Photos of War
Exhausted U.S. Army nurse Amy Stuart, 5th MASH unit in Saudi Arabia naps on a cot while hugging a teddy bear sent by her family during Operation Desert Storm. (Feb. 22, 1991)
A Gurkha of 1st Btn 7th Gurkha Rifle on anti air defense… June 1982, Falklands War
Sometimes Photos Pop Up
This photo was taken in Chicago, 19 years ago and my hair was white then (I’m second from the left). The ever dapper Mike W. who comments on this blog sometimes made the photo too. A friend posted it on facebook, and I said, “hey, I’m in the photo.”
British Army Update
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has announced the British Army will be reduced by 4,000 from the current size of 76,500 regular troops to 72,500 but will “not require redundancies”. There will be 148 upgraded Challenger 3 tanks. This blog reported (based on reliable sources) that the British would keep between 170 and 150 tanks. They dropped that number.
In 1930 the Indiana Bell building was rotated 90°.
Over 34 days, the 22-million-pound structure was moved 15 inch/hr… all while 600 employees still worked there. There was no interruption to gas, heat, electricity, water, sewage, or the telephone service they provided. No one inside felt it move.
A-400M Atlas
I saw an A400 at Willow Run a couple years ago and wondered “Why?”.
I gather it’s an improvement in some areas on the C-130, but they weren’t obvious to me at the time.
The A-400 is a good plane, with great potential. Way back when, there appeared to be a market for a large Western airlifter that was not “American”. It had to be “better” than the C-130, yet still affordable when compared to the C-17. Turned out the market was a small one, which means less money for all sorts of mandatory upgrades. Upgrading was also revealed to be a very expensive and time consuming business. The program is a stark reminder that aviation is HARD. There is a reason the C-130 may yet remain in production for a full century. And even getting it just right, or even nailing perfection is no guarantee to success. I’m still sore about how the C-27 sale to the US turned out…
The C-27 reminded me a lot of an updated and up-engined C-123 (without the outboard jet pods). There are a lot of missions very well suited to the C-27, but in the parlance of the Military Industrial Complex, why not use a C-130 that is twice the cost?
A buddy who was a loadmaster on C-133A’s back-in-the-day (in his case, ones that did not crash or otherwise go missing over the open ocean) got curious and did a comparison to the A-400. Turns out they’re roughly equivalent in terms of cargo load capabilities. What would have been the odds……
Most likely because the C-27 can land with a full combat load, hard, in short, unprepared airfields where a C-130 can’t. It’s also made for firefighting, which endowed it with impressive aerial maneuvering capabilities. Still, SOCOM and the USCG jumped at the chance to get the Army discards, so it’s not a full loss.
Ed, you’re thinking too logically.
The purpose of the A-400 isn’t to be better than the C-130, its main purpose is to be built by Airbus so that the money stays in the EU. Its secondary purpose is so that countries that hate America can buy the A-400 instead of the C-130.
Much like the European Space Agency said they didn’t care about reusing rockets like SpaceX because their purpose is provide jobs in Europe. Until they realized the people who actually pay for the rocket flights really do want to save the money by using previously launched boosters and without reused boosters there would be NO launches on ESA rockets.
Right, SiG!
Aviation is HARD. Innovation in Aviation without a big money sponsor is impossible and that basically extends to government involvement. I cautioned some with whom I worked that USGOV has a habit of buying one of something and then classifying it so that you can’t build it for anyone else. Those words, alas, fell on deaf ears. If you’re Boeing or LM, and you own legislators, you don’t have that problem.
“its main purpose is to be built by Airbus so that the money stays in the EU”
Increasingly, I have no problem with that. The whole idea of globalism to “maximize economic efficiency” has soured on me tremendously. The purpose of society is not to maximize profits and lower costs at the expense of all else. The point of agreeing to participate in society is so that your people can have a decent life, better than one without society. Decent is measured by not just how many pairs of cheap shoes you can buy per week, but by community cohesion, public safety, meaningful employment, personal pride, respect for the customs of your ancestors, and so forth.
It is insanity for a society to have outsourced its steel, and medicines (okay drug precursors) — to take but two examples — to a potential enemy state. Such a globalist model benefits not the average person, in either the US or China, but rather a small, self-proclaimed “elite” comprised of “citizens of the world”.
I’d much rather put up with various “economic inefficiencies” because a such a narrow view of what is important in life is entirely the wrong metric to be using.
The “citizens of the world” (Oligarchs) are now calling the shots.
The French have bought C-130Js, both stretch and KC tankers. The Germans have bought C-130Js with some special ops stuff: A400M can’t tank helos, apparently.
I remember being on the safety committee at Farnborough in 95 when the RAF was deciding between C-130J and A400M, and both companies were pushing their wares. The RAF now have both and some C-17s, but are getting rid of their remaining 20+yr old C-130Js in 2023….
