The guns of December

So, I took a break from the warhammer 40k modeling this December to make a Christmas Present for a friend.  I've had this cannon kit for some time and decided it would make a great gift if I could make a diorama out of it.

This is a James Cannon from the pre-civil war era.  These were the guns that were originally smooth bore, but were then rifled to extend their range (and useful life).  I decided to make the diorama from the Shiloh battlefield.  The kit was relatively easy to make, but needed a lot of cleanup.  There was a lot of metal nubs to clip and general cleanup to do.

How do you say thanks to everyone you've ever known?

  It's the truth, it's Veteran's Day (observed) and I am trying to figure out how to say thank you to everyone I have ever known...

  Most of my friends are Vets themselves, so I have to thank them for serving with me and making my career an awesome experience.  We have, in part or in whole, all served together in peace and in war, and we came through unscathed.  We have lost some friends along the way, on the field and off duty, but we continue on.  I cannot thank you all enough for making my life what it is, and what it shall be.  We are all shaped by our environment, they say, and if that is the case, I am well shaped :)  (Even after losing 70 pounds..  25 more to go :)

  My friends that were not in the military all put up with me being in the military all those years, so I owe them a thanks as well.  It is sometimes not easy to hang around military folks.  We can break long-made plans at a moments notice if the phone rings and we "have to go".  And then there is our way of talking.  The military has acronyms for everything, and even a book to clarify what acronym means what in a certain context.  Listening to a conversation about work between military guys can be like listening to a foreign language.  So thanks everyone who put up with all that!!

  My co-workers.  Well, most of them are military or civil service, or prior military or guard or reserve… you get the picture.  I have to Thank them because they are active duty or in the same boat as me.  So, thanks all you AD guys who are still "hackin' the Mish".  You're doing yourselves proud!

  My family, well, you were screwed all those years ago.  You had to deal with it… :)  But I do thank you for blazing the trail for me :)

  So there you go, I have to go out there and thank everyone I know for serving or putting up with my serving.

  This is gonna cost a fortune in Thank You cards… I'm buying stock in Hallmark!

lol, Thanks everybody, and stay frosty!

D-Day, 66 Years Later ... Lest we forget.

A wreath is laid on the tomb of US soldier Edward M. Withers, from Wisconsin, who died on July 12, 1944, at the Colleville US cemetary, western France, Sunday June 6, 2010, on the 66th anniversary of the D-Day. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

The message delivered from General Eisenhower just before the Invasion began

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.  But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!  Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

So that we do not forget the great debt we owe the men and women of the U.S., Britain, France, Canada, Russia and all the rest of the world that were fighting the Nazi's on this day 66 years ago...  Here are some links to sites about the Normandy Invasion

Encyclopedia Brittanica Interactive History

Wikipedia D-Day Site

Let us never forget.

The F-22, Sarah Palin, Gidget and Jon Stewart... oh my.

A mixed bag of news and views, if you will :)  In no particular order

First up, Jon Stewart is America’s most trusted anchorman.  At first I thought this would make my childhood hero, Walter Cronkite turn over in his (new) grave.  Then I realized that Walter just might agree.  All three of the other candidates for the title have an axe to grind, and a cause to proselytize.  What sets Stewart apart and far ahead, at least in my book... he’s honest about it.  He’s a comedian for god’s sake, he wants you to know he has an opinion.  The other top contenders...Brian Williams in number 2 with 29%, Charles Gibson with 19% and Katie Couric with 7%.  Jon Stewart got 44%.  I can understand Williams and Gibson, but the vapid piece of fluff got 7%?  Amazing. To see that Couric is even mentioned is doing her a favor.  She even fails at being window dressing.  Williams had a great run with Katrina and the Bush administration, it’s kinda easy to get headlines there, but now that there is substance to report, he’s not up to it.  Charlie Gibson?  I think he got his job because the Today show needed new blood, honestly, why is he an Anchor?  Carry on Jon, America needs you!

