December 23, 2006
H&I* Fires Dec 23, 2006
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. [Admittedly, I'm fibbing. Trackbacks are still broken]
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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Japanese Scientists capture a Giant Squid. The First.Ever.Caught.By.Humans. Well, as far as we know. And kill it. Sushi, anyone? I thought it was just us rednecks that killed rare things just to eat them?
Virgil Goode, (R) Virginia... idiot. Not the way to push the immigration issue. So Keith Ellison (D) Minnesota, wants to swear his oath of office on the Koran. So what? There are provisions for allowing Christians, whose beliefs do not allow them to swear on the Bible, to "affirm" their oath of office, why should this even.be.an.issue. Dolt. Not the face the Republican party wants to put forth on this issue. -the Armorer
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Michigan couple sends holiday cheer to Iraq
Dec 22, 2006 BY Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs
TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 22, 2006) - Though a white Christmas is out of the question, the holiday season will be a little homier for Soldiers deployed here thanks to a couple from Ludington, Mich., and a sergeant major from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.Jim Nickelson and wife, Beth, sent two Fraser fir trees to the 1st ACB to bring holiday cheer to the frontlines, Nickelson said.
"Hopefully it brightens their mood for a period of time while they're away from their families" Nickelson wrote in an email from his home.
The Nickelsons' Needlefast Evergreens farm is adjacent to the childhood home of Sgt. Maj. Della St. Louis, the brigade operations sergeant major.
St. Louis, for the third consecutive year, arranged for the shipment of the holiday trees the Nickelsons donated. The first was during the 1st ACB deployment from 2004 to 2005, and she had trees sent to 3rd Infantry Division which served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, she said.
"Soldiers are so far away from friends and families, and this is something that brings togetherness around the holidays," St. Louis said. "It's just something that I can do for Soldiers."
The Nickelsons pay for the customs inspection and donate the trees, and St. Louis pays the shipping costs.
The two packages were Christmas in a box when they arrived in late November. Within a couple of days, the trees were up and decorated at the administrative/logistics and tactical operations centers.
"When they opened the boxes, the smell of pine took me home," said Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Hernandez, assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of the Aviation Defense Operations Center. "When I'm home for Christmas, we have a live tree, and we decorate all that we can. It's all about the Christmas spirit."
"I didn't serve in the Armed Forces myself, and my wife and I feel it's the very least we can do to provide a small slice of home, or perhaps some of the Christmas spirit that they might have had if they had been home," Nickelson said.
Meanwhile, over in Korea...
Getting in the Holiday Spirit
Photo by Master Sgt. Sue Harper, 8th Army PAO
December 13, 20068th Army Commander, Lt. Gen. David P. Valcourt places a package into a bin as Command Sgt. Maj. Barry C. Wheeler, USFK, CFC and 8th Army Command Sergeant Major takes package to another bin Monday morning at the Yongsan Post Office. Every year the 8th Army Commander and Command Sergeant Major and members of the 8th Army staff help pitch mail during the Holiday Peak season.
Heh. I knew Dave when he was a mere battalion commander and put his pants on one leg at a time. Looky where a little skill will take ya!
Dec 23 1944
The bulk of the air cargo brought to Bastogne during the siege was artillery ammunition. By the 24th the airborne batteries were down to ten rounds per tube and the work horse 420th Armored Field Artillery was expending no more than five rounds per mission, even on very lucrative targets. This battalion, covering a 360-degree front, would in fact be forced to make its original 1,400 rounds last for five days. The two 155-mm. howitzer battalions were really pawing at the bottom of the barrel. The 969th fired thirty-nine rounds on 24 December and two days later could allow its gunners only twenty-seven rounds, one-sixth the number of rounds expended per day when the battle began.The airdrop on the 23d brought a dividend for the troops defending Bastogne. The cargo planes were all overwatched by fighters who, their protective mission accomplished, turned to hammer the Germans in the Bastogne ring. During the day eighty-two P-47's lashed out at this enemy with general-purpose and fragmentation bombs, napalm, and machine gun fire. The 101st reported to Middleton, whose staff was handling these air strikes for the division, that "air and artillery is having a field day around Bastogne."
You can read the rest here.
Now, here's something you most likely didn't know. There weren't many black combat units in the US Army during either world war. IIRC, none at all during the First, only a few during the Second.
One of those few was the 969th Field Artillery, which won a Distinguished Unit Citation and Belgian Croix d’Guerre with Palm for their performance during the Battle of the Bulge. Some more on Black soldiers in the war is available here.
