Happy Birthday, Devil Dogs

Blog Post
Larry-Lambert

Also, a rousing happy birthday to Steve Hall, who was born under stars that required him to join the USMC.

 

 

YES, it is true that the US Navy sends its elite (America’s best) ahead of the Marines to make the beaches safe for them, but even with that, we honor the Marines —today.

 

Bullet Points:

** You need an energy drink. You know you do. Heightened masculinity and boundless energy are just a sip away. It will give you wings!

** Repeat after him!

** Trade your youth for old paper here. I did it, and look how it worked out for me.

** Devil Dogs – Right – It’s a cool photo, but humping a 110 lbs+ ruck for mile after excruciating mile is painfully recalled with permanent damage to knees, ankles, hips, and pelvic girdle that show up long after you’ve retired. Love and reverence are offered forward for their sacrifice that transcends service.

** NY Giants Cheerleaders – 2026

** Mamdani is a totalitarian socialist and a curse upon NYC. Still, Republicans and mainstream Democrats would do well to note that Mamdani addressed three critical issues that Americans are concerned about: housing, food, and health care costs. These are real issues that many Americans are not adequately addressing. His solutions may be crap, but he knows what buttons to push that matter.

** 17 – it seems that we could do better than that.

** The Fermi Paradox 

** Federal prosecutors have uncovered one of the largest healthcare fraud operations in U.S. history, involving over 1 million stolen American identities and $14.6 billion in false Medicare claims. According to DOJ officials, 324 defendants have been charged across 50 federal districts, including 96 licensed medical professionals — doctors, nurses, and pharmacists — all accused of exploiting hacked Medicare data to enrich themselves and foreign criminal networks. Key details: $14.6B in false Medicare claims; Pakistani executives charged in Illinois for a $703M scheme; $4.41B in fraudulent claims held in escrow — $900M already paid to criminals; 15M+ illegally diverted opioid pills prescribed through fake telemedicine; $245M in assets seized — including luxury cars, real estate, and cryptocurrency; 205 providers suspended before takedown; Staged car crashes in Florida netted one ring $4.7M; Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of DOJ’s Criminal Division said the operation shows the “global scale of fraud targeting the American taxpayer.” “These were transnational criminal networks exploiting our healthcare system with stolen identities, hacked data, and synthetic patient profiles,” Galeotti said. “This takedown is proof that we will track these actors down — whether they’re in Miami, Karachi, or Kyiv.” (Mike_C – I can’t believe that Pakistanis and Ukrainians were involved in ripping off the system)

** Free Foot Wash – for truckers!

** Fishing Submarines – a new way of fishing, with EdB.

***

A Car Insurance Agent Bares his Soul (as if he had one)

Oh boy, where do I even start? After 8 years as an auto insurance agent, I have zero loyalty left to protect these companies.

We had “Loyalty Lists” Every month. I’d get a report of customers who hadn’t shopped around in 2+ years. These were our golden geese – we could raise their rates aggressively because they’d proven they wouldn’t leave. One customer I remember was paying $3,200 annually for coverage that should have cost $1,800. She stayed for 5 years.

The “File and Use” Scam. Here’s something most people don’t know: in many states, insurance companies can raise your rates immediately and justify it later. We’d implement 15-20% increases across entire ZIP codes, knowing regulators would take months to review. By then, we’d collected millions in extra premiums.

Claim Frequency Was Irrelevant. Your rates weren’t really based on how often you’d claim – they were based on how likely you were to shop around. A customer with three claims who got quotes every year paid less than a claim-free customer who never compared rates. It was pure price discrimination.

We Loved Policy Confusion. Complex policy language wasn’t an accident. The more confusing your coverage is, the less likely you are to comparison-shop effectively. We’d deliberately change terminology between companies to make apple-to-apple comparisons nearly impossible.

Comparison advisor websites absolutely terrify insurance companies because they eliminate our most significant advantage: information asymmetry. When customers can instantly see what competitors charge with identical coverage and discounts applied, our whole “loyalty tax” model collapses.

The truth? Every year you don’t comparison shop, you’re probably donating $500-1,500 to your insurance company’s profit margins.

 

Let them eat cake!

 

Russian Tanks Evolve – Sorta

(h/t Claudio) The appearance of footage of Russian T-72B3 and T-80BV tanks with new protection against “Yorshik” type FPV drones has sparked heated debate. People are asking how to see through it, but more importantly, does it work?

It works. And it works better than previous versions of protection, such as “mangal,” “hangar,” and “barn.” However, in terms of energy consumption, it is a much more labor-intensive process to unwind all these steel cables and attach them to the frame. But the effect is strikingly better, since the weapon not only gets tangled up in this woolly mess, but also explodes at a relatively safe distance from the armor, and in the case of a cumulative warhead, the jet loses its efficiency in penetrating the armored barrier.