There’s a good market for old C-130’s worldwide both on the civilian and military side of things.
Pretty impressive feat shifting that building that way. Today they would simply demolish it, something that happened to Indiana Bell in 1963.
So you’ve been exercising your white(haired) privilege’s for at least 19 years. My son in law also started a similar trend, greying when he was 20. Handy for buying underaged booze.
I was getting 10% off for senior discount at Burger King at age 35. I never asked for it, they added it.
Now there’s a group of distinguished gentlemen…who knows what’s lurks in those minds. (hehe)
BUT! — “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” (Prov. 16:31)
19 years puts you way ahead of the curve. So there you have it.
Off topic (minor mia culpa): The Chicken Little’s are pouting this morning, might not get their desired TP shortage again this year since Ever Given is unstuck. What will they do?
And from Boulder…crickets regarding the Syrian “white” guy lunatic…the truth didn’t fit the Left’s outrage template so they dropped the story. And will we ever hear a motive? Not likely…for the same reasons.
I was graying at 25 yo. My residual self image is still me with black hair, but it hasn’t been black for a very long time.
I think that those who worry about having enough TP have hoarded a year’s worth… now people are hoarding Diet Dr. Pepper. I have no idea why they are, but they are.
Embrace the white crown my son, you earned it. (sorry, couldn’t help myself)
People need something to panic over, but yeah, Diet Dr. Pepper?? Next week could be Heinz 57. I wonder what would happen if you showed a person the mask box warning label “that it does not stop viruses, including Covid”…what would they say?
As a matter of fact (and for this historical record), I have pointed that out to a number of people. Surprisingly, given the circles I move in, some have said that the government knows best.
None of the pipe-hitters (former specops types) I know trust the government in the least. Why ever would that be?
As a child I only once had to reach for a hot pan on the stove to know it was a lesson learned. Trust mom’s authority, not those who say they are an authority and know best
I don’t hoard DDP. I just buy 24-28 2-liters when they are on sale, every other week. And if it’s BOGO, I’m happy. Best score? BOGO and a $1 off purchase of 2 coupons. I stocked up that week big time.
As to TP, the ship was carrying TP for Europe. We have domestic TP production here.
“We have domestic TP production here.”
Which maybe why a sheet of 7/16 OSB is $40 instead of $10…GP must be putting all the wood pulp into TP production to be ready for “the surge”.
$40 a sheet for OSB? Geez……I’ve had friends grumbling the last few weeks about the cost of lumber going up, but 400%?
What’s going on?
Simple supply and demand. This past year the entire lumber supply chain was in lockdown, then “allowed” to be open with severe restrictions, plus people were home so started DYI projects, and the trades never slowed down, in fact were/are very busy.
Just wait, seems most cattle are shipped to China.
It’s good to know that Beans is to blame for a scarcity in DDP. I knew that somebody was to blame. I do have a stockpile, but it’s nowhere at the Beans scope and quatity.
Yes, lumber prices have gone insane.
Larry. Looking at the photograph brought back some memories. Have never been called dapper before. Are you sure you are talking about me? I had fair hair then which now, somehow, has turned grey.
You are a dapper gent.
As to hair color, what can I say? We both have snow on the peak.
The UK’s obviously betting on never having to fight a war again. I’d say that was foolish, but then again, all those immigrant votes don’t come cheap.
I think that the UK is hoping that the USA will be there for them. True during a Trump Presidency, but would you stake your freedom on Jo/Ho?
The way things are going, anyone hoping for the US military to pull their asses out of a fire better hope their next war is fought by Intersectionality Councellors.
-Kle.
You don’t want to stake your freedom on the “queen berets”.
I hope that sanity will prevail before everyone worth a damn leaves the service.
The entire Dem field of losers (If they build it “they” will come) is an acid from within designed to weaken everything good and decent and strong.. Whatever they target ends up destroyed from within vs. directly. It is their primary play, and subversive.
Military? Take it out by implanting their brand of LGBTQXYZABC touchy-feely cancer…wreck the infrastructure. Reliable power? Nah, we’ll replace that with so-called renewables by killing traditional power generation by regulation then jamb their unreliable taxpayer subsidized garbage onto transmission lines for all to see and suffer. Schooling for our children? Indoctrination centers for the past 30-40 years. HR-1? Election fraud legalized. The wake of destruction will be massive until stopped, until then we are paying for the filching of our own demise, at their hand.
Is my non-woke-ness showing? Good. I’m not playing.
Ha, “Queen Berets”, that’s a keeper!
Haven’t heard one that good since “Powerpoint Ranger”.
-Kle.
Soooo… You’re saying you were rode hard and put up wet early in your career? 🙂
I was, Old NFO.
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