December 22, 2006
H&I* Fires Dec 22, 2006
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. [Admittedly, I'm fibbing. Trackbacks are still broken]
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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HFM learns the hard way.... Never underestimate the power of the blogger! Congratulations to Michael Yon for staying strong and hard, and helping to take down Shock magazine. I'm still trying to figure out why editor-in-chief, Mike Hammer, is "stunned" by the move. BUWAHAHAHA. Somebody buy that man a Clue Bat! h/t to Huntress, who had the pleasure of "breaking" the news to Michael this morning. (btw... Mike's working his way back to Iraq for more boots-on-ground reports) OH HAPPY DAY! ~AFSis
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For those of you who want the hi-res version of the Motivator series, Strategy Page just posted the whole set, original typos and all. -the Armorer
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Brit spy problems?
A BRITISH military aide to the commander of UK forces in Afghanistan has been accused of spying for Iran.Cpl Daniel James, 44, appeared in court yesterday, charged under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act with communicating information “useful to the enemy”.
Read the whole thing here.
More things Brit: THE last surviving crew member of Lord Nelson’s former warship HMS Victory from its time at sea has died aged 103. Fair winds and a following sea, Mr. Perrett.
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam.
And in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not entry for the day, there's this:
SKYDIVER Michael Holmes cheated death when his parachutes failed and he plunged 15,000ft — on to a BLACKBERRY BUSH.The 25-year-old Brit screamed ‘s**t, I’m going to die’ as he plummeted at 100mph — but the thick brambles saved his life.
Read that story here - and H/t for all three of the above to Jim C. -the Armorer
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La Schlussel continues her meltdown - and foolishly takes on Baldilocks while doing it. Baldilocks has a useful warning for people of the Right who see Barack Obama as a target - treat him just like the Castle Rules of Commentating - Attack the Message, not the Messenger. H/t, Darleen. -the Armorer
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T'was an ACLU Christmas... the video is funny, but I think Jay's link to this guy and the ensuing discussion in the comments is perhaps even funnier. -the Armorer
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Marines Charge Eight in Connection With Haditha Deaths
Let it all settle out in court. Good to see DoD making the connection between the leaders and the led, and that the officers will face a court, too.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2006 - Four Marines have been charged in connection with the deaths of Iraqi civilians in Haditha Nov. 19, 2005, and another four Marines have been charged with failure to properly report and/or investigate the deaths of the Iraqi civilians.
Col. Stewart Navarre, chief of staff of Marine Corps Installations West, announced the charges and specifications during a news conference on Camp Pendleton, Calif., today. All of those charged were members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
"The Marine Corps takes allegations of wrong-doing by Marines very seriously and is committed to thoroughly investigating such allegations," Navarre said. "The Marine Corps also prides itself on holding its members accountable for their actions.
"We are absolutely committed to holding fair and impartial proceedings in full compliance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice," he said. Navarre said the charges stem from an incident that occurred after an attack on a four-vehicle Marine convoy from the battalion's Kilo Company. The convoy was moving through Haditha when it was ambushed by insurgents employing an improvised explosive device and small arms fire, Navarre said.
"One Marine was killed and two were wounded by the explosion," the colonel said. "Over the next several hours, 24 Iraqi men, women and children died in the vicinity of the IED explosion."
The next day, 2nd Marine Division issued a press release stating that 15 Iraqi civilians were killed in an IED explosion, and Marines and Iraqi Army soldiers killed eight insurgents in a follow-on firefight. "We now know with certainty the press release was incorrect, and that none of the civilians were killed by the IED explosion," Navarre said.
In February, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, initiated an investigation. "This investigation focused on the circumstances of the attack and whether the Marines involved followed the Rules of Engagement and Law of Armed Conflict," Navarre said.
In March, Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, commander of coalition forces in Al Anbar province, initiated a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation, to determine if there was any criminal responsibility for the deaths of the Iraqi civilians.
Later that month Chiarelli ordered Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell to conduct another investigation to look at three aspects of the incident: official reporting of the events and follow-on actions by the chain of command; training of Marines in the Rules of Engagement and the Law of Armed Conflict; and whether the command climate in 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, encouraged the disciplined application of the Rules of Engagement and the Law of Armed Conflict.
"In May 2006, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service also began a criminal investigation into the follow-on actions of the chain of command," Navarre said.