These monstrous main battle tanks once again raise the question of whether fighting tanks is now not only a task for FPV drones but a comprehensive approach that includes traditional means. Anti-tank mines, anti-tank guided missiles, artillery fire, and, strange as it may sound, good old, forgotten tank combat.

Of course, anti-tank mines can be overcome with minesweepers, KMT-7 and TMT-K, which, incidentally, we saw on the aforementioned “brushes,” but the rest of the means remain relevant. Although the TM-62, dropped from a drone onto such a “brush,” also keeps drones relevant, in a certain way.

A tank in the form of a “brush” completely loses its functionality, and any combat vehicle against it will have a total advantage.

 

SISU: Road to Revenge (coming in November)

He is not immortal. He just refuses to die.

He took on the Nazis. Now he’s taking on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. I wonder who will come out on top?

 

More Precedents to Consider

As an immediate reaction to the military invasion of Veracruz, several anti-US riots broke out in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Uruguay. US citizens were expelled from Mexican territory, and some had to be accommodated in refugee camps at New Orleans, Texas City, and San Diego. Even the British government was privately irritated, because they had previously agreed with Woodrow Wilson that the United States would not invade Mexico without prior warning.

The military invasion of Veracruz was also a decisive factor in favor of keeping Mexico neutral in World War I. Mexico refused to participate in the United States’ military excursion in Europe and guaranteed that German companies could keep their operations open, especially in Mexico City. Nevertheless, the tension between the US and Mexico was significant enough that the German government offered to help Mexico reconquer territory lost to the US in the Mexican-American War in exchange for Mexican soldiers to support Germany in World War I. The Mexican government refused this offer.

US President Woodrow Wilson considered another military invasion of Veracruz and Tampico in 1917–1918 to take control of the Tehuantepec Isthmus and the Tampico oil fields, but this time the new Mexican President Venustiano Carranza ordered the destruction of the oil fields in case the Marines tried to land there.

Source: Wiki

Photo: The senior officers of the 1st Marine Brigade photographed at Veracruz in 1914: Front row, left to right: Lt. Col. Wendell C. Neville; Col. John A. Lejeune; Col. Littleton W. T. Waller, Commanding; and Maj. Smedley Butler.

 

Identify the Naval Infantry Equipment (US Equipment is too easy)

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

(h/t Claudio) Russia’s largest tank manufacturer, Uralvagonzavod, is undertaking substantial workforce reductions as reported through internal company documents and employee statements. Some divisions may see staffing cut by as much as 50%, with overall reductions expected to continue into early 2026.

This development raises important questions about Russia’s defense industrial capacity, production sustainability, and the resourcing of frontline equipment. Our latest report examines what this means for the ongoing conflict, supply chains, and Russia’s ability to maintain armored vehicle output.

 

5

 

 

 

End

Related Posts

Mongol Monday

  Tensions between the two rivals, Temujin and Jamukha, reached their first peak at the Battle of Dalan Balzhut –…

Monday Madness

  Trust   Bullet Points: ** The Bee – CAMBRIDGE, MA — A Harvard University student later identified as Luke…

42 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Devil Dogs”

    1. They’re good – nothing says I live south of the south forty like riding up on a mower in bib overalls, wearing a coon skin cap.

          1. X2 – They’re in the Greek inventory but are they operational? A LOT of equipment in the Greek inventory isn’t. I know. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt when it comes to the Hellenic Navy’s actual readiness vs paper inventory. The bribery and corruption when it comes to Hellenic military acquisitions is legendary. They make the Ukrainians pale – seriously. It’s a toss up between the Greeks and the Albanians for most corrupt.

  3. (1) Zubr class hovercraft Mordoviya and Evgeniy Korcheskov. I always wanted one of those.
    (2) Dyugon class landing craft Michman Lermontov.
    (3)Ropucha class landing ship Azov.
    (4) BTR-80.
    (5) Ondatra class landing craft. IDK which one. I’ll try to get an ID on the background vessels in a minute.
    – Kle.

    1. Okay, left to right in the background:
      (1) Probably a Tarantul
      (2) I think it’s a Krivak. There’s something on the other side, but it’s just a blur.
      (3) Another likely Tarantul.
      (4) Kilo.
      (5) Sierra I think, but if you tell me it’s an Akula, I’ll believe you.
      (6) Can’t figure it, though it seems like I should.
      *
      IDK what sort of goofy demo this is, with the subs there like they’re gonna do
      offshore fire support or something.
      -Kle.

  4. Russian anti-drone “armor”: I think they;re just trying to
    make it look like it’s already blowing up, so the drone goes
    somewhere else.
    – Kle.

  5. 1 – Russian Zubr class hovercraft
    2 – Russian Navy Michman Lermontov Dyugon class landing craft
    3 – Russian Navy Ropucha class Azov landing ship
    4 – Russian BTR-80
    5 – Russian Navy Project 1176 Ondatra class landing craft

  6. Identify the Naval Infantry Equipment:
    1. Zubr-class LCACs
    2. Midshipman Lermontov, Dyugon-class landing craft
    3. Azov, Ropucha-class landing ship
    4. Early BTR-80
    5. Russian Ondatra-class landing craft

  7. My favorite scene from The Wind and the Lion. I almost felt sorry for those palace guards. Hollywood would never make a film like that today.