Looks like the old folksy charm might be wearing a little.  Sarah Palin may have dipped into the old legal trust fund a wee bit?  The jury is out, I guess, and this is a HuffPost story, so there is some bit of shrillness to it, but it could be.  I still stand by the fact that this broad is the WORST thing the republican ever did.  Until she is nothing more than a fund-raising puppet, I won’t be happy.  Oh, and if she decides to run as an independent, I say bless her little heart.  I still think she has been deluded into thinking she is a “somebody” in politics.  How sad...

Well, here it is.  There is no sugar coating for this... Gidget is dead :(  Yup, I still have my stuffed Taco Bell dog from the collection.  The batteries are dead, but it still sits proudly on my computer desk.  Why is this news, you say?  It isn’t.  It’s just an homage to cute little dog.  And what can you say bad about the company the company that gave us the dog, and the Spork!!

And last but not least... I see hope for the future.  I have been Obamatized :)  The senate of this country, while doing a bevy of amazingly stupid other things, managed to TURN OFF FUNDING FOR THE PIECE OF SHIT F-22.  Lets examine the Raptor-come-shitmonster’s record shall we? Oh wait?  You mean we have bought 178 of these over priced pieces of shit and they have NEVER flown a combat sortie?  But we’re at war, how can this be?  Ohhh, they have a few problems and aren’t quite combat ready yet.

But back to the Senate...  What a bunch of morons.  Lets see.  Secretary Gates didn’t want the F-22 funded.  The USAF didn’t want the F-22 funded.  The DoD didn’t want the F-22 funded.  Well, golly gosh, Mr. Wizard, why was there a funding bill on the floor of the US Senate?  Oh, could it be that corrupt pieces of crap like Chris Dodd and the New Mexico Delegation (Udall and Binginthehead) wanted to fund it some more and shove it down the throat of the USAF and up the arse of the American people...  Why yes!

Even the Air Force didnt want any more of these abortions.  They want the F-35 now.  Even the USAF realizes now that these planes are a solution in search of a problem.  They’re not combat effective or ready and they will NEVER face an enemy capable of testing them.  What amazes me the most, is that even when the DENSE heads that run the USAF figure this out, that our senators cannot.  Mr. Dodd, you are cordially invited to go screw yourself.

Air Force Basic Military Training... Again?

It’s true.  For a week in April of 2009, I was returned to Active Duty as a MSgt in the USAF to participate in a SecAF directed Push-Pull exercise at Lackland AFB.  How amazing it is to see Lackland again, after 27 years since being a boot there.

Let me say this now, and begin to eat the crow I so richly deserve.  If the state of Basic Military Training has anything to do with the future of the Air Force, then the AF is safe at last.  I am AMAZED at how much training has changed over the years and over the last 2 years in particular.  So even though we have a crop of lousy leaders right now, we’re on a WAY better track to improve from the ground up.  Be proud General Patrick, what you’re doing at BMTS is great!

I’m going to toss a bunch of pics up on the photo page so you can see some of what I speak of.

First off, the old RH&T (Recruit Housing and Training) dorms are still there, still in use and still need to be condemned.  The building that the TI’s have offices in has a 6 inch crack in the third floor from which you can see the asphalt pad underneath the building.

The best of the dorms are in use by the 6 BMT squadrons.  Some changes from my day... 27 years ago...

1 - Trainees are issued a weapon on day 1 and keep it until they are done with all combat skills training 6 weeks later.  I watched two young trainees tear down and build up an M-16 in 30 seconds.  The standard they aim for is 2 minutes.   In my day, you got your M-16 only at the firing range and only for the few hours it took to shoot the range.

2 - Trainees are NOT airman.  You cannot refer to them as Airman until they pass the BEAST, graduate and receive their Airman’s coin from their TI.  He/She is the first one that ever calls them Airman, until then they are Trainee.  At the ceremony, there are few dry eyes.