Bargewell ended his inquiry June 15, 2006. He concluded that the Marines were adequately trained on the Rules of Engagement and Law of Armed Conflict but that reporting of the incident up the chain of command was inaccurate and untimely. The report went to Chiarelli, Army Gen. George Casey, the commander of Multinational Forces Iraq, and finally to U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command for appropriate action, Navarre said.
Those charged are:
Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich is charged with unpremeditated murder, soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement.
Marine Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz was charged with five counts of murder and one charge of a false official statement.
Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum is charged with murder, negligent homicide and assault.
Marine Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt is charged with three counts of murder.
Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, was charged with three counts of violation of a lawful order and dereliction of duty.
Marine Capt. Lucas M. McConnell has been charged with dereliction of duty.
Marine Capt. Randy W. Stone was charged with failure to follow a lawful order and dereliction of duty.
Marine 1st Lt. Andrew A. Grayson is charged with dereliction of duty, making a false official statement and obstructing justice.
The Whatziss, continued.
Here's your second clue - at this point, it's a Google Skillz contest. Which is why you don't often *get* headstamp clues!
But this one is kinda neat, and while very different from what you guys would expect from me, is very much in keeping with the things that keep me endlessly fascinated.
If this post makes *no* sense to you, you're probably a new visitor, or a little behind. Start here.
Update: Whee! Chicken Soup for the Armorer's Soul - an email on this post:
DAMN YOU DONOVAN AND YOUR CURSED WTFIZZ!;-)
Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp!
Dec 22, 1944
...in the Bastion of the Battered Bastards of the 101st.
To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.
If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.
All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.
The German Commander.
To the German Commander:Nuts!
The American Commander.
The American Commander was Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, Division Artillery Commander of the 101st Airborne Division.
Redlegs (like yours truly) aren't usually noted for their brevity.
McAuliffe's troops weren't the only ones inspired by his response. There was extra effort on the home front, too.
What may have been the biggest morale booster came with a reverse twist-the enemy "ultimatum." About noon four Germans under a white flag entered the lines of the 2d Battalion, 327th. The terms of the announcement they carried were simple: "the honorable surrender of the encircled town," this to be accomplished in two hours on threat of "annihilation" by the massed fires of the German artillery. The rest of the story has become legend: how General McAuliffe disdainfully answered "Nuts!"; and how Colonel Harper, commander of the 327th, hard pressed to translate the idiom, compromised on "Go to Hell!" The ultimatum had been signed rather ambiguously by "The German Commander," and none of the German generals then in the Bastogne sector seem to have been anxious to claim authorship.14 Lt. Col. Paul A Danahy, G-2 of the 101st, saw to it that the story was circulated-and appropriately embellished-in the daily periodic report: "The Commanding General's answer was, with a sarcastic air of humorous tolerance, emphatically negative." Nonetheless the 101st expected that the coming day-the 23d-would be rough.
Read the rest, here.
December 21, 2006
H&I* Fires, 21 DEC 2006
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. [Admittedly, I'm fibbing. Trackbacks are still broken]
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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Wow. I've never beat John to setting up the H&I Fires before so I consider this an honour even if I am acting well above my job classification.
I foolishly usurp all authority and step on toes all over the place just to pass on a neato post of mine over at the beer blog for the search for the world's oldest beer - Alan of GX40.
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I foolishly usurp all authority and step on toes all over the place just to pass on a neato post of mine Snerk. It's what the post is for. Leave it to a Canadian sorta-lefty to get a thrill from a cautiously defiant yet completely safe non-act of putative disobedience... 8^)
...I am acting well above my job classification... Well, you *did* neglect to set the post time so that it would stay up top all day... so we have neglected your BOS (Blog Occupational Skillz) training. Oh - and the category is "General Commentary," too. -the Armorer
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I'm sorry, but does it *really* matter whether it was the ferret or the puppy? I'd be more concerned about the toes and bad parenting, myself. *shakes head* ~AFSister
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Just think, you guys... we knew them when!! Major Pain (who used to be known as Capt. B) and Taco (Bell) are featured in the latest issue of Newsweek! It's the top story on their website right now, but the links I provided will go straight to the articles. OUTSTANDING! ~AFSis
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Elmo dons ACUs...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2006 - Elmo and the characters of Sesame Street are going to give Americans at large a chance to see what military families go through when their loved ones deploy to war zones.
Coming soon to a PBS station near you... -the Armorer
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Sounds like Castle Denizens of the Northwest need to batten down the hatches again. And it sounds like Neffi has been snowed in, too. - FbL
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Cotillionite Stacy has posted pics of Life Near Neffi after the blizzard. Silly as it sounds, I'm jealous. I *like* snow. Like that. Once, once mind you, a year. Not that the Bladed Lawn Tractor of Argghhh! would be able to handle it... -the Armorer
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A new whatziss - reader supplied!
