Pakistan who made an *obscene* amount of money as a helicopter owner-operator in California and was making less on this particular contract than he would have by supporting the average Hollywood mega-production; on the flip side, I have a couple of wheeled-vehicle mechanic buds in Kuwait and a fellow aviator in Kazakhstan who all make twice what they’d make working stateside.
Whether or not your salary is tax exempt depends on whether or not you spend at least 330 days OCONUS; if you do, your earnings up to $84-point-something-grand are tax-free. There are additional stipulations and requirements for increasing your tax freedom from the IRS, but then you incur Host Nation tax obligations.
3. Do contractors die in higher numbers than their military counterparts thus, justify being highly paid?
Depends on the job, your own survival skills and pure luck. Most of the high pay offered is because the companies hiring want to attract the best talent, and the best talent can afford to figure the odds and be picky. And, since the companies are offering the bucks, *they* can afford to be picky when they hire.
Have there been a *lot* of contractors killed? Yes. But if you compare the stats (numbers in-country and numbers of casualties) for both contractors and troops, the percentage for each group is about the same.
However, don’t forget that most contract jobs in nasty areas are pretty mundane – satellite commo systems setup and integration, avionics circuit-board repair, HESCO barrier installation, counter-mortar radar calibration and stuff like that -- the “go-in-harm’s-way” security types probably suffer marginally more casualties, but there are plenty more scuzzballs who prefer to pick on “softer” targets.
4. Do contractors depend on the military when they get into a jam?
Most of us depend on the military for pretty much everything we don’t bring with us – security, housing, cute nurses – and, since most of us work in the tail and not the tooth, we have neither the firepower (have you priced Ma Deuce ammo lately?) nor the industrial-strength toys that only sovereign nations (or John and Murray) can afford. In my particular situation, we’ve worked out a deal with the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) guys to cover us in case we faw-down, go-boom due to hostile fire or mechanical failure.
The contractors who work outside the wire (most teachers, construction workers, truckers, etc.) *usually* travel with armed escorts, either allied troops or local-hire bodyguards. Those who don’t travel in a convoy generally pack sufficient firepower to suppress a small-arms ambush (in Pakistan, we had a ram truck as lead vehicle and eight guys with subguns in a thin-skin SUV as trail). Those who travel solo are sometimes lucky and sometimes not.
As far as the armed security type contractors go (e.g., Blackwater), I know of several instances in which
a. troops charged to contractor rescue,
b. contractors charged to troop rescue and
c. blue-on-blue firefights broke out between troops and contractors because of crappy planning and really, really *sloppy* intel work. Plus atrocious Threat Recognition on both sides. And I’ve talked with participants from both sides of all three types (the last one *after* their tempers cooled – the advantage to being both retired Army and a contractor is I can walk in both worlds without betting beaten up in either).
So much for personal observations. Anybody else care to expound (or expand) on the subject?
Hold the e-mails – I’m still working my way through December…
BillT, Please forgive a real old fart's question. The question I have is this, Under the "Articles of War" or the UCMJ, presently as it is called, "How are contractors viewed in the actual 'Battle Space'?" This is a question which should be seriously considered. These people are NOT in uniform.
posted by Grumpy on January 18, 2008 12:47 AM
you hire contractors for the short run and spend a boatload of money, but you’re saving it in the long run because you’re not paying for training, base pay, bonuses, family housing for dependents, etc., for the equivalent number of troops over the course of several years (twenty or thirty), nor are you incurring obligations for their retirement pay.
Hola, Bill...
I have no comment from experience, but things are not nearly as clear cut, even, as you've shown. I knew an Navy E7 SEAL in 2005 who was paid about $70K to re-up because he could have earned a lot more than that working for Blackwater (this fellow was WAY, WAY qualified for a number of things), but THEN the Navy asked him if he wanted to be a Warrant, which he thought would be cool so he applied, but THEN the Navy came back and offered him a Limited Duty Officer assignment, which he liked even more, so off he went to be an Ensign or whatever the first rank is for Navy Ossifers, and he got paid a sizeable bonus for that, AND he got a nice raise (if not a demotion from Chief). I am not complaining, I think he was worth it, but contractors have to come from somewhere (your point about MPs, etc.), and that training is being paid for by the Government anyway. Also, though retirement and long term med costs are a real issue, it costs a lot more to train up new folks than it does to keep good ones unless the good ones can make more money as contractors, and Vets can get VA care anyway if they need it. I'm sure my buddy would not have been paid the re-up bonus he got if there hadn't be amarket for his skills created by the Government hiring contractors. I know there is more to it, even, than that, but I personally think Rumsfeld and crew sold Congress a set of new invisible clothes with all that smaller, lighter, faster, junk. You know I haven't looked in a while, but I have to wonder how the reality has stacked up against the predicted manpower needs Rumsfeld got so upset about when the war started. Wanna bet we're over?
"How are contractors viewed in the actual 'Battle Space'?"
Mostly as background noise. But some of us *are* under the UCMJ as stipulated, by name, on our official DoD orders. Those who fall under DoS are a different ball of wax.
...contractors have to come from somewhere (your point about MPs, etc.), and that training is being paid for by the Government anyway.
Hiya, Sanger -- where've you been hiding?
The costs of troop training and contractor trainup come from different bags of money (and re-up bonuses come from yet another bag), but troop training, which is continual (we can both testify to *that*) is a recurring expense which mounts up pretty fast when the training involves multiple CALFEXs and NTC/JRTC rotations. ...how the reality has stacked up against the predicted manpower needs Rumsfeld got so upset about when the war started. Wanna bet we're over?
No. Bet. And my personal opinion is that we're not only still short of what reality requires, but we're focused in a couple of wrong directions (particularly in the Both Colors of Blue area).
Been avoiding, mostly. And not to beat my own drum so much as to avoid boring folks here with stuff they might not care about, but the long answer to that question is posted at The Grand Retort under Finding My Voice. I hope it makes sense....
Also, I've another site now too, here. It has a photo/image gallery too. Hopefully I won't be overwhelmed by keeping two of them going...
Heinlein made a point of the issue in Starship Troopers that every member of the Mobile Infantry was a fighter. Anything they needed done that wasn't combat was contracted out. Sure, the troopers did a lot of things for themselves but they didn't have anybody assigned as 'cook' or 'laundry'. If you were in the field you did it yourself. If you were someplace safe enough to have non-combatants around then it was handled by the hired help.
A lot easier to train someone to be a cook than to be a cook / troop. No 'extra' cost for troops to guard the cooks either since the cooks are only in places the troops are already guarding.
posted by KCSteve on January 18, 2008 12:51 PM
No 'extra' cost for troops to guard the cooks either since the cooks are only in places the troops are already guarding.
Sure thing, if the cooks are just cooking for the troops.
But how 'bout teachers and interpreters operating under the DoS aegis? No. Troops.
Engineers dredging the channels into a country's only seaport? No. Troops.
Pipefitters, electricians, firemen, sheetmetal cutters and welders working in the oil megafields? No. Troops.
In the Long War theaters, no troops + armed security requirement = hired hands toting smokepoles OR dead teachers, interpreters, electricians, et cetera...
One of those who was a double-warrior. A police officer and a military reservist. With a Castle connection - he was one of 1SG Keith's troops. What follows is from 1SG Keith. This post will remain up top all day. New content comes in below.
We lost one of our own today. Staff Sergeant Eric Barker, my broadcast section NCOIC, was killed in a shootout in Atlanta at 1240 am Wednesday morning. When not serving our country in the US Army Reserve, Barker was a Dekalb County Police Department officer. Last night, while working an off-duty detail with another officer, Barker and his partner were gunned down in an ambush.
Watching the news reports, I could see the little yellow evidence markers. A lot of them. I saw a number 57 on one. Hopefully they were marking more than just bullet casings. Barker was a good NCO and a very cool guy. He was always joking. We talked several times about family. He and his wife have 4 kids, the youngest of which is only 3 or 4. I'm sure they won't understand why Daddy's not coming home. They won't understand for a few years anyway. I hope they catch these guys. I hope they try to get away. I'm angry, as is everyone who knows Barker. I want revenge. I don't care if some panty-waisted liberal claims the perpetrators were disadvantaged youth- fact is, they killed two police officers; one of which was also a friend of mine.
I like what the Chief had to say during his many press conferences today: "Of all the avenues I've gone down as police chief, this one was the darkest, and the toughest hour I've ever had, because it was about nothing -- senseless... today's act of senseless violence is a display of what we're seeing around the country where people will shoot down a police officer without regard to any repercussions."
My respect for Chief Bolton doubled when I heard him say, "For those witnesses and those people that are here [at the apartment complex]: Don't lie to us. Tell us the truth....For to witness the life, the whole life, of a police officer, who represents us all, lie there on the asphalt in the middle of the night, leaving behind children -- and we're going to remain silent. I submit to you today, you're not my brother, you're not my sister if you go down that road."
Staff Sgt. Eric Barker is my brother, and he will be sorely missed.
Those we love
can never really leave us.
We feel their presence,
like a gentle touch,
whenever we remember
moments shared
and do again
the things they loved to do.
