Monday, January 15, 2018

This dude went from Tanker to Grunt in one battle and won the Medal Of Honor for his actions!


via War History Online.
Arthur O. Beyer (1909-1965) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the Medal of Honor - for his actions in World War II taken on January 15, 1945. Citation:
He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action. His platoon, in which he was a tank-destroyer gunner, was held up by antitank, machinegun, and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to the front. Noting a machinegun position in this defense line, he fired upon it with his 76-mm. gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon. He dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew. Another machinegun, about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him. Through withering fire, he advanced on the position. Throwing a grenade into the emplacement, he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors. He was subjected to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades. When he had completed his self-imposed mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions, killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams. Cpl. Beyer’s intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his task force to gain its objective. 
Pure dee stud and a one man wrecking crew!

That boneyards "stealthy" F-18 concept was really the Son of BlackBird!

Thanks to Super Rhino for the link!



Remember Tyler's article when he was writing for FoxTrot Alpha (when they were good and worthy of being on your daily reading list)?

Well looks like Tyler and me (because I agreed with his analysis) were completely off.  We thought it was a stealthy Super Hornet concept that was thrown into the boneyard.

In hindsight its apparent that this was an early Son of BlackBird model.

Of course this also means that the timeline of development that they announced is complete bullshit and that they're MUCH further down the road of development than they're letting on.

It's to be expected in programs like this that straddle the line between open and secret so no foul there.

But one thing.

We're all sure that we have the Aurora project up and going.  Where does this fit into the grand scheme of things?


1978 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS F-18 HORNET ROLLOUT PROMOTIONAL FILM 80584

Just wow. This is our civilization?

via Heavy.com
28-year-old California man is accused of fatally shooting his mother after an argument over a video game headset, police say.

Matthew Nicholson killed his 68-year-old mother, Lydia Nicholson, on January 11, the Ceres Police Department said in a press release. Police said Nicholson was in his bedroom playing video games when he became upset and started yelling. His mother went to check on him.

“Nicholson began to argue with her and he ended up breaking the headset to his video game. Nicholson then blamed the victim for the broken headset and threatened to kill the victim and Nicholson’s father,” police said. “Nicholson then retrieved a handgun from the home and fired two rounds into the wall inside the home and then shot the victim in the head.”

Nicholson fled from the scene and was later arrested during a traffic stop.
Story here. 

You kill your mom over a broken headset?  Just wow.  God supposedly destroyed a city because of its wickedness.  Wonder why he hasn't shot a few bolts of destruction our way?  If they were worse than we are today then they must have been a sight to behold.

But what if they weren't?  What if we're just like those people (forget the name of the place....woman supposedly looked back and turned into dust, salt..something...).

30,000-strong U.S.-backed force in Syria? Turkey & Syria talk of crushing it? How did we miss this!

via Reuters.
 Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Monday to “strangle” a planned 30,000-strong U.S.-backed force in Syria “before it’s even born,” as Washington’s backing for Kurdish fighters drove a wedge into relations with one of its main Middle East allies.

The United States announced its support on Sunday for plans for a “border force” to defend territory held by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters in northern Syria.

The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad responded on Monday by vowing to crush the new force and drive U.S. troops from the country. Assad’s ally Russia called the plans a plot to dismember Syria and place part of it under U.S. control.
Story here. 

Who the fuck is coming up with this shit inside the Pentagon?????

Anyone this batshit stupid should be retired to Gitmo before he starts WW3! Who is insane enough to finally see ISIS destroyed only to start new drama over the same ground only seconds after they've been killed?

I really don't get this!

And do you get the timing?

They announced this shit on Sunday while I'm hip deep watching NFL Playoff Football, knowing that Monday is a Federal Holiday?

This was planned so that IT WOULD NOT BE NOTICED!

Guarantee on Monday they'll be back to slamming Trump for saying something else stupid while they're giving us the perpetual war they've been planning for.

Just plain wow.  This is enough to make someone start to drink!

Rant over.  The implications are ominous though.  Either we're gonna support this Kurdish force from assaults from the Russians, Turks, and Iranians (and probably the Iraqis too) or we're gonna leave them in this natural killbox and they're gonna get plowed under and be the next group that says fuck the Americans and we're gonna seeing Kurds planning attacks against us.

I just don't see a positive outcome from this.  Please tell me where I'm wrong.

This is gonna be an interesting race and will test the "gay coalition"...

via Reuters.
Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who served seven years in military prison for leaking classified data, is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat from Maryland, according to Federal election filings seen on Saturday.

Manning, who was granted clemency by former U.S. President Barack Obama, was released in May from a U.S. military prison in Kansas where she had been serving time for passing secrets to the WikiLeaks website in the biggest breach of classified data in the history of the United States.

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin was elected in 2006 to that seat and is expected to run for re-election this year. He is the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Story here. 

Gonna get racial on you guys for a second.  I've watched with a bit of humor, amazement and alarm at how the black community just rolled over for the gay agenda led by former President Obama.

Before Obama was elected, black ministers and church goers were the most vehemently anti-gay group in America.  Full stop.  You can't even debate it.