Reader Rick, a relative newcomer who likes the Whatziss genré poses us a challenge. Ladies and Gents: Whatziss?
Update: BTW, I didn't have a clue, never having seen one before. I'm going to let you guys run with this today, and then I'll put up a pic of the headstamp. That info will, with careful googling, get you to the answer.
The answer is, to me at least, fascinating.
Motivators...
This one seems apt for today - given Bill's story of being mortared, failure to honor a truce, and Oldloadrs observation yesterday about M113s wearing fencing.
The Ghost of (A) Christmas Past
Earlier in the morning, we’d inserted five ships'-worth of Ruff-Puffs into a warm LZ (scattered, inaccurate ground fire) about fifteen klicks west of Bac Lieu in the ‘way-south part of the Delta; we’d refueled, opened our cans of breakfast and were now enroute for the extraction, listening to Christmas carols on AFVN-AM (the nice thing about your ADF nav radio is that it will pick up commercial radio stations). I was flying Chalk Two, which tucked me right next to Lead.
Late December is two months after the last of the monsoons, so the paddies were still thigh-deep in water, the treelines were thick with fresh understory growth and the indigenous bad guys had their minds more on growing enough food to stash for the dry season than on mounting any decent-sized offensives. And besides, the Annual Christmas Truce (“Don’t shoot back unless they’re getting really, really accurate”) was in effect. At least it was in effect on our side -- the VC were either Buddhists or good little Fraternal Socialist Peaceloving Anti-Imperialists and couldn’t care less, a fact which seemed to have passed over the heads of the galaxies in Saigon (“I dunno, sir, maybe MACV figgers they’re all Presbyterians ‘er sumpthin’…”)
So, the local 21st ARVN Advisor had decided it was the perfect opportunity to give his attached (and newly-minted) Puffs some training in real, live Enemy Territory, searching for food and weapons cached in the area. The theory was that the Puffs’d be on the qui-vive on patrol due to the possibility of contact and in sufficient numbers to take out whatever stragglers were foolish enough to initiate contact.
Good training.
In theory.
Three miles out, fifteen hundred feet up, not a sign of the Puffs, who should have been assembling in the PZ (the former LZ) after completing their patrols -- the PZ was a large paddy sandwiched between a shallow river to the south with a dozen wooded islands in it and a good-sized patch of jungle to the north. I flipped the nav monitor toggle switch off in the middle of “Deck the Halls” so I could listen for any radio calls from the ground. We were on short final to the PZ before one of the gunners spotted them forming up in the treeline.
“Little People at nine o’clock, sir -- along with a zillion chickens.”
Oh, Balzac. They’d been foraging instead of patrolling. I remember hoping that they’d found at least one weapons cache and blown it…
“They’re taking their own sweet time about catching the bus -- cripes! They went fishing, too!?!”
Sure enough, the Puffs who weren’t loaded down with scraggly chickens were loaded down with the local version of catfish. I shrugged and flipped the nav monitor toggle switch on.
Siiiiilent Night, Hoooooly whumf
Mud-dirt-smoke a hundred yards south. The Ruff-Puffs started trotting toward the ships.
“Hey, Copperheads, Lead -- are you guys popping rockets to suppress?”
“Negative. We’re just orbiting about three klicks north.”
Allll is calm, allll is whooompf!
Mud-dirt-smoke fifty yards north. The Puffs are now pelting for the ships, fish flapping, chickens thrashing, purple helmet liners bobbing.
“Hey, Lead, Chalk Four -- Flight’s taking mortars in the PZ.”
“Yeah, looks like they’ve got a really decent bracket on us, too.”
"Hey, they broke the truce!"
"Why are you surprised?"
"'Cuz it's supposed to be *our* turn to break it!"
‘Round yon viiiiirgi BAAMPF!!
Mud-dirt-smoke-flying debris-pting-zizzz! right through my door. The Puffs pile inside, to the accompaniment of the Copperheads flashing overhead, screaming south to look for the mortar team.
“Lead, Two -- they’ve got the range. Next round’s gonna land in my lap.”
“Lead, Five. Flight’s up.” Good. Everybody’s on board and it’s Time To Git Outta Dodge.
Five Hueys come unstuck and nose over to gain speed as multiple mud-dirt-smokes erupt from where we had just been.
Sleeeeep in heav-- I flick the nav toggle off.
