Out of a galaxy of million-candlepower xenon searchlights in the blogosphere, she picks the neutron star in the bunch to enlighten all y'all. Of course, I wasn’t exactly a moving target.
"Yup. And 'midst the threshers and makos and Great Whites, some of us are just
*ahem*
pilot fish."
And some of us are nothing more than tomorrows SOS, stuff on a shingle, just waiting to be cut up.
*sigh*
So she Ginsus me with a meme.
However, before I spill my guts through an act of electronic seppuku, I believe I’ll tender my tender tormentor a peace offering -- something that will show her I understand why she expressed her repressed emotions by jerking me around with a %$#@! meme exhibiting curiosity about my mundane existence. Since her alter-ego, Princess Leia In A Sandpaper Thong Cheese Danish Bikini, has moaned
and since I damnsure ain’t neither understand her need to bitchslap me cry out to me in this manner, I’ll dedicate this to her as a little warmer-upper for the seriosity to follow.
And now to the main event. The rules state:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog (easy enough -- not really necessary, though, since most of Villainous Company lurks here anyw -- Sly! *Not on the drapes*!!).
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird (easy enough -- everything about me is random, weird, or both).
• During my thirty-seven years in the Army, USAR and ARNG, I never had an Army Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner (I *delivered* a whole bunch, though, and dished out cranberry sauce and stuffing on several occasions).
• All my ARNG Raters recommended “Promote immediately” or “Promote Ahead of Contemporaries” in the remarks block of my OERs -- and all my promotions were delayed, on average, by three years. I kept a file drawer full of promotion packets to replace the ones Higher kept *losing*. One time I submitted three -- and said that way they could continue to lose one each month and not have to bother me for a while. It didn't sit well with HRO *at all*...
• I was knocked on my keister by lightning three times within the same month (June 1971) -- and got a nice letter from a two-star (not for getting hit, for what I was doing when I got hit -- which, in turn, resulted in my getting hit, but nobody else).
• I’m a character in a book that’s currently in draft (it’s not about me and I made her promise she wouldn’t turn me into a water-walker).
• Horses and I have an agreement: I don’t drop onto their backs from overhanging tree limbs and they don’t bite me on the butt and drag me off.
• I can’t wear short-sleeved shirts (souvenir of Agent Orange called porphyria cutanea tarda -- the whole "bleeds through the skin" deal freaks people out, for some reason).
• I owe John a bunch of cartoons.
Hey, the requirement was that I share seven facts -- not that I share and *explain* them. Unless, of course, it’ll get John posting privileges at The Corner. And ry lets HF6 read the X-Men #1 he *thinks* he hid behind the adult novelties dispenser towel rack in the oubliette.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
As if. This place is the Meme Graveyard.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Not. A. Chance. But Argent, AFSis, ALa, Barb, Foxfier, Cricket and Michelle Malkin all dodged the bullet. Fuzzybee, HF6 and Maggie were previously victimized. And Murray would have tried to launch a rock at me (hey, we're practically neighbo(u)rs these days).
5. Present an image of martial discord from whatever period or situation you’d like.
That can be read on many different levels.
*mumbles through chocolate cupcake crumbs...wipes hands on conveniently located 'towel'...*
It wasn't me! I wasn't even there! Besides, Mistress Mandy made me......
by DL Sly on June 23, 2008 12:40 AM
You told! Mean Unka Bill. I always wondered what that thing was in there. I just usually wipe my hands on my shirt.
And Sly, you know who they make clean up around here, don't you? If'n you don't wanna get ankle bit don't get crumbs everywhere. my cheeto dust is hard enough to clean as it is. ;)
by ry on June 23, 2008 1:47 AM
...cupcake crumbs...wipes hands on conveniently located 'towel'...
There's a surprising amount of wildlife sharing the base with us. The usual ants, scorpions, ants, camel spiders, ants, crested larks, ants, sparrows, skinks, toads, ants, rock doves, bats, ants and other smaller critters (including ants) are omnipresent, but the larger fauna are represented, too -- the hunters. Feral cats live in some of the old fighting positions in the woods and hawks nest in the higher branches of the willows. Foxes live in the graveyard behind my hootch and trot around the airfield perimeter after nightfall -- I see one every so often sitting by the bombed-out watchtower on my trek back from the office, waiting for me to pass so he can continue his rounds.
This morning I was heading for my shortcut through the blast wall between my hootch and the main drag -- I got two steps from the opening in the wall and a sparrow flew from behind the wall and landed in the opening. I got one step from the opening and a falcon appeared from nowhere, pounced the sparrow -- and then looked at me. He snapped his head up, our eyes locked for less than a second and he vanished back behind the wall. Those amazing black eyes had enabled him to see the mottled dust-brown sparrow against the mottled dust-brown earth from hundreds of feet away.
Dazed, the sparrow hopped into a crevice in the blast wall.
I've developed a bit of a metaphysical bent over the years -- you don't wanna take the same path that I did to get there -- and I've always had a sort of empathy with animals. Here's a secret -- it's all about the eyes. Those of you who've never met me may find what I'm about to say a bit hard to swallow, but in the brief instant my human eyes met the twin pools of liquid midnight that were the falcon's, I *knew* what he was thinking.
Nooo, Ledger, I don't bait 'em. Only seen one rat so far, and a hawk the size of a B-2 grabbed it.
Which reminds me -- the frogs living in the JDAM hole and the bats that make *one* pass through the AO at sunset haven't been doing their job. The mosquitoes are getting ornery...
Foxfier -- I'm an enabler. BTW, does FbL know you're over here slumming?
I wholeheartedly approve. Besides, I obviously don't blog enough over there to keep her busy. :P
Very cool story, Bill. It reminded me of meeting you after visiting the VA for the first time. I don't have feathers, but you had to have read my mind, because I'm sure I was unable to properly communicate my experience to you. Maybe it's the fuzz. ;)
Hi, Sis! The turquoise mosque is the "martyr's chapel" in the graveyard. Unused, now -- it's the military cemetery for the airbase. The color is actually green, but the light on the day I took the pic makes it look turquoise. Green is the color of "martyrdom" in a Muslim cemetery, but the paint they used in the shrines is distinctly turquoise.
The ironwork is a "martyr's shrine" -- like the one I mentioned here -- marking the grave (or graves) of someone KIA. Some are more ornate than others, which generally only means he was an officer (even "Saddam's Soldiers" think that's just wrong), and the paint they used *is* turquoise. Those who died of disease or in an accident have adobe brick coffers around their graves -- and some of those have designs in turquoise paint on the outside, which I'm guessing was a little extra gesture from the guy's friends.
It reminded me of meeting you after visiting the VA for the first time.
I did *not* pounce on you -- although you did look around for someplace to hide...
"Nooo, Ledger, I don't bait 'em. Only seen one rat so far, and a hawk the size of a B-2 grabbed it." –CW4BillT
Good to hear.
Dam, those hawks can be big. I kinda understand about the hunters (hawk) and the hunted (small sparrow). It can be a jungle out there.
Speaking of jungles, and critters I noticed you mention ants:
"The usual ants, scorpions, ants, camel spiders, ants… ants, sparrows… ants, other smaller critters (including ants)…"
A can of Raid comes in handy with ants. If you don’t have a can of Raid, I would suggest a can of spray starch.
You just spay it on the ants. It’s environmentally friendly and tends to dry quickly, encasing the ants’ breathing mechanism with starch killing them quickly.
Or you could just try to stamp them out with your boots but, that is cumbersome and doesn’t always kill them.
As for the hawks, you could try spraying them in the eye with starch but make sure the wind is not blowing your direction (check your wind sock for wind direction) You know, kind of even-up the odds between the sparrows and hawks.
As to the frogs use starch.
Now, to the bats, I have found and old tennis racket strung with wires works well to stop them in flight. If you don’t have one use starch…
Well, if the ants ever visit *inside*, they'll get a cup of coffee poured on 'em. I figger they'll get so wired, they'll have a hole dug halfway to home before they finally croak.
I think I’ve got a pretty good sense for the absurd, but I couldn’t get this loony if I went without sleep for a week (and I have -- on several occasions).
Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:35 [note the date]
To: [my dot mil addy redacted] , [same pentagonal dot mill addy redacted – yup, I guess they wanted an extra e-mail to build up their hit count]
William Tuttle:
Reply to email received on 05-27-08: [remember I told you to note the date?]
1. In most case a CAC Sponsorship Transfer Email is sent when a contractor is reassigned to another TA. Most sites have their own way outside of the CAC Sponsorship Transfer Email of informing the contractors of a transfer.
Ah. But that’s not what transpired. I wasn’t notified (and neither was my employer) that my Trusted Agent had been transferred. Matter of fact, the e-grams in Rounds One through Three were *addressed* to that transferred TA and the subject was, “Hey, TA -- verify that this guy tuttle (no caps -- how gauche) is still a contractor.”
No notice to my employer. No query to *me*. Just an order to the TA.
Who had already been transferred.
2. DOD require [sic] all contractors approved in CVS must be reverified every six months for their continued need for a CAC and affiliation with DOD.
Okay. I’m cool with that. It’s probably a good idea to check up on us contractor parasites just to make sure we haven’t done anything subversive -- such as return to Private Citizen Status without notifying the TA (that we’re unaware we have) via e-mail (which the TA apparently doesn’t even have to open). Although, since I'm a retiree, my continued "need for affiliation with DOD" is pretty much a given. Until I hit the brass rail at Fiddler's Green, anyway.
3. Your contract record, benefits and CAC will be terminated in DEERS. Your information will still be in DEERS but it will be terminated.
[No signature block and minus the electron-waste of “Questions may be sent to redacted pentagonal dot etc." closing]
Ummmm – parsing that.
So far, I get “We’re flushing your contractor info from DEERS but we’re not flushing it. In other words, it will not be flushed, but it will be flushed.”
However, I'd *still* like a response to my e-mail of 28 May in which I informed whomever at the help desk opens the e-mail that I had already accomplished the re-verification *prior* to the 30 May deadline to preclude my contractor data from being terminated.
V/r,
Bill Tuttle
Okay, [pentagonal dot mil addy redacted], the ball’s back in your court and I’m anticipating your reply to my 28 May e-gram sometime before the end of June. Meantime, if my CAC turns up hot during any of the checks around here, you can anticipate receiving a lot of e-mails with the subject line of Drearley Most beloveed You need Litlet bleu pill mAke stiCker peCk up.
One thing I got away from fairly quickly as an O-6 ALO was closing with "V/R." I have very little respect for buffoonery, especially when it comes to USARMY administration. They (and I didn't care who "they" were) want my respect? Then earn it. Otherwise, "Sincerely" works just fine.
Can you find an O-6 with a brain around there to help un-f**k this?
If they don't unfark this soon, they will need someone to fill your duties. I suggest the farking idiot (and/or their boss). Let them teach the Iraqis to fly whop-whops and not prang any of the birds in the process.
Please provide their unredacted address if it comes to that, so we can all help with their education and shopping needs.
IDIOTS! The one thing I don't miss!
by John S. on June 15, 2008 8:11 PM
BillT,
As my Father, said in the past, "Government wanted a perfectly square building, this is how we got the Pentagon." You figure it out.
Grumpy
by Grumpy on June 16, 2008 4:17 AM
BillT,
As my Father, said in the past, "Government wanted a perfectly square building, this is how we got the Pentagon." You figure it out.
“Because we were in the Army before -- during the war.”
When most of the Iraqi RW pilots talk about “the war,” they’re referring to the Iran-Iraq dustup -- they call OIF “the fight.” Most of them do, anyway…
“So, they call us Saddam’s Soldiers. Feh. We did not fight for Saddam. American soldiers do not fight for Bush. Soldiers fight for the land, the country, the people! Not for the leader! The leader always changes and the land remains! But they call us ‘Saddam’s Soldiers and look down on us.
"They don’t know.
“They don’t know…
“I was stationed here during the war. You know that old hangar over there, with the shrine on it? A thousand-pound bomb hit it. There were five pilots inside. We didn’t even try to recover them, we just left them in there and put up a shrine. There would have been no point in digging them out. A thousand-pound bomb -- there would have been nothing to find. Nothing.
“So, we just put up the shrine. Then we went into hiding, because that night, the Iranians came, looking to kill pilots, looking to kill officers. They took the L-39 with them when they left. And we hid until the Americans came, and then we came out, because we knew the Americans wouldn’t kill us.”
The L-39 that was being turned into a UAV. It’s not the first time that I’ve been told the Iranians had come across the border into Iraq and snatched L-39s during the confusion, but it’s the first time I heard it from someone who’d seen it firsthand and who mentioned it so casually.
Every so often, one will seem hostile. He’ll raise his voice, a *lot*, and get pretty agitated. It didn’t take me long to realize it wasn’t directed at me, or Americans, or George Bush. And it wasn’t hostility at all -- it was something else...
“Can you imagine what some of us feel, that we fought for our land and then when the leader falls, we are insulted by the ones we thought we were defending?”
“I know that feeling. I flew in Vietnam.”
“Ah. I though you might have done that. You know, then.”
“Yes. I know.”
The Silence that usually follows isn’t uncomfortable. It’s a mutual recognition that each of us can see the other’s soul and recognize the similarities that transcend the differences. Even if a change in politics dictate that we may one day have to try to kill one another, the similarities won't change.
Put a couple of old soldiers together, get us to shut the hell up for a while and you’ll know when the Silence happens...
On the plus side, I'm able to tell the new kids some of the history of their new home. Changes their perspective on the rotary wing guys quite a bit...
Interesting comparisons, Bill. Many have said that Iraq is the "new" Vietnam.... but no one has said that it's the "new" Vietnam to the IRAQI's. Most who have said that are trying to draw parallels between the wars being unpopular, a lost cause, and an unnecessary attack by the United States. You're the first to draw the parallel between the fighters themselves.
Very interesting thought process. You've found kindred spirits in the hearts of the Iraqi pilots- and not just because you're both air jockeys.
*smile* Welcome Home, Bill.
Yes, it was meant as a compliment. Not too many people have the advantage of being a Vietnam Vet, and have access to "Saddam's Soldiers" to compare notes. It is an interesting thought process.
by AFSister on June 13, 2008 12:59 PM
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
- G.K. Chesterton
by Greyhawk on June 13, 2008 1:18 PM
Not too many people have the advantage of being a Vietnam Vet, and have access to "Saddam's Soldiers" to compare notes.
Well, considering the number of surviving VietVet helicopter pilots who stayed in the game, are bilingual, have recent experience instructing in SWA, are qualified flight sim operators, can still pass a flight physical, blog (irregularly) and are currently in Iraq, yeah, your chances of getting somebody *else's* perspective on it might be a tad slim...
Speaking of irregularities, what's up with the double-archiving when Strikethrough GWOT gets included in the category?
[Oddly enough, when you post it from over there, it doesn't show up in my control panel that you've selected a category - but you are, obviously. That's an artifact of my testing. The Web Mechanic is going to try to update our backoffice this weekend... which might fix things, or blow things up so thoroughly I decide to just use that as an excuse to go dark...]
{Not so odd -- *I* can't see it in MT until something other than H&I gets published. BloggerSpeak, folks -- hang around when he answers and get even *m9re* bewildered. Hey, AFSis! I can see your house from up here!}
Hey! I'm irregular only in that I scrupulously obey all traffic laws, which is quite irregular around here. I ALWAYS stop for yellows. Unfortunately, the ABS wasn't up to road conditions tonight and I got rear-ended, somewhat.
No, belay that. If the ABS _had_ been up to road conditions, I'da got rear-ended a lot harder. Light turned yellow at optimum bad decision point, road not quite dry, guy in Merc had just changed one tire, and when he tried to swerve, he couldn't, having somebody right beside him in next lane.
Oh, and it's Friday the 13th and my cat is still mad at me.
F-150's back bumper moved one inch on one side; Mercedes-Benz mortally wounded.
I'll not complain about the 12 mpg again. For a while, anywa
The Iraqi helicopter pilots I’ve been training in the sim are a fairly mixed group, but they all have two things in common: they’re older (most of them are Iran-Iraq War vets) and they’ve had some training in instrument flight.
But, “have had some training in instrument flight” doesn’t necessarily equate to “have had some training within the past ten years.” Some accumulated actual weather time in Britain, France or Russia during an overseas aircraft qual -- I’ve heard a couple of interesting stories about the dimensions of thunderstorms in Russia and the severity of clear-air turbulence over France. And I can tell who’s flown in Britain -- the first time a Brit-trained pilot climbs into an overcast layer in the sim, he invariably mutters, “Oh. My. Gaaaahhd…”
Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions, or IIMC for the Acronym Aficionados (hi, Barb!), means you’ve lost visual reference without intending to do so. Although they’re all a tad startled that I can turn the weather to crap as fast as it can happen in the Real World, the pilots who’ve had a lot of actual weather time don’t get fazed much. The ones who are good settle right down. The inexperienced ones, wellllllll…
IIMC onset can be slow -- you keep pressing on and the weather keeps getting worse and the visibility decreases so slowly that you’re in the trap before you realize it (that’s how JFK Junior bought it -- and that’s how multiple-vehicle smashups happen in bad weather). Or IIMC can happen fast -- you’re flying at night and punch into a cloud or a dust / snow / rain storm catches you. The weather itself isn’t usually the killer, though -- it’s how you *react* to the loss of visual reference. If your control touch isn’t what it should be, if you fixate on one instrument instead of scanning the important ones, or if the startle reflex kicks in, you will probably -- make that *definitely* -- take the aircraft into what’s understatedly-referred to as an Unusual Attitude.
Rather than go through all the physiological explanations for what happens when your brain is deprived of it's primary sensory input for keeping you upright (and I *can*), try this little experiment -- make sure you’re near something soft -- stand up, extend your arms, close your eyes and tilt your head to one side.
Now lift the leg opposite the head-tilted side.
You’ve just gone into an Unusual Attitude.
However, when you’re descending sideways at rates in excess of 3,000 feet-per-minute, even *water* is hard as granite.
The FAA did a study some years back and found that most pilots killed themselves (and everyone else on board) within forty seconds of entering an unusual attitude if they didn’t get the aircraft level. Do that properly and you've solved your immediate airspeed, altitude, descent rate and bank angle problems and you can work out the rest in (relative) safety.
So, one of the things I teach *all* the guys who come up here from Taji is How To Survive the First Forty Seconds -- because if they can level the aircraft and get their airspeed under control within that time, they’ll probably live through the rest of the flight, even though it’ll still be pretty -- ummmmm -- exciting. The main problem they have to overcome is overcontrolling -- making the initial correction too large and then overcompensating for it. Then overcompensating for the overcompensation, then overcompensating for the -- you get the idea.
I show them unusual attitudes and why they happen. I show them how to recover smoothly and *fast* without overcontrolling the aircraft.
I show them how to fly with three fingertips, not their entire hands.
How well do the *really* inexperienced guys absorb that? Watch.
No, that's *still* not my normal, conversational voice...
When Mike Monaghan taught me to land the bird in my Aerial Observer days ("I'm not dying of a heart attack just because you can't land this bird!" was his justification) that looked at lot like one of my *better* days.
Except that Monaghan kept saying, "Bend the bird and I'm going to hit you, El-tee." in that same, quiet voice Bill uses... with the overlay of violence promised.
Venting in the cockpit may feel good, but it's counterproductive -- the guy's already jittery and hollering just compounds the problem. Throw in the fact that English may be his *third* language and you might as well be talking to the instrument panel.
I use the same phrases and cadences that the Iraqis use -- and *you* wouldn't understand me saying, "Khe-fek, sh'weh-sh'weh-sh'weh." Makes it interesting when the Gazelle guys start answering me in French...
I remember discussing the finer points of the M-21D sniper system (a long time ago, I know...!) to some troops in a jungle environment who answered me in French instead of their native language. Turns out their last "go-to-guy" had a French passport and legion experience, but had been born in an eastern European country. I wonder where the French Foreign Legion hasn't been...?
by Alan Briley, RN on June 8, 2008 12:12 PM
Recognize.
Confirm.
Recover.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Works for me in all types of aircraft, as I'm sure you've told them about 1.2 million times.
As for calm voices in a crisis, listen to the old Edwards AFB test pilot tapes.
"OK. Starting the departure procedure..." (At about 35,000 feet)
"OK. I'm now in a flat spin." "Fairly violent." "Would be disorienting to most." (helmet camera doesn't quite capture the pilot's head bouncing off the canopy but it is, heh)
"Beginning the recovery procedure." (Pause)
"Well, that didn't work." (Passing thru 25,000)
"I'll try this." (Pause)
"Well, that didn't work." (passing thru 20,000)
"Lemme try this." (Pause)
"Well, that didn't work." (passing thru 15,000, sink rate exceeds instrumentation capabilities; only telemetry and ground video capable of following the stalled jet's downward trajectory)
"OK, guess I'll have to step over the side on this one." (Pause)
Mission Control: "Good 'chute, roll the trucks." Jock touches down 1.5 seconds after full canopy deploys (that's what a good sink rate will do and is why the minimum ejection altitude for uncontrolled egress is 10K AGL). It's faster than an autorotation scenario but they both have their own kinds of pucker factors.
I'll tell you what's challenging (for me anyway, and I have thousands of hours of jet time)--transitioning to VMC in the last few seconds of a no-shite CAT I ILS. As the F/O, I fly it down to mins then transition to a visual flare/land. The MD-11 is so big that you enter ground effect at about 200' AGL. This is the same altitude that you pop out of the clag on a CAT I. So, you re-cage your brain and eyeballs to visual conditions, outside the cockpit, while consciously having to prevent the descent rate from slowing due to ground effect while the ILS tolerances go to just a few feet up/down/left/right. The scan is inside-outside-inside-outside until you are truly clear of clouds (~100') while pushing forward on the stick (collective to you, Bill) over the overrun to fight the ballooning in ground effect (counterintuitive). But fun!
...while pushing forward on the stick (collective to you, Bill)
Nope, that's "cyclic" to me.
If I push forward on the collective, all I'll do is overspeed the governor, slew the searchlight, activate the wirecutter for the TOW or turn the landing light on.
Depends on what I'm strapped into at the time.
Shooting an ILS in a helicopter is the *legal* way to bust minimums (by about fifty feet, depending on your descent rate. A little aerodynamic phenomenon known as "dishout" -- which got me on the ground at BWI when the *birds* were walking...
"Trenton Tower, Guard 347, emergency. I've got a Number One hydraulics failure, negative directional control, requesting duty runway for a running landing."
"Roger, 347, you've got 34, full length. CFR is rolling -- do you want foam on the runway?"
"347, negative, sir -- Ops wants to videotape it to see if the sparks show through the smoke cloud when we touch down. Evidently, it was pretty spectacular the last time..."
In Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, he noted that the test pilots at Edwards would all mimic Chuck Yeager's laconic summaries of the emergency and slow, southern drawl.
No matter what the problem, even if they were from Haavahd, Mass or Noo Fu**in' Yawk, they still made an attempt to sound like--and fly like--the Great One.
"347, negative, sir -- Ops wants to videotape it to see if the sparks show through the smoke cloud when we touch down. Evidently, it was pretty spectacular the last time..."
Only for the first hundred feet. The smoke got too thick.
Leger -- I'm *behind* the sim. It's visual-only, but I can reproduce anything weather-related (they all want to "fly" in snow), including a pretty good Force Nine turbulence illusion. Give me ten seconds and I can have them at the middle marker on an ILS into Baghdad in a sandstorm with 30-knot winds, 500 meter visibility and a stuck tail rotor. Which I haven't done yet, because nobody's at that level of proficiency, and probably won't be until they get at least two more sim sessions under their belts.
Hey, Bill, I just got done re-rereading Richard C. Kirkland's "War Pilot" and was wondering if you were any relation to the 2LT Bill Tuttle mentioned therein. That Tuttle was Kirkland's co-pilot on a record-breaking cross-country flight in a Sikorsky H-19 in December 1955.
I know you can't be that old, but hey, it could be your Dad or a favorite uncle whose footsteps you followed.
Ummmm, didn't the Polish aeromedical pioneer Dr. Bairanay (sp?) invent a fancy 3-dimensional swivel chair just so the mind-warping sensation of these unusual attitudes could be practiced safely, with no danger more severe than one's own puke on one's uniform?
Maybe we should get back to that simple device. You could buy a personal chair for every pilot in the military for what we spend on one 3-D simulator.
This message has been sent to remind you the prescribed time to re-verify contractor (william tuttle) has arrived. Please complete the verification process as prescribed.
For the Contractor [IOW, * me *] -- there is NO ACTION required on your part [their emphasis -- remember that] unless you are aware that your TA above has changed. If your TA has changed, please ensure they get a copy of this message.
Questions may be sent via email to: [pentagonal addy redacted]
CVS [my note: Contractor Verification System -- I think. Vivisection, maybe?] TA [my note: Trusted Authority, gutter-mind!] Web Site [redacted]
Now, the only time I knew the outfit I work for had a TA (the Sergeant Located At A Fort Somewhere who processes contractor Common Access Card applications) was when I got a hotlink in an e-gram that said, "Go here and fill this out." For those who aren't familiar with the Common Access Card -- hereinafter referred to as a CAC (pronounced like a cat horking a hairball) -- it's the "Hall Pass" that tells Big Brother you are Who You Are, that you are allowed to be Where You Are and you have permission to be Doing What You're Doing.
No CAC, no entry to anywhere the military is. As in, *any*where. Especially *here*...
Okay, so the head's-up e-gram from the TA site said I didn't have to do a thing unless I *knew* my TA had been replaced. Seemed a bit odd to me, since I didn't know I still *had* a TA and I figured the TA Main Office would have a better handle on their TAs' whereabouts than I would. Finally, the only way I'd know that the TA-I-didn't-know-I-had *had* been replaced would be if I'd gotten an e-mail from either her or her replacement announcing the momentous event.