In so many ways,
they remain with us,
their gentle spirits part of
all we do and all we are.
May you find comfort in the gentle words, helping hands, and warm thoughts offered in loving sympathy.
Take care, Staff Sgt. Eric Barker. We will meet again someday on the other side.
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance, In Memoriam.
Update: Click this link if you are unfamiliar with the backstory for this post. A suspect in the shootings has been apprehended.
Thank you for putting this up top and giving us the chance to dance.
Barker was a GREAT guy. Funny as hell, and completely dedicated to his family. He was one of those rare individuals who truly gave his all to our country as both a police officer and an Army NCO. You can't tell from the picture, but he has jump wings- something you don't find often in a public affairs unit.
The smile you see in that picture is how I will always remember Barker. It's a very "him" picture- right down to the mismatched helmet cover.
We're gonna miss you. See you on the other side.
posted by AFSister on January 17, 2008 9:05 AM
UPDATE: They arrested a second scumbag. His family turned him in. The Chief alluded to searching for another one. Preliminary reports show one of them is bleeding. Neither officer unholstered their weapons, so speculation is that the scumbags shot each other. I hope it hurts. I hope it gets infected. I hope it turns to gangrene.
posted by 1sg keith on January 17, 2008 12:07 PM
Heh. Dbie is getting so into the Army stuff she's critiquing uniform violations... whodathunkit?
SSGT Barker's family is in my prayers, as are the officers and staff he served with. I'm an old grunt, but an 11-B2P can still raise a glass in his honor. Airborne! All the way!
Alan Briley, RN
2nd Bn/325th Abn Inf.
82nd Airborne Division
posted by Alan Briley, RN on January 17, 2008 3:53 PM
So very sorry. My prayers and sympathy are with his family and friends.
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).
********************************
Bob Owens has a nice take-down of the NYT article about those murderous combat vets. Bob answers one the questions I had, about the potential for a Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc logical fallacy underlying the NYT analysis - i.e., the Times seems to have assumed, you're a combat vet, you killed someone, therefore you must have killed someone because you're a combat vet... or, as the latin translates... "After this, because of this." Bob's article at Pajamas Media discusses some of the killings (not all were "murders") that illustrate the point. Others (mentioned and linked in Bob's article) have already taken a look at the demographic issues - i.e., whether the Times likes it or not (of course, it seems that making the comparison escaped them) - taking their numbers at face value... returning combat vets kill people at a lesser rate than their non-combat experienced age cohort. -the Armorer
*******************************
Heh. Via The Corner, we find ourselves at The Swamp, a Chicago Tribune blog - which is skewering Representative Nancy Kaptur (D-OH) for a problem with some pesky things like knowing who your witness is at a hearing - in this case, she was confused about the Chairman of the Fed, Paul Bernanke's background. Frank James gives us this:
At today's House Budget Committee hearing at which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is testifying, Kaptur had just asked Bernanke this somewhat mind-boggling question: what did he think of the idea that Wall Street "bankers, fiananciers and board members" who contributed to the subprime mortgage mess be forced to "pay back" their salaries and bonuses to help pay for the economic stimulus package being discussed in Washington. At least she didn't ask him his view on perpetual motion machines.
Emphasis mine. Hmmmmmm. Lessee, Ms. Kaptur... you're suggesting the government confiscate the salaries of private citizens who, in your eyes, failed in their fiduciary duty and made bad decisions.
Okay. I'll go for that breath-taking expansion of government power if there's a tit-for-tat. We get to do the same thing to Congress. Deal? -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."
This is sooo awful (and fulla pictures) that to spare the faint-of-heart (and dial-up customers) I've put it in the Flash Traffic/Extended entry... continuing the theme of pink weaponry...
Didn't the SAS field Jeeps in North Africa with this eye blaring color. During daylight, it hurts everyone's retinas; but at night, it apparently absorbs light very well. Great night-time camouflage
I believe that it was Mountbatten who first mixed Battleship Grey with Red Color to achieve this effect.
Don't forget the pink B-24s which went to Ploesti!
(my favorite bombing raid in history; the guys who survived to be captured gained lotsa weight in captivity, and once it was found that some of them were Rotarians, they were invited to address the Ploesti Rotary Club.)
The Romanians were hedging their bets about who was gonna win, even then.
Oh! The F-117, I think it's called, you know, the airplane that's all planes and angles, was originally going to be painted pink, I've read. Makes it harder to see in the daylight.
The AF objected, and insisted on black paint, which is good at night, not so much in the daytime.
Methinks they protest too much?
I mean, a really manly guy can wear drag and everyone knows it's a joke.
posted by Justthisguy on January 17, 2008 10:46 PM
I mean, a really manly guy can wear drag and everyone knows it's a joke.
The Pink sweater on the tank looks cool, but I think the purpose was just another example of dumb-in-action. As well have a black-crayon-over watercolor-etching-day to protest the war. The only people who pay any mind to that silly stuff are other people who think just like the nitwits who knitted the thing. I mean really, whose mind is that supposed to change? What message can one possbly take away besides "Here there be oddballs!"?
You know, with all the kids who undergo Chemo and could use a cool homemade stocking cap, or all the amputees who could use a gayly colored limb-sock to cover the bandage over the suppurating stump, one would think that people who really care about people would find a better use for their time than knitting a sock for a damn tank!
Of course, given the quote that went with the project, I guess I shouldn't be surprised:
"For me, the tank is a symbol of stepping over other people’s borders. When it is covered in pink, it becomes completely unarmed and it loses it’s authority." Oh yeah, I like that: "unarmed." Right, as if that WWII tank was doing anything but sitting in the courtyard keeping the flagstones dry. I'd like to see them throw that over an Abrams in Iraq. It'd be kaBOOM!!! and then, "Awww, look at all the pretty pink fluff floating around." heh.
What I'd like to know is where people get the ideas for this stuff. Really. I would like to know how it is that after people decide they want to do something like protest a war, for example, their drive and ambition turns into a little chaotic spark of idiocy and, worse, they get other people to follow right along. . . . dum-da-dum.
On one hand, I think people do this stuff because they want to do something, but being powerless and inexperienced, they cannot imagine their way into successful protest, so they fritter away their energy on trivial or inane activities like knitting tank-socks rather than actually doing something. On the other hand, it is entirely possble they are just 'tards with too much time on their hands, and this was just another cool reason for the blue-hair club to get together.
Feh!
BTW, I think it was the SAS who first used pink on their land rovers in Africa. Well, maybe not first, but I'm pretty sure the off-the-boat color of the SAS LRs was pink.
Dang, Sanger, you thread-killer, you! I mean, you've answered all questions with remarks which are pretty much un-answerable, at least if we're being rational and honest.
You should drink moar before commenting. Believe me, the Armorer won't let you get _too_ far out of line!
Yaaaay! Sanger's back. I do miss your didactics, we all do.
posted by Boquisucio on January 18, 2008 9:25 AM
Well, thanks Boq. I haven't been all the way gone, just in hiding--occasionally lurking, etc. Figured this was a good piece to play whack-a-mole target...
And JTG, I didn't mean to kill stuff, but you know I've never been the party type. I haven't been drunk--no kidding--since 1978 and my wife of almost 3 decades has never even seen me with a buzz. On that score, I think I fail miserably in the manly-man stereo-typical husband department.
only a remote control tanker would drive straight on out across the open like that.
ya still gotta have the P-sub-H, before the P-sub-K-sub-H kicks in.
posted by MajMike on January 17, 2008 9:32 AM
i think they got that one. probably.
posted by eric on January 17, 2008 12:29 PM
I want to thank MajMike for that comment... "Not only was it authentic military gibberish, but it expressed a courage that is little seen in this day and age."
For those of you bemused by it, he simply said, "Ya gotsta be able ta hit it, afore ya kin kill it."
One of my instructors had been the only survivor of an overturned tank: it caught fire.
Nice video.
Cheers
posted by J.M. Heinrichs on January 17, 2008 1:49 PM
GAH! What a waste of a good Centurion..
WTH? They couldn't come up with one of the bazillion Soviet tanks found in the mid east in the last 2 shootin matches?
(I'm sure they could have found at least one that still ran and wasn't already swiss cheese ;) )
posted by OlafTheTanker on January 17, 2008 3:42 PM
Odd that only the propellant cooked off. Probably, only TP-T on board. That would explain that lack of secondary explosions.
anyone notice that the turret started to lift about 13 to 14 seconds into the clip? then there is two sets of secondarys.
posted by Eric on January 17, 2008 4:22 PM
Sooo question is will the current US tanks and other vehicles (Bradley's and Stryker's) protect the crew or are the crew considered expendable?
And if the armor cannot protect the crew, is less armor and more speed and maneuverability the answer?
I'm a civilian so please do not roll your eyes too much when reading these questions, just hope the saying there are no stupid question is true.
Andrew - HL's point about there being no one on board to pull the fire extinguisher has merit.
Sometimes, if you're hit by something big enough, you're just screwed.
Do we consider crews expendable? No, other than we know we are going to lose crews.