Seven hours later, in the 'way-north part of the Delta (which is nonetheless still the 'way-south portion of Vietnam), we were proceeding inbound to pick up an ambush patrol from Moc Hoa. Just as I reached down to flip the nav toggle switch off,
Siiiiilent Night, Hoooooly pok! pok-pok!
Green tracers everywhere, coming from about thirty muzzle flashes right out my door.
Allll is calm, allll is pok!pok!pok!
“Chalk Three’s goin’ down. Our engine's gone.”
“Chalk Five’s right behind you. Don’t forget to grab the radios and shoot the battery when you leave.”
“Hey, sir, there’s fluid on the deck. I think it’s oil, but it might be tranny fluid. It’s too dark to tell for sure.”
Oh, joy to the world.
pok!pok!pok!pok!pok!
“Lead, Two’s got fluid on the deck. My gauges are still normal, but I don’t think that’ll be the case in a couple of minutes.”
“Roj. Break off and head for Moc Hoa. Four, you hang with me and we’ll cover Five when he lifts off and pick up Two if he goes down enroute.”
I made it to Moc Hoa, barely. Oh, yeah -- it was tranny fluid.
Thirty-odd years later.
“What did you get for Christmas in Vietnam, Bill?”
“Shot down. For the *first* time.”
Heh. I still flick the radio off when "Silent Night" comes on…
December 21, 1944
One Threat Subsides; Another EmergesThe Attempt To Relieve Peiper's Kampfgruppe
The quick and cheaply won victories which had taken Peiper's armored kampfgruppe so close to the Meuse bridges in so short a time may have blinded the higher German staffs for a while to the fact that Peiper was in danger. By the 21st, however, the most strenuous efforts were being made to save the ground he had won north of the Amblève and to rescue the men and matériel in his command. What happened to leave the kampfgruppe stranded and alone?
The 1st SS Panzer Division had begun its drive west in four march groups moving independently. The bulk of the 1st Panzer Regiment, a motorized battalion of armored infantry, a mobile company of engineers, and a battery of self-propelled artillery (as well as most of the gasoline available) had gone to Peiper with the expectation that the armored weight and the mobile character of this spearhead detachment would permit a quick breakthrough and exploitation even to the Meuse River. The balance of the division was to follow hard on Peiper's heels, provide reinforcement as required, and keep the line of communications open until such time as following divisions could take over and be prepared to re-form as a unit at the Meuse. By noon of 17 December Peiper's kampfgruppe was out of touch with the second and third march columns of the division and was racing alone toward the west. The strongest of the rearward columns, the fourth, which amounted to a reinforced armored infantry regiment, had been held up by mines at the entrance to its designated route' and in fact never made a start until 18 December. The student of first causes may wish to speculate on the fateful role of the unknown cavalry, engineers, and foot soldiers who laid the mines between Lanzerath and Manderfeld, thus delaying most of the 1st SS Panzer Division armored infantry for a critical twenty-four hours.
Read the rest here.
December 20, 2006
H&I* Fires, 20 DEC 2006
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. [Admittedly, I'm fibbing. Trackbacks are still broken]
You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...
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The trip to DC went well. My client stood in the pit, facing the three 2-Stars, two from the Army Staff, one from a Real Unit, the two one-stars (one of them his boss' boss), and an assorted horde of eagles, and delivered the results of this last year's worth of work. And it was *very* well received. So much so, that my client is going on the Three-Star Dog and Pony Circuit. Me, I just sat in back and took notes, interjected when appropriate, and, like a Good Contractor, made sure my client looked good and got the spotlight. That's my job.
Down side, this is the second time my client has been able to make me run while we're TDY. Always to catch a bus.
Moving on - I agree with Mr. Smith. Power to the Swift Boat Veterans. And their evil twin.
But these groups aren't being punished for making errors in their filing papers. They're being punished for criticizing politicians. Now, it's natural that politicians don't like that and might pressure the FEC to shut their critics up — the FEC reportedly acted in part because of pressure from Congress and a lawsuit brought by Reps. Christopher Shays and Martin T. Meehan — but why should ordinary citizens feel offended by criticism of public officials? Shouldn't we be more upset by efforts to silence criticism of public officials?