But I'm only a dumb contractor. Whaddoo I know.
Subject: Last Notice Action Required - CAC Reverification Warning
From: [pentagonal addy redacted]
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 6:00
To: [my dot-mil addy redacted], [somebody else’s dot-mil addy redacted]
This message has been sent to remind you the prescribed time to re-verify contractor (william tuttle) has arrived and that that action needs immediate attention. Please complete the verification process as prescribed. The time allotted for you to complete the verification will expire on 5/30/08 12:00 AM at which time the contractors Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting Service record will be terminated. [my note: Okay, *that* got my attention. I'm a retiree -- *all* my records are DEERS-based.]
For the Contractor--there is NO ACTION required on your part unless you are aware that your TA above has changed. If your TA has changed, please ensure they get a copy of this message. [my note: Hey, TA-guys -- TA-bilong-TA-Main hasn't answered two sternly-worded TA Main e-mails and you're asking *me* to send her a note?]
Questions may be sent via email to: [pentagonal addy redacted]
CVS TA Web Site [redacted]
"Questions may be sent via email"
Okay, so TA Main is snarling at their TA, but *I'm* the one gonna be bitten, so I think it's time for some action on my part, despite the *Contractor -- TAKE NO ACTION* directive in both preceding e-grams.
Subject: Re: Last Notice Action Required - CAC Reverification Warning
From: [my dot-mil addy redacted]
Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 5:25
To: [pentagonal addy redacted]
To Whom, etc.;
Reference the text in the forwarded message and your kind offer should I have questions -- yes, I have some questions:
1. I am presently deployed to Iraq and internet connection is spotty at times. I haven’t had contact with my TA except through a hot link directly to my CAC application (November 2007) for this contract – how do I find out if my TA has changed, if not by e-mail?
2. My CAC is valid until 30 November 2008. Is there a six-month review of contractor status?
3. If my TA [my note: Remember -- at this point, neither TA Main nor I have the *slightest idea* of the status of "my" TA] fails to act before the deadline, what information will be "terminated" from my DEERS file?
V/r,
Bill Tuttle
Chirp. Chirp.
"Questions may be sent" evidently does not mean "questions will be answered."
See attachment. Is [military rank and name redacted] still our TA? If so, she needs to act ASAP -- if not, the new TA will need to act ASAP.
Thanks,
Bill
Subject: CAC RenewalFrom: [my PM's work addy redacted]
Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 13:32
To: [my work addy redacted], [‘nother contractor’s work addy redacted], [stella ‘nother contractor’s work addy redacted]
Guys,
Here are your three renewals, need to complete ASAP; log on at CVS TA Web Site [redacted]
[UserIDs and PWs redacted]
This should take of your CAC issue.
Stay cool (ha!)
[PM's name redacted]
Subject: Re: CAC Renewal
From: [my work addy redacted]
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 3:44
To: [my PM's work addy redacted]
Done! Thanks!
So, I got the renewal done (odd, since the card I *have* doesn't expire for another six months) under the wire, despite *not* having to have taken any action (I didn't find out our previous TA got transferred a few months ago until I filled out the app, which I wouldn't have been able to do unless I'd -- eh. Never mind) and there is now Great Joy In Mudville, right?
Subject: Contractor Reverification CAC Expiration
From: [pentagonal addy redacted]
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2008 4:12
To: [my dot-mil addy redacted], [dot-mil addy of former TA who’s been in some other job for three months redacted]
Cc: [dot-mil addy of former TA who’s been in some other job for three months redacted]
Dear [name of former TA who’s been in some other job for three months redacted],
The time allotted to verify contractor william tuttle has expired. As a result, that account has been revoked and the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System has been updated to reflect the change.
Questions may be sent via email to: [pentagonal addy redacted]
Yeah, I've got a question: "Does CVS TA determine a contractor's status by actually examining said contractor's completed application or by waiting to see if someone who may -- or may not -- be a TA replies to an e-mail?"
I'm *really* tempted to send [pentagonal addy redacted] to the largest internet café in Lagos, Nigeria, with a "Spam Me" sign stuck to its back.
[snarky comment about bad Pentagon management and why it is so easy to bilk such a farked up system of $millions self-edited to preserve said contractor's illusion of fine upstanding citizen ;) ]
To err is human, but to get a really good farkup, you need a computer.
Now have the human enter a set of idiotic parameters into the computer and add an approaching holiday weekend. I'm still amazed the Pentagon doesn't implode every Friday due to the sudden outrush of warm bodies...
Heh. I'm going through something similar, under much more comfortable circumstances. So, at least, Bill, they're treating the stateside contractor scum as well as they're treating the deployed contractor scum.
Kat - you have to be careful where in the bilking process you want to be.
In this case, the POE is selling the Pentagon a new computer system, with software and offshore support, that you are actually running on dial-up from the Apple IIe in the garage on your Cayman Island estate (so of course you don't have to pay those icky taxes).
Fear not Bill. The Army has been FUBARED for 200 plus years, but they eventually get it right. I just Hope you don't end up being extended for a couple of years, since you obviously aren't there at present and have a valid contract to fulfill.
by V29 on June 4, 2008 8:31 AM
You know there's a monty python skit in there somewhere.
"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."
1 Bill doing Stuff That Matters.
10,000 office staff struggling mightily to ensure all incoming paperwork is churned until it falls in the shredder by accident. Or in this case making paperwork up it seems. Only occasionally someone makes a mistake during handballing and actually has to make Something(tm) happen.
1 Carborundum shaking his head.
Typical. Tuttle is inconvenienced and it has to be *my* fault. I can't take credit for this one -- and strangely, the "other side" also denies involvement. Something about too evil even for them ...
by Carborundum on June 4, 2008 9:54 AM
Something about too evil even for them ...
...and it involves a computer program.
Bill Gates, your fiendish plot will *not* succeed.
Unless it was just designed to p*ss me right the f*ck off annoy me -- in which case, it was a success...
[my note: Gates has evidently been messing with the strikethrough function, as well]
"The time allotted for you to complete the verification will expire on 5/30/08 12:00 AM..."
I don't suppose it matters, but there is NO SUCH TIME as 12:00 AM.
I think they probably mean 12:00 Noon,, which, by definition can be neither before, nor after itself. There is a longer explanation, but what it boils down to is that Noon is Noon. The Meridian. Sun neither going up, nor coming down. Noon.
by there on June 4, 2008 12:03 PM
If your TA has changed, please ensure they get a copy of this message.
There's the problem. The Pentagon has outsourced its security staffing to the ChiComs...
The time allotted to verify contractor william tuttle has expired. As a result, that account has been revoked and the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System has been updated to reflect the change.
WE can verify "contractor william tuttle". (obviously capital letters cost extra...) Does that help?
Or does this mean that Bill ceases to exist? Hmmm...does that mean he can come home now?
And Bill ~ 'tis always better to be pissed off than pissed on.
This happened to me, too. I got the renewal notice, did nothing, and then got word the next day that my CAC had been revoked. Turns out the lady at JCC had read her copy of the email as, "You need to renew this CAC if he will be staying past his contract's end, otherwise, revoke it NOW!" So she did.
I spent a week expecting to be arrested for being on a military installation without a valid ID, but it never happened. Eventually I was re-authorized, sort of: she sent me a letter to carry in addition to my orders, explaining her mistake. The CAC was still invalid, but at least I had a letter explaining that this was perfectly OK.
by Grim on June 4, 2008 4:43 PM
heh. Sounds like situation normal at the fortune one oil company where I contract. This happens EVERY FARKING YEAR. Only now I know to jump on it as soon as I get the automatic access expiring notice comes in the corporate email. And some buildings...and even some rooms in some buildings have their own seemingly random access expiration times, never revealed, but only experienced when you don't access door "x" within "y" number of days. I gave up and since I can work from home I rarely go into said building(s) anymore... BUT, I still get the access expiring notice every year, which I diligently pursue to ensure I continue at least to have network/systems access, whether I can ever get into a building or not. Thank Al Gore for the internet! (and CISCO for VPN capability)
by JoeC on June 4, 2008 5:19 PM
John... ;~P
Ditto to you to whirly-bird man. And, for the record, my mother was the one who taught me that line.
And anything I could have come up with that was more original would have set off the NC-17 filter. Touchy thing that it is.
I spent a week expecting to be arrested for being on a military installation without a valid ID...
No worries on that part -- my mil-retiree ID will get me into the PX if the DFAC shuts me out. Although I'm wondering how long it'll take to get used to eating boiled thongs...
Every so often, something kicks me in the memory in a *good* way -- usually, it's the sight of a desert cammy patch or an in-print reference to a current unit with a callsign originating in My War.
Outlaw. Tiger. Blue Max. Ghostrider. Warrior.
'Way-cool callsigns. Neat patches with vampiric skulls or heraldic beasties designed to instill combat fervor in the heart of the wearer and great trepidation in the heart of the foe.
Now, the 162d didn't have 'way-cool callsigns, and our patches were stark, but to the point. "This is who we are. Period" Of course, Gunnies will be Gunnies, so Third Platoon insisted on a bit of flair for their patch (remind me to tell you some time about the REMF who found their motto *offensive* -- heh).
We didn't have the trappings, but we did have a reputation among Those Who Knew. One day I asked a doorgunner about his CIB and he told me, "When I was in the Ninth, we never worried when the Vultures were supporting us. Whenever we needed you, you came for us, no matter what. When I re-upped, I did it just so I could come *here* to be a gunner, because I wanted to be a part of that."
We came. Sometimes, when the party got lively, we even stayed to help clean up.
Heh. I got my wallet paddy-soaked more than once, too...
Evidently, our rep stuck, because out there in today's Friendly Deployed-A-Lot Skies, along with the Outlaws, Tigers, Ghostriders and Warriors, there are Vultures.
But us Old Vultures have to be content with being museum relics.
Oh, yeah -- that museum just happens to be the National Air and Space Museum. If you're in DC and you have occasion to tour the Vietnam display, look in the left crew well of the UH-1H.
If you give Bob Shine enough notice (and say nice things about Vultures), he might even ask his cousin Carol to be your tour guide. But be polite -- she's got about fifty Big Brothers, and most of us are *armed*...
Sometimes though, our old callsigns of the 60's had to be discarded due toPolitical Correctness.
Thanks for the post.......clear right.......
by R Jewell on May 22, 2008 9:16 AM
Kat,
If you clicked on my "keg of beer" pic above, there's several of us who did the Ripcord thing as well with The Phoenix, most notably Ken Mayberry, one of the pilots Marshall quotes. Ken is the one in the wheelchair.
Black Widows....We're in the process this spring of doing a cosmetic restoration back to her VN get-up of a Black Widow UH-1 68-16504......She's a Ripcord survivor as well, and is on static display in Fairmount, In.
The visual-only sim can be a stomach-churner, but a couple of the IqAF Fling-Wing pilots who have come up here from Taji are pretty tough – the only thing that gets to them is my coffee.
Hussayn was recovering from a cup of my extra-strength double espresso with a bottle of tamarind soda (if you’re curious, take a can of Doctah Peppah and add a couple of ounces of OJ, then sip, cautiously). He gave me a bit of perspective on what it’s like to have Crusader Myrmidons roaming your neighborhood.
“After Baghdad falls to the US, I am cashiered out of the Air Force and take a job in one of the markets in my neighborhood. One night, some of my friends are visiting, and we have a barbecue and are watching videos of cowboy movies. There is a knock on my door. I open it and there is a US patrol. They ask if they can enter my house and I say, 'Sure, come in.' I offer them some barbecue, because we see them on patrol; we recognize them and know how long they are out before they return to base. They say, 'No, thank you. We have eaten recently.'
"Then they ask if I have weapons. One of my friends says to me in Arabic, 'Tell them "No" because they will take your guns and you will be defenseless.' I tell him in Arabic, 'I will not lie to them or they will not trust us.'
"So I say, 'Yes, I have a submachinegun, an AK and a pistol.' The patrol leader says, 'Bring them, please. We need to see them.' So, I bring them out. The patrol leader examines them, the submachinegun, the AK and the pistol. He tells me, 'The lubricant you have been using is bad quality.' But I know he is really checking to see if they have been fired recently.
"Two of his men strip the weapons, clean them, give me new lubricant, show me how to use new lubricant, re-assemble the weapons and return them to me. They say, 'We must leave now – thank you for allowing us into your home.'
"They return every night, the same patrol, and ask if my family is well. I offer them food, tea, they say, 'Thank you,' and sometimes they stay for a bite to eat, or a cup of tea. I see them in the marketplace, we say 'Hello, how are you?' and ask about their families, too. They are friends with all the neighborhood.
"One day, everything changes. The patrols are all in Humvees and they travel fast. The soldiers all look at us with suspicion from the Humvees and we do not understand why. Then I hear of Wahabi in the neighborhood, but I do not report them to the patrols – I cannot, the Humvees travel fast and no one comes to my house any more. More and more, we hear shooting down the street, and one morning a bomb destroys the market where I work. I could get another job in another market, but that market might also be destroyed by a bomb. Only a few Wahabi are where I live, but there is no one to tell – no patrols, no police.
"So I come back to the Air Force. I come back because I want to get the Wahabi out of my neighborhood, get them out of Iraq.
"One month ago, the patrols are back, and they are walking, not in Humvees. Different soldiers from the soldiers in the first patrols, but behaving like them – very courteous, very watchful.
"When the patrol knocks on my door, I say, 'Please come in – I would like some lubricant for my pistol.' The patrol leader looks at me with a funny look, then he smiles, then they all come in and drink tea and I draw a map of where the Wahabi are..."
This illustrates why community policing works, why the Green Beanie, "win their hearts and minds..." works, and why you need SPECIAL TRAINING!!! for this type work. I was a sniper. I DID NOT DO THIS BECAUSE I WAS NOT TRAINED FOR IT! (Hint, hint, Pentagon.)Talking about accurate, up to date intel, the people who trust you will help you. God bless this man and the American troops who treated him with respect. I have seen Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, and some Israelis act this way, but no other troops.
Watch your six, CW4BillT. My wife and I keep you in our prayers. (We also remember the rest of the Castle family! ;))
Alan Briley, RN
by Alan Briley, RN on May 14, 2008 7:51 AM
Six is covered, Alan -- my thanks to you and your wife (and everybody else who has been assaulting heaven -- Those Who Know, Know).
Prayers are coffee-equivalent to the squad of Guardian Angels trying to keep me intact for the duration...
That story brought tears to my eyes--sorrow for the mistakes that were made, joy/pride for the way it's being done right now, and awe for the courage of Hussayn and his countrymen.
I passed on this story which everyone I know hopes is true the writing team of the new Stability Operations Manual and I hope the 'long handshake' makes it in.
You will never have a perfectly surviveable system. And you cannot turn Humvees into tanks. You will bankrupt the country.
No one ever gave a tip to me when I was buttoned up. I never had an interaction with an Iraqi in an armored Humvee with the doors closed and the windows up. (We didn't have grenade screens in those days. Heck, most of my Humvees had CANVAS doors, if they had doors at all.!)
Part of the solution is going to lie not in making our vehicles invincible. You CAN'T make it invincible to a triple stacked anti-tank mine.
So don't even try.
Rather, the real solution to defeating this measure is not going to lie with the vehicles at all, but outside them.
Dismount.
Get into the communities. Leverage Iraqi contacts.
Yes, we're doing that already, as much as we can. But these knuckledragging trogs in Congress are focusing on the wrong things. And the ignorant press is dragging us along with them, and damaging the war effort, by pulling us into a defensive mentality.
The insurgency will not be defeated by putting an extra armor on our vehicles. The insurgency will be defeated by dismounts. Dismounts out there engaging with the Iraqi people and collecting real-time intelligence.
And THAT is the effort the Media should focus on. THAT is the effort that Congress should focus on.
Where is all the heat forcing colonels to jump through their asses to develop HUMINT? There isn't much. All anyone wants to hear about is armor this, and armor that.
Fuck the armor. Get out and clobber the enemy, and let HIS sorry ass wish he had more armor.
Get back on offense. Close with and destroy the enemy.
Thanks for making the point so directly and vividly. Your should be a must read for every counterinsurgent warrior.
Good Story, Thanks. Back in the states we know all Iraqis are not Terrorist, but we also know Congress and the Democrats are your worst enemies.
And, don't worry, I can't stand McCain because of his Global Warming BS and his Pro-Amnesty Policies, but I'll pull the lever for him in November and thats only because he supports the War.
So, Good Luck, God Bless, wear your seatbelts, don't run with scissors and come home safe.
by Ratt on May 14, 2008 10:21 AM
Always thought up-armored Humvees were a wrong solution to the wrong problem; neither fish nor fowl, not good at doing anything well.
Bet the second patrol leader never forgets that pistol lube/Wahabi swap!
by Brian H on May 14, 2008 10:26 AM
"That story brought tears to my eyes--sorrow for the mistakes that were made, joy/pride for the way it's being done right now..."
Sadly, humans learn as much from mistakes as from doing things right, primarily because you really don't know what right is until you can compare it to something thats obviously wrong. We are learning how to fight the war against terrorists and we'll win it if we can keep the left out of the White House. In the end we will win by gaining the trust of the innocent and becoming terrorists to the terrorists.
by willis on May 14, 2008 10:58 AM
Don't concentrate on the Humvees - it could be Strykers or Blackhawks for all that it matters - concentrate on the commander's mindset that put the soldiers in them instead of on foot.
Was this the same unit/commander who's troops had been visiting on foot or a new unit that just arrived and had a different attitude/belief in how to patrol?
If so, how to we pound into it at all levels of command that this is how it should be done, even through transitions?
See what I'm getting at here?
by SSG Jeff (USAR) on May 14, 2008 12:04 PM
"...the only thing that gets to them is my coffee."
If you'd stop using the dusty thong as a filter...
0>;~}
by DL Sly on May 14, 2008 12:28 PM
John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy and Marty Meehan used the death of PFC John D. Hart of Bedford, MA to plant in the minds of the mothers of America the notion that all soldiers are entitled to be bulletproof, that it is cruel and unusual punishment to be required to perform one's duty in an unarmored vehicle, and that US casualties in Iraq are not caused by the enemy but by incompetence, negligence and corruption on the part of the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of Defense. This was part of the info war. Undermine the will, make casualties unacceptable, make force protection the primary mission, neuter the force.
Was this the same unit/commander who's troops had been visiting on foot or a new unit that just arrived and had a different attitude/belief in how to patrol?
It's been a couple of years between then and now, and Hussayn put the uniform on again over a year ago. He didn't mention specific units, but he knows divisional patches -- if the patrol had been "old friends" he'd have brought it up.
My guess is just that the new commander's savvy and so are his troops.
"...there's not enough material in a thong to filter a pound of coffee grounds..."
Well, I have heard that a thong is like a barbed wire fence, it protects the property without blocking the view.
0>;~}
And I'm guessing that you're using the standard formula -- 48 oz. of water:1 lb. coffee grounds. Wouldn't want to foul the caffeine particle accelerator and seepage system by removing any of the accumulated *flavor enhancing aging agents* off the sides of the pot.
by DL Sly on May 14, 2008 1:50 PM
And this thread is just impressing the helk out of the visitors...
Sigh.
Ah well, as I said in response to Chris: we're a whatever-we-collectively-feel-like-being-when-we-post blog.
The Iraqi airforce is building up again. My girlfriend is an air-traffic controller at an RAF airfield where some of them are being trained in elementary flying. The best way to get a country on side is to get an honest, uncorrupted military. The best way to do that is if we train them, in the West. Good luck to all those in the Iraqi armed forces!
by Richard on May 14, 2008 5:36 PM
Actually, John, it is impressing the 'helk' out of me. Not every interaction needs to be uber-serious, humour is a wondrous lubricant.
All the brave men and women who are out there defending us have my deepest respect. I cannot thank you enough.
BillT, boxers are comfortable, my boys don't like to be caged in too tight, they need room to breath. I've been called worse than square, I can take it.
by Jon on May 14, 2008 5:54 PM
We did the same type of policing in Karbala in 2003. Lots of foot patrols, knowing who's who in town, developing leads and trust and we had very little activity.
When the Active Army MP unit from the 101st came in to take over from us, they threw everything we did and told them into the trash, told off our guys, turtled up and then proceeded to get shot, rocketed and bombed.
by SGT Ted on May 14, 2008 6:05 PM
Wow. The behavior of the American troops is right out of Field Manual 3-24. They've obviously taken it to heart.
Reminds me of all those "elite" cavalry that considered fighting on foot an indignity. True warriors fought on horsies, after all. Course the English longbow kind of put the kibosh on that idea when the French tried to use shock cavalry rather than shock infantry.
Technology is always going to first give you the cavalry mount and then neuter it by giving ya a convenient way to take that mount out. We're just in one part of that cycle.
by Ymarsakar on May 14, 2008 11:40 PM
The best way to get a country on side is to get an honest, uncorrupted military.
Agreed, a hundred percent.
Among the latest group I trained was a pilot who wore US Master Army Aviator wings over his right breast pocket. I pointed to them and said, "I wore those same wings for twenty years. A gift from a friend?"
He said, "Yes, from my friend who flies Apaches. He went home to his family and gave me his wings as a gift."
I said, "That is a good gift for one friend to give another."
He said, "Yes. A very good gift." After a couple of seconds, he added, "I miss seeing my friend..."
You will never have a perfectly surviveable system. And you cannot turn Humvees into tanks. You will bankrupt the country.
No one ever gave a tip to me when I was buttoned up. I never had an interaction with an Iraqi in an armored Humvee with the doors closed and the windows up. (We didn't have grenade screens in those days. Heck, most of my Humvees had CANVAS doors, if they had doors at all.!)
Part of the solution is going to lie not in making our vehicles invincible. You CAN'T make it invincible to a triple stacked anti-tank mine.
So don't even try.
Rather, the real solution to defeating this measure is not going to lie with the vehicles at all, but outside them.
Dismount.
Get into the communities. Leverage Iraqi contacts.
Yes, we're doing that already, as much as we can. But these knuckledragging trogs in Congress are focusing on the wrong things. And the ignorant press is dragging us along with them, and damaging the war effort, by pulling us into a defensive mentality.
The insurgency will not be defeated by putting an extra armor on our vehicles. The insurgency will be defeated by dismounts. Dismounts out there engaging with the Iraqi people and collecting real-time intelligence.
And THAT is the effort the Media should focus on. THAT is the effort that Congress should focus on.
Where is all the heat forcing colonels to jump through their asses to develop HUMINT? There isn't much. All anyone wants to hear about is armor this, and armor that.
Fuck the armor. Get out and clobber the enemy, and let HIS sorry ass wish he had more armor.
Get back on offense. Close with and destroy the enemy.
Thanks for making the point so directly and vividly. Your should be a must read for every counterinsurgent warrior.
"Change of Unit" is no excuse, nor explanation either. Failure of command is the problem.
People say "We are learning" as though this were new stuff. It absolutely is not. The failure of big rich armies to recognise insurgents for what they are and use the time tested means to defeat them is so often repeated asto be easily predictable and a safe bet.
Sixty years ago, we WERE insurgents. Not to mention 235 years ago.
And we've successfully defeated insurgencies before, too.
11/15/2104At 14:52:28, FreedomFighter69 wrote:
Reporting my first temporal excursion since joining IATT: have just returned from 1936 Berlin, having taken the place of one of Leni Riefenstahl's cameramen and assassinated Adolf Hitler during the opening of the Olympic Games. Let a free world rejoice!
At 14:57:44, SilverFox316 wrote:
Back from 1936 Berlin; incapacitated FreedomFighter69 before he could pull his little stunt. Freedomfighter69, as you are a new member, please read IATT Bulletin 1147 regarding the killing of Hitler before your next excursion. Failure to do so may result in your expulsion per Bylaw 223.
At 18:06:59, BigChill wrote:
Take it easy on the kid, SilverFox316; everybody kills Hitler on their first trip. I did. It always gets fixed within a few minutes, what's the harm?
At 18:33:10, SilverFox316 wrote:
Easy for you to say, BigChill, since to my recollection you've never volunteered to go back and fix it. You think I've got nothing better to do?
Got the idea? Go back in time, do something cool, then yak about it. Or *un*do somebody's cool deed or farcup.
08/25/2104At 04:32:45, CageyHajii502 wrote:
Just returned from 24 Feb 2008. Filched the last two soap dishes from the PX/BX at FOB Warrior, Kirkuk (old spelling) in Iraq, thus compelling one W. Tuttle, an obscure US contractor, to procure a soap dish from Husam ("Sam") Ramaad, future CEO of the Kurdish Free State and Alpine Resort Association, who was then-proprietor of a small sundries shop. The results of the transaction were two-fold:
1. Sam sold Tuttle the last soap dish available in what was then Northern Iraq, thereby compelling al-Qaeda-in-Iraq soap dish foragers to return to Mosul empty-handed one week later. AQI members were left with no option but to leave their sole bar of soap on a nearby rock during their ablutions; nettle spines which had settled on the rock during the previous day's sandstorm adhered first to the soap and then to AQI members during subsequent ablutions, resulting in a 99% death rate from terminal rectal itch and reducing the remainder of the organization to committing random acts of jaywalking.
2. Sam used the cash (USD1) to corner the dust market in Kurdistan and, when the haute coutoure bunch declared khaki talcum powder the "absolute must-have" accessory for 2009, Sam became the wealthiest man east of the Greenwich Meridian.
The rest, as we now know, is history. Go pound sand, SilverFox316.