    2. I love that they get everything pretty much correct uniform and equipment-wise. The Navy machine gun crews with the Colt potato-digger MG, the Lee-Navy rifles, the uniforms, everything.
      –
      And you can see why Tripoli fell so easily to US Marines during the Barbary War. Stand around with field guns and rifles while a unit forms up to shoot your arse? You deserve to die.
      –
      Damn good movie. Right up there with “55 Days at Peking” for dealing with turd-world idiots.

      1. The sultan’s men were paid to stand around and look good in a land where only they had firearms (for the most part). The Marines, and the fleet in the harbor that sent them had a different agenda. There was a US Citizen in jeopardy, and the USMC went in because a US Citizen had value. The same was true with Rome (at least during PAX Romana) when messing with a citizen of Rome brought about a legionary response. Today under Pres. Trump, the pendulum swings in that direction again. Ask the Venezuelan drug kingpins and communists how comfortably they’re sleeping these days.

  8. Happy Birthday, Chesty, wherever you are. And a shout-out to my adopted nephew Joe the Jarhead, who did over three years in the I-raq.

  9. Insurance has become such a scam (as Kle commented yesterday)…that “little” expose’ shows how bad it has gotten on the backs, and wallets, of WTP’s money. No one is watching the henhouse except the foxes, yet…and this is the [even] more galling part…Medicare is demanded by government, “managed” by government, and completely fubar’d by government…yet it took this long for this President’s DOJ to look into where the hay the money was going. This $24B is only ONE, how many more scammers are out there?
    ***
    MadMommie: Brother sent and excerpt from “Unfettered”, Sen. Fetterman’s book. Interestingly honest. Not a bad guy underneath it all, yet…despite everything he says that makes him sound “Traditional Democrat”, he votes Democrat every single time. Similarly, MadMommie (a 34 yo is a Manchurian nutjob for sure) takes The Bern’s Socialist-based insanity to the next level despite being wealthy while never held a real job…says he right things but will never deliver…except misery, as these grifter types always do.
    ***
    #1 boat (yes, a very cool Hovercraft)…first thought in my pre caffeinated brain: “Does that come with a ‘gator bite buffet?” because that would get you through the Everglades in a hurry.”

    1. $24B is a drop in the bucket. FBI just a different case in AZ that was in the $5B range and involved Mexican cartel and prison gang types, making money ripping off the system.

      1. It’s either a serious lack of oversight…or…complicity within government ranks (any level) to allow this stuff to happen. $14B with $10B in another case, your $5B example…adds up to fleecing the American taxpayer’s hard-earned cash to payoff/fund undesirables the gov’t expresses dismay out the other side of their collective mouths. Needs DOGE’d.

  11. “humping a 110 lbs” Don’t forget jumping out of perfectly good aircraft. Convinced my ex-paratrooper brother to file a VA claim for his hearing loss, and all the rest of his injuries, last year (4 decades after he left). His retirement income is now up a few thousand a month. Surprised he didn’t file those years ago.

    1. We jumped out of good aircraft into the ocean (sometimes helocast, sometimes with a parachute). That’s a completely different experience.

      1. i helocast into a nasty stagnant stump filled lake once…once. Lord bless those that went back and did it again. happy birthday jarheads!

        1. Jumping into harbor in any third world country provides the same joy you felt in the swamp. Harbor trout and industrial waste.

      1. Bone doctors’ insights, or “Tells from the Skeleton”: Check out John Ringo’s “Not That Kind of Good Guy” novels. (Two so far.)

  12. Happy birthday indeed, from an old Army ground pounder. (Yeah, yeah. Nobody’s perfect). From Wiki–
    —–
    “The celebrations were formalized and standardized by Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. in 1952, outlining the cake cutting ceremony, which would enter the Marine Drill Manual in 1956. By tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the guest of honor. The second piece to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines passing their knowledge to the new generation of Marines.”

  14. >I can’t believe that Pakistanis and Ukrainians were involved in ripping off the system
    A good friend of mine spent five years in the Bronx as a staff cardiologist at the busiest hospital there. He has hundreds of tales of persons from PR and all over the Caribbean traveling to the Bronx and scamming the system. Friend then moved to Orange County (CA) where Iranians were the prevalent scammers. He says that the difference was that the OC Iranians nearly all have good manners, and many are charming; whereas the ones that come to the Bronx for care (then skip out on all the bills by F-ing off back to where they came from) are much more likely to threaten you (the doctor) with violence. Friend is now working in midtown Manhattan. We haven’t talked since before Mamdani. I await his take with baited breath.

    1. OTOH, if you believe in the scientific method, the result is “insufficient data”.
      – Kle.

Comments are closed.

Scroll to top