2/24/2006
Family Stuff
Jr, age 2, apparently runs around saying, "Daddy go to gun store," at times when I've gone to work. Does this mean I'm a gun nut?
He's also picked up saying, "Yessir." Manners from a 2 year old. Wow.
#2 is getting the hang of facial expressions other than crying. He's getting the hang of the smile, and he's showing signs of being able to do both Elvis' lip curl and Harrison Ford's lopsided smile. Watch out, ladies.
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Interesting Article
Pretty decent article on biathlon from the SF Chronicle.
At least some people in the US media are calling attention to sports that TV isn't. And apparently NBC will actually have the last biathlons-mass starts, 15km for the men and 12.5km for the women-on Saturday night's coverage.
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2/23/2006
Why Iran Can't Be Allowed to Have Nukes
On my way in to work this morning, I was listening to a talk radio discussion about this whole kerfluffle over the port terminal operation buyout, and a caller made a very interesting point: If you want to detonate a nuclear weapon in the US, and you want to put it in a container, you don't even have to unload the thing. Just blow it up while it's still on the ship.* You wouldn't even have to worry about the 1-in-20 chance of your container being screened. A port city like Seattle, where downtown is in close proximity to at least some of the port facilities, would be an easy and high payoff target. So, at least in the case of a potential attack of that type, it's totally irrelevant who is running the port at this end. What actually matters is who's screening cargo at the loading end. That's why we can't allow Iran to go nuclear. Because they support terrorists, and if they gave any to any of their terrorist friends, there's a god chance it would end up on a ship bound for New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, or Long Beach (New Orleans attractiveness as a target has been greatly diminished.) *I realize there would be some techinical/logistical hurdles to overcome for such an attack. Like how to detonate the bomb at the right time, between when the ship docks and when the cargo might potentially be screened. And how to ensure that the bomb container is positioned on the ship to ensure maximum effect from the weapon- the blast would do much more damage if it was on the top layer of containers than if it were buried in the bottom of the ship surrounded by other containers, (Actually, I wonder if anyone has run any computer models of something like this, with various yields (say, .5 (tacnuke) to around 50 kilotons, and with the container in different positions.)
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2/21/2006
Note to Visitor from West Point
To the cadet who visited here from Google looking for info on "trading army posts at IOBC". Having done this myself, trading Ft Hood for Germany, I can give you a little help.
Step 1: find another LT, from the same commissioning source (in your case, USMA), with the same branch detail (if any) as you, who also wants to trade. There's a bulletin board (the old fashioned kind) in the branch rep's office in Soldier's Plaza for exactly this. It's generall full of guys wanting to trade Korea, Ft Hood, Ft Polk, Ft Riley, Ft Irwin, and Ft Benning for Vincenza, Germany, Ft Bragg, and Ft Campbell. Not so much the other way around.
Step 2: Get with this guy and go see the branch rep. They'll take care of amending the orders.
Given the way West Point divvies up branch and post assignments, I'd say you're most likely hosed.
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2/20/2006
Brave Rifles
Sometimes the MSM actually does report good news from Iraq. A great story on the 3rd Armored Cav and their commander, COL H.R. McMaster (made famous for his role in the Battle of 73 Easting in Gulf War I by Tom Clancy). The article discusses the regiment's campaign to clear Tal Afar of terrorists, which culminated last September.
"Every time you treat an Iraqi disrespectfully, you are working for the enemy," McMaster said he told every soldier in his command.
Hearts and minds. COL McMaster gets it when it comes to fighting a counter-terror/insurgency war. If Vegas took bets on such things, I'd put down a C-note saying he'll be Chief of Staff of the Army within 10-15 years. And that'll be a good thing for us.
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The MSM Won't Report Good News About the Military
Remember last year, in another one of those "The war is destroying our military" stories, the MSM breathlessly reported on the skyrocketing divorce rate in the Army, especially in the officer corps?
Well, guess what, they missed the follow up. From a story in a small local weekly, the Fort Lewis Ranger (note: this is not the official post newspaper. That's the Northwest Guardian.) by a reporter named Sarah Anne Carter:
Divorce rates among Army officers drepped a whopping 61 percent last year follwoing a 2004 spike...In 2004, 3,325 officers divorced, but that number dropped to 1,292 in 2005, Army officials said.
61% drop...that's pretty big. But of course, the fact that 2004 was most likely an anomaly doesn't fit with the MSM's whole meme on Iraq and the GWOT in general. So they studiously ignore it.
Now, as to why the rate in 2004 was so high, I've got my theory. The kickoff of OIF in 2003 marked a massive increase in the size of US Army forces in the field, the largest number since Gulf War I in 1990-91-and those guys were all home in under a year. This is also the first major extended conflict the Army has fought since Vietnam. 2004 was when the strain on marraiges really started to hit, especially as some units, having already been to Afghanistan, now found themselves heading to Iraq, and later in the year, some units that had completed one tour got orders to go back in 2005. This is when the weak marraiges failed, resulting in the spike. With those weaker marraiges now gone, the numbers dropped in 2005.
Note: the Ranger doesn't have any online presence that I could locate, which I why I didn't provide a link to the story. If anyone out there can find one, I'll happily add a link.
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Home Improvement Help Needed
Can anyone out there tell me the pros and cons of Gutter Helmet vs LeafGuard?
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