Alt history is fun to speculate. Here's another one:
At 18:47:29, Obamamaniak wrote:
I told FreedomFighter69 not to assassinate Hitler. It led to exactly the results I mentioned in my last post: 1) A civil war in Germany, that cost 25,000 lives; 2) More purges by Stalin, leading to another 300,000 deaths in the USSR; 3) Continued depression in the US, resulting in increased numbers of infant mortality and euthenasia among seniors; and 4) independence revolutions in colonial India, Indo-China, Canada and Australia; 5) the Arab genocide of Jews in the British mandate in Palestine.
Millions have died because of FreedomFighter69's grandiose and selfish attempt to prevent WW2.
by fdcol63 on May 9, 2008 6:48 AM
This is off topic, but:
If the Dem establishment and superdelegates now confirm Obama's nomination, and if Hillary's desire to run continues to take precedence (in her mind, at least, to party cohesiveness), wouldn't it be great if Hillary decided to continue her campaign as an "independent"?
by fdcol63 on May 9, 2008 7:14 AM
Nettles Abaft! Now, that's a prickly situation.
by Boquisucio on May 9, 2008 7:43 AM
Ooooh!
07/05/2114At 04:32:45, Cassandra502 wrote:
Have just returned from May 20, 2008, immediately following B.H. Obama's declaration of victory as the (then)Democrat Party's nominee in the 2008 POTUS race. Convinced Mrs. Clinton to continue her quest for the Co-Presidency as an Independent, citing the success of J. Lieberman over what's-his-face in Rhodecticut.
The resulting kerfluffery fragmented the roller$kating a$$hat wing to the point that President Cindy McCain issued Executive Order 3.14, establishing Endangered Moonbat preserves on Alaska's North Slope, next to the drilling rigs.
Unfortunately, most were crushed by glaciers during the Little Ice Age of 2014.
07/05/2114 At 18:32:45, BloodSpite007 wrote: Have just returned from June 17, 1972, whereupon I removed from functionality the carbon based unit known as Frank Wills at 14:00 in the afternoon preventing him from reporting to his job that evening.
The end result is a last minute replacement from a local truck stop is brought in to take his place, who spends his night watching Baseball instead of performing regular patrols.
First one shows two IqAF RW pilots flying instruments above a solid overcast – first time they've ever flown without visual ground references and after a quick half-hour class on instrument scanning. Bear in mind I didn't magic them up there with the computer -- they had to climb 1,500 feet through the clouds to get there without "killing" themselves. I've prepped them for a radar approach, which neither have flown, but they got the idea after I demonstrated one.
Second vid shows a straight-in autorotation, which is the maneuver us fling-wingers perform when the engine does an FbL impersonation and goes *pthbbbbbbt!* -- ain't easy to get it right when you don't have decent visual cues. This one wasn't perfect, but it was close to it.
I need to renegotiate my contract -- I'm performing two steps above my pay grade (hah!)...
I asked Bill if the voice was his (it sounds different than when I've talked to him on the phone - heh, I've met most of the Denizens, but I've never laid direct eyes on Dusty or Bill... Anyway, Bill replied:
I'm five feet behind them, talking over the engine noise and the occasional Il-76 screaming overhead. If I don't use my "cut through the background noise" voice, they can't hear me well enough to follow the "ATC instructions." I use about four different voices, depending on who I am at the time -- Tower, Approach Control, another aircraft, and *me*...
Dusty chimed in with:
What airplanes are the F/W guys training for eventually? Reason I ask is the instrumentation. Fighters--HUD is the center of attention (if they're Vipers, EVERYTHING is done in the HUD, including instruments, since the standby ADI is between your knees and is about the size of a golf ball). Other jets--if the panel is glass, that's a whole new kettle of fish if you're coming from steam gauges. Moreover, depending on the software, what you're looking at and how you tell the airplane what to do is challenging at first for those who've not grown up with FMSs. (Boeing has, from what I'm told, a much better design than Honeywell's MD-11 FMS--long (boring) story about proprietary design, etc., etc., etc.)
That's the first time I've seen an autorotation of any sort (real or simulated). Interesting, and not as fast (in terms of sink rate) as I'd thought they would be. Dead sticking an MD-10 in the sim is similar...if you have the altitude to begin with, it's not as scary as you might think (of course, it IS the sim...). You're smokin' when you cross the numbers but energy bleeds off fairly rapidly in the flare.
You must be having a lot of fun! God, I hope whoever gets elected doesn't end up leaving these poor guys out to dry by bugging out of Iraq.
Interesting, and not as fast (in terms of sink rate) as I'd thought they would be.
Depends on the helicopter and the type of auto. A straight-in will generally give you a 2,000fpm rate of descent, while an auto-with-turn can drop you from 1,500 feet in less than 20 seconds. If you decel too abruptly in a high-speed (100 knots), low-altitude (50-feet) auto, you'll actually *gain* altitude -- which can prevent you from hitting that tree directly in front of you, but will probably break your back during the hard landing on the other side.
Assuming, of course, that there isn't *another* tree immediately behind the first one...
Two trips around the circuit and two low passes in a pretty brisk crosswind (student's options for two of the three include touch-and-go or rejected landings, but he *must* land on the third pass). The pic below shows this particular kaydet's third approach.
He touched down a bit long, but he didn't balloon or bounce. I haven't OPSECed the pix yet, so you'll just have to take my word that he was wearing the world's biggest grin when he taxied past me on his way to the traditional mud-douse and fire-hose drenching.
Why all the excitement over one Iraqi student becoming the IqAF's newest pilot?
Because of what we promised if he soloed. We're gonna teach him to drive a car.
Heh I knew of an ex pilot air traffic controller of commercial flights, excellent at his job. But he drives a Volvo (cue Volvo jokes) like a blind man. Right over the top of roundabouts, turns from the wrong lane. Reverse at intersections, often hits the kerb and so on.
My theory is he treats roads like his open airspace.
I'm now working with my second group of IqAF helicopter pilots -- evidently, I didn't scare the first group that badly one single bit. These guys were evidently well-briefed before they came up here from Taji, because they opened the door to our office, looked around grinning and said, "Good morning!", made a beeline for yours truly and promptly introduced themselves. I saw two familiar squadron patches, so I've got a good idea who described me to them...
After the initial sim period (our sims are visual, non-motion, so there's a whale of a cognitive disconnect between what your eyes tell your brain and what the seat of your pants conveys), we were decompressing in the shade and started trading aviation background info. I thought you might like to know that there was one part of the Basra op that was planned *right* and went according to plan from Day One all the way through. I'll let Ali tell it -- it was his story, after all.
"So, on the first day, we knew the troops will be needing the ammunition, the food, the medicine for casualties. The C-130 [an IqAF Herky, BTW] lands and offloads the ammunition first. We put the ammunition into the Huey IIs and fly resupply. The Bad Guys shoot to drive us off, but we shoot back and continue into the area to land because the troops, our troops, need ammunition.
"More ammunition and food go on the Mi-17s because the packages are large and heavy, only ammunition goes on the Huey IIs. We all go, Huey IIs and Mi-17s. Again the Bad Guys shoot and try to drive us off, keep us from landing. Again, we shoot back and go in and land, we offload the ammunition and the food.
"Then we all go back to where the C-130 is, and we get more ammunition, more food, and fly it to the troops. The Bad Guys shoot, but not so much, because the troops are moving around in the city now, and we don't shoot because the Bad Guys are close to the troops, close to the people of the city and we land, again.
"My copilot says to me, 'This is not as bad as the Vietnam films on the TV, but now *I* will have a "Hey, No Sh*t" helicopter war story to tell!' "
So, are you going to be offering a TINS:Storytelling elective for this bunch of stoonts? Could be used if grounded by sandstorms, ya know. Covering
-scrubbing Identifying Information to protect the guilty
-proper utilization of the amusing side-anecdote
-dialogue and internal voice as a narrative aid
Wind's kicking up to 30mph, the next crew arrived early, the previous crew is stranded because of the storm, the PAR is overdue for calibration and tomorrow the generator goes offline for maintenance.
...a snoot-whapping (I'd call it something else, but that would only draw Cassie's attention) from John with reference to my Early Onset Senility admittedly spotty intelligence reports, I figured you might like to see something that's worth a couple of thousand words.
Of course, the *Cobra* pilots (yeah, yeah, okay, I'm the only one -- sue me) of the SugarButtons Brigade Aviation Battalion have a few incentives to keep current, too.
The SBB Armament Section, for one. And I sure couldn't fly very far without the selfless devotion of my fuel handlers. Of course, since the dreaded AH-1F is a flying *crew*-served weapons system, I'd be just plain foolhardy to slip the surly bonds of earth solo and deprive myself of the services of my highly-trained, exceptionally-skilled gunner.
Sure, she may be highly-skilled and exceptionally endowed, but by the looks of her she must be HIGH MAINTENANCE.
***Does my MOLLE Gear Make Me Look Fat?***
***Oh My Gawwwd - Like, I went to the Latrine Last Night and - Like - Staring Me Down was - Like - the Biggest Camel Spider... - Eeewwww - Gross!****
***When will KBR start bringing skinny cherry yogurt, at the PX?****
On & On & On.... High Maintenance I tell ya!
Instead Rin-Tin, right here just needs a good belly rub, and a few Milk-Bones once in a while, and he's like butter in your hands.
by Boquisucio on April 24, 2008 9:26 AM
Rinty would work okay as a doorgunner, Boq, but ya need opposable thumbs to work the TSU and the MCP to keep the TOW within post-launch constraints.
That's quite a crew, some enormous skill-sets there...
by SFC D on April 24, 2008 11:30 AM
The number one weapon against Islamic extremists: scantily dressed women firing weapons.
It is like soca and pop rocks. Mix the two and "boom"..heads explode. LOL
by kat-missouri on April 24, 2008 11:47 AM
Oh yeah, and let's not forget about Rin-tin's Crew Chief: SSG Blue. He's a bit camera shy, but boy, as many odes to his honor can attest, he sure has other skill sets.
Al Qaida claims 'defeat' for US troops in Iraq
Baghdad, 18 April 2008 (Gulf News)
Al Qaida has released a new audio recording saying that US troops in Iraq have failed.
The 16-minute message from Al Qaida deputy leader Ayman Al Zawahiri was posted on Thursday on several websites linked to militant Islamists.
"Where the American invasion stands now, after five years, is failure and defeat," Al Zawahiri said in the recording, the authenticity of which could not be immediately verified.
Uhhh, yeah, right, I'll believe that one when I see it. We're there, until it's over. It ain't over until it's over. But we should not go to war unless, we DECLARE WAR, under absolutely no other circumstances. This is the Constitutional standard.
Grumpy
by Grumpy on April 20, 2008 2:14 PM
I guess that explains where asshats like Pelosi and Murtha have been getting their GWOT Progress Reports!
by AFSister on April 20, 2008 6:13 PM
ZaWahabi would've gained a tad more cred if the tape hadn't sounded like it was recorded inside a sewer pipe... –Bill
Sewer pipe… Hey, you’re talking about Michael Moore’s Minuteman. You have heard the old saw: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s turd.” Or, something like that. 8 ^ )
Oh well, I never liked the guy anyway. Bill, if you get a chance will do us a favor and flush the old log away.
"I'm not surprised they are good pilots...they just flew in an air force owned by an a$$hole."
[Dusty said that, in response to Bill's email-turned-into-a-post below. It's kind of how I have viewed the French Army in my interactions with them - they really are good soldiers, and a pretty good Army, operationally. They've just been cursed with lousy ownership when it comes to the highest levels of management. I'll step aside and let Bill tell his story. - the Armorer]
Some of you may recall I mentioned this incident last month after John smacked me on the ass engaged me in some light-hearted electronic badinage. That item remained as sort of a subthread in subsequent e-mails -- background info only, because, like all aircraft accident investigations, the Investigating Board goes over all the evidence (wreckage, witness statements, the whole ball of wax) until they produce the final report.
In this case, mechanical failure and enemy action were pretty much non-starters -- no evidence, It looked like a simple case of spatial misorientation in a sandstorm -- the question was, *why* did it happen? Lotsa theories, but humor me and keep reading.
I sent this to John yesternight and he though it needed saying.
Too bad that story can't be told. It should be. All of it.
Sigh. And that's not because *we* can't run it, it's because, well, it's a good story about *them* and they can use 'em.
I've OPSECed the daylights out of it, but you'll get the picture...
I just blessed off on the four Iraqi stick-jockeys who came here to have their Instrument Instructor skills honed and evaluated. [names, ranks and squadrons redacted] all of them smacked their simulated birds into the simulated ground the first time I put them IMC, but they were "flying" an unfamiliar airframe. By the second hour, they were over being sim-sick and ready to go. No problem with their basic flying skills -- all were at least as good as the US helicopter pilots with the same flying hour level, and they all have multiple-thousand hours of stick time.
After the second sim period, I briefed them on attitude indicator failure and how to keep right-side up using only the non-electric instruments -- basically, the same things the pioneer mail pilots used in the 'Thirties. For the first two minutes, they were a bit shaky, but after they got their scan adjusted, they were good -- *very* good, in fact. After they landed, I got everybody outside for a break and one of them said, "Now I know why the Mi-17 crashed." He was on the IqAF investigation board.
Originally, everybody I talked to said all the IqAF pilots had zero instrument skills, but what I saw makes me call bullshit on that. These four were just plain *good* at instruments.
The Iraqi pilot continued, "When you started talking about the attitude indicator, I didn't realize you meant the artificial horizon, then when you failed it, I suddenly realized. And then I realized what killed the Mi-17 crew. I *knew*.
"In American helicopters, the little airplane stays still and the artificial horizon moves up and down and sideways. It is opposite with Russian artificial horizon -- the horizon stays still and the little airplane moves up and down and sideways.
"The Mi-17 has *Russian* artificial horizon."
The Iraqi Mi-17 pilots got their instrument training in the Huey. When they took off, they were nose-low -- *all* helicopters take off nose-low, it's the only way to get the beasts in the air, The little airplane on the artificial horizon went to the bottom of the gauge, as it was designed to do, and when they went IMC, the frikkin' Russian attitude indicator made them believe they were still straight and level for the first couple of seconds. By the time they got their scan going, they were still in a dive, probably only fifty feet above the ground.
Crunch.
I sent each one of the students off with a packet of instrument training pubs and slides. Got a couple of squadron patches in return -- [redacted] flies the Mi-17.
On a related note (related to oft-cited US opinion of Iraqi flying skills based on Gulf I and OIF), I think we might be painting with too broad a brush. [names and units redacted] flew fighter-bombers in Iran-v-Iraq and both had their bacon saved by the US Navy. The Aegis picket ships (who painted everything within 500 miles or so) would often give egressing Iraqi aircraft notice of bandits closing on their locations. When DS kicked off, most of the Iran-v-Iraq vets decided they weren't going to shoot up people who'd previously saved their asses -- but if they'd flat out refused to fly, they would have been shot; if they flew to Syria, they thought they'd be shot down by the Iraqi ADA ring oriented on Israel; they couldn't go to Turkey because Turkey was a Coalition partner. So, they went to Iran, got thrown in jail and beaten up for a while, and then were released at the end of hostilities. Most of the non-flying done in OIF was due to the Saddam's Got Control of the Situation Syndrome, but a bit of it was Iran-v-Iraq vets -- fixed- and rotary-wing -- hot-starting engines on purpose and frying them to ground the aircraft.
How much is true and how much is eyewash for the old gringo? Dunno, but both Su-7s on display here have slag for engine guts.
Now, before you lump me for telling tales out of school, consider the following:
1. The Iraqi board *knew* that spatial misorientation killed the Mi-17 crew, but they couldn't figure out *why* -- all the instruments were working normally and the crew, although inexperienced, had instrument training. Knowing the *why* won't change the causal findings, but it'll take a smidgeon of the onus off the dead pilots.
2. That's not the first time I've heard stories about what went on in the Gulf during Iran-v-Iraq -- just the first time I've heard them from the ones who were warned.
And now Dusty provides the coda:
"He's right about the Russian ADIs...they are the reverse of our design and VERY difficult to use the first time you try (given my MiG-23 sim experience in Hungary)...check that--it's impossible the first time. Everything is exactly backwards in the fixed-wing aircraft, i.e., what looks like a right bank in a US attitude indicator is a left bank in a Russian one, etc. If the little airplane moved as they say, that would be OK, but the ones I saw were out-and-out nauseatingly difficult to decipher.
As far as foreign pilot skills go, every fight I've ever been associated with assumes every SOB on the other side is an Eric Hartmann about to be unleashed. If they turn out to be less-than, so much the better. Then again, ask Randy Cunningham (on visitors' day) about Major Tomb.
I'm not surprised they are good pilots...they just flew in an air force owned by an a$$hole."
And to top it off - this might be the first "Marquee Post" where all the headliners of this space contributed something!
Wow. That is some fascinating stuff. Thanks so much for sharing it!
A question: So the Iraqis are training on one style of artificial horizon, then using another style for operations? Was that something that nobody had picked up on?! If so, is anything going to be done to align the training and operational equipment?
I wonder how difficult it is, institutionally speaking, to overcome problems like the one you described? Up in the snowy, white north, we get people arguing all the time that we should be buying relatively cheap Russian or even more expensive European kit (especially aircraft). The example usually cited is the Indian military, which buys from whomever they can.
I wonder what a hodgepodge of equipment like that does to your safety, interoperability, orphan stock costs, and training costs?
Damian,
This story is EXACTLY what happens when you get a hodgepodge of equipment. Tragic.
by AFSister on April 16, 2008 10:26 AM
Well, it's what happens if you can't maintain some structural separation.
Back when I weont on my final trip to the Sandbox for saber rattling, Operation Desert Thunder, the Kuwaiti Army had a brigade each of Pact gear, French gear, and US gear, and kept track of it that way. They didn't swap people out from unit to unit willy-nilly.
But it certainly complicates things, no matter how you manage it.
This also brings up an interesting additional facet concerning when people accuse the US of aiding Iraq against Iran back in the day.
In real life, actions have both negative and positive consequences. People who either focus all on the negative or the positives, to the exclusion of the real deal, are bombs waiting to go off if you strap them to your mission payload.
And they're not going to go off when you think they are going to go off either.
Such people make an extreme disaster of operations, precisely because they either look at America's support of Iraq and try to use it to destroy America's support of Iraq in the here and now by overplaying the negatives, or they look at the so called "positives" of cheap, inaccurate, "better" Russian hardware for the Iraqis in order to discount the advantage of interoperability and training which would come from getting the Iraqis the M-16 family of armaments.
Russia's quality control seems to be rather weirdly different to AMerica's, if not in the suckage compartment. Their industrial or technological base isn't the problem, it's the way they do quality control. Take a look at how they maintain, or rather don't maintain, their nuclear armaments. Which is probably why their most popular armaments like the Ak 47 don't need quality control because they have low tolerances. The popular refrain seems to be that you could bury an AK 47 underground for years, dig it back up rusted and gunky, then fire it off. It won't be very accurate though...
Little things like making the artificial horizon more intuitive, doesn't really seem to factor in for the Russians compared to the American or Western obsession with making things more streamlined and intuitive. Different philosophies, different methodologies.
For people, whether Leftists or not, just interested in the minor tactical advantages of Russian arms and their lack of a need for maintenance, are ignoring the logistical question. It's one thing if it is a tactical choice between more firepowr and less firepower. It is one thing if it is a tactical choice between weapons that work and weapons that just don't work even if you did everything you could to clean them, sort of like VIetnam plastic rifles. But this is a difference between solidifying American and Iraqi logistics by cutting out foreign equipment, or stay as we are while we try to get the Iraqis logistically independent of us.
Better logistics in the lnog run is always better than any slight improvements in tactics that could be effected, in my view.
On another note, it is always fascinating to see the perspective from another party in a warfare, rather than your own. Makes learning things faster.
by Ymarsakar on April 16, 2008 10:55 AM
Damien wrote:
wonder how difficult it is, institutionally speaking, to overcome problems like the one you described? Up in the snowy, white north, we get people arguing all the time that we should be buying relatively cheap Russian or even more expensive European kit (especially aircraft). The example usually cited is the Indian military, which buys from whomever they can.
You could go with the Israeli model and buy the A/C w/o instruments, and install your own
by Tim on April 16, 2008 11:16 AM
This is the first I’ve written about the Iraqi Air Force Mi-17 Crash last month. I didn’t personally know Staff Sergeant Chris Frost, the US Air Force Gunner who was killed in the crash, but do I remember seeing him whenever I was up at Taji. I had the highest respect for the USAF gunners and pilots who flew with and trained the Iraqi Airmen. Those men and women are the unsung heroes of the US effort to rebuild the Iraqi Air Force. I worked with several Iraqi Air Force Mi-17 crewmen, so odds are I knew some of those who were lost in the crash. I wanted to wait until the official report was released before discussed the situation. After reading the comments to this post regarding the after action report, I couldn’t remain silent. I’m very proud of the Iraqi Air Force, and proud of the Airmen of the United States Air Force who are training their fellow Iraqi Airmen.
The Iraqi Air Force does not have a 'hodgepodge' of equipment as is assumed by many. Their Mi-17 fleet, though currently small, will triple in size over the next couple of years. The Iraqi leadership chose to purchase more Mi-17s because they're good at flying them, and their maintainers are very experienced working on them.
We pushed the Hueys on them because the Huey II is an excellent helicopter and we could bring them in faster than the Mi-17s. We almost convinced the Iraqis to purchase another 30+ Huey II’s last fall, but the Iraqi Air Force rightfully decided they should stick with what they're good at and purchased more Mi-17s.
Ironically last August when I was ordering the Mi-17s for the IqAF I was asked by the Iraqi Air Staff time after time to make sure the helicopters had two modern radar altimeters, something not standard on the Mi-17. I was told that during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, 80+ helicopters crashed in the early morning darkness enroute to Kuwait because their altimeters were sub-par. The Iraqi leadership still remembers that lesson, and they stressed the importance of ordering only the best altimeters for their helicopters. I did just that. The new fleet that is inbound this year will be modified immediately after they leave the Russian assembly line by a US company. They will all have the appropriate altimeters, and hopefully a tragedy like this won’t happen again.
As for the transition from Hueys to Mi-17s being a contributing factor in the accident, what else could the Iraqi Air Force do? The Hueys were the only operational helicopters available to the Iraqi pilots first, so most pilots trained on them. The ones who transitioned to the Mi-17 were limited to flying inside the perimeter of their base because of a lack of defensive systems and trained gunners. Once those limitations were overcome, the Iraqis began flying operational Mi-17 missions outside the wire with great success.
Their first missions were to Basra last fall. They did an outstanding job and the crews quickly learned to adapt. The flight that crashed this March was flying north of Mosul, something the Iraqis haven't done in years, but they had to fly up there to provide the support their nation is asking of them. The Iraqi Air Force sortie rate increased from 30 per week in January 2007 to 300 per week in December 2007 because the Iraqi government desperately needs organic air power in the Counter-insurgency war they are fighting. This ‘surge’ in air power will most likely double throughout 2008, so the pressure is on for the US and Iraqi Airmen to train, equip, and join the fight.
Are the pilots inexperienced? Some of them. Are they learning and adapting quickly? Absolutely. Are our US Air Force pilots training the Iraqi pilots to the same standards as we train our own. You bet. Still, it's a new, young Air Force. No matter how many obstacles you overcome in your training and maintenance, mistakes will still happen and lives will tragically be lost.
And remember, the Iraqi Pilots and Crewmen are all learning how to operate in a combat environment, which makes this entire enterprise even more difficult and costly. They’re dodging small arms, missile fire, sand storms, and a “quazi-free for all” VFR combat air space while they’re learning how to fly in an operational capacity.
Yet they're still flying, and we're still training them. Why? Because no nation can be secure without Airpower, and the Iraqis have always known this. It's just taken us 4 years to finally do something about it.
I worked directly for the Iraqi Air Force for 6 months, and I'd do it again if called upon. Our Air Force is doing an outstanding job growing and developing what once was, and soon will be again, one of the most respected Air Forces in the region.
El Capitan, no disrespect was intended in my remarks. Canadian Forces aircraft are currently all American in pedigree, but we are constantly being pushed to buy something other than U.S. designs. I have concerns about mixing and matching, and was honestly asking for feedback, given that this post made me reflect on an issue that touches my military, but also quite a number of others.
Same here.
The point is that training on American helicopters and then flying Russian helicopters seems to be an issue due to the instrument panel differences. That's what was meant by hodgpodge- not that they have shoddy equipment, or that they're trying to put Russian parts in American copters or visa versa. And no one is saying that the IrAF pilots are incompetent- quite the opposite. After you read Bill's AAR, you understand exactly how this kind of thing could easily happen.
It's like driving in America your whole life, and then renting a car in England for a week's vacation- you're bound to screw up the right-sided steering, or at least struggle with it. Being in the air has far more dire consequences though.
by AFSister on April 16, 2008 2:27 PM
This is why I am a landlubber and don't like heights and don't like to fly and and and...WOW.
I am impressed. This is Good Stuff.
by Cricket on April 16, 2008 2:38 PM
Damian
The Forces may purchase American sourced equipment, but it is not USAF or USN standard. Back in the 80's we lost three Hercs and were offered replacements by Lockheed at a must-buy price. The aircraft were sitting unsold at the factory; the price to be charged was for the bare airframe. Unfortunately, the aircraft would have required partial stripping to remove the wiring/electronics and install the RCAF standard kit. The rebuild would have brought the acquisition cost up to the price of a Herc purchased the 'normal' way, which the Air Force could not afford.
There's a company in Kelowna which tries to sell Russian hels to the Air Force, but their aircraft are fitted with Canadian standard avionics, not Russian.
Cheers
by J.M. Heinrichs on April 16, 2008 2:55 PM
The Forces may purchase American sourced equipment, but it is not USAF or USN standard.
Uh...yeah...which is why I purposely used the phrase "American pedigree." Are you forgetting I've actually flown in most of them?