We spend a great deal of time and effort to make the vehicles as survivable as possible, and successfully so, given the evidence in Iraq. Strykers have taken IED hits that would have ripped a M113 into chunks and the crews walked away with ringing ears and minor injuries.
Truth is, if sufficient force brought to bear, you're screwed.
MajMike's point about the tank driving in a straight line also is relevant. If you always give the other guy the optimal shot, you're going to get your head handed to you on a platter. If that BILL had been 1 meter left or right of center on that turret, the outcome would have been different. And that was a wire-guided missile, so the gunner has to track the target. Jinking targets are harder to track.
Which then, of course, brings us back to speed and maneuverability. The problem with sacrificing protection to gain speed and maneuverability means that while you may be harder to hit, when you get hit, you get hurt. In one on one fights, where crew drill and skill can make the difference, that may be sufficient. But in mass fights, where there is a lot of stuff flying around, you're mostly just making yourself more vulnerable. There's a reason that the Stuart tank, which performed credibly in the Western Desert, didn't hang around except as a highly modified recon platform much beyond the battles in Libya and Cyrenaica - sometimes you can't maneuver, then it's really good to have some armor.
It is also telling that in between major outbreaks of militant violence, the brainiacs say "Light! Fast! Maneuverable!" and early on into real armored combat, crews are saying "Fast! Maneuverable! ARMOR AND A GUN THAT KILLS A LONG WAY AWAY!" The current generation of MBTs try to be that second tank. FCS and it's ilk are trying to be that first tank, with a gun or the ability to get access to long range precision fires to overcome the inherent weakness of their armor.
All a great idea, as long as the fight develops to your design paradigm. But sometimes, the weather is bad, the terrain doesn't give you long shots, and you don't have the luxury of trading space for time - and you have to fight it out, toe to toe. I would rather be in a Bradley or an Abrams the day that fight happens.
Hey guys - if Olaf is correct and that is a Centurion (the running gear certainly looks like it, though I can't see the little half-roller right behind the idler I would expect - that isn't a standard Centurion turret - or was someone running around developing their own turrets and I missed the memo?
Andrew, war between tanks is somewhat (very like, it was in North Africa) war between naval vessels. Any weapons sufficient to do important damage to a machine like that can be counted upon to do the extreme icky-poo upon the soft pink humans inside them. Tanks are wonderful if one is quite certain the enemy has no anti-tank weapons, a condition which may or may not obtain.
Course, if there were a crew inside, somebody might have pulled the halon bottle, and it might not have burned like that.
Of course, if there were a crew inside, I doubt anyone would have survived the pyrophoric effect long enough to have activated the halon bottle.
In simpler words, when a BILL (or a TOW-2B) waffles a tank, it sets the *air* inside the tank on fire, first. The crew isn't just exposed to the explosion -- they're *inside* the explosion...
One of my instructors had been the only survivor of an overturned tank: it caught fire.
One of our 2/81 M60A1s lost a track during an autobahn roadmarch somewhere between Würzburg and Erlangen and without the one track, it skewed right and went over the edge of an embankment and flipped over on its top. The TC was thrown from the tank before it landed, so he was ok, and the crew was able to escape by crawling out through the driver's compartment. The story I heard later was that the power was still on, and things were sparking inside, and that a bunch of rounds had come loose (we were partially combat loaded in those days) and were as likely as not to go off, but that the Bn XO--one Major Baucom (sic), an Aggie, crawled inside the tank and turned stuff off, etc. Not sure what that entailed (just switch off, or more), but in my mind he was a true blue hero from that day on. I always liked him anyway, he was a real gentlemanly fellow in my mind, if a bit hard to please (Bn XO and all). I saw the tank as we drove by, goign r e a l l y slow because an M88 was removing the dead track from the road as we were coming up to it. It was an odd thing to see, but it was too dark for me to get any pictures. Too bad, eh?
John and Justthisguy, thank you for the education.
Yeah, I understand if the bad guy can hit you with something big enough, your screwed because you can't put enough armor or protection on a vehicle and still expect it to move (from an infantry vest to a tank to a battleship).
So because you can't have enough armor, you rely on speed, maneuverability, smoke, firepower and luck to avoid being hit full on? Armored vehicles are much more survivable when hit with a glancing shot which would still destroy a regular vehicle correct?
Thanks again for educating me (who admittedly has learned most of this from books, History Channel and Military Channel).
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).
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Roman soldiers of the 1st Century AD (shoot me, I'm not PC here) wanted the same thing soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan want... "Paria udonum ab Sattua solearum duo et subligariorum duo." Loosely translated: socks, shoes, and clean underwear. Courtesy of JTG and the Daily Mail - "Letters from the Front, Roman-style." -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."
A long serving warrior... ...with a very unique record of service. The Atomic Tank. I admit, I've always had a soft spot for the Centurion. What a warrior of a tank she was, especially in Israeli hands. This is the saga of an Ozzie tank with a unique history.
The Centurion in position prior to the initiation of the atomic blast. The bomb was detonated atop the tower visible in the background to the left of the tank.
Clearly visible on the rear armour is the registration number 169041, while low scrubby vegetation can be seen in the distant background.
During the few hours leading up to detonation on 15 October 1953, the Centurion’s main and auxiliary generator engines were started and the various electrical systems switched on. All hatches were then closed.
Surprisingly, the blast caused less damage than expected.
The tank stayed upright, but was pushed back over 5 feet and skewed slightly to the left.
Most of the heavy transmission deck covers were thrown open and ended up resting on the rear of the turret.
Surfaces facing the epicentre were all sandblasted and the glass lenses on the optical equipment were badly pitted.
The heavy side plates were all torn off and deposited up to 200 yards away, while the track guards and side bins were badly distorted but remained on the vehicle.
Lighter items such as the aerials were carried away, and canvas components like the mantlet cover were burned off.
Interestingly, the report concluded that the most vulnerable part of a Centurion tank caught in an atomic blast was the crew!
When first observed by a survey party only 60 minutes after the blast, the engine was not running, but investigations later ascertained that it had simply run out of fuel a few minutes after the blast.
Heh. Obviously, (for those who understand this) back in the days before integrated circuits were in *everything*.
I would note also, Stupid Nuclear Testing (as in the caption to the photo below) was not a unique rectal-cranial infarct of the United States.
The tank on the Rogers Brothers M9 trailer after its recovery back to the Long Range Weapons Establishment base at Woomera. Note the extra tyres tied to the tank: the result of a number of blow-outs on the overloaded trailer.
One of the recovery crew later observed that they were told to place the tank in isolation well away from the buildings, yet had not been briefed about any radiation hazard prior to the recovery, or been provided with any special protective equipment.
Bollucks. Even today the hardest thing to replace is the crew. Tank doesn't work as well after the blast as they used to(even with all the shielding the electronics are supposed to have EMP is a biotch), but the crew is still the most important thing. Always has been and always will be.
The point is, the tank survived, usably, even if the crew would not have. So, I could have gotten a replacement crew, if nothing else, scraped together from crews that have lost their vehicles (See, WSRO)
Okay, you have to re-do your boresight, and replace your optics. You're supposed to boresight often, anyway.
If you trash the tank *and* the crew, now I'm out both.
The real point is that the vehicle was usable at all.
And the that Centurion would be more usable in that condition than most modern tanks would be after having been hit by the same thing. And could be restored to full combat status quicker.
Puts the old Timex commercials to shame. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking indeed! Great story, glad you shared.
posted by NevadaDailySteve on January 16, 2008 2:36 PM
You're on a roll today. Another excellent post.
posted by JimC on January 16, 2008 4:34 PM
Amazing how in an era of pre-hardened electronics the tank worked after being that close to the nuclear test.
How well would the M-1, T-90, German, British or French tanks survive the EMP shock today?
Ok, so no one will see this question because of the novel written by the poster above me, but still am curious if any of the folks here can provide information on the subject. Open information only of course.
Well, John and Mister MajMike would know much better than I would, but the industry claims that electronic systems should survive because of the shielding the systems are given against EMP. CHobham should be at least as good against heat and shock as old steel armor. They should work after being hit. (See, someone saw your question 'Drew)
And how dare you slam me for thinking "first the mission but always the men", John. After how many times you've slapped me down for not doing that? Aye carumba. Where's my skateboard? Eat my shorts. Ack(with tongue flying out as John strangles me). But John seems to be saying it wouldn't.
Wow, I think we found someone crazier and more verbose than me. didn't think that was possible. Is that one of the seven signs of the apocalypse or something? Or is that someone put a bad acid tab in his Fruit Loops for after 4:20 munchies? Ai yah.
“Okay, you have to re-do your boresight, and replace your optics. You're supposed to boresight often, anyway. If you trash the tank *and* the crew, now I'm out both. The real point is that the vehicle was usable at all. And the that Centurion would be more usable in that condition than most modern tanks would be after having been hit by the same thing. And could be restored to full combat status quicker.” –John
Good point.
I had a friend to was involved in the cruse, patriot, and other missile projects. He indicated that atomic weapons were mystically over rated and to be effective must be on target to do the job (I believe Gen. LeMay was a stickler for accurate targeting of atomic weapons when he was running the SAC bases).
