Shall Not Be Questioned » Military Stuff

A TED Talk from a Dutch Sheepdog

Sebastian — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:55:32 +0000

We all probably recall the essay which outlined the distinction between the Wolves, the Sheep and the Sheepdogs, but every once in a while you run across someone that epitomizes that, and is able to articulate it in an interesting an engaging way.

This Dutch General is pretty obviously a sheepdog, and this kind of idea is certainly good to get in front of a TED audience. TED might be stuff that white people like, but that Video has 143,000 views. I watched this wondering what people like @CSGV and the “peace” movement generally think about statements like this?

Hat tip to Clayton Cramer for the video

A Date which will Live in Infamy

Bitter — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:35:31 +0000

If pictures are worth a thousand words, then here are a couple of thousand to honor those who gave their lives 70 years ago.

According to this article, the ashes of another survivor from the USS Arizona who passed recently will be placed on the ship this week. As of November 14, there were 18 known survivors of the Arizona. We can also find this profile of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association which served any veteran who survived the day that reflects on why they are being forced to shut down this year. It’s the struggle of an organization which is rapidly aging and literally has no one from which to recruit new leaders. Read it because history is wrapping up in front of us.

John Micek of the Morning Call linked to these scans of the AP bulletins from December 7, 1941. It also includes the story of what was happening behind the scenes in the newsroom as the story broke. The details on their experience of the day are incredible, including tidbit at the end about the reporter who wrote the second “flash” of the day and could never eat the peanut butter & bacon sandwiches they were all having for lunch that day again (at least until the time the account was dictated more than a month later).

Or Maybe They Need to Look at Context

Sebastian — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:18:04 +0000

Some discussion over whether Herman Cain is aware China is a nuclear power, based on this quote from Cain:

So yes they’re a military threat. They’ve indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.

It could be he just didn’t state it correctly, but in the context of aircraft carriers, this is certainly correct. There are only two nations on earth that have built a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the United States and France, and France’s nuclear carrier program has been plagued with trouble. Building nuclear aircraft carriers is complex and expensive, and we’re the only country on earth that’s really built a strong expertise in doing it. This capability allows us to project power around the world, because our aircraft carriers can use their huge fuel tanks to carry around plenty of fuel — for the planes.

So I’m not sure Herman Cain is ignorant here. He might just have spoken poorly about China trying to develop a nuclear capability for their navy, which is certainly accurate.

Taking High Tech in Firearms a Bit too Far

Sebastian — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:04:32 +0000

The Firearms Blog offers an example of a Spanish soldier I feel very sorry for. He notes, “Given Spain’s current economic situation, I don’t think we will be seeing this system deployed anytime soon.” This is a good thing. Especially for Spanish soldiers.

Infantry Weapons of 1954

Bitter — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:52:28 +0000

I’ve been poking around archive.org for some public domain video, and I found this “film bulletin” on infantry firepower from 1954. I don’t know why, but I’m amused by these types of videos. I especially love how you can see the instructor is speaking, and it in no way matches what the narrator is saying. Because clearly showing a video is a great substitute for actually sitting out on the range for this kind of exposure to shooting.

Osama is Dead

Sebastian — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:06:16 +0000

Still trying to work out the news reports here on Osama Bin Laden’s death. But I think President Obama deserves just credit for this moment. He did not pull out. He did not surrender. The firefight seems to have been deep into Pakistan, which I think is not to be dismissed.

The lesson here is that if you fuck with us, we will hunt you down, and it doesn’t matter how long it takes. This is a great day for all Americans.

AN-94 Envy

Sebastian — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:18:30 +0000

It would seem it’s developing in the US military. The AN-94 is certainly neat, but also just as certainly unproven. I’m rather skeptical that a mechanism as complex as the AN-94 can be made as reliable as a traditional weapon.

So Long Corporal Buckles

Sebastian — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:18:51 +0000

Frank Buckles, the last WWI veteran for the United States, has died at 110. There are only two living WWI veterans left, both British citizens.

Last Surviving Manhattan Project Scientist

Sebastian — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:10:25 +0000

Joe Huffman got a chance to exchange e-mails with the last surviving scientist on the Manhattan Project. Very cool. This was the guy who developed the detonators. In order to create an implosion type device that uses a plutonium core (Fat Man), you need to create a very precisely orchestrated conventional explosion to compress the core. Conventional detonators weren’t up to the task, which is where Johnson came in.

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

Bitter — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:00:19 +0000

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand in remembrance of today.