They’re dodging small arms, missile fire, sand storms, and a “quazi-free for all” VFR combat air space while they’re learning how to fly in an operational capacity.
Substitute "torrential rain" for "sandstorms" and you've got Vietnam. We lost a lot of helicopters *there* due to weather-related accidents before we taught ourselves how to survive.
That lesson wasn't lost on the Iraqi Air Force, either -- which is why they insisted that us rotary wing instructors have an Army Aviation background, rather than a USAF one.
When the Flight School Commander found out that two of us *were* Vietnam helicopter vets, he was ecstatic...
John, Damian, AFSister... my apologies if I sounded a little gruff on that comment. Guess I'm still a little emotionally attached to the folks out there, as well as their mission. Hard to leave for home when you're so attached to the mission.
Thanks for putting the good word out on this situation and the many others out there that go unreported.
The walking areas around the IqAF Flight School are all covered with river-rock -- "small jacks" -- if you're from the Nor'East. Smooth, rounded, water-washed pebbles varying in size from thumbnail to tie-it-to-a-stick-and-it's-a-sledgehammer. Mostly dove-gray with chunks of Concord-grape purple.
It's there so the inside of the classrooms don't wind up covered with three inches of outside every time the wind blows.
Hussan saw me snapping pix of the flightline and walked up with a grin on his face. He picked up a stone and said, "This is *Iraqi* rock!"
Go read what John wrote here, then come back. It's okay, I'll wait.
Hassan continued. "In the old days, this area would have been left open. Breathe at it and you would get a face full of dust. Look at the part of the base that is still as it was in the old days. Bare. It is dust waiting to blow in your face. But here, where the Flight School is, where learning is happening, it is covered to keep the dust down. Here. Covered with Iraqi rock."
He closed his fist over the stone like it was a five-dollar gold piece and grinned.
"*This* is Iraq."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was gonna send this out by e-mail, but I figger I'll eliminate the middleman and post it instead:
I'm gonna be busier than a one-legged man in an a$$-kicking contest for the next two weeks, and Generator Cutoff Time will prolly kick in before I get the chance to show up and play. *Good Deal*-type stuff, so don't go spreading rumors that I eloped with the Warrior Princess (she hangs out with me because her *dad* flew in Vietnam, too) or that I got nailed by a bottle rocket. It won't involve thongs or thinging -- thorry, Cathth.
The walking areas around the IqAF Flight School are all covered with river-rock -- "small jacks" -- if you're from the Nor'East. Smooth, rounded, water-washed pebbles varying in size from thumbnail to tie-it-to-a-stick-and-it's-a-sledgehammer. Mostly dove-gray with chunks of Concord-grape purple.
It's there so the inside of the classrooms don't wind up covered with three inches of outside every time the wind blows.
Hussan saw me snapping pix of the flightline and walked up with a grin on his face. He picked up a stone and said, "This is *Iraqi* rock!"
Go read what John wrote here, then come back. It's okay, I'll wait.
Hassan continued. "In the old days, this area would have been left open. Breathe at it and you would get a face full of dust. Look at the part of the base that is still as it was in the old days. Bare. It is dust waiting to blow in your face. But here, where the Flight School is, where learning is happening, it is covered to keep the dust down. Here. Covered with Iraqi rock."
He closed his fist over the stone like it was a five-dollar gold piece and grinned.
"*This* is Iraq."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was gonna send this out by e-mail, but I figger I'll eliminate the middleman and post it instead:
I'm gonna be busier than a one-legged man in an a$$-kicking contest for the next two weeks, and Generator Cutoff Time will prolly kick in before I get the chance to show up and play. *Good Deal*-type stuff, so don't go spreading rumors that I eloped with the Warrior Princess (she hangs out with me because her *dad* flew in Vietnam, too) or that I got nailed by a bottle rocket. It won't involve thongs or thinging -- thorry, Cathth.
The first time the Deployed Gentleman (DG) enters the Dining Facility and encounters, in order,
1. The Lady Contractor, clad in either shorts or spray-on jeans,
2. The Lady Contractor, clad in full-up battle rattle and spray-on cargo pants, and
3. The Warrior Princess, clad in full-up battle rattle, packing enough heat to fight (and win -- single-handed) the Napoleonic Wars, and displaying more cutlery than Emeril ever owned,
the DG is faced with a quandary. How to comport himself during Polite Social IntercourOOOPS Conversation with his Feminine Potential Dining Companion.
They didn't cover *that* at CRC.
To correct that unfortunate, but forgiveable, oversight, The Castle has instituted still *another* One-Off, Never Go There Again chapter in its miniseries of Public Service Symposia.
Lesson One: Mastering Polite Table Talk
First, the DG should be aware of the length of time his Dining Companion has In-Country, which will enable him to expand upon their mutual experience. Fortunately, the Gentler Sex communicates this information through body language, and the astute DG should key on these subtle signs.
Been Here One Week: Observes DG in peripheral vision, recoils.
Been Here Two Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, recoils.
Been Here Three Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, shrugs.
Been Here Four Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, smiles.
Been Here Five Weeks: Makes deliberate eye contact with DG, smiles.
Been Here Six Weeks: Asks DG to get her a cup of coffee when DG gets up to refill his.
Been Here Seven Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of stationery.
Been Here Eight Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of military accoutrements.
Been Here Nine Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of combat cutlery, but it consists of "the same crappy Chinese KaBar knockoffs" as usual.
Been Here Ten Weeks: Slams tray on table, says, "Geez! What a farking day *this* -- hey! Don't you *dare* move! -- has been! I swear to..."
Ahem.
Next Lesson: Complimenting the Warrior Princess on Her Choice of Fighting Knives...
Having been there, done that a couple of times, I think Bill's dead on the money here. I have to admit, though, that I've far less practical experience in these matters than he, mostly because the love of my life is a red-haired Irishwoman with a short temper who is a somewhat better pistol shot than I am...
by Blake Kirk on April 11, 2008 8:17 AM
and here I thought I was the only redheaded short tempered irish woman to lurk around here .pot
I would not suggest, "My...those ARE sharp and pointy." Translatory problem may occur.
Nor..."I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Unless the object(s) in question have already been established in a previous sentence.
by kat-missouri on April 11, 2008 9:03 AM
"I like a gal with a nice, wide ricasso..."
Try that one, Chief...
by Neffi on April 11, 2008 9:32 AM
I lurk, then I report to oldloder , his internet access is very limited and he feels deprived.he should be all connected by sunday inshalla , then watch out , inshalla .
by pot on April 11, 2008 9:40 AM
Gee, sounds remarkably similar to encounters in *some* parts of SoCA. Well, maybe the other way around. Start with the discussion of available *cutlery* and work your way up to shy eye contact. lol
Heh. pot understates herself. She's not Irish by linear extrapolation from some immigrant shambling through Ellis Island... she's a *recent* import [erm, 'transplant'].
bee nice , I'm really a just a kitten with large claws, ask oldloader, got him to go back to the mid east didnt I ?? soon i'll be there too . Proud to be an import.
by pot on April 11, 2008 10:29 AM
preferr term transplant, then I feel I did some good since coming here !!!!!
by pot on April 11, 2008 10:34 AM
With full Battle Rattle none of the tried and true one liners would work.
"Gee...you've lost weight".
"I like what you've done with your hair".
"Nice shoes".
Then again you can try humor..."I'd like to kiss you in a place you've never been kissed before".
If she doesn't draw down on you...tell her Kuwait.
by Fishmugger on April 11, 2008 10:40 AM
LOL FM that was funny.
by kat-missouri on April 11, 2008 11:16 AM
Spray on cargo pants? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of them being cargo? I'll never figure our women(contractors) and fashion. (Sigh).
Pot, getting Loader to go back? Naw, I likes him here. Whist both o' yas stayed Stateside if you could.
Dinner tonight, sitting across from a female contractor...the standard-issue plastic knife snapped at the first attempt to cut the standard-issue roast beef...expletive muttered under my breath as I pulled out the Gerber Guardian and surgically sliced my roast beef...aforementioned contractor sighs and nearly swoons...and promptly snaps out a 7" switchblade and attacks her roast beef...how cool is that?
by SFC D on April 11, 2008 12:26 PM
Now I know why oldloder gave me my very own swiss army knife for xmas ............
by pot on April 11, 2008 12:44 PM
When do you get to sing her the latest thong?
by rikkochet on April 11, 2008 1:44 PM
Well, If I were sitting across the dining table in that room, across from a gal wearing "spray-on cargo pants" and the subject came up, and I was feeling courageous, I might say something like "You're not serious!"
And then she might answer back, "Not serious about what?"
Got the sequel ramping up, even as we speak. In reverse.
It seems The Neighbors (us) are irked about what's happening to some of Fraser's compatriots. Got an e-gram last night from the blogfirm of Potfry and Williams, better known as the guys from TNOYF:
Hey Bill -- we're selling Ezra Levant t-shirts and donating all profit to the Canadian blogger legal defense fund.
R.J.'s been on this particular case for months -- he raised the initial hue and cry with one of his Patent-Pending Top Nine Little Known Facts gems:
The Top Nine Little Known Facts About Richard Warman
9. Has never been able to recapture the glory he achieved after he defeated Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes."
8. Once played lead air guitar in a Milli Vanilli tribute band.
7. Only needs to file 137 more lawsuits to finally gain complete and utter revenge on the ruffians who used to steal his lunch money in grade school.
6. Performed an interpretive dance entitled, "The Genius of Alan Alda" for his high school talent show.
5. Coined the phrase, "You can't spell 'team' without 'm-e'."
4. Is perpelexed that his former employer refuses to change their name to the Human Lefts Commission.
3. Is so sensitive that after watching prescription drug commercials on television, frequently comes down with at least two of the major side effects.
2. Would never admit it, but secretly wears Mark Steyn footie-pajamas.
1. Feels very inadequate because…because…well, let's just say that if he had a blog it would be named "3 Inches of Fury."
Heh. R.J. doesn't call a spade a spade -- he calls it a farkin' shovel...
Now, I don't shill for something unless it's a worthy cause or a noble fight (in which case, like John, I'm a total pushover), and IMHO, this is worthy. Stop in at TNOYF's shop -- it's worth the trip just to see the shirts. And when casting starts, I got dibs on the role of Diefenbaker.
How could it be this dark out? It’s only a little after seven. And the wind! This dust blowing -- I can’t see more than fifty feet…
She walked slowly along the roadside, stopping every so often to look around for something she remembered seeing before. And seeing nothing but the sand.
I haven’t seen anything I recognize! Lost. I’m lost.
She hadn’t even seen a T-barrier in the last ten minutes...
My first day here, and I’m lost. And I don’t know if anybody even knows I’m out here…
Thank God the road is paved. If I keep following it -- what if it stops? What if it turns? Whywhywhy didn’t I leave the chow hall with the other guys?
The road abruptly turned to gravel and the dust storm abruptly turned worse.
Okay, don’t panic, she thought. I don’t remember any stretch of gravel, but maybe I just walked a little bit too far--
Barbed wire? Omigod -- I'm on the perimeter! Okay, now's the time to panic! Waitaminnit -- that looks like a light! It is! There’s a light over there! Pleasepleaseplease let it mean there’s a person there, a real person, not just a security light! It’s so dark out here…
A window! I can see desks and computers! There’s somebody working in there! Window’s too dusty, I can’t see who -- oooooh, there’s the door!
She tried the door and found it unlocked. She peered in and --
“Hello? Can you help me?”
-- promptly jolted the daylights out of me. I turned away from the class I was preparing and saw an armed Munchkin in full body armor, standing just inside the door, fetchingly shedding dust all over my rucksack.
"I'm lost."
"No, you're *found*. The hard part's over -- all we have to do now is get you from here to where you're supposed to be."
Well, it took a lot of backtracking and some judicious enroute questioning (“Okay, do you remember *anything at all* about what’s around your hootch? Ummmmm, *aside* from the 12-foot T-barriers?”), but eventually we figured out where she’d made the wrong turn. I calculated a correction for wind drift, sand drift, and spindrift and had her back home less than half an hour after she'd interrupted my class prep.
By the time I'd walked back to the office, the nightly "Turn Off the Generator to Conserve Energy" time had kicked in, so I *still* have to finish that class. 'Nother prime example of the dictum that no good deed goes unpunished.
John ‘n’ SWWBO get furry refugees from the storm showing up on the Castle doorstep in the middle of the night.
I get li’l Navy chicks on their first deployment with no sense of direction showing up on mine.
I could find my way back home
And never have to roam
If I only had a thong....
I'd be happy, there's not middle
I'd be singing as a fiddle
If I only had a thong
Actually, the conversation went something like this:
Cass - "Dear Lord Sly,"
Me - "'Dear Lord Sly.'
Oh, I like the sound of that....
0>;~}"
However, it seemed a bit pretentious if only ever so slightly less than accurate.
0>;~}
Besides, Dark Lord Sly just rolls off the tongue as smoothly as frozen SoCo.
by DL Sly on April 9, 2008 9:47 AM
Dark Lord Sly just rolls off the tongue as smoothly as frozen SoCo.
Ah -- you mean it *sings*!
*********************** Sergeant Muldoon: Are you sure that's what he wanted? Colonel Mike Kirby: Affimative! Sergeant Muldoon: Maybe he liked so many guys thinking about him. Colonel Mike Kirby: Besides that... It SINGS!
[exits] Sergeant Muldoon: [to himself] It sings? That's what he said. Provo's Privy -- it DOES sing!
**********************
How could it be this dark out? It’s only a little after seven. And the wind! This dust blowing -- I can’t see more than fifty feet…
She walked slowly along the roadside, stopping every so often to look around for something she remembered seeing before. And seeing nothing but the sand.
I haven’t seen anything I recognize! Lost. I’m lost.
She hadn’t even seen a T-barrier in the last ten minutes...
My first day here, and I’m lost. And I don’t know if anybody even knows I’m out here…
Thank God the road is paved. If I keep following it -- what if it stops? What if it turns? Whywhywhy didn’t I leave the chow hall with the other guys?
The road abruptly turned to gravel and the dust storm abruptly turned worse.
Okay, don’t panic, she thought. I don’t remember any stretch of gravel, but maybe I just walked a little bit too far--
Barbed wire? Omigod -- I'm on the perimeter! Okay, now's the time to panic! Waitaminnit -- that looks like a light! It is! There’s a light over there! Pleasepleaseplease let it mean there’s a person there, a real person, not just a security light! It’s so dark out here…
A window! I can see desks and computers! There’s somebody working in there! Window’s too dusty, I can’t see who -- oooooh, there’s the door!
She tried the door and found it unlocked. She peered in and --
“Hello? Can you help me?”
-- promptly jolted the daylights out of me. I turned away from the class I was preparing and saw an armed Munchkin in full body armor, standing just inside the door, fetchingly shedding dust all over my rucksack.
"I'm lost."
"No, you're *found*. The hard part's over -- all we have to do now is get you from here to where you're supposed to be."
Well, it took a lot of backtracking and some judicious enroute questioning (“Okay, do you remember *anything at all* about what’s around your hootch? Ummmmm, *aside* from the 12-foot T-barriers?”), but eventually we figured out where she’d made the wrong turn. I calculated a correction for wind drift, sand drift, and spindrift and had her back home less than half an hour after she'd interrupted my class prep.
By the time I'd walked back to the office, the nightly "Turn Off the Generator to Conserve Energy" time had kicked in, so I *still* have to finish that class. 'Nother prime example of the dictum that no good deed goes unpunished.
John ‘n’ SWWBO get furry refugees from the storm showing up on the Castle doorstep in the middle of the night.
I get li’l Navy chicks on their first deployment with no sense of direction showing up on mine.
I could find my way back home
And never have to roam
If I only had a thong....
I'd be happy, there's not middle
I'd be singing as a fiddle
If I only had a thong
Actually, the conversation went something like this:
Cass - "Dear Lord Sly,"
Me - "'Dear Lord Sly.'
Oh, I like the sound of that....
0>;~}"
However, it seemed a bit pretentious if only ever so slightly less than accurate.
0>;~}
Besides, Dark Lord Sly just rolls off the tongue as smoothly as frozen SoCo.
by DL Sly on April 9, 2008 9:47 AM
Dark Lord Sly just rolls off the tongue as smoothly as frozen SoCo.
Ah -- you mean it *sings*!
*********************** Sergeant Muldoon: Are you sure that's what he wanted? Colonel Mike Kirby: Affimative! Sergeant Muldoon: Maybe he liked so many guys thinking about him. Colonel Mike Kirby: Besides that... It SINGS!
[exits] Sergeant Muldoon: [to himself] It sings? That's what he said. Provo's Privy -- it DOES sing!
**********************
February 8, 2007 • In Iraq, improvised explosive devices pose a constant threat to security forces. The makeshift bombs are stashed on the sides of roads, buried in trash or hidden just about anywhere. The U.S. military has sought to train Iraqi security forces to handle them on their own.
But things don't always go as planned.
U.S. Army Sgt. Ryan Lord hadn't driven his Humvee more than 50 yards out of Forward Operating Base Warrior when he came upon Iraqi police standing in the middle of the road. An IED had been spotted up ahead, they told the Americans.
In most cases, that means a U.S. explosives ordnance team comes in to defuse the bomb. But in this case, an Iraqi explosives team is on the case.
The Iraqi police start shooting at the potential bomb, hoping to set it off. But to no avail. The convoy continues to sit and wait. An hour passes. As Sgt. Lord watches, the Iraqi police move closer to the suspected bomb.
The first IED turns out to be a fake. To the surprise of the American soldiers, this emboldens the Iraqi police, who are now focusing on the second suspected bomb.
"Oh, he kicked it," says an American soldier watching.
"The second one must have been safe," Lord says, "because they went over to it, kicked it over, and then threw it across the road."
An hour and a half after first stopping, the convoy moves on.
That was newsworthy-by-MSM-definition because it showcases the US *failure* to
a. instill a healthy respect for IEDs in the local Iraqi cops *and*
b. teach them the proper method of IED neutralization.
However, take note of the glossed-over facts that
a. Iraqi police have taken on the task that *used* to be reserved for US EOD folks *and*
b. shooting an IED (from a distance, naturally) is an accepted field-expedient method of dealing with one of the beasts.
And now, I'll bet a two-liter plastic bottle of generic agua caliente that you won't see this one:
Kirkuk, Mar 12, [2008] (VOI) - Police forces on Wednesday defused a roadside bomb placed near a bridge in central Kirkuk, north Iraq, a security source said.
Kirkuk police forces on Wednesday evening discovered a rocket tied to wires near the directorate of Accounting at a bridge in central Kirkuk,” a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI)
The source added “the explosives expert defused the rocket.”
Kirkuk lies 250 km north-east of Baghdad.
Heh. Same area, same local cops. But *not* newsworthy, because it shows they've learned the *professional* way to deal with IEDs. They're not still in the learning stage -- now they *know* and they're applying that knowledge.
"B-b-b-but Bill, they're still planting IEDs -- that means The Surge Isn't Working!"
That's like saying NYC's Rodent Control program isn't working because there are still rats in the sewers. I've got cop buddies who remember when they *used* to promenade down Broadway, following the trash trucks...
If the story doesn't meet the spin, don't put it in.
At times, when I'm more positive, I have hopes that the influence of new media and history will prove just how much bias we've had pushed down our throats by the MSM.
And then I remember what a stranglehold liberals still maintain within journalism, broadcast media, academia, and Hollyweird.
Until that changes, they will continue to spin the historical narrative according to their liberal bias to advance their own agendas.
All while gullible Obamaniacs accept it as the complete truth.
TGIF. LOL
by fdcol63 on April 4, 2008 7:03 AM
If it doesn't bleed, vomit, spew, or otherwise meet a certain level of negativity they are not "informing" us.
but what about the mutiny of shiite troops who were supposed to attack positions of the Sadr Army? Do I read about it here? If not, was there a good reason for that? I like to know, because I try to read info from both camps and make up my mind myself.
by eric on April 4, 2008 12:06 PM
eric: mutiny and desertion are practiced as a fine art in Iraqi military culture (see Desert Storm and OIF battle reports for quantification). "going over to the other side" has varying degrees of "gone" to it, and i wouldn't put overly much stock in any report that breathless exclaims that "all" the members of a unit "mutinied".
my brief assessment of the sparse reports i had seen would be thus: "guys who never could have passed a decent background check" may have walked off their current job in order to report back in to whomever their real allegiance was due. such is life.
by MajMike on April 4, 2008 12:48 PM
Eric...there are multiple reports that say different things. According to Kaboomjournal.blogspot.com (I can't link right this second), there were reports that police and others "defected" and handed over their weapons, but LT G said he made the rounds of the check points in his sector and they were all covered.
He notes that, if any did, they did not effect his over all area and may have been very limited.
I say alleged because many of the "officials" in Basra are also Sadr mahdi army or have sympathies to that cause. Noting that an alleged battalion refused to fight is pretty big not to be also validated by the American military. I would look there first before I accept that it was an entire battalion of the army. The police, on the otherhand, I would believe.
In 2005, Steven Vincent, author of In the Red Zone, was murdered in Basra and his interpreter critically wounded because his daily dispatches noted the "criminals", the corruption, and, most importantly, the police being infiltrated by Mahdi militia who posted signs of Sadr and were going around at night kidnapping and killing people for their "un-Islamic" behavior, dress, etc.
Does the possibility of the Basra police "mutinying" against attacking Sadr bother me or portend something that we didn't know already? Nope.
however, I would look to Centcom to see if they have any confirmation of the number, size and organizatoin within the Iraqi army that did or did not "mutiny" before I would accept Basra/Mahdi propaganda that is basically trying to portray even the Iraqi Army under Sadr's control.
A British military official said that Mr. Maliki had brought 6,600 reinforcements to Basra to join the 30,000 security personnel already stationed there, and a senior American military official said that he understood that 1,000 to 1,500 Iraqi forces had deserted or underperformed. That would represent a little over 4 percent of the total.
Context. and even then there is the qualifier of "he understood" which means he is getting his information from a secondary source as well.
by kat-missouri on April 4, 2008 1:57 PM
thank you all and long live the internet!
by eric on April 4, 2008 3:01 PM
thx for the numbers kat...
now to apply the "Iraqi fudge factor" calculation to it.. "about 4% loss" = "bodaciously fantastic attendance today" = "slightly less than a recruiting drive" all in all i would say that was a great show of force.
February 8, 2007 • In Iraq, improvised explosive devices pose a constant threat to security forces. The makeshift bombs are stashed on the sides of roads, buried in trash or hidden just about anywhere. The U.S. military has sought to train Iraqi security forces to handle them on their own.
But things don't always go as planned.
U.S. Army Sgt. Ryan Lord hadn't driven his Humvee more than 50 yards out of Forward Operating Base Warrior when he came upon Iraqi police standing in the middle of the road. An IED had been spotted up ahead, they told the Americans.
In most cases, that means a U.S. explosives ordnance team comes in to defuse the bomb. But in this case, an Iraqi explosives team is on the case.
The Iraqi police start shooting at the potential bomb, hoping to set it off. But to no avail. The convoy continues to sit and wait. An hour passes. As Sgt. Lord watches, the Iraqi police move closer to the suspected bomb.
The first IED turns out to be a fake. To the surprise of the American soldiers, this emboldens the Iraqi police, who are now focusing on the second suspected bomb.
"Oh, he kicked it," says an American soldier watching.
"The second one must have been safe," Lord says, "because they went over to it, kicked it over, and then threw it across the road."
An hour and a half after first stopping, the convoy moves on.
That was newsworthy-by-MSM-definition because it showcases the US *failure* to
a. instill a healthy respect for IEDs in the local Iraqi cops *and*
b. teach them the proper method of IED neutralization.
However, take note of the glossed-over facts that
a. Iraqi police have taken on the task that *used* to be reserved for US EOD folks *and*
b. shooting an IED (from a distance, naturally) is an accepted field-expedient method of dealing with one of the beasts.
And now, I'll bet a two-liter plastic bottle of generic agua caliente that you won't see this one:
Kirkuk, Mar 12, [2008] (VOI) - Police forces on Wednesday defused a roadside bomb placed near a bridge in central Kirkuk, north Iraq, a security source said.
Kirkuk police forces on Wednesday evening discovered a rocket tied to wires near the directorate of Accounting at a bridge in central Kirkuk,” a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI)
The source added “the explosives expert defused the rocket.”
Kirkuk lies 250 km north-east of Baghdad.
Heh. Same area, same local cops. But *not* newsworthy, because it shows they've learned the *professional* way to deal with IEDs. They're not still in the learning stage -- now they *know* and they're applying that knowledge.
"B-b-b-but Bill, they're still planting IEDs -- that means The Surge Isn't Working!"
That's like saying NYC's Rodent Control program isn't working because there are still rats in the sewers. I've got cop buddies who remember when they *used* to promenade down Broadway, following the trash trucks...
If the story doesn't meet the spin, don't put it in.
At times, when I'm more positive, I have hopes that the influence of new media and history will prove just how much bias we've had pushed down our throats by the MSM.
And then I remember what a stranglehold liberals still maintain within journalism, broadcast media, academia, and Hollyweird.
Until that changes, they will continue to spin the historical narrative according to their liberal bias to advance their own agendas.
All while gullible Obamaniacs accept it as the complete truth.
