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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CJ over A Soldier's Perspective, has a "Here's Your Sign" encounter. He'd be giving, not receiving... -the Armorer
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Another fun quote:
"The story is told about the high defense official, confident in the methods of systems analysis, and faced with a personal decision. He owned two self-winding watches... that had both become defective. The first lost four seconds every day; the second had stopped completely. so he called in his Chief Systems Analyst, and asked him to evaluate these two chronological "systems" and recommend what to do.
After study, the recommendation was clear: throw away the first watch and keep the second. Calculation showed that the first watch was correct only once every fifty-nine years, the second was correct twice a day.
This is something more than a bad joke. It illustrates that systems analysis, while it is a superb decision-making tool, operates in a broader setting that requires human judgment."
Wesley Povar, "The Easy Magic of Systems Analysis." American Defense Policy, 2nd Ed., ed M. E. Smith III and C.J. Johns, Jr. (1968)
I am reminded of the "no half sizes of boots" decision of the MacNamara regime. And you have no idea the risk I'm taking with this quote.... Things are better now, from my perspective... but periodically I've earned my daily bread since retiring by offering some "operational experience leavening" to ORSA-dominated project teams. -the Armorer
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Email from Kevin:
Senior Citizens are dangerous... To thieves.... Love the part about grandpa chasing the perp down in his wheelchair... Heh, hate to be her in lockup. I can but imagine the conversation...."How did ya get caught"?
"mumbles"
"You got ran down by a guy in a wheelchair"?!
Bwahawhawhaw!
My comment to Kevin was that anyone with the last name of the victim had to have grown up tough. -the Armorer
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Finally, a big newspaper prints a review of JD Johannes Outside the Wire. From the Washington Times Part I and Part II. Look for Part III tomorrow.
Oops...didn't say who that was from. However, gives me a chance to add...
Democrat Clinton supporters offering to help McCain. I can't tell if that is good or bad. Who are these insurgents working for or against?. It's like Iraq 2006 again. -Kat
*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 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 that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone".
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