My friend estimated that all of the atomic weapons in service could only scorch about 5% of the earth’s surface area.
I gathered from him that the damage from an atomic weapon is mostly thermal and secondly radioactive fall out.
If a large tank or other military equipment was far enough away from the actual heat blast it would survive but the people would be toast (I am not sure if “burstance” is a big factor in atomic weapons).
For example at the Trinity test the metal supports of the tower could still be seen even though the 21 Kiloton blast made a 10 foot deep crater (see links). Conversely, I have seen weapon system pictures of tanks blown to pieces with conventional 500 lb bombs.
John's idea that tanks could survive a nuclear blast (at a certain distance) and returned back to service is not beyond possibility (although one wonders about burning fuel and explosive shells in the tank). The crews may have to be replaced - but it could be done.
Submarines could also survive certain nuclear “depth charges.” And, maybe even some well built land bunkers.
True enough that if Bill and I know better, we're not going to be saying anything.
As for smacking you around, that's what punk brothers are for, nyet?
One thing to consider, though... armored vehicle systems may or may not be provided with sufficient shielding to protect them from EMP... but *every* vehicle on the battle field as IC circuits controlling the engines and other bits and pieces. Soldiers are carrying lots of gear, to include weapon sights and gear with embedded chips... want to bet on whether or not all of that stuff is shielded?
Again, this is industry claims, but yes, they should survive. THis is why, so I'm told, that there's major backlash against COTS type thinking. That kind of stuff hasn't been 'rugged-ized' for the battlefield sufficiently. It's all supposed to survive an EMP blast that results from the nuc going off. That's what the industry(meaning the people who build and sell the stuff), what I've read out of it anyway, says.
Now, whether or not that really happens? I dunno. You actually play with this stuff, John, I don't. You can't say straight out and I can only repeat producer's claims.
As for smacking you around, that's what punk brothers are for, nyet?
Hontoo desu, neh? Wanker. ;)
Man, that sends me right back to USMC Boot Camp. I got cycled over to Physical Conditioning Platoon and was promptly labeled "Tank II", as there was another recruit there my size who'd picked up "Tank". That rapidly became "Tom Tank". Time passed, and one day I managed to climb the 40' slick rope, to cheers from others, and Gunny stuck his head out the hatch to see why there was noise. "What's this? My Tank II can climb the slick rope? Get down here and do it again, this I've gotta see!"
"Aye Aye, Sir!", and I did, rang the bell, and came down.
There was silence for a moment, and then Gunny called inside for a black marker, and demanded that I hand him my sweatshirt, which was labeled front and back
Tom
Tank
II
"No more", he said, drawing a line through the "II". "From now on, you're
ATomic
Tank
Thanks for jogging my memory!
posted by htom on January 17, 2008 4:51 PM
Dude, using a translator program does not count. THe grammar seems awfully wrong. I'm pretty sure that should end in arimasu instead of dewaru(crap I can't even read hurigana anymore, that could also be de-a-ru). You are such a cheater. ;)
And what's up with using Kanji? That's a major party foul. Make me dig for my flop eared dictionary. Punk.
Yeah, fine, you're sure of it. Great. Maybe I should ask The Armorer's Sister to get me a little payback.
crap. This is why Japanese can be so hard, punctuation. de aru, and not dearu. aru being a conjugate of arimasu. Still, I think you cheated. No, that doesn't mean I want you to beat me over the head with all of your German and French since we both know you could beat me at that while half asleep.
Heh. Your translation service proll'y got 'hontoo desu, neh?' wrong then. It wasn't a question along the lines of 'really? are you serious?'. More like, 'ain't that the truth,' but Japanese style. It's all in how you do the 'neh' part.
Which we did, tongue-in-cheek, in yesterday's H&I Fires... snarking my sister a bit about her attempts to keep "gunplay" out of the play-habits of her children. However, depending on where you live, and/or the relative wisdom and intellect of your child... you *should* keep toy guns away from them. As in these toys in Iraq.
Which Pistol is the Real Deal? Photo by Spc. Adam Sanders, January 11, 2008
Staff Sgt. Terry Dahl holds a real 9 mm pistol in his right hand and a toy 9 mm pistol in his left at an Iraqi police station in Seddah, to demonstrate how similar the fake and real weapons look. Coalition forces are asking shop owners to stop selling the toys to children so they are not mistaken for insurgents. Staff Sgt. Dahl is with the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion. .[Update: As reader BCross points out - the caption is incorrect - the toy pistol is in the *soldier's* right hand, the real pistol in his left - but to us, the viewer, the toy is on the left, and real pistol on the right. -the Armorer
A little closer look:
Now, you could put markings on them, like the blaze orange markings required for realistic toys/replicas/air soft guns that are sold in the US.
I resisted the play-gun thing too, but boys will make guns out of anything as your sister found out. Now they have tons, but ALL of them have some sort of "toy" aspect like the orange tips.
posted by AFSister on January 16, 2008 7:46 PM
Why is the Air Force guy wearing a Navy cap?
Same reason he's wearing the Army web belt and 9mil rig -- he's being *joint*...
As a side note, it appears the caption is wrong. It looks like the Glock in his left hand (viewer's right) is the real one. The other one does not appear to have the "safety trigger" nor does it appear to have the means to remove the slide from the frame.
But those differences are not visible in the top picture, so they probably wouldn't be noticable at typical engagement distances.
posted by BCross on January 17, 2008 3:17 PM
You are correct, of course. I did what the caption writer probably did - the differences in the pistols were obvious to me (at this range) and I just said, "fake left" "real right" in relation to me.
But for people to whom that is not so obvious, I'll go edit the caption!
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).
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General McKiernan to assume command of the NATO forces in Afghanistan. Among his many qualifications for the job - may fave is the first one:
General McKiernan was never a favorite of former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and after the invasion he was made the deputy head of the Army’s Forces Command, which oversees the training of American troops in the United States. In 2005, he was awarded a fourth star and made the head of American Army troops in Europe.
His European experience will be a plus in dealing with NATO’s disparate forces in Afghanistan. During the 1990s, he was a senior officer with allied forces in Bosnia and later was deputy chief of staff of American Army operations in Europe.
Among his other posts, he has been commander of the First Cavalry Division and the Army’s chief of operations.
The U.S. plan to send an additional 3,200 Marines to troubled southern Afghanistan this spring reflects the Pentagon's belief that if it can't bully its recalcitrant NATO allies into sending more troops to the Afghan front, perhaps it can shame them into doing so, U.S. officials said.
But the immediate reaction to the proposed deployment from NATO partners fighting alongside U.S. forces was that it was about time the United States stepped up its own effort.
After more than six years of coalition warfare in Afghanistan, NATO is a bundle of frayed nerves and tension over nearly every aspect of the conflict, including troop levels and missions, reconstruction, anti-narcotics efforts, and even counterinsurgency strategy. Stress has grown along with casualties, domestic pressures and a sense that the war is not improving, according to a wide range of senior U.S. and NATO-member officials who agreed to discuss sensitive alliance issues on the condition of anonymity.
Moving over to Iraq - here's some understatment, methinks:
Mr. Qadir’s comments are likely to become a factor in political debate over the war. All of the Democratic presidential candidates have promised a swift American withdrawal, while the leading Republican candidates have generally supported President Bush’s plan. Now that rough dates have been attached to his formula, they will certainly come under scrutiny from both sides.
In what context? This one:
FORT MONROE, Va. — The Iraqi defense minister said Monday that his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq’s borders from external threat until at least 2018.
Those comments from the minister, Abdul Qadir, were among the most specific public projections of a timeline for the American commitment in Iraq by officials in either Washington or Baghdad. And they suggested a longer commitment than either government had previously indicated.
Pentagon officials expressed no surprise at Mr. Qadir’s projections, which were even less optimistic than those he made last year.
President Bush has never given a date for a military withdrawal from Iraq but has repeatedly said that American forces would stand down as Iraqi forces stand up. Given Mr. Qadir’s assessment of Iraq’s military capabilities on Monday, such a withdrawal appeared to be quite distant, and further away than any American officials have previously stated in public.
In their ever-accelerating attempt to make Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi furious, the Iraqis have finally passed their "de-Baathification Remediation Reconciliation" bill. From the Christian Science Monitor:
Signs of political reconciliation are emerging in Iraq, raising US hopes that a logjam has broken.
By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is counting on Saturday's passage of a key piece of legislation in Iraq, easing measures against former Baathists, to act as a break in a logjam that has held up national reconciliation.
With violence down, insurgent groups quieted, and many of the forces affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq routed, the United States is hoping passage of the new law means the "surge" of 30,000 additional troops is succeeding. In announcing the surge a year ago, President Bush said its aim was to provide the conditions for Iraq's warring power blocs to find common ground on important political issues.
Not that all is sweetness and light in Iraq - the a**holes still vex us:
WASHINGTON — When the two Army Rangers slipped inside the house of suspected assassins in the dark on Christmas morning in Mosul, they expected a fight. They got one.
