September 2013 - Argghhh!

Yanno, one of the things I find myself chuckling about as we watch the Syria fiasco unfold... is the role reversals. Even some of my staunch "We are a Republic, not a democracy!" friends are all "You must follow the will of the people!" I.e., bend like a reed in the storm of public opinion polling. And not a few of the "You must utterly submit to the will of the 51%!" are now all, "Hey, we elected you to be a *leader* - so firm up, and lead, damn you! Ignore the...

Interesting approach. 09/17/2013 - French soldiers prepare to fire a French TRF1 155 mm self-propelled howitzer as part of a live-fire exercise for Combined Endeavor 2013 at the Joint Multinational Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 17, 2013. Combined Endeavor is an annual command, control, communications and computer systems exercise designed to prepare international forces for multinational operations in the European theater. (DoD photo by Gertrud Zach...

They come in all sizes and shapes. It's an attitude. "DON'T MESS WITH MY TRIBE!

Looks like there's a buncha rednecks at Graf... Soldiers with Reaper Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, fire a TOW missile during a range mission Aug. 29, 2012 at Grafenwoehr training area. The troopers prepared for an upcoming Training Mission. US Army Photo by SPC Joshua Edwards Read more here, at DVIDS .

...2 each. The Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank. No, it doesn't toss grunts at tanks. It's essentially a spigot mortar that tosses bombs at tanks. And has a 200lb recoil. Basically proving that the British *hated* their WWII infantry, who had an average weight of about 160lbs... Here's a pic of both basic PIAT variants - one with the very familiar adjustable monopod (the one in back) and the one with the early, non-adjustable bipod/monopod. I suppose it's technically a monopod, as it...

New goodness in the Arms Room. Israeli 81mm training round (completely inert, d-uh). Flanked by Brit 3in (aka, 81mm) rounds (also completely inert). The two shiny ones flanking the light blue Israeli are Brit mid-production rounds - i.e., what they looked like after they'd been cast and machined and given a laquer protective coating, before being shipped off to be filled and painted and packaged for service. Usually shipped with plugs, but I've got two inert training fuzes in there, as when...

Proponents of Obamacare, on why dissent against the law is nigh unto... unlawful: "‘It’s the law of the land.” Hmmm. Much of that same demographic rejected that argument regarding DOMA... Yes, I understand, DOMA finally ran afoul of the Supreme Court, and Obamacare thus far has not. Yet many of that same demographic assert that the Supreme Court was wrong on Heller, and seek to find ways around that, and to find a case to take to SCOTUS that might strike Heller, or better yet...

This is wrong, sailor. You can have your opinion, but you don't get to express it in uniform. You signed up to fight where the CinC sends you to fight. It is that simple, in the end. If you think what you are being told to do is illegal or immoral, remove the piece of paper, make your statement, take your lumps. You can refuse illegal orders and defend yourself in court. Otherwise, put on your big boy pants and Missiles Away! But wait! There's more!