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March 29, 2008

H&I Fires, Saturday, March 29, 2008

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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Small Headline; Big Impact A local recruiting station was broken into in a Cincinnati suburb earlier this week. You won't believe what was taken. ~AFSister

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by Denizens on Mar 29, 2008 | General Commentary

From an un-named source at the MANSCEN*...

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE Our doctrine guys getting bored...

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This is an actual military working dog in Iraq.

You Engineer and MP types are cool.

size1-army.mil-2008-03-26-082844.jpeg


We in the Chemical Corps are catching up…

HazmatDog!


Working dog envy. MPs have em, EN has em...

Or, this is what happens when the bugs & gas crowd uses a little too much of their own product.

Don't attribute me...I got it from our doctrine folks:) Just credit the think tank at Leonard Wood.

Snerk. *MANSCEN = Maneuver Support Center. The home of the Engineer Corps, the MP Corps, and the Chemical Corps at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. "Fort Lost-in-the-Woods"

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by John on Mar 29, 2008 | I think it's funny!

March 28, 2008

H&I Fires 28 March, 2008

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).

Kansas City Free Fly from KC w/ Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive. Discussing his earlier "debate" with the anti-war groups at UNI. Working on getting the rest of the speaking from the VFF pared down to something manageable. May not have that until Monday, but you'll get to hear what they are saying.

Also, while I was there, I kept seeing this gentleman with a camera. I can't believe that I was in the room with JD Johannes from "Outside the Wire" at the Vets For Freedom event and did not get a chance to interview him about his upcoming film. Uggh! He gave me a free video of his latest that is now out. A great trilogy that I started watching last night. I didn't realize it was him, I thought he was part of the VFF crew. You should see this video if you haven't already. -Kat

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Another Hillary Clinton memory! H/t, Toluca Nole.

SWWBO piles on (um, graphic language warning!) -the Armorer

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Yeah, I'm a sap. But I'm also a musician, and so a song has to be genuinely good to bring me to tears within the first 30 seconds. Well, here's your tissue warning. Listen to this song by a military spouse who is a veteran herself: Oceans Between Us. She apparently has a strong underground following among deployed personnel and it's easy to see why. She's good. - FbL

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The Blog-O-Cuss Meter - Do you cuss a lot in your blog or website?

It'd be a lot lower if I stripped out SWWBO's stuff!

Mind you, we're poseurs compared to gunblogger Anarchangel! (Um, there is a very naughty word in the linked post, btw) -the Armorer

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Heh. I blame Kat.

Do you talk too much in your blog?

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Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by Denizens on Mar 28, 2008 | GWOT Whatever it is...

The Whatziss, revealed!

Blake got it right.

Magazine loader, for the Bren gun.

Bren gun magazine loader.

You may all kiss his ring.

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by John on Mar 28, 2008 | Gun Pr0n - A Naughty Expose' of the fiddly bits

Here's an interesting little peek into the head of an officer...

...who is so self-centered that she can't see the forest for the trees. And was dumb enough to put it in email. Which, since she is a below-the-zone (BZ, i.e., selected ahead of her peers) is an example of you may be smart and talented, but you can still be dumber'n a rock. I'm going to let the words speak for themselves... and then I'll post the rebuttal that went out.

Yes, this note went out, and yes, this officer exists - though I'm suspecting when she's moving around now, she covers her nametag. I'll have another post on a different aspect of this on Monday. She's griping about the fact that here she is, all special, and the Captains who weren't selected BZ will get this bonus she refers to, while she won't, because... she'll outrank them. She wants her bonus and her early promotion, too. Else she's being... punished. Heh. Interesting concept of duty - and a profound ignorance of the significance of her BZ selection. Which she'll get schooled on later. Hey, at least she'll get the pay - I was frocked to Major six months early - all the responsibilities, none of the pay...

What I find more disturbing than the whining of this Captain is that her mentors, presumably senior Lieutenant Colonels or Colonels, are encouraging them to... whine like a Private, vice pointing out what you'll see in the response.

I removed the names, hers has been spread all over the inside of a good chunk of the Army, no need to pile on here.

THE LETTER FROM CJ

Subject: BZ to MAJ - CPTs Bonus (MILPER 07-237)

Good morning, fellow BZers~

After discussing this MILPER message with my mentors and other BZers, I have decided that we should all do something about it. I hope you don't mind that I emailed you and took a few moments out of your day.