Two gunmen, using an 11-year-old boy as a shield, confronted the soldiers. One of the Rangers, a staff sergeant, shot the suspects dead with his rifle. The boy was unharmed, according to an Army document about the assault. [Emphasis mine. -the Armorer]
That clash — recounted to USA TODAY by four of the Rangers involved and confirmed by the military command in Baghdad — kicked off what U.S. military officials say was a 17-hour firefight that resulted in the deaths of 10 al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgents, including the head of an assassination cell, a financier and a military leader. At least one fighter was from Saudi Arabia, according to the military account of the raid. Intelligence gleaned from the fight led to 10 follow-up operations, the Rangers' commander said.
The Dec. 25 raid occurred in what military officials say has become the most dangerous part of Iraq — Mosul and surrounding areas, about 200 miles north of Baghdad. The assault was a preview of a U.S.-led campaign to root out insurgents in Mosul and Diyala province who have targeted those who cooperate with Americans. It was part of a broader operation that led to the combat deaths of nine U.S. soldiers last week in Diyala.
You can catch the rest of that in USA Today. -the Armorer
My sister, who is not a fan of guns, but who has come to terms with the fact that reasonable people can have reasonable reasons for owning a lot of them (because of the blog) was determined that her children would not play with guns.
So, no toy guns, not even squirt guns.
She recognized the fallacy when her eldest took a slice of bread, bit off a corner, and proceeded to say "Bang! Bang!"
J.R. and Josie Salzman have been known on these pages as "a wounded warrior and courageous spouse." But today I wanted to share something far more universal--a vignette of typical domestic life, from her point of view: Cooks and those who love them, but not their cooking. - FbL
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Update: You simply *must* read that post that Fuzzybee linked. Jo, you are a gift from G-d. Lookit the line she handed us... " watching the officer arrest the cross dresser with a warrant"
The truth is out there, Chief WARRANT Officer 4 BillT(ret'd)... Let us not quibble about context. Today I'm pretending I'm an MSM reporter...! -the Armorer
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How come my spam filters are full of "Colon Cleanse" ads? What's wrong with my punctuation? I've got an apostrophe problem, sure, but my colons are fine! :::: See? Or izzis a public health campaign in Panama and they're just soliciting help from the world? -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."
Well, her youngest son is in his early 20's, and neither of her boys joined the Army, got interested in hunting, or became a cop, so I think she's safe these days.
And from what I know of her daughter, the youngest of them all - she's still safe.
They're taking more after their father and mother than they are their Grandfather or Uncle...
Recent reports from Boots (who were) on the ground in Afghanistan indicate that good things are happening there, with some changed attitudes, beginning at the very top of the Afghan government.
posted by R. Jewell on January 15, 2008 11:29 AM
Hmmmm. Those look vaguely familiar, Master Jewell.
And, we solicit guest lectures from formerly muddy boots, btw.
Ok, John, I admit it, it was stoopid. I should have known that boys can, will, and do make guns out of anything. The ban was lifted immediately following the bread incident, a fact you neglected to include in your report.
I do not think it was necessary to reveal this bit of silliness to your vast audience, however. Especially when you consider that I have known you your entire life and have an immense wealth of dirt I could reveal about your misbegotten youth. Even though you control the content here, I'm sure some of your blogging friends would be happy to help me. Hmmmm, which story shall I drop first?
posted by Kathy, the Armorer's sis on January 15, 2008 12:34 PM
So are you saying Nancy & Dingy Harry are PO'd because the Iraqis actually got some legislation passed (unlike them) or because of the specific bill?
posted by KCSteve on January 15, 2008 12:41 PM
Looks like it's time to pop some popcorn, eh John? hee hee
Gotta love sibling rivalry!
posted by HomefrontSix on January 15, 2008 1:11 PM
Oooo. Threats!
I did say you recognized the fallacy... which is more than I can say of many politicians regarding their pet projects and "good" ideas!
Now you are placing me one step above a POLITICIAN? GAK!!!! I am so wounded I shall have to slink off and apply some psychotherapy to myself while I simultaneously plot my revenge.
posted by Kathy on January 15, 2008 1:54 PM
Hey, I never put a metric to how far above a bottom-feeder you are...
Anyone who sees armored columns moving down the road and it makes them feel *safe* can't be all bad!
I also sleep really, really well during thunderstorms because the firing range at Ft. Sill was my lullaby. Military brats have all sorts of bizarre quirks.
posted by Kathy on January 15, 2008 2:14 PM
So, a certain Warrant Officer dons a dress whenever he becomes cranky?
Cheers
posted by J.M. Heinrichs on January 15, 2008 5:10 PM
Ha!
Kathy, reminds me of the CIA's attempt to blackmail Sukarno. When they showed him the films, he immediately demanded a hundred prints, to show in every theatre in the country, to prove how cool and manly he was!
I'm making the popcorn and taking requests for snacks. Bedtime stories from the book of sibling blackmail.
Heh.
I am up for one along the lines of the appetizers
a la Chein Biscotti.
posted by Cricket on January 15, 2008 6:49 PM
" watching the officer arrest the cross dresser with a warrant"
The lower case doubleyou indicates that the RLO was accompanied by a *junior* Warrant Officer, WO1. Or, as we in the aviation trade say, "Wobbly One"...
My 4-year old son has been using a green & yellow potato chip bag clip as a gun, and insisted on wearing a belt everyday just so he could wear it as a side arm.
The day-care administrators just sent it home in a large manila envelope, and told us it was "inappropriate". LOL
posted by fdcol63 on January 16, 2008 7:22 AM
And please, John, no snerks about my use of the word "gun" above. I know it's not a HOWITZER! LOL
posted by fdcol63 on January 16, 2008 7:26 AM
The model for the Mona Lisa has been definitively identified.
*Not* news to anybody who's taken an Art History course any time within, say, the last four centuries...
It's gotten so that if you want any news from Iraq, you gotta look at the pictures. Here's what I found today:
Apparently victims of Saddam Hussein's 1996-1999 "Anfal" Campaign in which entire Kurdish villages were gassed and leveled, are finallybeinglaidto rest.
And here are some photos about a story that has been widely publicized. Every recent photo I could find on Yahoo News involving a story about veterans has a caption that mentions the same article, and the particular photos chosen to illustrate the captions are downright chilling in that context, At least that's obviously the intention, though my reaction is quite different.
The senior leader from the New Baqubah Concerned Local Citizen’s group was killed Jan. 13 near Khalis, Iraq, when the vehicle he was in collided with a dump truck.
The body of Haji Uday was taken to Baqubah General Hospital along with his injured third in command, who was later released. Uday’s son, who was also in the vehicle, was air evacuated to a Coalition Force hospital for treatment and is currently in stable condition.
Four other Iraqis were injured in the accident.
The group had just completed a security meeting and was being escorted by the Iraqi Police when the accident occurred.
“Haji Uday courageously fought al-Qaeda in Iraq, and his efforts played a large role in evicting AQI from Baqubah,” said Col. Jon Lehr, commander, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “This tragic accident is only a temporary setback. We will persevere in bringing peace and security for the people of Baqubah by working together.”
Doncha just hate it when the pesky facts get in the way...
...i.e., that despite the biggest argument made against concealed carry laws is that the streets will run red with blood... that hasn't happened yet? Anywhere? Yet, those arguments are still made any time the subject comes up in the states where concealed carry is not a fact... and are still accepted by those who just can't abide the thought of a citizen under arms who isn't in a uniform or at least carrying a badge...
According to a Detroit Free Press story published Sunday, Michigan now has more than 155,000 residents (about one in 65) legally licensed to carry a loaded firearm. That’s a six-fold increase since the state’s concealed carry law took effect. Most of us remember how nanny-state supporters objected to the law, assuring us that giving people more freedom to exercise their Second Amendment rights would “obviously” produce a flood of violence. Hundreds more people, they predicted, would die in shootouts on highways, city streets and businesses.
Instead, the opposite occurred. As permits have gone up, shootings have gone down and so has violent crime. In fact, the FBI reported Tuesday that violent crime in Detroit fell a surprising 12 percent in the first sixth months of 2007. This came despite a terrible economy that caused one university criminologist to anticipate a crime increase.
Here's a little thought exercise. We allow the Police to carry openly and concealed (and encourage them to do so) because... they are screened, trained in the rules of deadly force, and qualify with their weapons. Right? In a properly implemented concealed carry program... so are the citizens. There is one significant difference right off the top of my head - the rookie cop gets supervised for his first few months to a year, depending on jurisdictions. For the record, I don't have a permit, currently don't plan on getting one (though SWWBO is talking about it for herself) and don't feel the need to carry, because I have the luxury of living in a generally safe place, and no need or interest to go to those places where carrying might be wise, and can generally handle a physical encounter. Your mileage may vary, but I don't live in a Hobbesian world.
So John, you're saying you never go to schools, or malls, or church?
And that you'll have a good six month's warning of any impending 'unpleasantness'?
Kansas law does not, to the best of my knowledge, have an 'emergency' provision in their CCW law so if think you might ever need it you'd best start work on getting it now.