TGIF. LOL
by fdcol63 on April 4, 2008 7:03 AM
If it doesn't bleed, vomit, spew, or otherwise meet a certain level of negativity they are not "informing" us.
but what about the mutiny of shiite troops who were supposed to attack positions of the Sadr Army? Do I read about it here? If not, was there a good reason for that? I like to know, because I try to read info from both camps and make up my mind myself.
by eric on April 4, 2008 12:06 PM
eric: mutiny and desertion are practiced as a fine art in Iraqi military culture (see Desert Storm and OIF battle reports for quantification). "going over to the other side" has varying degrees of "gone" to it, and i wouldn't put overly much stock in any report that breathless exclaims that "all" the members of a unit "mutinied".
my brief assessment of the sparse reports i had seen would be thus: "guys who never could have passed a decent background check" may have walked off their current job in order to report back in to whomever their real allegiance was due. such is life.
by MajMike on April 4, 2008 12:48 PM
Eric...there are multiple reports that say different things. According to Kaboomjournal.blogspot.com (I can't link right this second), there were reports that police and others "defected" and handed over their weapons, but LT G said he made the rounds of the check points in his sector and they were all covered.
He notes that, if any did, they did not effect his over all area and may have been very limited.
I say alleged because many of the "officials" in Basra are also Sadr mahdi army or have sympathies to that cause. Noting that an alleged battalion refused to fight is pretty big not to be also validated by the American military. I would look there first before I accept that it was an entire battalion of the army. The police, on the otherhand, I would believe.
In 2005, Steven Vincent, author of In the Red Zone, was murdered in Basra and his interpreter critically wounded because his daily dispatches noted the "criminals", the corruption, and, most importantly, the police being infiltrated by Mahdi militia who posted signs of Sadr and were going around at night kidnapping and killing people for their "un-Islamic" behavior, dress, etc.
Does the possibility of the Basra police "mutinying" against attacking Sadr bother me or portend something that we didn't know already? Nope.
however, I would look to Centcom to see if they have any confirmation of the number, size and organizatoin within the Iraqi army that did or did not "mutiny" before I would accept Basra/Mahdi propaganda that is basically trying to portray even the Iraqi Army under Sadr's control.
A British military official said that Mr. Maliki had brought 6,600 reinforcements to Basra to join the 30,000 security personnel already stationed there, and a senior American military official said that he understood that 1,000 to 1,500 Iraqi forces had deserted or underperformed. That would represent a little over 4 percent of the total.
Context. and even then there is the qualifier of "he understood" which means he is getting his information from a secondary source as well.
by kat-missouri on April 4, 2008 1:57 PM
thank you all and long live the internet!
by eric on April 4, 2008 3:01 PM
thx for the numbers kat...
now to apply the "Iraqi fudge factor" calculation to it.. "about 4% loss" = "bodaciously fantastic attendance today" = "slightly less than a recruiting drive" all in all i would say that was a great show of force.
Net connectivity has been a bit hinky the past week, but I've been able to pop in often enough to read what's been going on -- although my comments usually earn a "Gee, IE can't display that page, and it's really, really sorry about that. Try again next month" message.
So, I have a bit of time after work to yak with the Junior Birdmen. The following came out in a one-on-one that took place a couple of days ago, and I think it ties in nicely with what Kat's been saying, particularly in her Global Jihad All Star Team and FuzzyBee's Disturbing. BTW, I *had* comments, but I see the Regulars did their usual sterling job of covering for me...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hussan (not his real name, for a very good reason) had just finished a couple of bumpy trips around the traffic pattern (okay, they call it a “circuit” -- ‘nother Brit legacy) and I was quizzing him about what the winds were doing at 2,000 feet. After about five minutes, the topic shifted to flying in general, then to combat flying in particular. Then it took a turn I hadn’t expected.
“There is a mosque in [town name redacted], the mosque is Wahabi. One day, there is a sniper in the minaret with a Dragunov -- you know this rifle?”
“Yeah -- Russian sniper rifle. The VC had Sov advisors and they used it on us in Vietnam.”
“Yes, the Russian rifle. The sniper in the minaret, he is a good shot, a very good shot with the Dragunov. He begins shooting at people in the street, not hitting, just shooting. A police car drives up in front of the mosque and the two policemen get out. The sniper shoots the driver *bip* in the head, and the driver falls down. The other policeman goes to his friend to pull him behind the car and the sniper shoots him *bip* in the head also. So two policemen are dead in the street.
“The people run to the policemen and the sniper shoots *bip*--*bip* and the people run to the doorways. He does not shoot the people, just shoots so more policemen come so he can shoot them when they get there. Soon some more cars with policemen come and the sniper shoots one *bip* and the other policemen shoot back and take cover, they do not run away like they do in the time of Saddam. The sniper hides and the policemen stop shooting. The sniper looks up over the balcony and all the policemen shoot. They stop shooting when the sniper hides, then all shoot when he looks up over the balcony, then they stop when he hides again. All at once, all the policemen come out from cover and shoot. They move into the street and keep shooting up at where the sniper is, they keep him from looking up.
“Suddenly, there are some American soldiers running around the corner toward the mosque. They run to the door with a shotgun, they shoot the hinges and kick the door in, then they run inside, then some of the policemen stop shooting and run inside with them. The other policemen stop shooting at where the sniper hides in the minaret, but they keep aiming up there. Then one gets a call on his cell phone, and he tells the others to stop aiming, and some go over to the dead policemen and some go into the mosque.
“I saw this, it was in my town. My little brother -- not *smaller-than-I-am* little, *younger-than-I-am* little -- he was with me and saw this, too. I am already in the Army, on leave from Army cadet school. My little brother now joins the police.
“When the soldiers and the police go into the mosque, there is a fight. When it is over, they search the mosque and find IEDs, mortars, RPGs. The Wahabis are two Afghans, one Syrian, three Saudis. No Iraqis.
“So, why do the CNN reporters say this is *Iraqi* insurgency?”
Sign me up with Trias - there are two stories here... the one you emphasize with the closer, and the one you notice, if you're of the bent to - about the performance of the Iraqi police - a good performance.
I was just thinking that about the police action. Really interesting to see them acting in unison and not getting crazy.
On the "global all star team" that the media seems to miss routinely, I can't fully answer that but don't miss the link to bad voodoo's story. another instance of what the media don't get.
I wondered how long it would take somebody to twig to the cops. Two items struck me when Hussan was talking about them:
1. These weren't National Police, they were locals -- in "the time of Saddam" they'd have been Ba'athist flunkies gathering an easy paycheck and augmenting it by shaking down the locals. Note the local folks ran to help the first cops who went down? That's a *huge* change.
2. The cops moved into the open and oriented their weapons on the sniper as the US troops moved up, which said to them "We're friendlies and we've got yer six."
“So, why do the CNN reporters say this is *Iraqi* insurgency?”
Good fraggin' question!!!
With time passing by quickly, I'm trying to gather up as much information on our destination as possible. Our home base over there is by no means a fighting hole half filled with water in the middle of Hades, which comforts these old bones... But all of the pertinant questions are more along the lines of what's going on outside of the wire...
And, ya know, it's not as scary as I had first thought it to be. There are more and more stories about the Iraqis coming together. Signs that the infrastructure is jelling, that old ideas are taking a step aside in favor of new ones.
We'll have to stay frosty, of course, but it doesn't look like we'll be facing anything even close to the combat seen in the past.
Makes me feel a whole lot better, even if the prospect of earning that CIB starts diminishing.
I'm hoping that this will be one long and boring year... I'm counting on increasing a majority of my skills set, and doing a lot of self improvement. I'm taking it as a good sign that my mind is thinking beyond this deployment (that hadn't always been the case)...
In an absolutely positive spin, I might be able to link up with the Chief, and I'm sure that the Denizennes will keep me on my toes...
Nice to see you, Oh Trivety One. Tell Hussan we are axing the same question too...and we are proud of you both!
Gots me an Afghan cookbook and have been skewering Many Things. The back deck is off the house, making that first step out the back door a doozy...
thinking of y'all...
by Cricket on April 3, 2008 11:07 AM
Excellent reporting Bill!
If Saddam’s family still has power – let them be rooted out.
If the MSM has slanted reporting – let them be rooted out.
Keep the information flowing.
Btw, it will be argued in the military if you could have destroyed Saddam with proper ammo in the first strike (incendiary bombs, or cluster bombs, mines or small nukes).
Certainly, it would have been best to destroy Saddam and his daughters in the first strike – but it’s unsure whether it could have been done.
Bush hit them with only 4 penetrator bombs, and rest of the air package was cruise missiles – it only damaged Saddam’s arm.
As I recall, Clinton hit that target with over 70 tons of explosive and Saddam got away. I don’t know if Bush's Air Force could have done better than Clinton.
Q: Would it have been best to destroy Dora’s Ranch with any/all ammo?
Sgt B. Get "Outside the Wire" ASAP and take a look at Bad Voodoo's PBS Frontline Special. So far, those are the two best videos I've seen showing multiple aspects of the different objectives (ie, three block war, convoy duty).
As you are a marine, Outside the Wire is probably the best considering the area you are likely going to.
See my post below for ordering information.
I don't know when you are going, but I hear that Michael Yon's "Moment of Truth" is an excellent book as well. It's not out for another week or so but you can pre-order it.
by kat-missouri on April 3, 2008 11:19 AM
Good story, Bill. Tell Hussan he's one of the good guys, and we're proud of him!
I noticed the good work of the cops as well, very good to see how professional they have become.
And I'm not sure Iraq will survive having Unka Bill and Godzilla ranging together - but the Denizennes will surely love it !!!
Sarge B -- Your future home just upgraded the hospital from semi-temporary (aka "Big Tent Over Aluminum Framework") to semi-permanent (aka "Aluminum Skin Over Aluminum Framework") -- not to handle a huge increase in casualties, but as a base for the increased number of MEDCAPs going on the road to organize civilian clinics.
Cricket -- Keep the Engineer and the CLUs happy; marinate goat for at least 36 hours.
kat -- Sarge B's wearing a *different* set of cammies these days, but OTW's a good suggestion. BTW, I'll be his forward LP/speedbump if al-Q-I goes all blitzkrieg 'n' stuff.
Bill, you are a good man. -- Dagnabbit, Ledger, I've got a *curmudgeon* rep to maintain!
Thanks for all the e-mails (mostly inquiries as to when I expected to regain my sanity and take up housekeeping *inside* a bunker) and comments expressing concern for my post-bottle rocket wellbeing, but geez, it's not like I'm doing rilly *dangerous* stuff anymore [note to Twin: Try a spoonful of Pepto before bedtime].
Besides, the dirtbags don't know me from any other grey-haired, mustachioed, devilishly handsome, shades-'n'-Paki-bush-hat-wearin' contractor over here -- it's not like it's personal or nuthin' this time around.
Thanks for all the e-mails (mostly inquiries as to when I expected to regain my sanity and take up housekeeping *inside* a bunker) and comments expressing concern for my post-bottle rocket wellbeing, but geez, it's not like I'm doing rilly *dangerous* stuff anymore [note to Twin: Try a spoonful of Pepto before bedtime].
Besides, the dirtbags don't know me from any other grey-haired, mustachioed, devilishly handsome, shades-'n'-Paki-bush-hat-wearin' contractor over here -- it's not like it's personal or nuthin' this time around.
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.
I had a very restless night of sleep last night, but nothing compared to yours. Sheesh.
I did dream about you though. honest.
I had a dream that you came to visit me and the boys for a few days after you came home from the Sandbox. Nothing exciting, but I *did* dream about you.
Reminds me a little of my wife's story about the Air Force guys at Binh Thuy airfield, back around '68 or so, who had built themselves a nice above-ground swimming pool with a little deck around it and everything. And then one night an enthusiastic VC mortarman walked a line of shells down the runway and put the last round dead-center in their pool, which did its watertight integrity no good at all.
But then I've always figured the VC would have eaten the Iraqi insurgency for lunch and been asking for seconds by 1500...
by Blake Kirk on March 28, 2008 9:01 PM
I get so confused...
Cassie -- it's simple.
John is the grey-haired, good-lookin', retired artillery guy who makes fun of helicopters.
Bill is the grey-haired, *really* good-lookin', retired helicopter guy who makes fun of artillery.
See? Now let's go over "back azimuth" and "buttstock"...
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.
I had a very restless night of sleep last night, but nothing compared to yours. Sheesh.
I did dream about you though. honest.
I had a dream that you came to visit me and the boys for a few days after you came home from the Sandbox. Nothing exciting, but I *did* dream about you.
Reminds me a little of my wife's story about the Air Force guys at Binh Thuy airfield, back around '68 or so, who had built themselves a nice above-ground swimming pool with a little deck around it and everything. And then one night an enthusiastic VC mortarman walked a line of shells down the runway and put the last round dead-center in their pool, which did its watertight integrity no good at all.
But then I've always figured the VC would have eaten the Iraqi insurgency for lunch and been asking for seconds by 1500...
by Blake Kirk on March 28, 2008 9:01 PM
I get so confused...
Cassie -- it's simple.
John is the grey-haired, good-lookin', retired artillery guy who makes fun of helicopters.
Bill is the grey-haired, *really* good-lookin', retired helicopter guy who makes fun of artillery.
See? Now let's go over "back azimuth" and "buttstock"...
"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. I was wondering who'd be the first to twig the VPB-71 link. The Black Cats were a WWII Catalina outfit that operated in the Pacific; one of the Army IP's had a family tie to it -- google VPB-71 and click on Dave's Warbirds:
"The cat chosen by the squadron was a tough-looking customer all in black, wearing a flotation vest, seaman’s cap, cigar stub in mouth, holding a smoking Colt .45 in both paws. Colors: cat, black with white muzzle and yellow eyes; seaman’s cap, white; flotation vest, yellow; Colt .45, gray."
The mascot's accoutrements were updated, eye color changed to NVG green, Army wings added and voila!
No PhotoShopping needed. A stateside patch-maker did 'em up and the local tailor added the velcro backing...
Dunno JTG. Gustatus Simili Pullus, just sounds all wrong. Not that we don't taste like chicken. Who am I to know.
Its just that believe that the sentence requires an Ablative form of Chicken. Thus it should read: Gustatus Simili Pullo. I have to check my good ol' trusty Wheelock, to make sure though.
by Boquisucio on March 28, 2008 7:42 AM
It'll be cool to see that patch up close...
I wonder if, since we're gonna be in the same AO and all, if the whole "Joint Operation" concept would entitle us - that is, you and me (and anyone else who can occupy the same grid)- to form another TF...
Castle correspondants tend to gravitate towards the sound of the guns (it's who we are, it's how we roll...)
I'm not sure if Castle Argghhh was opened before or after we started combat operations, but I'm pretty sure ya'll never expected to have a few Denizenes actually knee-deep in the hoo-ya...
I've seen enough un-authorized patrol flags (courtesy of my dad's Silent Service days) to know that the decorations and accolades he's most proud of are NOT the ones that an Admiral pinned on his chest... The tradition of unofficial awards and such is alive and well (wouldn't mind hearing some of the TINS tales about 'em, by the by...) Up until now, my favorite is an empty .50 cal casing with a projectile on a rough-hewn piece of ammo crate and a stamped dog tag with "LCPL B[redacted] HVY GUNS PLT WPNS CO 2/6 [date redacted] - [date redacted]"
As I have more than a passing affection for Company Argghhh, I think it would be neat to have something I could show the grandkids someday:
Li'l Squirt #1: Grampa, what's 'Task Force Argghh'?
Says me: Well, my boy, there was once a forum dedicated to the freedoms granted us by our founding fathers, and the folks who contributed to it were thinkers, war-fighters, and compassionate souls who supported the fight against the enemies of freedom. They discussed pertinent issues and formed well-prepared arguements in support of these issues.
Li'l Squirt #1: Okay, but what's 'Task Force Argghhh'?
Says me: Why, beloved child, some of us were privilaged to be on the first string of the debate team...
Well, just shows what happens when ya don't keep an eye on your Warrants and NCOs... We get into all kinds of trouble... Junior officers too, I'm thinkin'...
And as for YOU, Kat, and YOU, FBL, and all ya'll G-2 folks...
Without you folks breaking it down into single syllable words for us combat arms types, we might not be as imboldened and truly appreciate the importance of the fight, so..
Sgt B, I know what you mean about the unauthorized flags. The day I left Kabul headed for home, I was summoned to the Recruiting Assistance Team office. I traveled around Afghanistan with the 'RAT Team' as they established Afghan National Army recruiting centers. I always went with the advance security team to have more photo time on the ground. And I wrote a nice article about them. Anyway, they presented me with one of their guidons. It had King RAT from the old surfer comics as the logo with all of the RAT Team signatures. It meant more to me to receive that than it did to receive the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for my tour. Although, I was already pissed because I got the DMSM instead of a Bronze Star, but that's an entirely different story. That guidon is one of my most cherished items from that tour.
by 1sg keith on March 28, 2008 1:54 PM
I think you're right too, John......
by 1sg keith on March 28, 2008 1:57 PM
purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.............
by WereKitten on March 28, 2008 2:06 PM
Get a room, you two. This post got linked by The Tank!
And Keith - you were screwed. As were two officers I know who had similar experiences in Afstan. Both called-up Reservists. Pure BS.
A most excellent patch. Needs more bionics, so it can be elevated to a Bad Cat Robot. Or is that a tab that goes above it?
That cat, though, looks very much like one who lived on base at the Naval Research Laboratory in DC. He was properly Navy black, and an inelastic collision with a car (and tough-guy evasive maneuvers to avoid the vet-medic) left him with a permanent list to port, but he was still one tough kitty. Although a civilian, I was occasionally allowed to pet him since I knew where the itchy spot was on the jaw ...
"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. I was wondering who'd be the first to twig the VPB-71 link. The Black Cats were a WWII Catalina outfit that operated in the Pacific; one of the Army IP's had a family tie to it -- google VPB-71 and click on Dave's Warbirds:
"The cat chosen by the squadron was a tough-looking customer all in black, wearing a flotation vest, seaman’s cap, cigar stub in mouth, holding a smoking Colt .45 in both paws. Colors: cat, black with white muzzle and yellow eyes; seaman’s cap, white; flotation vest, yellow; Colt .45, gray."
The mascot's accoutrements were updated, eye color changed to NVG green, Army wings added and voila!
No PhotoShopping needed. A stateside patch-maker did 'em up and the local tailor added the velcro backing...
Dunno JTG. Gustatus Simili Pullus, just sounds all wrong. Not that we don't taste like chicken. Who am I to know.
Its just that believe that the sentence requires an Ablative form of Chicken. Thus it should read: Gustatus Simili Pullo. I have to check my good ol' trusty Wheelock, to make sure though.
by Boquisucio on March 28, 2008 7:42 AM
It'll be cool to see that patch up close...
I wonder if, since we're gonna be in the same AO and all, if the whole "Joint Operation" concept would entitle us - that is, you and me (and anyone else who can occupy the same grid)- to form another TF...
Castle correspondants tend to gravitate towards the sound of the guns (it's who we are, it's how we roll...)
I'm not sure if Castle Argghhh was opened before or after we started combat operations, but I'm pretty sure ya'll never expected to have a few Denizenes actually knee-deep in the hoo-ya...
I've seen enough un-authorized patrol flags (courtesy of my dad's Silent Service days) to know that the decorations and accolades he's most proud of are NOT the ones that an Admiral pinned on his chest... The tradition of unofficial awards and such is alive and well (wouldn't mind hearing some of the TINS tales about 'em, by the by...) Up until now, my favorite is an empty .50 cal casing with a projectile on a rough-hewn piece of ammo crate and a stamped dog tag with "LCPL B[redacted] HVY GUNS PLT WPNS CO 2/6 [date redacted] - [date redacted]"
As I have more than a passing affection for Company Argghhh, I think it would be neat to have something I could show the grandkids someday:
Li'l Squirt #1: Grampa, what's 'Task Force Argghh'?
Says me: Well, my boy, there was once a forum dedicated to the freedoms granted us by our founding fathers, and the folks who contributed to it were thinkers, war-fighters, and compassionate souls who supported the fight against the enemies of freedom. They discussed pertinent issues and formed well-prepared arguements in support of these issues.
Li'l Squirt #1: Okay, but what's 'Task Force Argghhh'?
Says me: Why, beloved child, some of us were privilaged to be on the first string of the debate team...
Well, just shows what happens when ya don't keep an eye on your Warrants and NCOs... We get into all kinds of trouble... Junior officers too, I'm thinkin'...
And as for YOU, Kat, and YOU, FBL, and all ya'll G-2 folks...
Without you folks breaking it down into single syllable words for us combat arms types, we might not be as imboldened and truly appreciate the importance of the fight, so..
Sgt B, I know what you mean about the unauthorized flags. The day I left Kabul headed for home, I was summoned to the Recruiting Assistance Team office. I traveled around Afghanistan with the 'RAT Team' as they established Afghan National Army recruiting centers. I always went with the advance security team to have more photo time on the ground. And I wrote a nice article about them. Anyway, they presented me with one of their guidons. It had King RAT from the old surfer comics as the logo with all of the RAT Team signatures. It meant more to me to receive that than it did to receive the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for my tour. Although, I was already pissed because I got the DMSM instead of a Bronze Star, but that's an entirely different story. That guidon is one of my most cherished items from that tour.
by 1sg keith on March 28, 2008 1:54 PM
I think you're right too, John......
by 1sg keith on March 28, 2008 1:57 PM
purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.............
by WereKitten on March 28, 2008 2:06 PM
Get a room, you two. This post got linked by The Tank!
And Keith - you were screwed. As were two officers I know who had similar experiences in Afstan. Both called-up Reservists. Pure BS.
A most excellent patch. Needs more bionics, so it can be elevated to a Bad Cat Robot. Or is that a tab that goes above it?
That cat, though, looks very much like one who lived on base at the Naval Research Laboratory in DC. He was properly Navy black, and an inelastic collision with a car (and tough-guy evasive maneuvers to avoid the vet-medic) left him with a permanent list to port, but he was still one tough kitty. Although a civilian, I was occasionally allowed to pet him since I knew where the itchy spot was on the jaw ...
It isn't often I score a brag on John, so I've gotta milk it for all it's worth.
But I'm also sure I wouldn't have gotten it anyway... because all the late model 18 pounders with the armored box have taller boxes on the recuperators.
And it sure *ain't* a late model. A bit of charm applied to my Lady Captain acquaintance, followed by a bit of cheesecloth (and a lot of spit) applied to the breech revealed the following inscription:
Q.F. 18-Pd Mk 1.M[obliterated by shell-splinter gouge] 1917 [indecipherable] 6107
I'm not positive about that 6107, because the paint's super-thick over the preceding portion -- the first number could just as easily be a 3 or a 9.
Meanwhile, that's a bit more info for the grognards...
And my Lady Captain is *not* a romantic interest. She's one-third my age and actually *likes* the M9...
Well you know, that you can convert any standard axle grease to a high pressure resistant lubricant by adding graphite powder to it. The recuperator will appreciate it.
Did someone note that the Brits were supplying the Iraqis until c.1960. The Sovs took over after the King was deposed. Thus the 18lbr could be direct from Brit stocks.
Cheers
by J.M. Heinrichs on March 27, 2008 4:54 PM
Could very well be. More than one of my stoo'nts opines that the wheels were an Iraqi mod.
Yeah, like *that's* an original title. However, since FbL was kind enough to quote me in her latest post -- despite almost choking on something else I said (and which I’ll trot out whenever her keyboard needs washing again) -- so, I figured I'd add today's installment on Iraqi terminology.
The stoo'nts gave all the instructors nicknames (wotta surprise, eh?).
I've discovered that *mine* is "Haji," which, in this neck of the woods, they use to designate an elder as "Patriarch" or "Father-figure" -- but, knowing their sense of humor, I suspect is somewhat more akin to "Gramps"...
* * * * * * * * * * Thing A Thong Of Thick Pens
Wheee! We just got a shipment of sundries from the Home Office: paper clips for the memos we haven't been producing (no printer or paper), staplers (sans staples) for the schedules we haven't been printing (no printer or paper), medical kits for the wounds we haven't sustained (no paper = no paper cuts) and big ol' thick Magic Markers™ in designer colors that we don't use (presently, a black entry on the whiteboard means it's scheduled this week, a red one means it's scheduled next week -- since we're all guys, the concept of a *chartreuse* task is beyond us).
On the bright side, our USAF Official PX/BX Thong Monitor reports that two-thirds of the thongs nestled coyly between the SWAT-style pistol lanyards and the "Writes Underwater!™" Pens appear to have been purchased. Back to you, Cassie.
On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style, resulting in some amusing near-collisions in the chow hall between guys paying more attention to the scenery than to the guardrails lining the salad bar at just-below-belt-buckle level...
On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style,
What? No Pictures?
by Yu-Ain Gonnano on March 25, 2008 9:07 AM
Nope, no pix. After the suicider set himself off in that chow hall south of here, taking *anything* inside (other than your weapon) is verboten.
Regarding the celsius/farenheit thing, consider yourself lucky if you feel completely comfortable in one or the other.
Up here in the frozen white north (it's going to snow again today in Toronto), we're not quite sure which to use for any given purpose.
For example, I'm currently trying to get a bit healthier. Since Christmas, I've lost almost thirty pounds. I'd have to actually do the math to know the kilogram equivalent. I happen to know my height in centimetres because it was on my military ID those many years ago now, but I think of myself as five-foot-ten. If I'm working around the house, the studs are still sixteen inches apart, the ceilings are eight feet high, and the fence I'm building outside this spring will be six feet tall.
But if I'm driving down the highway on my commute, I'm monitoring my speed in kilometres per hour, and my hike or run is always measured in kilometres. I buy litres of milk or gasoline. And twenty five degrees is pleasantly hot, whereas thirty five is make-sure-you-stay-hydrated weather.
Unless I'm cooking, in which case I'm still setting the oven to 375 before I put the chicken in.
Yet another example of how Canadians remain torn between the European and American influences in our day-to-day lives...and damned inconvenient if you ask me.