I don't know about each of you, but this bonus really makes me angry. We are being punished financially by the Army for being better than our peers. We won't pin until sometime next year; probably May-July and our peers will get $25-35,000 and get pinned in October. I don't know about you, but 4 months of MAJs pay isn't equal to a $25,000 bonus in my eyes.

If the bonus was for YG 2000-2004, I wouldn't even worry about it.

But we are YG99 and our peers, the ones that haven't worked as hard as us, are getting rewarded.

So, why am I emailing you and bitching? Well, my mentors all agree that we are getting screwed. And, they all think that we should all first contact our IG, then, write to our Congressmen. My COL thinks that might make an impact. It may not change anything, but it is worth a try.

The 82nd Division IG has already contacted the HRC IG and they told him it is all about the money. There is a shocker! They said there are already a bunch of IG complaints about the message, so let's beat them up more. Just so you know, there are 177 of us on the list. If all 177 of us took the money, they would pay out close to $5 million. That's about 3 new Humvees, 2 new tanks OR ½ an aircraft. I think we are worth it.

Again, if this means nothing to you and you just think I am whining, hit delete and go on with your day. But, if you are pissed like me and want to do something about it, let me know.

Have a great day and congratulations on your promotable status!!

V/R~

CJ

Hey, CJ, I'm a little annoyed, and I didn't hit delete. You put it out in email to the world, so I'm sharing it.

Now comes the spanking.

Well, actually, you'll have to go to the Extended Entry/Flash Traffic to catch the schooling.

Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows... �

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by John on Mar 28, 2008 | Pugnacious Stupidity

Last Night's Bottle Rocket

*looong sparktrail*

*white flash -- wuhBOOM!*

After about an hour of map-snooping and flash-to-bang comparing (we're not allowed to meander until they sound the All Clear, which they forget to do sometimes), we figured it hit a (vacant) vehicle storage lot a couple-hundred meters away. An on-scene meander after brekkies confirmed it.

A new axle-breaker slightly off dead-center of nowhere, a lot of singed gravel, and that was about it. Until I realized what was along the line-of-flight not more than a football field or two (give-or-take an end-zone) from the crater.

The PX/BX.

The rat-bassetts! They've been lurking at Cassie's place -- they were after the thongs!

Good thing they don't know a back azimuth from a buttstock...

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �

by CW4BillT on Mar 28, 2008 | GWOT Whatever it is... | Bill's Excellent Adventure | Bill's Excellent Adventure | Postcards from the Edgy

Friday Cat-Blogging

"Well, gosh-all-hemlock, Bill, you have *dogs* -- wazzup with the *cat* deal?"

Patience. All will be revealed in good time. If the bandwidth budget holds...

First off, I believe I can lay claim to being the smallest deployed Task Force in the Army. Nope, not "in the smallest Task Force" -- I *am* the smallest Task Force. Y'see, my 'Structor Pilot gig is supporting a Joint Mission. It falls under DoS, the USAF is the Service Lead and the Army was tasked with providing the expertise for the Rotary-Wing portion. When I got here back in December for the site survey, I got a scorecard, met the management, the coaches and the players -- and any time there's an Army side to a mission that doesn't require employing a "normal" unit, the Army tailors a Task Force (usually smaller than needed, but they're getting better at it) to accomplish the Army side.

"Yeah, yeah, I've read history -- get to the *cats*!"

Re. Lax.

As I was saying, the Army drops the Task Force where it's needed, but in order to identify it (because it's an ad hoc organization, after all), the Task Force usually receives a name, rather than a numerical designator (yeah, I know about TF 160 -- different ballgame altogether). When I met the Army IPs, they figured it was only right that I be brought into the Task Force -- I am, after all, a retired *Army* aviator. So, I learned the seekrit password, the seekrit way to hold the coffee mug and got the official TF patch.

When I got here last month, the Army IPs left on the C-130 that brought me here -- we high-fived each other when we passed on the ramp.

I'm the only one over here, hence my claim to being the smallest deployed Task Force in the Army.

"The cats! What about the *cats*, you addlepated--"

Heh. Remember I told you that Task Forces were *named*? Well, "Army Air Expeditionary Advisory Group" proved a tad cumbersome, so the semi-official title became TF Wildcat.

Heh

Toldja I got the patch.

Keep the comments PG...

Reporting As Ordered, Sir! �