Then again, some people only put their seatbelt on when they're going to be in an accident, and pick up fire extinguishers on their way home on the day they'll have a fire.
posted by KCSteve on January 15, 2008 12:47 PM
Actually, Steve, any more, I *don't* go to schools during schooldays, I *rarely* if ever, go to a mall, and I don't attend church.
So, in a sense, I have that covered.
I do have multiple fire extinguishers. In the kitchen, in the basement, on the deck, out in the barn, and, currently, one happens to be in the car, too. We have smoke alarms, CO sensors. I a seatbelt when driving the tractor, or scooting across the demesne on the Ranger. I wear a helmet while on a motorcycle, even though I don't have to on this side of the river.
Because all the dangers thereby mitigated are *far* more likely to happen to me than getting shot at in a mall, school, or church.
Does that mean I'm not aware of my surroundings? Nope. Does it mean I won't take action should I find myself in such a situation? Nope. But by your logic, Steve, if you aren't running around in body armor daily, you also aren't serious about the risks, either.
As I said, I don't live in a Hobbesian world, despite the evening news penchant for portraying it that way, and the politicians who sometimes seem to want to blame it on those who *don't* live in a Hobbesian world - for causing it.
And, the reality is... the vast majority of people go through their entire lives without hearing gunshots in close proximity, much less the whizz-thump of a bullet going by and hitting something.
I also didn't make sure my son had a cell phone, so that I could *always* be in contact with him. The world we live in isn't as dangerous, for most of us, as we sometimes believe it to be.
I've got good friends who carry. Some who carried whether or not the government was supportive of that activity. And I suspect they carry now on occasion, still without the benefit of a state-issued permit to do so.
I choose not to. I don't criticize people who do carry. I support making it legal in all 50 states.
But I choose not to. If circumstances change, then perhaps I will change my mind, too. But, for the nonce, I choose not to, because I choose to look at the world as I do.
Gad, it should be enough that I'm supportive, now I *hafta* or I get snarked? 8^ )
So, are you implying that the CCW programs of Washington state (background check, no training or qualification required), along with Alaska and Vermont (no permit required), are not 'properly implemented?'
BTW, a service member with a clean record can get a CWP in Yakima County the same business day, if you fill out the forms before lunch.
Mostly, Dave, I was making the point that the police are just armed, trained citizens who happen to wear uniforms and badges, and who, in addition, are granted *offensive* authority (subject to constraints) that the average citizen is not generally granted.
You *can* infer that I prefer a system that wants people to have basic grounding on the legal aspects of deadly force, and I don't mind if there is a requirement to show an ability to handle a weapon properly, and hit what you aim at.
And there are ways to do that without making it onerously expensive, either, at least in terms of web-based training with a sitdown, supervised written exam process. A shooting proficiency test would be a trifle more time consuming and expensive, granted.
As for military personnel - that's mostly a presumption on the background check, so in that wise, I don't see a problem with it.
I don't know the current state of pistol training, nor the universality of deadly force training in the force these days - but if there was to be a deadly force and qualification requirement added, I wouldn't object to same day service for a service member coming in with qualification and training records.
I have made my peace with the Ossifers of The Law, whether they know that or not. I don't carry in public, and am willing to put up with a certain amount of rudeness from said Ossifers, in exchange for their taking charge of a part of the public safety which I am unable, for whatever reason, to guard. I do try to be polite to them, even when I think that they are in the wrong.
I'm pretty much alone in the world, (at least in this county) so it behooves me to stay on the good side of the forces of order, whether I like them or not.
Now, at home, yes I do keep a revolver at the bedside
I don't even own a gun right now. And, I support all of the rights and then some.
Frankly, I was jut reading Justice Story's commentaries on the constitution. His important commentary on the 2nd Amendment echoes my own sentiments on the subject. Then he goes on to add:
And yet, though this truth would seem so clear, and the importance of a well regulated militia would seem so undeniable, it cannot be disguised, that among the American people there is a growing indifference to any system of militia discipline, and a strong disposition, from a sense of its burthens, to be rid of all regulations. How it is practicable to keep the people duly armed without some organization, it is difficult to see. There is certainly no small danger, that indifference may lead to disgust, and disgust to contempt; and thus gradually undermine all the protection intended by this clause of our national bill of rights.1
posted by kat-missouri on January 15, 2008 7:52 PM
Kat, as I've said many times, viva voce, to many people, the Founders got it right the first time. That is, volunteers only for foreign wars, and everybody MUST show up for militia drill, or he doesn't get to vote. I have no problem with wimmin in the militia, our militia being a purely defensive organization.
Going across the sea to foreign lands to kick ass seems to be more of a boy-type thing.
posted by Justthisguy on January 15, 2008 10:31 PM
John,
Actually I have no problem with you not carrying, but it was too good a chance to remind other people that spend all their time in 'safe' areas that, well... no they don't.
And also to point out that being prepared for an unlikely event isn't necessarily a bad thing.
For young women especially the fact that it can take six months (or more) to get a permit indicates that it's not a bad idea for them to get one - even if they don't own a gun. The time it takes to legally acquire a gun is similar to the time it takes to realize that your ex doesn't agree with the decision to make him an 'ex'. The unfortunate fact is that there are a lot of guys who're not only too dumb to take a hint, they're dumb enough to think they can force things to go the way they want them to. A little equality via Mr. Samuel Colt helps keep things from getting uncivlized - or at least equally uncivilized.
In truth, most days the ever-indulgent wife and I get up, go to work, and go straight home. Odds of anything 'interesting' happening (or even just plain interesting) are pretty darn low.
When we go out and about on the weekends it's hard to say just where we'll wind up so we're more likely to dress up a bit.
I have found that tipping with American money helps people from other countries to understand me completely.
that I thought was worth expanding upon:
If you go to the USA, you'll find that a dime is a lot of money.
· Si vous allez aux Etats-Unis, vous trouverez que dix cents c'est beaucoup de fric.
· Si usted va a los Estados Unidos, se dará cuenta de que diez centavos son mucho dinero.
· Wenn du in die USA fährst, wirst du rausfinden, dass zehn cent viel Geld sind.
· Kogda Vy priedete v SShA, Vam stanet izvestno skol'ko kupit desyatka.
· Se va negli Stati Uniti, scoprirà che dieci centesimi sono un sacco di soldi.
· Hvis du tager til USA finder du ud af af, at ti cents er mange penge.
· Als je eens naar de Verenigde Staten gaat, zul je ontdekken dat tien cent veel geld is.
Soooo, Our Princess answers the *supposedly* rhetorical question: "But how ya gonna make some time when all ya got is one thin dime?"
Hey! Don't try to make me sound cheap.....I tipped way more than dimes. By the time I left Dubai, between the fact that I would TALK to the service industry people (all non-Dubai) and tip meant that every employee of that hotel snapped to attention when I passed.
I tipped well and I said "Hello". Most of the natives treated them like they were invisible and the German and French tourists yelled and demanded and I never saw one tip.
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).
Welcome to my neck of the woods, Mr. Vick. Kiki and Gunner would like to have a word with you, as might the shades of Sebastian, Little Guy, Mickey, Whiskey, and Shadow. For that matter, Meggie, Ajax, Duncan and Shannon.
I know the guy who wrote this is a sports writer, but geez, for some reason, I just can't feel sorry for Michael Vick. The writer, Sam Mellinger, didn't even bother to mention the crime, other than the PETA reference. Of course, everyone in Mellinger's bubble knows the story, I suppose. I wish Vick no harm in prison (or any inmate for that matter)... but *his* choices put him there, and somehow, for some reason, my empathy sensor is broken regarding Mr. Vick - who will still come out of prison rich, and if he's still got the stuff, the NFL will let him play again. Heh. Mebbe he'll come out of prison a crusader for prison reform, and do something useful. -the Armorer
For military personnel, the response "Bore Clear" is important because...
A. Even though AlGore is boring, it's no reason to shoot him, advertently or inadvertently.
B. That RLO* platform instructor has to have the feedback from his lecture.
C. It just is.
*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."
Jonah has so discredited himself, this it is likely the last you will ever see of him on TV. He is not only on the same intelligence level of Bush, he is also a jerk like Bush.
I vote you re-brand this fine blog. Anyone else?
The primary definition that Goldberg ignores for his own version is “Fascism.” In Doughy Pantload World, “fascism” means “something bad”. This is something I’ve suspected for many years about conservatives: They don’t actually know the definitions of the epithets they like to throw out to dismiss and demean the left. They just think it means “something bad.” For example:
To sort of start the story, the reason why we see fascism as a thing of the right is because fascism was originally a form of right-wing socialism. Mussolini was born a socialist, he died a socialist, he never abandoned his love of socialism, he was one of the most important socialist intellectuals in Europe and was one of the most important socialist activists in Italy, and the only reason he got dubbed a fascist and therefore a right-winger is because he supported World War I.
Um, actually, not so much. Mussolini was dubbed a fascist because he founded the Fascist Party, you big, fact-ignoring dope.
oohhhhhh PRETTY PRETTY.... i like the new "peacenick tank" with the flowered cannon-end!