Oddly enough there was a similar thong situation that I noticed while stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq. AAFES could never keep Dr Pepper in stock, but there was a constant flow of assorted thongs. Actually made me wonder who the hell was buying these things...because I never saw that many women about.
Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations. That's why fractions and decimal points exist.
And it isn't ever below zero if you use Kelvin.
-41F is -40.6 Celsius.
Actually the American system is just a muddled British system (the US altered it to Americanize it to be Not British because of of Independence) so in effect it's the Brits fault. The British system was always built on muddle in the first place.
The 10 basis system I think developed by the French SI (who hated the British dominating even the tiniest bit of culture) was probably the best thing since sliced croissant and one of the few things I have enormous respect for the French with. It's superior in it's simplicity and that really is the end of the story.
It replaced the British system in Australia and even Britain eventually and is the most widely used system across the world, the primary exception was always the US. A fact which has forced me and every other scientist or engineer and probably commerce handlers to muddle through conversions back and forth.
Oh, Trias, that's just dog poo, 'specially since computers were invented. 12 is factorable by 2, and 3, and 4, and 6. 10 is factorable by what, 2 and 5?
The common gradations on English-speaking rulers are in negative powers of two; 1/2, 1/4, ... 1/64, 1/128, etc.
If it weren't for the French system, we wouldn't have round-off errors in bank computers.
The decimal system is for people who can't do arithmetic in their heads without looking at their fingers.
I suppose you think we should adopt the French Revolutionary Calendar, too?
May I remind you, that of the objects on the moon, the ones left there by humans who rode them there had the threads of their fasteners described in inches, their velocities described in feet per second, and their weights and masses described in pounds and slugs, respectively.
12 for what inches to a foot? How many feet in a yard? is it 12? How many yards in a mile? 12 as well?
Perhaps in your head (no cheating now) you can tell me how many feet in a chain. If that's too easy what about the number of cubic feet in a gallon? Or better yet the number of grains in a dram. And this is easy, just one unit conversions. Tell me, for the number of grains per dram, just what that's factorable by?
The common graduation on US rulers may be that but you are wrong when it comes to most English speaking rulers outside the US.
Re: blame the French for your bank errors. Do you even use the French banking system? If not how are you blaming them for the mistakes of your own system? Prove your system would never have a rounding error.
No the decimal system is for those who count on a a basis of one to ten. You know.. most people.
Why do you make that assumption? Is the calender better? Does it have worldwide use and acceptance? No. You are just letting your dislike of the French blind you.
And you should be proud of US achievements. BTW As of 1980 NASA implemented going metric. Because it's better.
For daily, casual use, there are reasons why the older Brit/SAS standards are sensible. Metric units are relatively-speaking, "arbitrarily" sized --- the measurement is designed by a physics person, not by associated daily uses. A yard is about the length of a man's arm. "A pint's a pound the world around", etc. By contrast, a liter of beer is too much, a deciliter too little. A half-liter is about right, but that violates the powers-of-ten metric principle, doesn't it? The average person does not have to convert in daily life -- who buys exactly a mile of yarn? Who needs to covert drams to bushels? (If you're buying a bushel of Oxycodone, you're involved in illegal activities, aren't you?) Right -- the average person doesn't really gain the advantages of the metric system for the most part -- it's only in commerce, design, and shipping that it really gets felt -- so it makes inarguable sense in any technical usage, but it's at least arguable in day-to-day life.
As to the argument that Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations, that shows a lack of basic mathematical understanding. 9F=5C, so you get 9 "integral" divisions in F for five such in C. Duh, and QED -- Fahrenheit allows finer gradations "without resorting to decimal points", which was the statement being made. Argue whether the difference is relevant, sure, but make your arguments make sense.
Yeah, like *that's* an original title. However, since FbL was kind enough to quote me in her latest post -- despite almost choking on something else I said (and which I’ll trot out whenever her keyboard needs washing again) -- so, I figured I'd add today's installment on Iraqi terminology.
The stoo'nts gave all the instructors nicknames (wotta surprise, eh?).
I've discovered that *mine* is "Haji," which, in this neck of the woods, they use to designate an elder as "Patriarch" or "Father-figure" -- but, knowing their sense of humor, I suspect is somewhat more akin to "Gramps"...
* * * * * * * * * * Thing A Thong Of Thick Pens
Wheee! We just got a shipment of sundries from the Home Office: paper clips for the memos we haven't been producing (no printer or paper), staplers (sans staples) for the schedules we haven't been printing (no printer or paper), medical kits for the wounds we haven't sustained (no paper = no paper cuts) and big ol' thick Magic Markers™ in designer colors that we don't use (presently, a black entry on the whiteboard means it's scheduled this week, a red one means it's scheduled next week -- since we're all guys, the concept of a *chartreuse* task is beyond us).
On the bright side, our USAF Official PX/BX Thong Monitor reports that two-thirds of the thongs nestled coyly between the SWAT-style pistol lanyards and the "Writes Underwater!™" Pens appear to have been purchased. Back to you, Cassie.
On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style, resulting in some amusing near-collisions in the chow hall between guys paying more attention to the scenery than to the guardrails lining the salad bar at just-below-belt-buckle level...
On the even-brighter side, the warmer weather (it hit 35C at 1000) has encouraged those contractors of the female persuasion to dress in a somewhat breezier style,
What? No Pictures?
by Yu-Ain Gonnano on March 25, 2008 9:07 AM
Nope, no pix. After the suicider set himself off in that chow hall south of here, taking *anything* inside (other than your weapon) is verboten.
Regarding the celsius/farenheit thing, consider yourself lucky if you feel completely comfortable in one or the other.
Up here in the frozen white north (it's going to snow again today in Toronto), we're not quite sure which to use for any given purpose.
For example, I'm currently trying to get a bit healthier. Since Christmas, I've lost almost thirty pounds. I'd have to actually do the math to know the kilogram equivalent. I happen to know my height in centimetres because it was on my military ID those many years ago now, but I think of myself as five-foot-ten. If I'm working around the house, the studs are still sixteen inches apart, the ceilings are eight feet high, and the fence I'm building outside this spring will be six feet tall.
But if I'm driving down the highway on my commute, I'm monitoring my speed in kilometres per hour, and my hike or run is always measured in kilometres. I buy litres of milk or gasoline. And twenty five degrees is pleasantly hot, whereas thirty five is make-sure-you-stay-hydrated weather.
Unless I'm cooking, in which case I'm still setting the oven to 375 before I put the chicken in.
Yet another example of how Canadians remain torn between the European and American influences in our day-to-day lives...and damned inconvenient if you ask me.
Oddly enough there was a similar thong situation that I noticed while stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq. AAFES could never keep Dr Pepper in stock, but there was a constant flow of assorted thongs. Actually made me wonder who the hell was buying these things...because I never saw that many women about.
Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations. That's why fractions and decimal points exist.
And it isn't ever below zero if you use Kelvin.
-41F is -40.6 Celsius.
Actually the American system is just a muddled British system (the US altered it to Americanize it to be Not British because of of Independence) so in effect it's the Brits fault. The British system was always built on muddle in the first place.
The 10 basis system I think developed by the French SI (who hated the British dominating even the tiniest bit of culture) was probably the best thing since sliced croissant and one of the few things I have enormous respect for the French with. It's superior in it's simplicity and that really is the end of the story.
It replaced the British system in Australia and even Britain eventually and is the most widely used system across the world, the primary exception was always the US. A fact which has forced me and every other scientist or engineer and probably commerce handlers to muddle through conversions back and forth.
Oh, Trias, that's just dog poo, 'specially since computers were invented. 12 is factorable by 2, and 3, and 4, and 6. 10 is factorable by what, 2 and 5?
The common gradations on English-speaking rulers are in negative powers of two; 1/2, 1/4, ... 1/64, 1/128, etc.
If it weren't for the French system, we wouldn't have round-off errors in bank computers.
The decimal system is for people who can't do arithmetic in their heads without looking at their fingers.
I suppose you think we should adopt the French Revolutionary Calendar, too?
May I remind you, that of the objects on the moon, the ones left there by humans who rode them there had the threads of their fasteners described in inches, their velocities described in feet per second, and their weights and masses described in pounds and slugs, respectively.
12 for what inches to a foot? How many feet in a yard? is it 12? How many yards in a mile? 12 as well?
Perhaps in your head (no cheating now) you can tell me how many feet in a chain. If that's too easy what about the number of cubic feet in a gallon? Or better yet the number of grains in a dram. And this is easy, just one unit conversions. Tell me, for the number of grains per dram, just what that's factorable by?
The common graduation on US rulers may be that but you are wrong when it comes to most English speaking rulers outside the US.
Re: blame the French for your bank errors. Do you even use the French banking system? If not how are you blaming them for the mistakes of your own system? Prove your system would never have a rounding error.
No the decimal system is for those who count on a a basis of one to ten. You know.. most people.
Why do you make that assumption? Is the calender better? Does it have worldwide use and acceptance? No. You are just letting your dislike of the French blind you.
And you should be proud of US achievements. BTW As of 1980 NASA implemented going metric. Because it's better.
For daily, casual use, there are reasons why the older Brit/SAS standards are sensible. Metric units are relatively-speaking, "arbitrarily" sized --- the measurement is designed by a physics person, not by associated daily uses. A yard is about the length of a man's arm. "A pint's a pound the world around", etc. By contrast, a liter of beer is too much, a deciliter too little. A half-liter is about right, but that violates the powers-of-ten metric principle, doesn't it? The average person does not have to convert in daily life -- who buys exactly a mile of yarn? Who needs to covert drams to bushels? (If you're buying a bushel of Oxycodone, you're involved in illegal activities, aren't you?) Right -- the average person doesn't really gain the advantages of the metric system for the most part -- it's only in commerce, design, and shipping that it really gets felt -- so it makes inarguable sense in any technical usage, but it's at least arguable in day-to-day life.
As to the argument that Fahrenheit does not allow for finer gradations, that shows a lack of basic mathematical understanding. 9F=5C, so you get 9 "integral" divisions in F for five such in C. Duh, and QED -- Fahrenheit allows finer gradations "without resorting to decimal points", which was the statement being made. Argue whether the difference is relevant, sure, but make your arguments make sense.
My Sur'n Baptist bud was a tad taken aback to learn that Iraqis know what Easter's about. So, in return for the enlightenment, he introduced the stoo'nts to an ancillary side of the day -- the Chocolate Easter Bunny.
Heh. Ever seen a bunch of 25-year-old 12-year-olds?
Aaaand speaking of 25-year-olds(Oh, right. Like, *that* will get me off the hook), Happy -- Albeit Belated -- Birthday(s) to Maggie and kat!
However, as a (very) belated, Joint Present, here’s the Whatziss in context.
The muted *thud* you just heard was John’s bewhiskered chin hitting the bedrock floor of ry’s digs under the sub-sub-dungeon. And the ahr-tees-teec effects in the background are the results of me OPSECing the need-to-know-only stuff. The Whatziss itself appears in all it's un-PhotoShopped, hullycarp-it's-been-there-a-while condition.
Yeah, I *know* what it is and I can even hazard a guess as to how it got here and why it’s got the unorthodox accessories.
Meantime, you've got about three minutes to google the beastie before John recovers and starts flailing his arm and hollering, "Ooooh! Ooooh! *I* know!"
Relax, John, the dataplate's gone but I got the fiddly bits on digits.
Whoops. Almost forgot (*sigh* -- what *else* is new?) about the post's title. See, Kirkuk Regional Air Base is Joint US Army, US Air Force, Iraqi Air Force and US Cavalry (hey, they *think* they're a separate service, so I'll humor them just in case they've gotta come pull me out of a jam. Uhhhh, make that *when*). FOB Warrior *was* the Army side of the runway(s), but it's now the USAF side and sandwiched between the USAF side and the runway(s) is the Iraqi Flight School compound where I work. The Iraqi staff calls it "Hurriyya Base."
Hurriyya means "Freedom"... does it get any better than that!!!
I was reading a CNN article this morning which quotes Iraq's national security advisor as saying "This is global terrorism hitting everywhere, and they have chosen Iraq to be a battlefield. And we have to take them on. If we don't prevail, if we don't succeed in this war, then we are doomed forever....I understand and sympathize with the mothers, with the widows, with the children who have lost their beloved ones in this country. But honestly, it is well worth fighting and well worth investing the money and the treasure and the sweat and the tears in Iraq."
Well said, Mr. Mowaffak al-Rubaie! And that's exactly why we need to finish this thing the right way, so that ALL Iraqi's can experience hurriyya.
by AFSister on March 24, 2008 6:52 AM
Here's the link to the CNN article- it's actually the transcript of Wolf Blitzer's show last night. The part I quoted is maybe halfway through the script.
by AFSister on March 24, 2008 6:57 AM
Heh. The ultimate expression of the 18 pounder QF gun on the Mk 2 carriage with the WWII pneumatic tires and smaller gun shield.
The wheels don't look quite right, but the Finns used these guns and mebbe they used that kind of wheel.
I wasn't looking far enough back, and I admit I was focused more on AA weapons, given where you're located.
But I'm also sure I wouldn't have gotten it anyway... because all the late model 18 pounders with the armored box have taller boxes on the recuperators. Got more pix? 8^ )
...the Finns used these guns and mebbe they used that kind of wheel.
So did the Sovs, and that's Russkie rubber on them thar disks. I figgered the carriage for a Mk 1, but you're the expert.
Dunno if the Brits left any souvenirs here after they pulled out, but my Most-Logical-SWAG on it is that it went from GB to the USSR, got the Sov wheels installed, got fired until the lands wore down, then was foisted off on Saddam (along with at least one MiG-15bis) as part of a Fraternal Socialist Military-Modernization Aid Package -- which would also neatly explain why all the *other* artillery I've seen here is of -- heh -- ChiCom origin.
Unless that's one of the Finn guns - both in your pic and in the link above.. Britain sold 30 Mk 2 guns on Mk 2 carriages with pneumatic tires to Finland during the Winter War but they arrived too late to be used. They were used as "84 K/18" during the Continuation War of 1941 - 1944 by Field Artillery Regiment 8, 17th Division, so the one in the link might be a captured gun - and the Finns using Russian tires makes sense, too.
Regardless, she's had an interesting life to end up there as yard art.
Thanks *loads* for that particular ear worm, Capt JMH.
Heh.
From the responses in yesterday's comments block, I may have an untapped fiduciary resource I have not previously considered (although I *have* appeared in some -- thankfully -- short-lived ARNG recruiting commercials). BTW, Pat, if your offer still holds, I figure you owe somebody a scad of cash for all the be-thonged appearances I *haven't* made to date.
Call it an ounce of prevention. Or extortion.
Eh -- puh-tay-to, po-tah-to.
Meanwhile, back in WhatzissStan, here's another clue for you:
... don't worry if it's not good enough... for anyone else to FREAKIN SEE BECAUSE IT'S SO DAMN OBSCURE EVEN A DEAD GIVEAWAY DOESN'T HELP... just thing... thing a thong......
BAH.
HUMBUG
by AFSister on March 21, 2008 10:56 AM
Thanks, John. There went lunch. LOL
by fdcol63 on March 21, 2008 11:31 AM
The Object in Question was manufactured by Russki Enterprises a wholly owned subsidiary of Stalin Incrumbrenated.
This 450th petrol tank, engineered to precision Soviet standards was found by the Soviet military to be the first which didn't leak. Realising something terrible was afoot, it was decided to convert it into an ammo holder in case the подполко́вник inspected it and suspected Capitalist pigdog manufacture.
After invading Afghanistan to conquer the valuable pet rocks of the region the Red Army decided to beat a hasty tactical withdrawal when 4 dusty men with Soviet made AK47s defeated three quarters of the Soviet tank arsenal. Apparently no resistance was offered until an errant tank (well let's say vodka driven) accidentally ran over a tea house.
In a case of rare military equipment misplacement, The ammo container was left behind.
Then of course the Americans came just to prove they could do better, and because the untapped pet rock resources of the region were still up for grabs.
Finding this sterling piece of Soviet manufacture it was decided private UselessLazyWorthlessScum must be ordered to paint it because the wholly undesirable Soviet poo brown must be converted to the glorious gloomy grey standard. Said private either rolled the tank in the dust or sneezed the paint on it enough to hide the brown and thus earn him the accolade of having actually done some work. Of course in another extremely unusual case of military misplacement the cap was lost. Mission accomplished, the container was donated to the Afghani military.
Today this Soviet manufactured petrol tank is serving the Afghani military being a store of ammo having only moderate chance of blowing up in your face when used. It was attached to a scooter in a high powered initiative of the logistics Department.
This is a true story, it happened to a friend of a friend of mine.
Pakistan was the dry run for my current Extended Practical Exercise. I remembered what I figured I'd need but didn't and *did* need but forgot, so I packed the big-item gotta-haves and figured I'd visit the local BX/PX to pick up anything I'd overlooked. Or which happened to break in transit.
My soap dish was a casualty. No problem, I thought -- what's easier to find in a PX/BX than that quintessential item of military hygienic equipment, the plastic soap dish? Soooo, one month ago, armed with ID and a copy of my LOI declaring me Mission Essential *and* Emergency Essential to the Coalition Effort in Iraq, I proceeded to the FOB PX.
I hadn't considered the changes in military composition over the past five years. In my somewhat bemused wandering 'midst the aisles, I found I could purchase seven different types of hair conditioner, sugarless Power Drinks, five different flavors of beef jerky, Spandex™ running shorts in colors ranging from midnight blue to deep-infrared, caffeine-laced jelly beans, muscle mags, every X-box and Playstation game ever invented, every Danielle Steele bodice-ripper ever published, ankle holsters for protein bars, scalp razors, pregnancy test kits and -- ummmmm -- pregnancy avoidance kits.
But nary a soap dish in sight.
Lots of different soaps, though. All either liquid or gel. *And* in designer scents.
The nice lady who ran the place told me they got shipments of whatever made it up the road whenever it made it up.
I walked back to our office on the Iraqi side of the runway, dropped in on my entrepreneurial bud Sam. I gave him a pack of Big Red gum, we chatted a bit, drank a cup of tea, ate some cookies, watched a ChiCom copy of an Indian opera shot in Pakistan dubbed in Hindi with Arabic subtitles and, after accomplishing the mandatory pleasantries-before-business, I asked him if he could bring me a soap dish from his warehouse (which I suspect is the size of my toolshed, but extends into several additional dimensions).
Next morning, I had my soap dish.
The PX/BX got eight soap dishes in yesterday. Along with two boxes of designer thongs in designer colors [Cassie -- your e-mail about thongs had *nothing* to do with it].
*sigh*
Okay, R. Jewell and Ledger pretty much hit what I hinted at in the Huey II pic, so I might as well show it to everybody. The doorgun is decidedly *not* an M-60D. It's a PKM with the buttstock modified for an aerial gunner. Normally, we saw these things pointed *up* at us, which meant a Bad Day at the Office was just about to begin.
Oh, yeah -- there's one on each side. And, naturally, I got a good shot of the fiddly bits (the feed tray cover was a cinch to open), however, due to some photo-posting changes that took place while I was incommunicado, you guys will have to wait until Der Adjutant waves her magic wand over the Hi-Rez. Which won't happen until she wakes up. Which means you'll have to come *back* (I recommend doing that several times) to check.
I'm dissapointed, Bill.
You didn't ask Sam for a rubber ducky too?
man..... I guess I'll have to continue the fight from here. Those poor duckies. All they want is a chance to play in the shower with all you big, strapping men.... but do they ever get the chance?
NO.
DEEE-NIED...
It's no wonder they all look like they're about to cry.
by AFSister on March 20, 2008 8:51 AM
OK. So it's not a hardened hole in the sand.
How about a mount for a rotating gun, maybe a 50 cal or something?
The rubbed-off paint ring tells me something turns in there.
And since it's military, I'm guessing that something shoots something.
by AFSister on March 20, 2008 8:54 AM
jim b walks through just in time to watch AFSister coin a new name for this object... it's a swivel and shoot.... a cupholder for belt feds.
19 Feb: Departed Philly for Atlanta, hooked up at ATL with the newbies I was to Father Goose into Iraq. Amused myself with fruitless attempts to access the "free" wireless net service.
20 Feb: Arrived Amsterdam, had a boring layover (terminal renovation in progress). Eight hours and four Time Zones later, arrived in Kuwait, got 90-day visa and hooked up with the LSA reps at 1830. Sent us to the USAF side to sit on concrete T-barriers for four hours, then got the bus for Ali al-Salem, which we could have caught from the terminal on the civilian side after spending four hours sitting in padded armchairs. Turned in 90-day visa and passport for outprocessing at Ali and got a tent for the next two days. Dust storm all night and most of the next day, tent canvas thumped like a clipper ship's sails in a gale – lucky me drew a corner cot so I received the full benefit of thwup-thoomp from two sides *and* the rogue fuh-WHAP charging through the storm flap without slowing one iota.
And that was the last entry in my ‘lectronic diary. The battery in this particular HP laptop is only good for about an hour – which I didn’t find out until *after* I brought it to Pakistan last year, but KtLW insisted it was a good deal (hey, it was on sale, and the Luddite Wife would buy Ebola-laced mouthwash if it was marked down 50%) – and I’d already shipped my transformer and adapter collection via DHL.
Meantime, aside from the week-late editions of Stars ‘n’ Stripes we get up here (mebbe a tad more than a week late – the Sunday edition features Calvin and Hobbes), I’ve been keeping up with the civil side of progress over here via a PAO-type at DA, of all places. I don't normally shill for the HeadShed, but these are some Big Picture Things you won’t get from the MSM:
-- The U.S. Army has rehabilitated and constructed nearly 1,100 schools, providing classrooms for more than 324,000 students.
-- By early 2009, Army projects will have completed 137 new primary healthcare centers that will serve a population of 5 to 6.5 million Iraqis.
-- An estimated 4.1 million more Iraqis now have access to clean, drinkable water that they didn't have before. [Two of my stoon'ts said they were surprised to find out that water was *supposed* to be clear]
-- Cities like Fallujah have their first sewage treatment plant. Before 2003, raw sewage in most of Iraq was discharged into rivers and waterways. [I can vouch that the one up here is operational]
All done? Okay, to continue: first, the Good News.
We got a new blast wall for our bunker!
Now, it may not seem like much to you, but it’s the simple, quotidian things that make a hootch a home.
Now, the Bad News.
We needed it.
Heh. No, I didn’t just give the dirtbags a free BDA, it’s been a while since I took the pic. I mean, you wouldn’t expect me to stay someplace that’s actually *dangerous*, would you? Besides, my Iraqi neighbors are a nice, quiet bunch who don’t throw loud parties after dark – I wouldn’t want them all upset by an increase in the local noise factor.
ANYway, you guys don’t come visiting just to see if I’ve developed a sudden case of common sense, so I’d better get down to something serious or John will dock my pay.
Again.
Sooooo -- Whatziss?
That oughta keep John off my case for a couple of hours. In the meantime, while he’s burning up bandwidth googling "thingies that have threaded receptacles,” meet Hubert, 21st Century version. The Huey II.
Despite the cosmetics, such as the radar altimeter, ECCM suite, wirecutters (sorry – I meant to say Wire Strike Protective System, which are those, uh, wirecutters top and bottom of the cockpit), GPS, upgraded nav-comm avionics package, Cobra engine, drive train and tranny, exhaust diverter, additional cooler intakes in the tailboom and IqAF desert cammy paint job, it’s the same plain-vanilla UH-1H that served as the foundation for most of my TINS.
BTW, if anybody (or anybody’s – * sigh * – dad) flew 68-16473 in the Land of the Two-Way Gunnery Range, that’s what the ol’ girl looks like today. Hi-rez here, for us fling-wing grognards.
Ooooops – short-term memory lapse alibi. There’s something * else * different (ever so slightly) from the RVN config. I’ll wait while you try to figure it out.
Come to think of it, I’ll wait until tomorrow.
If our sat-link doesn’t crap out.
Heh – it’ll give John *another* reason to hope the bottle rocketeers take the night off…
Mounted on a pintle just forward of the crew well.
In non-Aviator terms, sticking in front of the crewchief's bench seat (the area with all the kewl gear piled on it).
Easiest way to find it is in the Hi-Rez pic -- go straight down from the rotor head, then hang a slight left when you hit the opening the cargo door *isn't* covering because it's open.
Durn thumbnails turned out 'way smaller than I'd planned...
Hhhmmm......I was going to say they put the tail rotor on the wrong side....but that's a function of the AH-1 drive train. Other than a gun mount with something hanging on it, I can't figure out what Bill is talking about?
68-16473...UH'1H purchased 11/69....Arrived RVN December 1969 and assigned to A Co 123 Avn Bn, Americal Division.
473 remained with A/123 until November 1971, flying 2033 hours in RVN with no major incidents recorded that I can find.
She returned Stateside in January 1972 and went through ARADMAC for repair/upgrades.
August 1972 assigned to 6th Army at Ft. Carson and remained there with various units through 1975. In Jan 1976 she had flown a total of 2659 hours........last known duty station I can find is the 4th Inf Div at Ft. Carson, but she likely ended up with a Guard unit somewhere.
Gotta love a well seasoned airframe.....she's already cracked everywhere she's gonna....
by R. Jewell on March 19, 2008 9:02 AM
Bill,
Isn't that one of those "I stuck my head in the sand so long the sand turned to concrete" Code Pink/George Soros anti-American holes to hide in?
by AFSister on March 19, 2008 11:23 AM
Iraqi toilet
by kat-missouri on March 19, 2008 11:58 AM
Today, my Google-fu is weak. I've got some working hypotheses, but thus far, with the limited googling I've been able to do - no one has pics that show the part of the gizmo I'm looking for!
Of course, it could be a left-handed frammitz mount for the jeeberfloogle.
