Noonan put this in yesterday's Fire for Effect but I felt it worthy of a deeper dive, as it were, especially considering it's Friday (and this has been a LONG week). So what do you guys (and girls) think? Was the Senator correct to attempt this bitch slapping of General Walsh or was she out of line?
Naturally the "who earned his or her title more" arguments might ensue, so let us offer the official bios of both parties:
So, to sum up, Boxer - career politician who loves nothing so much as a good hearing in a comfortable caucus room; Walsh - lifelong patriot who has traveled the planet rebuilding regions devastated by disasters both natural and man-made.
It's not even close, is it? We salute you, m'am . . . er, Senator . . .
-- Ward
Marines vs Taliban
One of my Marine buddies from 2-5 sent this to me. I thought I'd share it.
A large group of Taliban fighters is moving down a ravine in the Korengal Valley, in southern Afghanistan, when they hear a hoarse voice call from behind a sand-dune in a mocking tone, "Yo, muj, did you know that one Marine Marine is better than ten of you smelly Talib?"
Insulted to the quick (though he did indeed smell), the Taliban commander sent ten of his best men over the rocky hill, whereupon a gunbattle broke out immediately. The gunbattle was short, but vicious, punctuated by screams of agony and fear in Dari and Pushtu. Then there was silence.
A moment later, there was a snicker, then the same voice called out, "Bad Muj! Didn't you know one grunt is better than any hundred so-called Taliban fighters?"
Furious now, the Taliban commander sent his next best hundred men up and over the incline and instantly a terrible gunfight ensued. The sharp chatter of M-4 fire barked out in counterpoint to the dull clatter of the Kalashnikovs, interspersed with the detonations of grenades and screams of agony and fear in Pushtu and Dari. After a full five minutes of battle, silence reigned heavily across the valley.
A moment later that same mocking voice called out, though to be fair to the muj, the grunt was obviously breathing at least a little bit faster. The voice called out, "Bad Muj, silly muj, you have to know that one grunt is better than one thousand sheep-loving Taliban!"
Thoroughly enraged now, the Taliban commander mustered a full thousand of his fighters and sent them into the fight. RPGs hissed and boomed, hand grenades exploded, echoing down the Korengal Valley and even PKM fire rattled and roared over all the small arms fire. At last, one badly wounded muj fighter appeared, crawling down the military crest of the ridge.
"Don't send any more men," he gasped as the life fled his body, "It's a trap. There's two of them."
I know, I know, it's moto and it's stupid, but I liked it. Anyway, more serious stuff later, just thought I'd throw that out there to provide a little Thursday evening entertainment.
O.K....here I go...you're only going to hear this once (maybe), but this is a case when I would rather be wearing Dragon Skin that anything else.
I've had several sources tell me that in response to the DoD IG report on armor testing the Army has decided to abandon HP White Labs and hire this crew for further tests of armor prototypes (pure fabrication)...
Best part: the test dummy is still puffing down his smoke after he's been shot in the chest...yeee, haw!
Happy Good Friday, folks!
-- Christian
"We'll be here for another hour..."
A friendly Friday post to take the edge off, courtesy of the USMC (and an old Jarhead college pal who sent it my way). Mild content warning for naughty language, they are Marines after all.
A Merry Christmas from the Leathernecks of the 26th MEU
I just get such a kick out of these. Be patient and watch the whole thing...
-- Christian
Marines Being Marines
Killing time at the combat outpost...
(Gouge: Militaryphotos.net)
-- Christian
Saudi Jet Crash...or is it?
Another "real or fake" contest. Got this from the good folks over at Militaryphotos.net.
Looks like a model plane to me.
-- Christian
One Heck of a Ride
Now I've seen footage of SOF dudes catching a ride in the ammo bay of a Cobra in Afghanistan. And I've heard of other operators flying the "wings" of Apaches during an evac near Ramadi, but this is a tough one to believe...
Photoshopped or not?
-- Christian
Exoskeleton vs Exoskeleton
I got a nice note today from a reader who asked whether exoskeleton armor was discussed at the armor conference I attended this week. It was, but it was during a session that was restricted from media.
So, in honor of the Friday before memorial day, I found an interesting video you can kill some time with before the whistle sounds. It's an inside look at the Raytheon/Sarcos prototype.
But, the thing is, I've got a little problem. See, I have a thing for my boy Troy Hurtubise...you know, that innovative body armor designer who's built the IED-survivable Ursus suit. Well, I also ran across another demo video of his new Trojan II armor and I thought I'd post it here as well for you to compare (you might remember I posted Troy's last video on this site the Friday before Memorial Day 2007).
My vote's for Troy!
Have a great memorial day folks...
-- Christian
How to Wreck a Perfectly Peaceful Moment
I don't know how many times I've worried about this very thing happening to me during one of my many embeds. I know the troops don't like reporters very much and sometimes the Port-a-Jon is the only option.
Have a great weekend.
-- Christian
Air-to-Air Ain't Dead (Video Fix)
We've had some pretty good discussions lately around the F-15 grounding issue and the number of F-22s the Air Force needs. Some suggested that there is no air-to-air threat facing the U.S., therefore we need to focus on other, more vital, platforms.
Well, get ready for the weekend with a gander at this video:
That bad boy could mess a Hornet or Eagle up in a knife fight, I'm afraid.
(Gouge: NP)
-- Ward
Ummm, Sorry Sarge...?
No, this was not from Wednesday's Aberdeen shoot...
