Open Comment Post. Nov 2, 2017

Glenna June Bellomy Anderson (1926 - 2008). via SixPence Tumblr Page.

Glenna June Bellomy Anderson (1926 - 2008). When the cemetery sexton sold Glenna her stone, her request for the inscription on it was “I was… somebody.” He said the reason was that Glenna felt that many years after she died no one would probably remember her anyway. By having this inscription on her stone, people would see & remember it. Park Cemetery, Carthage, Missouri.

Psalm 144:4 They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow....I'm not religious but it does seem that the good book got this one right and in spades.

Anglo Engineering Concepts via Think Defense Blog!

Thanks to Ogden for the link!

This thing is too good to spoil!  Head over to Think Defense for the full story and tons of additional pics!

Turkmenistan parades ground vehicles

Wow.  The MRZR is almost basic military equipment around the world now and the US military might be slow to accept the Polaris Dagor but everyone else is buying it like candy.  The other thing that shocks the system is that the Israeli 4x4 is alive and well and in service.  Simply amazing.  It looks like its straight out of the HALO video game...pics via Bmashina Tumblr Page.

Open Comment Post. Nov 1, 2017

Assault Breacher Vehicle tested aboard a Landing Craft Utility...

via Janes.

After years of successfully operating its Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) in overseas conflicts, the US Marine Corps (USMC) has found a way to fit the mine-clearing modified tanks on Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels.

The USMC tested the revamped ABVs during the last week of October as it stormed beaches and practised other amphibious operations during its annual Bold Alligator 2017 exercise along the Atlantic Ocean coast of North Carolina.

“Now we can offload [from the LCU], drop the front-end equipment and start plowing,” Lieutenant Oscar Machado told Jane’s during a break in the exercise. “That’s what we’ve been trying out for Bold Alligator, onloads and offloads with the LCU – the first time we’ve used it like this.

I assumed that the ABV had been tested for shipboard capability long ago but I  guess its better late than never.  This has to be the new bastard vehicle of the Marine Corps.  YOU NEVER hear anyone with stars even mentioning the thing!  Will it stay in the active force, to the Reserves or worse to storage?

Brazilian Army and Marine Corps on exercise (AAVs, MLRPs, Piranha IIIs)

A coup in the US in 1934? Have you heard of such a thing?

A little late night viewing had me stumble across the above video.  While it has a "History Channel" vibe to it I can't be sure if its legit.  I also can't be sure of the subject matter but it's rather compelling.  I'll do a Google search to verify if the US avoided a coup attempt in 1934 thanks to General Butler but in the meantime enjoy.

Why do politicians always say "we're not gonna let them win" after each terrorist attack? Is that being brave or batshit stupid?

via Snoopes.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said there’s no evidence of a wider scheme or ongoing threat, and said the incident seemed to fall into the “lone wolf” tactic used in recent attacks:

We’re not gonna let them win. And if we change our lives, we contort ourselves to them, they win and we lose. … The truth is New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy … that also makes us a target for people who oppose those concepts.

Story here. 

After each and every terror attack some politician somewhere will utter those words..."we're not gonna let them win".

Considering the fact that those words are stated AFTER a successful terrorist attack is that brave or batshit stupid?

Maybe it's something else entirely.  Maybe it's a subtle appeal to the masses to act as if everything is ok.  Maybe it's a pitch to maintaining nationwide "normalcy bias" while all evidence points to things being anything but!

Small Rant.

Remember back when the mega terror event in New York/DC occurred?  Remember what the President said when the whole nation was ready to make sacrifices to win the war on terror quickly?



Terrorists want to stop us from shopping?

Naw.  They have already succeeded in their ultimate goals.  We're involved in an endless war in the Middle East, civil liberties at home have been curtailed to such a point that we're being monitored more thoroughly than any citizen of the USSR ever was and to top it off we've adopted a group think that seems to prevent common sense thinking.

If I didn't know better I'd think that terrorism would have been invented if it didn't already exist. 

In short let me put this book at the top of your MUST READS!  War is a Racket by Smedley Butler.

I've read it before but wasn't mature enough to understand the message.  Time to take a second look...this time with a mind that can fully comprehend the message.

French Army, U.S. Marines conduct tank training....pics by Lance Cpl. Damarko Bones

The Commandant should have flown every Armor Officer in the Marine Corps (tanks, AAVs,and LAVs) down to this event so that they could be better informed on the possibilities of a REAL mobile gun system as employed by our allies.

Even better is that it's the French!  The Italians are big into it now, but the French have been the "keepers of the flame" when it comes to wheeled vehicles mounting big guns (with the exception of the Russians...but we're talking within NATO).

Doing exchanges with the US Army and how they employ the MGS Stryker just won't tell us as much.

I'd be real interested in knowing how Marine Tankers felt the French vehicle stacked up...mobility and firepower wise...and if they think a similar vehicle based on the ACV would be useful in future Marine Corps operations.