Remember this, as Senator John McCain tries to assume the mantle of inevitability for the nomination. Remember that much of campaign finance reform has been aimed at making the little people shut-up and keep their place. -the Armorer
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If you haven't already - go check out Santa's UAS at Blackfive. -the Armorer
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BTW - anybody remember this little "Savage War of Peace?" I do. I wasn't there, but my old high school pal/brother-in-law (now back to just being old high school pal due to *my* divorce, he's still married to my ex's sister) and several buddies in the Ranger Regiment were. I was home on leave from the NTC when it broke - and got to be the guy who was explaining everything to my sister-in-law, who suddenly realized her husband was in the midst of all that.
The last combat act of the 5th Infantry Divsion (Mechanized) before it was disestablished as a part of the Peace Dividend. -the Armorer
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As usual my favorite web comic has me all figured out. In this case though, considering John works with machine guns, and *cough* bayonets versus my work with electricity and ion/microwave radiation, I thought the comic should apply to him as well :)
Strip located here (too wide for just tossing up here. Any of you MT guru's are welcome to do it however!)
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
-BloodSpite
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Pat Buchanan's slide into irrelevance and stupidity seems to be accelerating. The sleight of hand and outright falsehoods the man uses here place him in the league of Krugman or MoDo(the dodo). 18 to 10? More like 18 to 14 to 10, with only the last cut coming under Clinton. Taiwan a 'new' commitment? Guess that Taiwan Relations Act (of 1979) don't exist then, hey? Look, many have argued long and hard that we never had enough when cannon counting going all the way back to 1950. It is true that often in our history what we've had hasn't been what was really necessary, but you don't have to lie about it to make the point.
But this from Buchanan is just silly 'lay down the burden' talk. Even the USAF and USN say they don't have enough to do what they are asked to do so Ol' Ramblin' Pat's wrong there too. If'n you wanted to write something to help the military, Pat, this wasn't it. If'n you wanted to say we should quite literally fence our selves off from the rest of the world, which you often do, this is perfect, Pat.
Oh, and Merry Christmas (and if you want a X-mas card from gollum I needs your mailage info).
ry
A community helping one of our own.
There's pain in the milblog family this year. From many sources, some of it just the Imp of the Perverse at work - Heinlein's Practical Joke Department (well staffed, runs 24/7).
Here's a chance to take on the role of the Fairy Godmother Department (staff of one, semi-retired, usually on vacation, has job as an additional duty).
From my email, comes this.
Life's been tough for a Marine Corps family lately, including the loss of a dear family member. Every year for the past three years they have lost a loved one between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This family has been an active support group for Marines for years - inviting troops into their home, participating in Operation Santa and other troop support projects, etc. Many of you who regularly read military blogs and discussion forums are familiar with this family.We want to protect their privacy, but it's not right that such good people who have given so much to our country should not be feeling the joy and love of the Christmas season. So let's show this family the Christmas spirit! Please send them a Christmas card.
Mail your cards or notes to:
SBS
970 W Valley Parkway #223
Escondido, CA 92025Cards are being handled by well-respected figures in milblog circles who will get them to this family as soon as possible.
Open your heart, and share the love of this Holiday Season with a family that has done so much for all of us!
Act as your heart and current situation guides you. I know the family involved and it's just been a suck coupla years in many ways, and they soldier on.
So, think of it as an Anysoldier thing - except this is likely someone you know and have read...
Matty O'Blackfive and I are teaming up on this one, along with those who prefer to remain anonymous.
Dec 20, 1944
During the night of l9-20 December the advance kampfgruppe of the 12th SS Panzer Division and the bulk of one regiment from the 12 Volks Grenadier Division completed their assembly. About 0600 twenty German tanks and a rifle battalion converged on Dom Butgenbach in the early morning fog and mist from south and east. The front lit up as the American mortars and artillery shot illuminating shell over the roads leading to the village. Concentration after concentration then plunged down, three battalions of field artillery and a 90-mm. battery of antiaircraft artillery firing as fast as the pieces could be worked. The enemy infantry, punished by this fire and the stream of bullets from the American foxhole line wavered, but a handful of tanks rolled off the roads and into Dom Butgenbach. (They had shot down three bazooka teams and a Company H machine gun section.) Here, in the dark, battalion antitank guns placed to defend the 2d Battalion command post went to work firing point-blank at the exhaust flashes as the German vehicles passed. Two enemy tanks were holed and the rest fled the village, although the antitank gun crews suffered at the hands of the German bazooka teams that had filtered in with the tanks.
Read more here.
If you haven't noticed, I'm not following a specific trend here, other than trying to stick to actions of any particular day. Why? Historians make it easy - all nice, tidy, and wrapped with a bow. Participants see it through the straw of their existence and, in the case of more senior leaders, the sum of the straws of their subordinates.