3 - Clothing issue has gone from 1 day to about 30 minutes.  RFID tags are used to keep the size info of the Trainee and control the stock of uniforms they get.  The system is AWESOME.

4 - Warrior week and the confidence course are pretty much gone.  The confidence course is more like a picnic-reward day after the BEAST.

5 - The chow hall is still many miles from anything else at Lackland.  No matter where you are, the chow hall is 2 miles away, I know, I walked it for a week.  Unfortunately, the show hall SUX these days, it was better when I was a Trainee.  (Or am I just more picky?)   Come to think of it, no matter where you need to be next, it is 2 miles away from anywhere else.  Lackland has a rip in the space-time continuum for exactly the purpose of making you walk everywhere.

6 - Some things have not changed at Lackland.  TSgt Eubanks reliably informed us that the SAME 4 gents who gave us our haircuts 30 years ago, are STILL doing it.  The clothing issue, Arnold Hall, Chapel, Reid Clinic, post office are all the SAME.  We visited most of them to in-process and she was right.  The only new thing was a new mini-BX.  The paymaster window in Arnold Hall is still there, the only change is that they do not give cash anymore.  They load the money on your USAF credit card.

7 - Basic is now 8.5 weeks, the first 6 of which are Combat Skills.  2 weeks in the trainee can do tricks with the M-16 I never even learned.  3 weeks in they are qualified for CBRNE and SABC.  (CBRNE = Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high yield Explosive training, SABC = Self Aid and Buddy Care).  4 weeks in and they are done with Combat Skills and ready for the BEAST.

8 - Basic Expeditionary Airman Skill Training = The BEAST.  Imagine this, 110 acres at Lackland AFB (read: Hot, dry, scorpions, snakes...) - sound like anywhere we know?  Trainee’s now spend a week there, using all the skills they have learned thus far in a realistic training environment.  They get attacked on the perimeters, they have to man DFPs (Defensive Fire Positions), do SABC, play Chem warfare games and all that crap.  They start at a pre-built “camp” and mid-week they have to pack out and build a FOL (Forward Operating Location).  They march to a spot, throw down some gear and build an airbase.  All while getting shot at, gassed and generally made miserable.  On the way there, they have to deal with the DoD’s first IED walk.  After the BEAST, these kids are for REAL - finally

9 - For 6 weeks in my Basic training, they filled my head with history, protocol and military knowledge. Trainee’s today do all that in the two weeks after the BEAST.  Oh and a couple of those days are Confidence course, appointments and Basic sillyness.  Then they graduate and become Airmen in my Air Force.  God Bless ‘em all.

The one thing that did not change at Lackland AFB??  -  the MTI’s are still the best in the world, more dedicated, military and honorable than any other caste.

Do not screw with ANYONE in a Campaign Hat, EVER.

If you wanna see my crappy pictures taken with a cell phone, click on the BMTS 09 link from the Photo page, or click HERE!

It makes we want to cry... happy tears!

There are a few times in a person’s life that make you really want to cry, weep with happiness that cannot be expressed.  For me, many times, that feeling comes when you vehemently oppose or support something that eventually turns out to be right.  The people who looked at you skeptically finally turn and say, “hey, you’re right” and that’s all I need.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m right alot of the time, but when it counts, when it’s big, it makes me jump for joy.  That’s right, I’m not the guy that scored the big home run in the big game, I’m the guy that hammered that little Asian kid from Choate Academy on the debate team.  AND yeah, I owned his ASS!!!

So, I ask you to read my earlier post about my wonderful USAF and the abortion that is the F22, and then I point you here....

Save the Pitiful F-22

That’s right, even the damn USAF, the organization that is RE-ACTIVATING me in April of ’09, see’s that the F-22 is a lost cause, an anachronism of an earlier time and a piece of crap that we can do without.  When I say piece of crap, please understand that I mean, the world’s most advanced, America’s most perfect fighter ever invented, piece of crap.