In an email, I busted on him: Oh, we have time to surf the 'net for pics and stuff, and to engage in serial emails... but I can't get a post out of the slacker, noooo....
That drew him out of babe-ogling defilade:
Hey, we just stuck up a new sat-receiver -- plus I've been busy snapping oddball boom-tubes to edify the readers. Plus teaching Iraqi stoon't pilots esoteric aeronautica. Plus putting a class together to teach *all* the pilots in the IqAF instrument flight skills so there's no repetition of that Mi-17 crunch (the pilots didn't want to take off in the crud, but had -- ahem -- Field Grade pressure to get back. The FG also died in the crash, so that's a scalp that's already on the IqAF Air Ops flagpole). Plus teaching Iraqi ATC personnel Aviation English classes.
Only one of those services is in my contract, but WTF, it's not like I have a life over here.
Sooooooo, I'll have a post ready prolly tonight. If I can still get into MT. And Fototime.
The off-post booms have increased from one every two days to three or four a day (and night), so the 10th Mountain is either getting *real* good at finding and detonating the IEDs or AQI is ramping up. The 34,000 gallon oil tanker convoys now RON across the street from my hootch, so we're all crossing our fingers that the dillweeds launching the bottle rockets hit *us* instead of the truck park.
At my age, I can still take cover from flying debris behind a blade of grass, but I don't think I can outrun a 3,400,000 gallon fireball.
On the bright side, now that I've got bandwidth access, I might even be able to view all those Yoo-HooToob vids everybody keeps telling me are "must-see"...
...Bill and those-like-Bill didn't make the editorial cut...
Durn Youth Culture.
BTW, the Iraqis shown in the pix are neither student pilots nor pilot students, as the more perceptive among you have already guessed -- having pix of the kids appear online would be tantamount to handing them *and* their families to the local dirtbags.
Ah...the young and the crazy meets the old and the crazy.
by kat-missouri on March 18, 2008 10:53 AM
You need to remove the nose wheel cover, it is not serving any purpose without the main wheel covers in place. You are losing all your stealth, not to mention air speed in the FB-172.
by Spanky on March 18, 2008 11:35 PM
That's not a nose wheel cover, that's the fairing housing the teeny-weeny GAU-3B -- a miniminiminigun.
My globe-toodling has at least given me an appreciation for the fact that fast food in an airport (and there isn't any other kind) is an order of magnitude higher than the price of fast food anywhere else. And I noticed something else about fast food -- or it's purveyors, anyway.
Last week I purchased a burger at the local Chew-'n'-Choke for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 while I dug a bit for some coinage, then pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.
My purpose inrelating this vignette?
Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s. Of course, none of the Denizennes will be able to relate to the *earlier* years, say, those prior to 1997...
*cherubic smile* *batting eyelashes*
1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s
A logger cuts down a beautiful old-growth hardwood forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes?
Remember, there are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's okay.
6. Teaching Math In 2007
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
Heh. I *dare* the NEA to tell me I'm exaggerating...
Dam right you're exaggerating, Chief! When did a logger ever make *that* kinda profit?!
by Neffi on February 11, 2008 10:44 AM
I bet this is the way it is with some school systems. I do not know if they are all like this but the math skills do seem to be lacking. I have seen most movie theaters make certain everything is charged to the nearest Quarter. Tax is included in the item cost. It could very well be that is done to solve the issue you had at the Restraunt.
by David Anfinrud on February 11, 2008 10:46 AM
Oh great! Now the NEA is neither teaching proper Arithmetic nor Spanish. That poor attempt of Castilian is atrocious.
by Boquisucio on February 11, 2008 11:39 AM
Related trivia: Waffle House still uses the old fashioned cash registers that don't figure the change. They use being able to make change the old fashioned way as an aptitude test for employment. Which could indicate that a workforce that is predominantly red-neck has superior math skills to the rest of the service industry employees.
by Oldloadr on February 11, 2008 1:14 PM
I've had loads of fun showing other students at my flight school that you really can do an accurate weight and balance using the E-6B (flight computer) as a slide rule... Hee, hee...
Sad to relate, but for a couple months my wife worked at a local McDonalds in between jobs. She does pretty well with math, but she was shocked her first day there. Rather than put numbers on the cash registers, they have symbols of the various products, and the teller just punches the buttons relating to what you order. The machine automatically figures the math for you.
What gets my wife, though, is how I can figure totals, including taxes, in my head while shopping. She can't do that.
On a related note, I lit into my younget's 4th-grade teacher last conference. They no longer teach multiplication tables by rote. I asked her how she could justify it, and she quoted the party line about some kids not being able to memorize as well as others, etc. The school didn't want to injure self-esteem.
When my youngest finishes this year, we're going to be home schooling from now on.
Respects,
by AW1 Tim on February 11, 2008 8:12 PM
'Just think how much cheaper your bug-smasher would be if it weren't made of balsa...'
That's 6061 T6 aluminum to *you*, Bubba... and if you ever make it out to these here parts I'll strap you in the back seat and show you how to chase coyotes... and don't look up when we go under the wires.
Beer and BBQ to follow... yow! If'n we make it back.
by Neffi on February 11, 2008 9:47 PM
Probably right on about the pitiful education in the public schools. But your math is off.
Production costs may be $80 but you forgot to add the costs for:
OSHA compliance officer
EEOC compliance officer
EPA compliance officer
DOT compliance officer
Human Resources manager
Extra costs for a driver with a CDL to run across town.
"Extra" cost for that tank of diesel.
Higher taxes, insurance, permit fees, ad infinitum.
Bottom line is that the $100 load of lumber costs about $125. Your poor sucker's out of business with his first shipment.
Unless, of course, he lays off all of his employees, buys a load of lumber drop shipped from China for $50, and has the customer pick it up at the terminal. Then the math problem is simpler.
"If the customer pays cash, does the logger have to tell the IRS?"
by Jack Heismann on February 11, 2008 10:14 PM
Dang! When I was in school, in the fifties and sixties, we learned about commutative, associative, and other properties of arithmetic, and the number line, and real and rational numbers, and cetera. We learned in 7th grade, taught by a crabby old smart woman, how to change from decimal to octal to binary and back and forth any which way. (She always corrected us when we called the course "math"; she told us we were learning arithmetic and that math would come later)
We were taught how to make change in ELEMENTARY school. Third grade, mayb
Let's say the bill comes to $12.58 and the customer hands me $20.00. I think, ok, two cents makes sixty, a dime makes seventy, a nickel makes seventy-five, and a quarter makes $13.00, and seven makes twenty.
I think modern technology makes it too easy to be dumb.
And just think CW4, who will be designing those fun collections of parts moving in formation? Just better hope myself and other don't punch in numbers wrong for the finite element code!
Of course the 5 foot blade can take 10 feet of deflection, Mr Computer tells me so!
I thank a nice lady (and double PHD) from Pakistan who decided that teaching Calc in an american school was her calling in life. Set me up pretty well for these here classes.
by GeoSTI on February 12, 2008 2:24 AM
Guys, I just have to be contrary (of course) That was funny, but....
My 9th grade daughter is no math wiz, but she is doing math that I was never taught to do. She uses graphic calculators, and she is doing algebra using shortcuts and tools that I'd never seen before. Moreover, she is doing similar kinds of math in both her biology class (genetics) and her math class, which is cool because it shows how the stuff is applied--AND she is in the class for people who need extra help!!!
Look, I know there are folks at McDs who can't make change without a machine to tell them how, but the schools (at least in mid-Texas) are teaching real math and the students are being tested in it. Also, even though the Spanish bit was funny, the kids here are NOT taking the tests in Spanish unless that's the language they speak best.
Yeah, yeah, I know, our 'sovereignty' demands they should be taking the test in English, the only language of our land, blah, blah, blah... What do I care what language they are speaking if they are doing the math properly, eh?
As for my kid... Well, she didn't do so well on the state test last year, so she goes to tutoring 3 times a week before school, and she is in a class where the teacher gets to spend more time with her. Is this universally true? No, and I know it, but I also know that the 5-6,000 kids in high school in this school district (and it's not a 'rich' one either) are all being taught the same stuff, and they are being held to the state standard. And yeah, we could argue the point about standards, and value of same, etc., but what I know, what I see with my own eyes, is that my daughter is getting a far better education than I did, and I finished HS in 73. She is doing more, her classes are more connected, there are more counselers, I can look up her grades on line, and so on.
All in all, I think the current crop of kids are being offered a much better public school education than most people realize (at least in some places). Now whether the kids and parents put effort into themselves and take advantage of what they are being offered, well, that's another story.
ooooohhhhhhh
Neffi's gonna strap Bill into his backseat....???
must be present for that, so please give me enough warning to arrange transportation.
*grin*
by WereKitten on February 12, 2008 7:33 AM
HI SANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How's it goin', stranger?
Re. your daughter:
My son has been taught "traditional" math so far, including this year. But, next year, in 6th grade, he'll start using a calculator for most things, and he'll no longer have spelling tests. Their reasoning? Because in the real world, people use calculators and they use spell-check on computers. But... they're not having computer classes or typing, because funding has been cut. I am determined to make sure my kids are not hunt-n-peckers, so I'll have to teach them my mad typing skilz at home.
by AFSister on February 12, 2008 7:44 AM
Calculators? CALCULATORS? I remember my Algebra II teacher in High School, Mrs. Taber, slapping me down (verbally) for daring to draw a slide rule in her class. It was log tables in the back of the book, and linear interpolation done with pencil and paper, dammit!
P.s. And yes, I did walk to and from school, at age 7 or so, and it wasn't uphill either way, and there was no snow, it being Southern FL, and there was no barbed wire around my elementary school, and I and my parents were perfectly OK with all of that.
GeoSTI:
And just think CW4, who will be designing those fun collections of parts moving in formation?
The same people doing it now -- H1Bs from Asia. Hired at 50¢ on the dollar. Or Asian immigrants -- the bulk of the people sticking it out in engineering schools today.
Meanwhile, our native-born mathphobes are graduating with degrees in pre-Columbian Art Appreciation and $100,000 loan balances, and they're shocked, shocked to find that employers are not beckoning them, and casting rose petals in their path.
Understand numeric concepts and you will always be able to make yourself useful. I never understood why one can graduate college without a single statistics class. If that were a requirement, we'd hear much less nonsense use of factoids based on mean averages, for one thing.
It's the same here in Doity Joisey except the little counter "Chicklets" don't cry, they get hostile. What-the-hell.
by Pixelkiller on February 13, 2008 8:35 AM
You'd think that if any region would be likely to go all touchy-feely and self-esteemy on math skills and the like it would be mine in suburban New Jersey. But they are as serious as rain about this type of thing in our district. The kids are expected to know their tables before entering 3rd grade. The middle schoolers get 2+ hours of homework per night.
It's all about college prep here and it is just ridiculously competitive. The administrators tell the parents that there isn't a school in the NE actively seeking more students from North Jersey and you must compete against your own region for spots.
I feel bad for the little goomers. I never had to work anywhere near that hard in school.
by spongeworthy on February 13, 2008 8:47 AM
Being somewhat younger (not quite 30 now) I will have to disagree a little bit with the bemoaning of math skills. I was counting in binary in fourth grade (it was actually being taught in my class, so we all were) and we were learning all the geometric and trigonometric concepts through high school. We used graphing calculators, sure, but we also had to be able to graph by hand, and we had all previously been able to do most functions without the aid of a calculator. Except logarithms and the like, but seriously, before calculators to do logarithms for you everybody had tables anyway, right?
In addition, my senior year of high school the math class was calculus, although just single-variable. First semester differential, second semester integral, although I graduated before the second semester.
Now, my public school might have been an aberration, and I'll be damned sure my son is able to learn math at least as fast as I was able, but I think it's a bit of a mistake to say that math isn't being taught in schools.
On the other hand, my mother mentioned to me the other day that one of my younger sister's teachers claimed in a PTA meeting there wasn't any need to teach long division anymore since all the kids would have calculators anyway....
by Andy on February 13, 2008 8:48 AM
When Thurber wrote "The Figgerin' of Aunt Wilma," it was funny. Except we now know it wasn't funny; it was prophetic.
by Countrylawyer on February 13, 2008 8:58 AM
My wife and I agreed that we still think public school is important, as crazy and wrongheaded as it can be at times. But we also agreed that we would not rely on it for our kid's education. Ours learn math and science at my feet, mainly because of my enthusiasm for the subjects, and we divide other duties.
I have opinions about what schools ought to be teaching, but what the kids actually learn is more important to me.
I had an similar experience at a restaurant a while back where I gave the cashier a $10 bill and she accidentally entered into the cash register that I had given her a $5 bill. She realized she had made a mistake, but had no clue how to fix it. She asked her coworkers for help and they had no clue and none of them had a calculator. After a few minutes they gave up trying and I ended up with a dollar extra in change.
Also, I heard one of the bank managers at my local branch say the reason an not enough people with the math skills to do the job.
but I think it's a bit of a mistake to say that math isn't being taught in schools.
Math is being taught, but students are often not learning it. My high school offered calculus as well, but only 5-10% of the students actually took calculus before they graduated.
AW1 Tim... ...she quoted the party line about some kids not being able to memorize as well as others, etc. The school didn't want to injure self-esteem.
10th grade, '63, English teacher required us to memorize the 'helping verbs'. I did not succeed and could not recite next day in class. She told me, in language I understood, that I would know them next day.
Next day, my recitation was flawless as it is today.
by Willys on February 13, 2008 9:24 AM
What I observe is a huge disparity between schools, and maybe even between classes within a particular high school. I know many kids at church who are in public schools who are clearly doing challenging work in math and other subjects. OTOH, students at the local community college tell me that almost half the students coming into the college go into developmental math, developmental reading and writing because they are NOT prepared for college work. Furthermore, the developmental math classes aren't just helping students master algebra, they are working on basic addition and multiplication.
Why is there such disparity between students in the same community? I'm sure some of it can be attributed to parental involvement, and to socioeconomic conditions, but I think part of it is the trend away from teaching elementary kids the basics.
When schools teach the basics, all the kids get the foundation to build on. When the basics, like multiplication tables, are glossed over or pushed aside to make time for more "interesting and challenging" work, a lot of kids get left behind. The kids who are slightly ahead developmentally will be fine, and the kids whose parents make sure they learn the basics will be okay, and they probably benefit from the opportunity to play around with interesting problems and applications. The problem is that about half the class is left without the tools needed to understand the work they are doing or to move on to more advanced material. By the time the kids reach high school, the gap is huge, and while some kids are doing great things, others are just marking time to get a diploma.
I went to private school and did lots of interesting stuff with math in grade school. We are homeschooling our kids, and I make a real effort to go beyond "drill and kill", but all the fun stuff is in addition to, not instead of covering the basics.
by JeanE on February 13, 2008 9:30 AM
Back in the mid-90's I worked at a craft store. Applicants had to take a one-page arithmetic test that consisted largely of problems like "clothespins are 5 for $1, how much do 60 clothespins cost?" The vast majority of our workers were older women. Most of our younger applicants couldn't pass the test, including two memorable high school students who were enrolled in a class called "calculus" who couldn't pass it despite cheating off each other. And that doesn't include the number who didn't even bother applying once they found out there was a math test involved.
Monkeys can be trained to punch buttons on a graphing calculator, especially if you call it "calculus" and tell them it will prepare them for college. I can't begin to number the remedial algebra students I've taught and failed who had taken high school "calculus" and "trigonometry".
So SangerM, your daughter's "math" class may include stuff you've never learned before, but that just means that she's not even learning the basic stuff you learned. Instead she's being trained to be a calculator monkey. Trust me, I've seen her type in my college classes. They end up in my office not understanding how to deal with rational expressions because they've never done fractions without a calculator. They either learn some real math real quick, or they flunk out of college. Because in the REAL real world, we have to do arithmetic on the fly.
I took my kids out of school because they weren't teaching them enough math. True, all our kids won't be engineers. But if we don't at least attempt to teach them math like they're going to be engineers, we cut them off from the possibility altogether.
Terrifically funny post! However I do think AW1 Tim and Sanger have hit on one of the issues. Calculators are introduced very early today which results in two things
1. The younger kids don't learn their math facts (thus the problems with making change)
2. The older kids are doing more advanced math sooner. However I still wonder if they are just hitting the function key on the calculator or are they really learning the math?
Now I sent my kids to an elementary charter school where the math facts were drilled into them. Unfortunately the school's scores on the state required end of grade test weren't great for younger kids because that test doesn't test math facts but tests the kids ability to use a calculator. Arggh!
Now my kids go to a different charter middle school and many of their classmates came from our local public school system. The teachers greatest complaint -- most kids don't know their math facts!
But also to add a little balance to the funny post -- here is a problem from my 6th graders math homework last night (paraphrased as I'm doing this from memory):
Tom bought 45 pencils which was as many as he could buy with the $20. he had. How much change did he get back?
And I'll almost guarantee you that a question like this shows up on his math test too.
by CharterMom on February 13, 2008 9:32 AM
Public schools is fo po fokes like me. If'n you's can rilly giv yo kids a ril edumcash'n, you's gots to do it.
Three kids in college, all did very well in high school (honors and AP courses) and are doing well in college, too. Their math classes are much more advanced (as some commenters have noted), and that is great. And the best use of their time is not spending hours and hours memorizing multiplication tables like we did; that would limit the time spent on more advanced topics. However, the pendulum has swung too far the other direction. There should be more time spent on basic arithmetic, because that will be a huge time saver and money saver in their day-to-day lives.
I had exactly that experience in a Kentucky Fried Chicken last fall. There was no manager to help out and the kid was so confused, I left with about a dollar less than I should have gotten. The alternative was to hold up the line while I tried to explain. I tried for a minute and gave up.
I went to the hardware store to purchase three or four small items. At the checkout, the clerk miscalculated the sum, shorting herself. I warned her about it, so she recalculated, getting a second wrong answer. I warned her again, so she tried a third time, getting a third wrong charge. I couldn't wait any longer, so I just accepted the third wrong charge. This was all despite the fact that she had a calculator available. Oh well.
by William Grave on February 13, 2008 11:36 AM
Not everyone teaches just the touchy feely stuff. I teach science in a public high school. We do math and lots of it. Volumes, density, wavelengths, Flux, Energy, size distance ratios, graphing, analysis, etc.
I had a young man tell me today that he didn't think he really needed to know how to solve a simple algebraic formula as he was going into the Air Force and therefore didn't need to do the math. Hmmmm..... I think there is a sergeant waiting for him out there somewhere.
By the way, take a minute to think about the type of student that may be working that counter job at McDonald's. They may not necessarily be the best student. The really good students often find better jobs; jobs that are higher paying and more closely related to their interests. In addition the brighter and more motivated workers often find themselves promoted to positions other than the counter.
And just think CW4, who will be designing those fun collections of parts moving in formation?
The same people doing it now -- H1Bs from Asia. Hired at 50¢ on the dollar. Or Asian immigrants -- the bulk of the people sticking it out in engineering schools today. "
Ahem. I'm sitting here at my desk in Lockheed building 158, and there's not an H1B in sight, and few enough Asian faces for that matter. Don't assume that the Computer Science courses are indicative of the general population of engineers.
by DensityDuck on February 13, 2008 11:41 AM
I got a super discount at a taco bell once because the kids couldn't figure out the change and ended up giving me back way more than they should have. I decided to keep the cash. Food was bad , service was terrible and yet I came away feeling good about the whole thing.
by Rick on February 13, 2008 11:44 AM
Not everyone teaches just the touchy feely stuff. I teach science in a public high school. We do math and lots of it. Volumes, density, wavelengths, Flux, Energy, size distance ratios, graphing, analysis, etc.
I used to teach all that stuff in my 9th grade classes, but don't any more. Why?
It's not on the test.
And too many of them can't do it anyway, for the exact reasons discussed here: they do not learn the basics in elementary school and cannot solve problems.
It's gonna suck when they're adults.
by Jenn on February 13, 2008 12:39 PM
It's odd that the experience you're claiming to have recently was posted by another blogger almost two years ago. The two stories are almost identical. Care to explain?
I'm guessing you finally got your flux capacitor working and went back and posted that comment in '06. If that's the case, I'll give you a good price for your "Mr. Fusion."
I feel a sudden hunger. I have to listen to Frank Zappa's 'Flakes.'
by William Graves on February 13, 2008 1:36 PM
Has anyone noticed the difference between arithmetic and mathematics? Physics envy has fooled us into teaching math in place of philosophy as the highest mental exercise. The ass-hat who sold the restauranteur his automatic change-calculating inventory-verifying invoice generator (replacing the register), convinced him that he'd no longer have to pay the long dollar to get employees who had change-making skills. His programmer was highly math-enabled.
Pre-columbian art appreciation is now taught on a calculus model. You end up with very pretty graphs (with the area under them in color!), and counter clerks who are told they don't have to make change. We have a shortage of arithmetic, but a psychotic abundance of "math."
by 2+2, for large values... on February 13, 2008 1:44 PM
I don't mind it being in Spanish if that means it actually returns to teaching MATH.
The 1950s version is Spanish is still preferable to the 1990s liberal [elided] version.
by GK on February 13, 2008 1:53 PM
Um, GK, here at Argghhh! we frown on language like that, however honestly felt, and otherwise valid the point. Which is why I edited the comment.
We're odd that way, 'round here.
It doesn't add to the discussion, it usually deflects it to something less useful.
When schools teach the basics, all the kids get the foundation to build on. When the basics, like multiplication tables, are glossed over or pushed aside to make time for more "interesting and challenging" work, a lot of kids get left behind.[snip] By the time the kids reach high school, the gap is huge, and while some kids are doing great things, others are just marking time to get a diploma.
I think this about says it. One issue with teaching advanced anything is whether everyone really can meet those guideleins. On the other hand, people need more math and science. The fastest growing job category IS technology and that requires some skill sets that have been highly specialized
In fact, someone mentioned the HB1 visas for this country. You know that the highest number of HB1s are given to techie foreigners?
by kat-missouri on February 13, 2008 2:24 PM
John & Bill, I wasn't suggesting plagiarism -- just pointing out the lack of a link. And I tried to keep it lighthearted.
I went to the hardware store to purchase three or four small items. At the checkout, the clerk miscalculated the sum, shorting herself. I warned her about it, so she recalculated, getting a second wrong answer. I warned her again, so she tried a third time, getting a third wrong charge. I couldn't wait any longer, so I just accepted the third wrong charge. This was all despite the fact that she had a calculator available. Oh well.
Have you considered the possibility that you miscalculated?
by Twoandtwoisfour on February 13, 2008 5:06 PM
CharterMom @9:32am,
I do not understand what is wrong with the problem you wrote "Tom bought 45 pencils which was as many as he could buy with the $20. he had. How much change did he get back? "
It seems like a practical problem that requires a touch of Algebra to solve.
Two dimes.
by Edman on February 13, 2008 6:02 PM
It is a funny Joke, but I went to a non magnet Public High School in the south in the early eighties and a large percentage of the students there took calculus. So I don’t want to hear about how much better older folk’s math knowledge and education was unless they were calculating the volumes of solids of revolution. I will listen to complaints about my English education, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and My Antonia, what a waste of time.
by Edman on February 13, 2008 6:18 PM
It's a nice story but if you check Snopes, it's also an old, old one. Bad form, donovan.
Here's a new, true story that makes the same point.
I was helping my grandson in 1st grade with his arithmetic homework. They were learning addition and substraction THIS way:
Take the numbers 2, 6, and 8
Put them in their proper slots:
__ + __ = __
__ - __ = __
or
__ + __ = __
This is not a joke, it's from a good elementary school in suburban Houston, Texas.
Fortunately, I taught my kids real arithmetic, and will do the same for their kids. It gives them such an advantage over their peers that one admitted to feeling a little guilty about the 'unfairness' of him knowing how to get the right answer, or recognize the wrong answer, so much more quickly than anybody around him. But he quickly figured out that he had nothing to be ashamed of, and has become quite adept at exploiting the situation in everything from poker to life insurance to splitting tabs at parties. That's the ultimate in justice -- the innumerate PAY for their ignorance. The downside is, they blame George Bush.
I remember seeing an "educator" talking about how computers will do all the hard stuff so the students' little minds can soar -- no mastery of arithmetic required.
My first thought was: How will they recognize the correct answer? Because the computer told them so? Or because they understand it to be the correct answer?
Today we start a new chapter in the ever-lengthening saga of "Twitchy Bill"...
Okay, after a solid week of getting refresher training in the military skills I *won't* be using in the sandbox (convoy security, IED marker recognition, treating sucking chest wounds, tactical interrogation of EPWs, how to contact the Chaplain), becoming re-introduced to the delights of the MRE and becoming a human pincushion (most of the stuff I got for PakTheStan was still good, but I got a second iteration of my third Hepatitis B -- the Jersey Guard gave me the first iteration in May of '04 but never entered the info in Big Brother's database), smallpox, anthrax #1, flu and three or four more sticks for things I never could pronounce anyway (hey, why not -- they were *free*...), I'm finally outta here. Even managed to get all my body armor and battle rattle into one duffle bag.
Of course, Delta's stats for losing my luggage favor them losing *both* hold bags this time. And they're about rdue for sending them to Philly via Anchorage -- again...
No pix (photography seriously verboten) and sorta-kinda lockdown, so I never even attempted to contact Madame Criquette and fambly (don't think they could have found the place and they close the gate after dark), but this place has been Old Home Week -- I bumped into a Hmong who was a kicker for Air America and sometimes made it into Can Tho when I was there, a guy who worked for Monmouth CSC when I was subbing for them and now works for BAE, a bunch of Titan linguists who knew some of the L-3 translators, some Blackwater and DynCorp guys who knew each other from the 82d and the 101st and a Northrop guy I met in Pakistan. Met dog-handlers, poppy-eradicators, cop-trainers, interpreters, linguists, IT geeks, Blackwater-types, a couple of other helicopter pilots, a guy who'll be giving classes on "How to be an Entrepreneur" out of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce office and an AAFES managerial trainee who looks like he's still in grammar school.