That is what it is, right? ;-)
posted by AFSister on January 14, 2008 12:14 PM
"Bore Clear" means all the bores have left the room and we can break out the good chocolate, 'ritas/mojitos, dancing poles, dancing Poles, and the zero-g Twister game.
posted by bad cat robot on January 14, 2008 12:18 PM
So that's why I'm never around when those things happen.
I see how you all are. If anyone needs me, I'll be in Dungeon... rusting.
I originally intended to use these two pics together as a before and after, but that usage was OBE, but you gave me the perfect excuse to put 'em together!
ah yes, old school boresighting with the strings and a bino up the bung!
(took me forever to explain the concept of a synch ramp to the jedi class after i transitioned)
posted by MajMike on January 14, 2008 3:58 PM
****SAFETY NOTE****
Never use the gun tube for a battering ram as nothing good will come of it. And, the DS turret contact team will never let you live it down.
PS: Note the lack of can opener mounting bracket.
posted by Eric on January 14, 2008 4:18 PM
That's because it's an *Army* Abrams. You're thinking of the *Marine* version, which is equipped with a bayonet stud...
No real leering, of course. :P Had a very satisfying day assisting a lot of recruits and young Marines spending a night on the town before reporting to SOI tomorrow. I had to stay late, and so unexpectedly got to watch the DI with the recruits. I'll probably write about it tomorrow. Sadly, there were no Naval Officers to flirt with. ;)
Nope, it just takes time for him to realize the reference isn't to an elevator rock group -- the Really Lite Orchestra...
Sister band to ELO - Extra Light Orchestra.
"Bayonet studs"...mmm...sounds delish
posted by HomefrontSix on January 15, 2008 12:44 AM
Well I shoot the little guns TOW2, M-16a4, the Javelin and AT-4 and just would really hate to see the government waste that kind of money shooting Al Bore. It could be put to better use, I.E. Target shooting, fireworks, shooting down asteroids hell just about anything but shooting it at HIM.
Love the U.S. Army Infantry
posted by Sgt S Humphrey on January 15, 2008 8:28 AM
Abuse of Federal Police power and prosecutorial discretion.
Now let's move on to some real injustice. The linked story, if accurate in it's details, is a pretty clear example of Federal abuse of police power and prosecutorial discretion - and a, forgive me, dumb jury. It doesn't help that the law isn't well written - but this is as much about how the ATFE and federal prosecutors operate as it is badly worded laws.
From Worldnet Daily (admittedly not the most unbiased of news sources)
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Drill instructor convicted after rifle jams
Guardsman guilty of illegally transferring 'machine gun' after firearm malfunctions
A drill instructor in the National Guard has been convicted in a Wisconsin federal court of illegally transferring a machine gun after a rifle he loaned to a student malfunctioned, setting off three shots before jamming.
The verdict of guilty on one count in the case against David Olofson was confirmed yesterday by the clerk's office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
That means now that anyone whose weapon malfunctions is subject to charges of having or handling a banned gun, according to an expert witness who reports that the particular problem is a well-known malfunction and was even the subject of a recall from the manufacturer.
"If your semiautomatic rifle breaks or malfunctions you are now subject to prosecution. That is now a sad FACT. I guess we know now what Sen. Kennedy meant when he said he looked forward to working with [Acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director] Mike Sullivan on Gun control issues, after his committee approved him for full Senate vote," Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC, said in a blog.
"To those in the sporting culture who have derided 'black guns' and so-called 'assault weapons'; Your double barreled shotgun is now next up to be seized and you could possibly be prosecuted if the ATF can get it to 'fire more than once,' he wrote in a blog run by Red's Trading Post.
"Hey, but don't worry," Savage said. "The people testing it have no procedures in writing and the testing will be in secret. Also if you know of information that proves YOUR innocence, maybe the ATF won't claim that it's tax information at your trial and prevent YOUR judge from viewing it."
Some amelioration of the problem could be gained if these bills were to move out of committee.
HR 1791: Fairness in Firearm Testing Act, which would "require the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms , and Explosives to make video recordings of the examination and testing of firearms and ammunition, and for other purposes."
Mmm...I really, really hate this stuff. I was reading the historical laws and Supreme Court Cases that have created our current situation last night.
It is hard not to conclude that the Supreme Court, past and present, has been influenced by outside events, not just reading the law or the constitution. That yes, indeed, it has often leaned towards the protection of government rights or powers over individuals. That bad case law has turned into other bad laws and erosion of rights.
The other day, I couldn't believe that the DoJ would use the terrible argument that the purpose clause of "a well regulated militia" gave them the power to regulate arms. Well, the DoJ took that right out of already determined Supreme Court Case law.
I tell you, I am new to this stuff, but I was shocked. And, it was clear that the courts made that statement and held up the governments case and right to do so because of experiences with organized crime and other crime sprees post WWI.
That was really bad decision making. And not the first. The Presser decision was post Civil War and pretty much makes the same mistake.
Now we're stuck with it because the Supreme Court will never reverse itself. Sucks.
posted by kat-missouri on January 14, 2008 1:02 PM
Hmmm. I think the Court reversed itself on Dred Scott...
I'm betting we get a narrow, focused decision or a remand (?) back to the lower court - if for no other reason than what all these governmental amicus briefs are about: "Don't rule in such a way that overturns all the existing laws!"
Some of the amicus briefs almost concede the question of the individual vs collective right argument - they want to preserve what they've got, and to keep the option open for more.
I don't think anyone will be truly happy with the decision.
"Don't rule in such a way that overturns all the existing laws!"
The ironic thing is that Miller was more about being able to regulate non-military/militia weapons than regulate ownership by non-military/militia members.
Which seems to suggest the .gov has more latitude to restrict a single shot .22LR rifle than an M-16. The .22LR rifle serves even less of a militia purpose than a sawed off shotgun.
posted by Yu-Ain Gonnano on January 14, 2008 2:47 PM
John, I do believe I see an attitude. Don't worry, mine is only 40 years old. We look at this type of thing and ask, "When are we ever going to start actually using some common sense?" My Father passed away almast 26 years ago. To understand him, you need to understand, he was literally a genius with an IQ in top 1%. He designed and built machines that worked with glass, all by hand, no computers. One day, I actually stated the above question about the use of common sense. He came up behind me and whispered in my ear, "Son, I hate to tell you this, but I think somebody shot 'Common Sense' in the head with a Bereta using .22 shorts in the head behind the left ear, 2 shots." The older I get, the more I think the old man was right. The strange thing is this, to start to answer your question, This Nation needs to take a break. This is the hard part, our leaders, both parties, ALL branches need to collectively pull their heads out and smell the coffee. First, wash their head and face, then even have a cup of coffee. This will definitely improve their viewpoint. Then they will be able to make wiser choices.
As always,
Grumpy
posted by Grumpy on January 14, 2008 2:57 PM
Good point. Dred Scott. But didn't they have to because congress passed the 14th amendment?
After that, they could not claim any constitutional ground.
Bizarrely, I cannot figure out how "shall not infringe" backed up with the 9th amendment ended up with any decision that rendered power to the government to regulate arms based on "a well regulated militia being necessary to a free state".
I was getting ready to argue extensively about the foolishness of the argument when I discovered miller and presser, amongst others. That foolishness could lead to all sorts of restrictions as well as people pressing the issue based on what a militia typically has or has had at their disposal.
posted by kat-missouri on January 14, 2008 5:29 PM
Sadly, BATF abuses are widespread. Their flimsy cases are often torn apart, if the presumed guilty parties are willing to pay the huge legal fees needed to get a skilled lawyer to fight the unlimited resources backing BATFE.
Note that most of their cases are brought for paperwork errors, and folks falling for sting operations with very murky lines between right and wrong procedures. Darn few cases where they are actually taking guns away from violent criminals- which may be dangerous.
In fact, in one state where the BATF is given the name and address of every prohibited person who tries to buy a gun and is turned down on the Brady check, they make no attempt to prosecute 99% of these easily proved felonies. Nor have they bothered to file federal charges in at least three robberies of FFL gun shops, another federal felony where perps were caught by the state cops.
They demand 100% complilance with every single rule by those they have their heel upon, but fail to obey the plain letter of the law in meeting FFL application processing deadlines or maintaining the national database of machine guns.
They refuse to make information available to help people obey the laws they enforce, and their testimony about certain issues is based on self proclaimed expertise with vague allusions to reference materials that they are unwilling to cite specifically.
A seriously rogue agency, totally out of control, and with a vindictive nature if anyone crosses them!
And that is under the watchful eye of a supposedly pro-gun rights adminstration. Just wait for the zealous enforcment to begin if/when Clinton or Obama and the Dems seize power.
The Defense Language Institute has a bunch of handy-dandy downloadable (except to machines running Vista) English-to-Whatever common phrase pamphlets for folks going to pretty much anywhere. Problem is, the subject matter is limited to items like, "Halt! Put the pin back in the grenade and place it gently on the ground!" and "You have a sucking chest wound. Shall I notify a medic?"