It’s a toy, invented for big boys with REALLY big egos and really little dicks.  It solves a problem that the United States has not faced in 45 years, and that is lack of air superiority.  And please do not give me your BULLSHIT about trying to stay ahead of the world.  the ONLY competition we have is the EU and generally speaking, they are pussy’s.  12 guys with F-4 Phantoms could eliminate France and the Brits would never mess with us anyhow.  Do NOT tell me what a threat China is with their vaunted air force.  The numbers you are using to scare me are pre-Viet Nam and I’m not that stupid.

So... to wrap this up, thank you, Mark, for turning me on to that Hufpost and making my day!

Pres. Obama - PLEASE kill all future orders for F-22 Rapacioushitmonsters and keep my Air Force alive!!!  I have faith in you!!!!

F-22, The Death Knell for my Air Force.

Please understand, I love the USAF.  I retired after 25 years of service with the USAF, and I have almost no regrets about my service, in any circumstance.  My true regret is that my Air Force is dead, it will not come back, the USAF no longer deserves to be a separate service and it’s filled with pansies who run around in officer’s clothing.

To prove my point, you have to go back to WWII.  I know, these days that is anathema to USAF officers.  They are taught to look forward, carefully, inside the box and with a careful grasp of the risks involved.

Before WWII, President Roosevelt selected Gen. Marshall to be the boss of the US Military machine.  That day, we won WWII.  I know, it hadn’t been declared yet, but we won.  Marshall cleaned house, ridding the military of the hidebound officers that ran the military and pulled in guys that understood the next war would be won by military machines, supporting the doughboys in the field.  The tank, the airplane, the carrier and the submarine would rule the world, not the trench and machine gun.  Marshall knew that peacetime leaders make shitty wartime leaders.  He hired Bradley, Eisenhower, Patton, Hap Arnold, Stillwell, Nimitz and other guys that could do the job, alot of them junior to other guys...

Now, we spin the way-back machine forward to this day and age.  The USAF has forgotten the lessons of the past.  You know, the ones that made us a separate service...  Close Air Support....

Iron bombs falling on the enemies head... (Your knee in the enemies chest, knife at his throat...)

Yes, SAC was a huge factor in the development of the USAF and the end of the cold war.  Problem is, we won.

Guess what, the fighter guys made SAC go away, along with research and development.  Now we have the F-22, the biggest waste of money in US History.  NEWSFLASH... if the bad guys nail ONE of these $500 MILLION dollar abortions with a $25 million SAM, THEY WIN.  Yes, they are cooler than sliced bread, but guess what, in virtually any next war scenario, they are USELESS.  But fighter guys promote fighter guys.  Transporters, tankers and the bomb droppers are all second fiddle to guys who pay more attention to risk management and accident avoidance than to innovation, leadership and a will to get things done.

Risk aversion, management and avoidance is now the benchmark by which officers are promoted.  There is a feeling in the USAF that good officers can actually prevent accidents.  Enlisted people are sent to risk management classes while officers are taught risk management as a leadership methodology.

Chuck Horner must be sick to his stomach - WHO DARES, WINS!!!!!!!

Not in this USAF, today we promote the guy who has no DUI’s in his squadron and no accidents.  We don’t avoid unnecessary risk anymore, we avoid all risk.  People die in the war business, get over it.  The same risk managers managed to fly a loaded B-52 across the country with some very hot cargo.  The pendulum didn’t stop there either.  In fact, it cost the SECAF and COS USAF their jobs.  They were risk managers who failed.  (Pansies)

Without the primary purpose of the USAF, our leaders are not forced to think outside the box.  They’re stuck so far in it that they can’t see the sides.  We write mission statements on every wall, but we don’t grasp what the hell the primary goal of war-fighters must be, victory over ANY enemy.  USAF guys die in war today while doing army type jobs, why?  Because we forgot that our mission is to SUPPORT the guy on the ground, taking the territory, house by house if need be.  How does the vaunted F-22 and CV-22 help that effort?  (Hint, they don’t)

What is the primary purpose of the USAF?  Support, wether you call it the air and space force or not, no risk manager flying at 41,000 feet takes ground.  The 21 year old PFC on the ground takes ground and holds it.