Yeah, this job *definitely* beats raking leaves...
[Update: Bill also sent another missive which I will share in it's entirety:
Bloggable. If I start with an OPSEC header, it's Eyes Only, but if not, I already scrubbed it. Example follows...
[OPSEC] awwubf sd hie yhud fufb; eitj brty erll uio vhsnr ig ho rll likr domr;yhinh rrl hsye she ouf ehoy er nrhl yo drjj ypes vomrdhinh rldfr sdg druoddrf yo nr rtrf [/OPSEC].
Glamourous photo. Looks like Bill parked his bird on a boat. Just like Lex does!
Thankee kindly, birdman, for your service wherever you are bound, doing whatever you will be doing. Sounds like there is some stuff that needs to be done, and done well, and perhaps quietly, so we know we may have to wait for the TINS stories. Be careful out there.
by John on February 9, 2008 2:26 PM
The primary purpose for forcing civilians to go to CRC is to cull those with a low tolerance for BS. It is a psychological rite of passage.
Hi, John -- ol' Hubert's parked on Sea Float in the Nam Can River, which was JF Kerry's domicile when he wasn't delivering CIA guys (who had evidently forgotten they had reserved seats on Air America UH-1Bs) into Cambodia and being shot at by drunken South Vietnamese Buddhists celebrating Christmas.
Cannoneer No. 4 -- Right you are. Which is prolly why 87+% of the civilians passing through were prior service...
...of Irish lineage was touring the Ancestral Isle and became pathetically lost somewhat misoriented. Chancing upon a pub in the center of a small village, he stopped in and asked the landlord, "What's the fastest way to Dublin?"
"That depends," he replied. "Are you walking or driving?"
"I'm driving," answered the Major (Ret).
"Ahhhh, very good -- that's the fastest way."
Heh.
Got my orders -- I'll be spending the first week in February in Cricket Country (the Benning School for Boys, aka, the Columbus Stockade). Last time I was there was June of 2001, doing a trainup for wintertime in the Balkans -- which struck me as akin to conducting ASW training in Denver.
Remind me to pick up some decent desert boots while I'm there -- Clothing Sales at Dix only had chick sizes in stock...
pls note for the record that it is John who assumes that it is HE who is the purported "lost Major", and not myself...
(probably a valid assumption)
by MajMike on January 28, 2008 10:52 AM
Dang it.
I'd love to get down there, but I can't.
DANG IT>>>>>>>>
by AFSister on January 28, 2008 9:25 PM
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Why, yes. Yes I do. Where you startin' from? Pretty much no matter what you do you wind up using either I80 or I580 (though other freeways are involved). Why do you ask?
(stares down at gaping hole in stomach where my innards used to be)
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.
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.
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...
First, something for ol' Number 82 Hisself, since he pays the rent on this place:
I seem to have piqued a bit of interest when I mentioned a diesel-engined Cessna -- here 'tis:
The C-172S, to be precise. Here's the giveaway:
Scoots through the air towed by a tri-blade prop spun up by a 135shp diesel, which doesn't have the guts for Iraqi summer air, but you won't run out of fuel looking for 100 octane avgas -- she'll burn JP-8 very nicely. The last batch to be delivered will have the engine boosted to 155shp, which *will* cope with hot temps / high density altitudes.
The Garmin 1000 cockpit layout is just, plain *nice* -- even if it *is* mostly digits instead of steampunk:
Ever wonder what a ton of JDAM will do to a thin-skinned building -- like a hangar?
The depression in the roofline just left of center is the point of entry. The blast blew every bit of corrugated sheathing right off the bolts and sheared some stringers, but did surprisingly little damage to the structural members.
The gravel-filled area in the floor is about 5% of the crater. Yup, that's a soccer ball.
And, since I haven't done a Whatziss in a while --
BTW, I left the oil drum and sandbags to give you some scale. Unlike *some* people who show ya a pic of a refill for a ballpoint pen and blow it up to look like the cleaning rod for a 240mm gun.
Dang, that thing in the last pic looks like it could sprout legs, and come walking for one. I mean, it has a mouth, and nostrils on its flanks, and scary-looking weird things on its dorsal surface.
Sorry, I clicked on a link at BCR's about Girl Genius, and that must have started a program she left in my head. I'm up to about the middle of 2005 in my requirement to read every episode, and I tell you that gizmo looks like something one would find in that cartoon universe. Send in the clanks. I like the idea of killbots wearing shakos, with plume
Bill,
Who makes the engine for the Cessna? I assume it is an aircooled Deutz opposed type and hopefully with a turbo. If they could boost the hp up to about 180/200 they would have a pretty good flying machine. 235 hp with a c/s prop would be even that much better.
The 1st picture looks a little bit like the WWII German 88 FlakWagon at the Ft Sill museum, except it had all of it's wheels and I don't remember it having brakes.
by AgPilot60 on December 27, 2007 2:35 AM
I'll hazard a guess-Silkworm anti-shipping missle?
by Old Fat Sailor on December 27, 2007 4:17 AM
...I tell you that gizmo looks like something one would find in that cartoon universe.
Considering the manufacturer, you *could* say it's from a cartoon universe.
AgPilot60 -- I think the engine's a turbo Thielert Centurion, but I didn't poke under the cowling to double-check. And, yeah, the gun does look a lot like an 88 with a muzzle brake, which is what caught my eye in the first place -- it's sited right next to an ADA radar ziggurat. *sigh* -- yeah, John, I got a pic of the data plate, but it's sandblasted all to Helen Gaghan.
OFS -- Nope. The cammo paint job is ugly enough to pass for ChiCom, though...
Ledger -- Nope, the material's a re-inforced microfiber of some sort. Sitting on a leather seat in an Iraqi summer would be like sitting in a cast-iron skillet over an open fire.
I'm with John, some class of EA pod although I would have guessed either Rooshan or French. Near went blind flicking through Google images trying to track it down. Really *must* remember to put "safe search" back on in preferences before I go past the third page though.
Whoa! That is a Desert Kaiten. I had heard rumors...
by Toluca Nole on December 27, 2007 5:32 PM
what is it?
SPS-141MVG ECM pod .... russki
yah or nyet?
by OldSchool on December 27, 2007 5:35 PM
Naaaaaaah, it's nothing more than a ginormous knuter valve. Probably to one of the MiG series. It's the one that connected the piston return springs to the muffler bearings.
Really, though, I love these whatzisses, but I hardly ever have an idea.
by sandman6actual on December 27, 2007 7:46 PM
HF6 -- The hangar's just west of runway 13/31 at Kirkuk.
OldSchool -- Da. What's interesting is that the markings are in English and there's an adapter cable in the rear -- according to the *former* Su-22 pilot I asked about it, the beastie was mounted centerline on a Mirage I and not wing-mounted on an Su-22.
Ledger -- Nope, the material's a re-enforced microfiber of some sort. Sitting on a leather seat in an Iraqi summer would be like sitting in a cast-iron skillet over an open fire. -Bill
Bill, you mean it cheap vinyl?
That tears it. I am not buying one!
With this thing sporting a jet fuel powered diesel engine, 3 blade prop, glass instrument panel, white seats with buttons, I would have though it would have been fitted with Leather seats (or simulated leather seats due to PETA).
Even though the "microfibers" sound cool, vinyl would be pretty hot and sticky in the summer. It is a disappointment ;)
First, something for ol' Number 82 Hisself, since he pays the rent on this place:
I seem to have piqued a bit of interest when I mentioned a diesel-engined Cessna -- here 'tis:
The C-172S, to be precise. Here's the giveaway:
Scoots through the air towed by a tri-blade prop spun up by a 135shp diesel, which doesn't have the guts for Iraqi summer air, but you won't run out of fuel looking for 100 octane avgas -- she'll burn JP-8 very nicely. The last batch to be delivered will have the engine boosted to 155shp, which *will* cope with hot temps / high density altitudes.
The Garmin 1000 cockpit layout is just, plain *nice* -- even if it *is* mostly digits instead of steampunk:
Ever wonder what a ton of JDAM will do to a thin-skinned building -- like a hangar?
The depression in the roofline just left of center is the point of entry. The blast blew every bit of corrugated sheathing right off the bolts and sheared some stringers, but did surprisingly little damage to the structural members.
The gravel-filled area in the floor is about 5% of the crater. Yup, that's a soccer ball.
And, since I haven't done a Whatziss in a while --
BTW, I left the oil drum and sandbags to give you some scale. Unlike *some* people who show ya a pic of a refill for a ballpoint pen and blow it up to look like the cleaning rod for a 240mm gun.
Dang, that thing in the last pic looks like it could sprout legs, and come walking for one. I mean, it has a mouth, and nostrils on its flanks, and scary-looking weird things on its dorsal surface.
Sorry, I clicked on a link at BCR's about Girl Genius, and that must have started a program she left in my head. I'm up to about the middle of 2005 in my requirement to read every episode, and I tell you that gizmo looks like something one would find in that cartoon universe. Send in the clanks. I like the idea of killbots wearing shakos, with plume
Bill,
Who makes the engine for the Cessna? I assume it is an aircooled Deutz opposed type and hopefully with a turbo. If they could boost the hp up to about 180/200 they would have a pretty good flying machine. 235 hp with a c/s prop would be even that much better.
The 1st picture looks a little bit like the WWII German 88 FlakWagon at the Ft Sill museum, except it had all of it's wheels and I don't remember it having brakes.
by AgPilot60 on December 27, 2007 2:35 AM
I'll hazard a guess-Silkworm anti-shipping missle?
by Old Fat Sailor on December 27, 2007 4:17 AM
...I tell you that gizmo looks like something one would find in that cartoon universe.
Considering the manufacturer, you *could* say it's from a cartoon universe.
AgPilot60 -- I think the engine's a turbo Thielert Centurion, but I didn't poke under the cowling to double-check. And, yeah, the gun does look a lot like an 88 with a muzzle brake, which is what caught my eye in the first place -- it's sited right next to an ADA radar ziggurat. *sigh* -- yeah, John, I got a pic of the data plate, but it's sandblasted all to Helen Gaghan.
OFS -- Nope. The cammo paint job is ugly enough to pass for ChiCom, though...
Ledger -- Nope, the material's a re-inforced microfiber of some sort. Sitting on a leather seat in an Iraqi summer would be like sitting in a cast-iron skillet over an open fire.
I'm with John, some class of EA pod although I would have guessed either Rooshan or French. Near went blind flicking through Google images trying to track it down. Really *must* remember to put "safe search" back on in preferences before I go past the third page though.
Whoa! That is a Desert Kaiten. I had heard rumors...
by Toluca Nole on December 27, 2007 5:32 PM
what is it?
SPS-141MVG ECM pod .... russki
yah or nyet?
by OldSchool on December 27, 2007 5:35 PM
Naaaaaaah, it's nothing more than a ginormous knuter valve. Probably to one of the MiG series. It's the one that connected the piston return springs to the muffler bearings.
Really, though, I love these whatzisses, but I hardly ever have an idea.
by sandman6actual on December 27, 2007 7:46 PM
HF6 -- The hangar's just west of runway 13/31 at Kirkuk.
OldSchool -- Da. What's interesting is that the markings are in English and there's an adapter cable in the rear -- according to the *former* Su-22 pilot I asked about it, the beastie was mounted centerline on a Mirage I and not wing-mounted on an Su-22.
Ledger -- Nope, the material's a re-enforced microfiber of some sort. Sitting on a leather seat in an Iraqi summer would be like sitting in a cast-iron skillet over an open fire. -Bill
Bill, you mean it cheap vinyl?
That tears it. I am not buying one!
With this thing sporting a jet fuel powered diesel engine, 3 blade prop, glass instrument panel, white seats with buttons, I would have though it would have been fitted with Leather seats (or simulated leather seats due to PETA).
Even though the "microfibers" sound cool, vinyl would be pretty hot and sticky in the summer. It is a disappointment ;)
Having spent enough time on C-130s during the preceding two weeks to have worn grooves into the back of my thighs, I am now fairly convinced that the Kriminalmuseum is the sole-source for USAF passenger seating.
Close Gitmo and load all the li'l darlin's on a C-130 for an eight-time-zone trip. By the time they get halfway to the Azores, the interrogators will be hollering for more notepads...
But I digress. As usual.
Got home from Kirkuk via Kuwait at midnight on Monday, scraped the scrup'ls off after half an hour of managing to pet all four of them simultaneously, drank half a pot of coffee, took a shower, shaved, fell on the bed, got up four hours later, fed the dogs, drank the remaining half pot of coffee, started the car, came back inside to put my pants on, grabbed the go-bag, guided KtLW to the car and headed to Philly to catch a flight to Huntsville, AL.
Which, after completing two days of rehashing the site survey, I have yet to see during daylight hours.
First, the good news. I took lots of pix during the trip. Including the solo flight of the first Iraqi Instructor Pilot to graduate from the new IqAF Flight School -- by the time we left, he had just qualified his first student for a solo. For Those Who Know, that's a Giant Step in the direction we want to see the Iraqis go, and it's the reason I'll be spending the next year (or three) in the Sandbox -- training my replacement(s).
Now, the bad news. I downloaded the photos to the laptop just before Vista decided it was no longer an authentic Microsquish product and pulled a Brody in remorse.
Now, the good news. I'm pretty sure I can recover them -- Barb and BCR are reprogramming PG-17C to conduct a digital waterboarding of my laptop...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ever see a diesel-powered Cessna 172? Got pix.
You've seen what a JDAM does to a concrete bunker -- ever wonder what it would do to a *thin*-skinned building? Got pix.
And, after noticing something a tad odd lurking behind some scrub, I found a Whatziss candidate that will drive the grognards to the nearest grog shop.
And more. Stay tuned.
First, I've gotta get some sleep. Then, I plan on getting a cute little orange jumpsuit for my laptop...
" Then, I plan on getting a cute little orange jumpsuit for my laptop... "
Knowing you've been deployed for a while, this sounds dirty. LOL
by fdcol63 on December 20, 2007 9:01 AM
The story on C-130s:
When they flew the 1st prototype, it was discovered that there was way too much vibration at the wing-tips to maintain structural integrity, so the engineers found a way to tranfer all of the vibration to the seat supports...;)
by Oldloadr on December 20, 2007 11:17 AM
...and put in web seats so that there'd be maximum jiggle.
And put them in sideways to the line of flight, so everything feels... wrong.
When they flew the 1st prototype, it was discovered that there was way too much vibration at the wing-tips to maintain structural integrity, so the engineers found a way to tranfer all of the vibration to the seat supports...;)
Then -
and put in web seats so that there'd be maximum jiggle
Soooooooooooo, I'm thinking with a slight modification, C-130s will become my preferred mode of transportation.
Maggie, I think they are talking about an annoying, hurtful vibration, until it becomes a numbing vibration, not the kind of pleasant vibration about which you seem to be wishfully thinking.
Bill T checks in from Somewhere In a Desert. Okay, Kuwait.
Well, I can get pretty much anywhere on the 'net from our crash pad here in Kuwait except for MT. MT doesn't deny me access, but the server here evidently thinks the login page doesn't exist.
Farl (ask Barb to define that).
We've made a *lot* of people happy over here. The AF has eleven IPs teaching the Iraqis in Kirkuk and the Army's doing the same thing with -- ummmmm -- one. Of course, since the training airplanes are brand new and in flyable condition and the training helicopters are in "Third World -- Used" condition, it's not like the Army IP is drowning in overwork. The Air Force IPs aren't wild about ground school instructing (no flying hour credit for teaching Aerodynamics or Meteorology) or playing in the sim (you can't get hurt in the sim unless you bump your head getting in or out, so there's no "Impress the Gurls" factor) and the Army IP wants to spend more of his time mentoring a couple of guys with Helicopter Sky God potential. Heh. Our interpreter is a former MiG-21 pilot and a huge Vietnam Air War buff -- his first comment after meeting me was, "How did you guys *survive* all that sh*t?"
The students think it's cool that we'll be available for additional tutoring. Bear in mind that a couple of the students are in their mid-thirties/early forties and a couple of them have scads of MiG-21 and Su-7 time (no Mi-24D types have shown up, yet, but I've heard a rumor that a couple have applied for the school).
Hassan: "Where will you be staying when you come back to teach us -- the Green Zone?"
*note: the Iraqis consider living in the Green Zone the equivalent of living in, say, the gold vaults at Fort Knox*
Me: "Nope. The school is here, you guys are staying here, so we'll be staying here, too."
Hassan (grinning): "Here? Even with the rockets and mortars?"
Me: "Sure. We're all retired Army, so we're used to that stuff."
Hassan (still grinning): "You're not going to show your wife the pictures of the craters on the ramp, are you?"
Me: "Ummmmm -- no."
Heh. He told his wife he works for a bank and his job requires him to travel a lot.
Tsk. The things us guys say to keep our SigOthers from going all jittery.
Or buying multi-million dollar life insurance policies...
Update from Bill T... "In a Desert Somewhere, doing Something."
[Non-OPSEC]
Okay, I went into "Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow" mode about two days into the cross-border foray, so my guess is today's Friday. We just got back in Kuwait, presently waiting to catch a flight out that'll dump me into the ice/snow storm combo that blasted you guys a few days ago (no 'net access, but we've got CNN/AFN -- it figures).
*NOT* impressed with the USAF "airline" they run in-country. So far, they dropped the ball on our flights twice (we found out ahead of time by sweet-talking the young airfemale running the counter -- otherwise, I would have been stranded in either Balad or Tikrit). Almost got to Taji, Sis, but since all the RW stuff is broken, there wasn't any excuse to go down there.
[/Non-OPSEC]
You may correctly infer that the "kewl stuff" is not present in this post.
After all the Juicy Stuff We Can't Share, he closed with this:
PSA -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Barrrrb! Vista SUCKS!!!!! Got my laptop back from rehab and the third time I turned it on over here, it decided that the factory-installed OS was a bogus version and it won't let me re-insert the product code because I'm not hooked up to a wireless router -- which I *could* do, if I could access the connect-to-the-net function, which Vista won't let me do.
Catch-22.
Bill Gates is the Antichrist...
So, given the theology discussions on the airwaves, in print, and in glowing pixels this week, what is Bill's consanguineal relationship to Jesus and Lucifer?
Bill is a child of Abraham of course and thus as a chosen child of Jehovah recognizes Jesus as a profit (maybe) and Lucifer as a fallen Angel (Michael kicked his butt in the civil war). However, since the Children of Abraham have been persecuted for many years, maybe Bill thinks its payback time and created Vista to torment the gentiles.
This could wind up being as big as the doomsday bug we never got on 01012000. There is a reliable report that one of MicroSquish's servers went bananas and adjudged 12,000 copies of Vista to be bogus before any human could intervene, and what's worse, there may be no records of who is bogus and who is not in a useable enough form for MicroSquish to restore anyone.
Kim Komando, the "Digital Goddess", who gives out nuggets of wisdom in between many, many advertisements for her services and products, did an expose on this issue a few days ago.
It seems that next month, MicroSquish is going to lock down the runaway servers next month with a Critical Update that will prevent this sort of disaster, or they say it will, anyway.
BTW, I predicted that Genuine Advantage would cause a lot of collateral damage way back when it's development was announced two years ago, and I have few stars on my wizard hat. If a nogrok like me could see this coming, why couldn't the arrogant hoseheads in MicroSquish?
I can relate to the USAF "airline" comment...after 2 months in the Albanian mud watching TF HAWK, I show up at the MAC tent to check in for redeployment.
The "airfemale" (they're everywhere, especially in ALCEs) said I was "in the Army" and had to go with my fellow soldiers and process with "my unit." Now, being called a soldier wasn't something I was ashamed of at all...kinda cool, actually, since I looked the part. But, because she did it as if she enjoyed telling a dirty, smelly grunt what to do (I probably read too much into it but there you go) AND she wasn't smart enough to check out who I was (USAF O-6 with a gun), I thought I'd have a little fun. Besides, telling her that my immediate boss was the NAF commander her boss's boss's boss was directly supporting at that very moment would have probably not registered.
After I patiently explained to her that if she did not give me what I wanted I would pull out her eyeballs and eat them like cherry tomatoes (it was a LOOONG 60 days), she relented.
It is possible to “downgrade” to XP from Vista (or dual boot). The increased speed and ease of operation is a real plus. If you have a laptop make sure you know were to find All of the Drivers to reinstall after nuking Vista (and you may have to adjust the bios). Buy a copy of XP Pro Sp2 for about $140 then reformat and install XP. Or you could skip the $140 and get a copy from you local hacker.
[Note to Feds and Microsnot snoops - the Official Position of Castle Argghhh! is "Genuine Products Only" and we officially distance ourselves from Ledger's Very Personal (As In His Opinion, Not Ours) views on the subject. This announcement brought to you by Castle Lawyering, Inc.]
Wasn't an option for the USAF O-6 who went up-country with us, either. He booked on the Embassy Flight from Kirkuk to Balad and back --
1. the Airperson at the booking end (in Kuwait) never entered the return leg of his trip on the flight request and
2. the Airperson at Kirkuk never checked the flight confirmation message from Kuwait.
After two days twiddling his thumbs in Balad, he escaped this morning by chatting up a transient UH-60 crew. Told the PC he had a buddy (me) who'd been a Huey pilot in Vietnam and they dropped him off within rock-throwing distance of our future schoolhouse in Kirkuk...
...is that you've gotta peel them before you can eat them. At least, us furriners do, otherwise you're just asking for a dance lesson -- the Taliban Two-Step. Soooo, because mangoes have a skin like a pear instead of something sensible, like an orange, you either need a long, sharp fingernail (which possesses its own issues, unless you have a really wild guitar-pickin' style) or a knife. And, since mango juice is kinda like superglue when it dries, I figured I needed something a bit easier to clean than my Swiss Army toolbox.
There are other things for sale in the local armament bazaars than bang-sticks (and replicas thereof), which is convenient, because I wasn't planning to peel any mangoes with a Khyber rifle. Got myself a Khyber knife, instead. Welllll, okay, it's a Kashmiri folder, but it *could* have been a Khyber knife if it really, really wanted to.
This one wasn't the biggest one of the bunch (I didn't need an Ilbarsi three-footer and I *don't* have Freudian hangups), but all I needed was a decent mango-peeler, so I got the pocket-size. The decorative extension of the spine is what keeps the peeler from slicing your pocket (and thigh) to ribbons when it's folded -- it serves as the edge guard.
It ratchets open nicely and locks like a champ (the seller made a slashing feint at my jugular to prove it wouldn't flop closed); the latch flips up to unlock the blade when you've finished the mango massacree.
Heh. After the seller took his swipe, he grinned and said, "Hah! You are an officer, yes! Not a flinch! Civilian *always* jump back when I do that!" I just grinned my trademark boyish grin at him and told him, "*Retired* officer." What I *didn't* tell him was he telegraphed his move with a windup, he couldn't have stuck me unless he stepped forward another two feet (and his table was in the way) -- and, since we'd already spent a half hour drinking tea and talking flintlocks, I knew he wanted to make a sale, not a dead gringo.
Besides, I couldn't have backed up even if I wanted to -- I was already leaning against his wall.
I did get the lowdown on shipping arms out of Pakistan, though. The gummint doesn't really care *what* you buy, as long as it's not post-WWII and you pay a couple of bucks export tax. If you know an exporter who ships mass quantities of -- say, carpets -- to the US, you can avoid a lot of the usual red tape at both ends.
"Okay, what's your brother shipping today?"
"Two hundred Nepalese carpets, a functional replica of an SMLE and a Baluchi flintlock shotgun."
"Hmmmmm -- I want to examine those carpets..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Heh. Maybe poor Joe gets stuck in the decision loop,
but I made all of *my* decisions along those lines instantaneously. Comes from years and years of analyzing the situation then-at-hand and asking this simple question:
And in case Neffi had anything snide planned about the rust, it cleaned up very nicely with some steel wool, a Q-tip and alcohol. The bone bolsters are still brownish -- it's not an antique, but it ain't new, either. The seller claimed it's ninety years old, I figure it's about fifty.
but how is it at slicing fingers? These are the burning questions...as to the beer, I have no clue.
by Cricket on September 17, 2007 8:30 AM
Snide? Moi? Actually Chief, I'm kinda jealous- that's a nice looking blade and whilst my collecting is of the military variety I do have a side interest in 'ethnic' knives... the *real* ones, as opposed to touristy rubbish.
And it looks quite capable of handling a mango or two.
by Neffi on September 17, 2007 9:03 AM
Hmph, he can get Stella Artois over there, but I can't get it into my shop to sell in Missouri. Stupid state liquor laws....
And, what's in the green tallboy can on the far left? My beeriousity wants to know.
Finally, Becks and Fosters... blugh!
by Kevin on September 17, 2007 10:10 AM
The mango juice, if allowed to ferment into mango vinegar, is capable of dissolving concrete. There are places on the garage floor at our old house which were smooth, and are now quite rough. My Dad left mangoes there and forgot about them.
With the edge I put on it, it should make a beeline for bone. Of course, "I sliced my finger off with a Kashmiri Folding Mango Knife" doesn't quite sing the way "I bayoneted myself today" does, do I wouldn't be able to parlay that into a Barney-meet.
Of course, "I sliced my finger off with a Kashmiri Folding Mango Knife" doesn't quite sing the way "I bayoneted myself today" does, do I wouldn't be able to parlay that into a Barney-meet.
Such petty jealousy from the little people.
We sniff and walk on.
No doubt tripping because our nose is in the air...
And you didn't bring me any presents back, either!