Personally, I prefer my Phrasebook for Frequent Deployers. Not only are the phrases more appropriate for social situations, but the languages are limited to French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Norwegian and Dutch, which makes them both easier to memorize and pretty much insures that you'll only be conversing with someone who's not about to stick a shiv into your spleen.
Today's lesson:
I understand your language perfectly.
· Je parle français comme une vache espagnole.
· Hablo español como un gringo borracho.
· Ich sprechen deutsch wie italienisch Fußballtrainer.
· Ya govoryu po-russki kak gruzinskiy pederast.
· Parlo italiano come un cameriere di un ristorante cinese.
· Jeg forstår dig fuldstændigt.
· Ik spreek Nederlands zoals een Fransman Engels.
I speak italian with a camera in a chinese restaurant.
I speak spanish with a boring gringo accent-o.
snerk
posted by AFSister on January 14, 2008 9:52 AM
gack. My google-fu is weak this morning. I once came across a collection of strange phrases found in actual tourist guide books. Things like "Please accept my expensive camera as a gift" and "It is not necessary to shoot me". This comes close, though.
posted by bad cat robot on January 14, 2008 10:07 AM
Everybody's been mistookin' the Dutch for the Norgish (John got the Dutch idiom okay, though). Closest I can figure for Jeg forstår dig fuldstændigt is "I string random sounds together" -- 'cuz Jeg snakker ikke Norsk as well as I sprech Fron-say...
Cinaedulo Commissationenti, Latinum peiorquam Loquis.
Though be careful; it may warrant a shivin' from them Lutheran Norskies.
posted by Boquisucio on January 14, 2008 5:53 PM
Darlin, if anyone's glottis is running over.. they don't need a drool cup. They need bigger pants.
posted by WereKitten on January 14, 2008 7:17 PM
I have found that tipping with American money helps people from other countries to understand me completely.
As flashing helps people from *this* country...
They need bigger pants.
It's all that big panting that's making his glottis run over.
I have found that tipping with American money helps people from other countries to understand me completely.
As flashing helps people from *this* country...
Flashing - like small arms fire, is more effective at close range.
Come closer, baby. i have some things to tell you and I want to make sure I am clearly understood.
BillT briefed on January 9, 2008 12:56 PM:
Actually, "homelike" means anything that doesn't flood much in a monsoon and with enough snakes in the surroundings to keep the rats down but not enough to be a nuisance. Oh, yeah -- and within walking distance of a bar.
Trias briefed on January 10, 2008 7:12 AM:
I think your walking distance to a bar could cover quite an area, particularly if the beer is cold.
Hmmmm. Parrothead Jeff went hunting, and found out how those contractors are really getting their CH3CH2OH (it must be CH3CH2OH, because we know "alcohol" isn't legal in that part of the world...).
Seeing this, and remembering this post of Bill's, I sent out the spies. After a series of sordid dealings, we got photographic proof of what a bunch of contract helo jocks do when they're in a country where ordnance is just laying about, scrup'ls are haram, and personal security is hard to come by, and they've had some CH3CH2OH.
Myself, I think the second round out in a ripple might suffer some accuracy problems due to platform stability issues. To keep this place from getting blacklisted by PETA, you'll have to click the Flash Traffic/extended entry to see Bill's External Guard Force Iraq).
Not like I've ever figured out how to make it happen w/ HTML, but if you're going to put up the formula the numbers should be subscripts. Alternatively, /\OH works too.
Aside from getting paid a lot of money, drinking CH3CH2OH and configuring “battlesheep” maybe CW4BillT answer a few questions about this whole “Private Military Company” deal.
1. Are contractors really so cost efficient that they replace two divisions (let’s say a division is 15,000 men)?
2. Do contractors really make $400 a day or about $140,000 per year? I am sure rotor wing pilots like BillT would be paid a higher amount because of his skills. Is this $400 a day net take-home pay?
3. Do contractors die in higher numbers than their military counterparts thus, justify being highly paid?
4. Do contractors depend on the military when they get into a jam?
at BlackFive about Contractors and some of the posts said they can make as high as $1000 per day (or $365k per year). That sound very good. Here is a sample post by LPierson:
I have been on the "been ther done that" tour with Dyncorp as PSD in Afganistan, and with another "PMC/PSC" as an exec. My recommendation: be VERY selective as well as inquire directly to some of these outfits.
There are some outfits that are doing very good work direct with DOD and DOS and are outside the wire A LOT. There are some outfits that are outside the wire and should not be, hence the comment from the good Sergeant regarding arrogant hammerheads etc. The entitlement mentality that exits over on the PMC blogosphere rates right up there with "undocumented workers," those people need to be ignored.
Most of the guys I worked with were down to earth and candid enough about what they do and how much they get paid, average around 400.00US a day, thats what I got. Even though guys were making tremendous money, in the long run it is less expensive for Uncle Sugar use folks like BW or TC or Dyncorp than to stand-up two more divisions. I am a retired SF guy and all the regular benfits one expects from normal employment did not apply to me, thus the decrease in overall cost for the services rendered.
Gee, it only took fifteen minutes to get to 0:12 (%$#@! dialup). Good news is that they're running FiOS lines in the neighborhood, so they should get to stately Tuttle Manor about two days after I leave for Iraq.
Heh. Sorry about your post showing up so late, Ledger. When I checked this morning, there were no comments requiring moderation - then I check at lunch, and there *is* one - yours, from *yesterday!*
Yup, but it'll be later -- I'm just shutting down after a 22-hour day.
Prolly do a separate post on it. Pierson's right about being *very* selective in your choice of employers. Unfortunately, there are some fly-by-nighters out there that cause everybody to get splattered with the tarbrush when things turn sour.
If cease fires in the name of peace actually produced peace the Middle East would be the most peaceful place on earth by now.
.
Mebbe it's just Clobbering Time.
.
Just sayin'
.
"The Iraqis don't want Saddam back - they want the
stability. But they want the stability without being
fed into industrial chippers."
.
-The Armorer, on Hugh Hewitt, 27 December 2006.
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cares) it exists! Though we *have* seen the Official Army Blog Training Brief, and we know that the *Counter-Intel* people know it exists... [Waving vigorously] "Hi fellas! How are ya?" However, we *do* know the blog is read at the White House. Because we got invited there. Kewl, huh?
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Notable Quotes
"It's not difficult to understand why
somebody might pick up an AK-47 against us. Maybe we killed
his father in the first Gulf War, maybe in this Gulf War,
maybe he's just a dick.
~Sgt. Reginald Abram
Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in western Iraq.
Quoted in the Asia Times, Oct. 24"
Ex-Sgt Shep - a Canadian commenting on the deserters:
Time for these so-called "resisters" to go home and face the music. I don't want my tax dollars going to support these bozos who volunteered and then decided they didn't want to play by the rules they agreed to. I'd have a lot more time for them if they decided to make their stand without turning tail and without abandoning their oaths and their comrades (although I suspect their comrades are better off without them.)
We'll drive 'em to the border. You guys pick them up.
President Bush on terrorists in Iraq:
"They can't whip our militaries. What they can
do is get on your TV screens and stand in front of your
TV cameras and cut somebody's head off, in order to
try to cause us to cringe and retreat. That's their
strongest weapon." . . .
Joe Honan, Castle Afghan Correspondent Sez
Two things that were going through my mind were: Uncle Joe never went through this to bring his Luger back from the ETO, and what use was it voting for Republicans all my life if I can’t just mail a gun back from a war zone? Where are we, Canada?
Carrie Sez:
" Perhaps we should have another category of conservatives besides paleocons and neocons.
"Narcissocons" with the motto "We are always on our minds". If you happen to be one, you are not allowed to have or spend the older quarters because there's a MEXICAN EAGLE on the back. Oh the horror." . . .
Marc Danziger (Armed Liberal)
"As most of you know, I'm a liberal Democrat (pro-gay marriage, pro-choice, pro-progressive taxation, pro-equal rights, pro-environmental regulation, pro-public schools) who supported and supports the war in Iraq. As I tell my liberal friends, "Did I miss the part where it was progressive not to fight medieval religious fascists?"
Princess Crabby on Iraq:
" Maggie said:
"If you believed an incident such as this could change your mind then
you really weren't supporting OIF/OEF for the right reasons." " . . .
Red Ensign Bloggers - Fighting to Keep Canada Free from
the Yoke of Excessive Political Correctness!
![Which Pistol is the Real Deal? Photo by Spc. Adam Sanders, January 11, 2008 Staff Sgt. Terry Dahl holds a real 9 mm pistol in his right hand and a toy 9 mm pistol in his left at an Iraqi police station in Seddah, to demonstrate how similar the fake and real weapons look. Coalition forces are asking shop owners to stop selling the toys to children so they are not mistaken for insurgents. Staff Sgt. Dahl is with the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion.[The official caption is incorrect - the toy pistol is in the *soldier's* right hand, the real pistol in his left - but to us, the viewer, the toy is on the left, and real pistol on the right. -the Armorer]](http://www.fototime.com/73B313AC92BE1AF/orig.jpg)
© Pamela Bobik