Consider the A-10 and the F-22.  The A-10 has a purpose, the F-22 has a goal.  The A-10 supports the ground pounders in every way imaginable.  The F-22 is the best air superiority fighter EVER.  Too bad that killing the enemy 1 at a time in the air while they push their human waves into Seoul, or unify the USSR means WE LOSE.  God help us if Putin or the Chinese ever get fiesty, we will lose.  We have forgotten how to support the soldier on the ground.  Add to that, we will never promote the guy that suggests we try to remember it.  We retire the H-53 so we can make room for the CV-22, a wonderful hybrid that does nothing well, and everything slowly.

My USAF is stuck on gadgets and budgets.  The day we told the army they couldn’t have fixed-wing ground support aircraft of their own is the day we lost the right to be our own service.

I suppose it’s fair that the USAF banked it’s future on the acquisition of 600 F-22s and now has to make do with 170 of them.  Yes, that decision is going to cost the blue suiters everything.  While I feel for the enlisted guys and junior officers, I think it’s only fair for the twaddling senior officers who cared more for their promotions than the good of the USAF (Yes, that means you, Col Stein.)

Now where are you and where is the USAF.  You’re a trivial memory and the USAF is worse for your service, self serving as it was.

We had a slim chance with Gen. Dugan,  a real man in a blue suit, but we instead opted for McPeak.  A vegetarian pansy who couldn’t be in the same room with Chuck Horner lest his privates shrink to where he couldn’t find them again.  McPeak’s great contribution to the USAF,  V-neck tee shirts and the “Year of training” that took 10 years to recover from.  If you ever read this, General, may you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome for the rest of your life for not having the balls to LEAD.

If any USAF officer reads this, please learn one thing.  Leadership is not promotion, it’s putting your ass on the line when it counts and STAYING there.  Command, don’t manage.  Lead, don’t mitigate risk.

Sooner or later, my beloved USAF will go back to green suits, and they deserve it for not having guts.  Hap Arnold proved we could do it, McPeak and his ilk proved we didn’t know what to do once we had it.

It’s kind of sad, but at least when we get re-absorbed into the Army, we won’t have to keep looking for some Air force warcry that none of our pansy ass leaders can seem to settle on.  We don’t have traditions because we don’t deserve them.  Gen Arnold would be in tears if he could see what we have done with his legacy.  I, for one, would like to apologize to Generals Arnold, Spaatz, and Eaker.  They had a dream, realized it, and thank GOD they don’t have to see it washed away by senior leaders who are watching the stock market more than the National Intelligence Reports and getting us ready for the next one.

HooooAH! (Learn it, blue suiters... and find a good tailor.  Green will be in soon.)

D + 23360, God Bless the Vets!

It has been 64 years since thousands upon thousand of American, British and Canadian soldiers stormed ashore, or jumped from aircraft to begin the liberation of Europe from Fascist domination.  (Oh, where are they now, when we need them here...)  Casualties for the campaign on both sides were high;

• Germany 30,000 killed, 80,000 wounded, 210,000 missing


• USA 29,000 killed, 106,000 wounded/missing


• UK 11,000 killed, 54,000 wounded/missing


• Canada 5,000 killed, 13,000 missing/wounded

Of course, Eisenhower led the whole thing, got 5 stars, headed NATO and was elected president.  Not bad for a lifetime.  Check out this quote...

On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office.  In his farewell speech to the nation, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the U.S. armed forces. He described the Cold War saying: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method..." and warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals and continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Do you think he saw the Bush administration coming?