When Obama turned the corner black ministers ignored their past teachings  and flipped like a dime to his new dictate (quite honestly this has given me much misgivings about modern religion...if a change in what was said to be a bible based belief can be made based on the pronouncements of one man then what good is it...I seek my own path when it comes to understanding God).

So back on task.

We have Chelsea running for Senate?

This will be interesting  on two fronts.  Watching the gay community.  From what I can tell they have a somewhat strained relationship with their Transgender members.  Why?  I have no idea.  Just the impression I get.  Additionally it will be interesting to see who the black community supports. Will they support a transgender candidate or back another Dem that is not delivering for the community?

In the end I guess it doesn't matter.

We're talking about Maryland.

They're fucked either way they go.

Animated gif of the day: Bayonet drill with QBZ-95...via China Defence Blog.


So the Chinese are adding Western Martial Philosophy to their homebred Sun Tzu art of war teachings?

They're learning the "Spirit Of The Bayonet"?  Wait what?  You think the bayonet is as obsolete as horses on the modern battlefield?  You look at robotics, the rise of AI, minibots and such and think that it'll never be useful in the future?

Check out this passage from The Truth About Guns!
President Obama displayed ignorance when he characterized bayonets as being similar to horses – obsolete weapons in modern warfare. As an initial matter, the bayonet is a soldier’s last remaining means of defense when the soldier’s primary weapon system is no longer works for whatever reason. In addition, bayonets are a weapon of psychological intimidation; bayonet charges have long incited fear in enemy forces, particularly in conscript or green forces. Finally, bayonets work well for prisoner control, adding a little extra sobering reminder of the fate that will befall any prisoner who tries to escape . . .

Although not common, modern history does provide examples of the use of the bayonet in combat, especially by British Infantry. For example, in 1982, British soldiers conducted a successful bayonet charge up Mount Tumbledown during the Falkland war.  In 2004, British soldiers in Al Amara, Iraq, again used a bayonet charge to dislodge entrenched fighters of Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army in the Battle of Danny Boy. Most recently, there have been multiple documented cases of British forces using bayonet charges to great effect against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

If you believe some of what is being written today, the last American bayonet charge occurred in the Korean War. However, there are numerous documented cases of bayonets being used in small-unit skirmishes during the Vietnam War. The largest of these took place at Khe Sanh on March 30, 1968 by members of Bravo Co., 1st Bn. 26th Marines. There is anecdotal evidence of bayonet usage occurring during the U.S. Army’s 1st Cav’s hard-won fight at LZ X-Ray, in the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands, 1965.
Story here. 

So what's my point?

It's the same as always.  They're getting hard.  They're doing it by the numbers.  They're methodical.  They're meticulous.  They're determined...and they're not lazy.

Actually the Chinese are lining up to be a perfect enemy. 

If we responded correctly it would make us stronger...we could if we chose to come out the other side of this thing incredibly powerful, focused and driven. That of course assumes that we see the challenge for what it is and steeled ourselves to meet it.

The clarion call is the same.  

As a nation and as individuals we must get harder, stronger, faster...and we've got to do it now.

Boeing Son of BlackBird Concept....

Thanks to Super Rhino for the link!


via Fox News.
Boeing has finally unveiled a successor to the legendary Blackbird SR-71 spy plane, capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound.

The new 'Son of Blackbird' was revealed at an event in Orlando, Florida, but it's only a concept design for now.

The new aircraft will be a direct competitor to Lockheed martin's upcoming SR-72.

These rival firms are racing to create a hypersonic aircraft that's capable of stealthy recon assignments – and strike missions, too.

Speaking to Aviation Week Aerospace Daily, Boeing's hypersonics chief described how Boeing was planning a two-step development process for the new war plane.

The first stage would involve flight tests of an "F16-sized, single-engine" precursor vehicle that acts as a "proof of concept".

The second stage is the creation of a "twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle" that has roughly similar dimensions to the 107-foot-long SR-71.

Boeing's end goal is an aircraft that can travel at speeds beyond Mach 5 – that's five times the speed of sound.

The speed of sound – or Mach 1 – is around 1235km/h. So hitting Mach 5 would mean the Son of Blackbird would have to travel at an incredible 6,174km/h.

For comparison, a Boeing 747 passenger jet typically reaches cruising speeds of just 885km/h.

The tricky part is that the SR-71 replacement needs to to be able to take off, accelerate, slow down and land all on its own – just like the original 1964 model.

Boeing is looking at using a conventional turbojet to hit Mach 3, then switching to a different configuration to boost beyond Mach 5.
Story here. 

Wow.  Ambitious.  Makes you wonder about how our defense industry is setup doesn't it.

Can we expect corporations that are investing private funds to research stuff like this and then to sell it only to the US govt?  Kinda goes against "free market capitalism" doesn't it?

The answer in my mind is that we need a bit of socialism thrown into the mix huh?

We fund the different corporations to develop the tech and because of our investment we own the outcomes.  Then since we own the tech we can allow different corporations to bid on building the final product whether that's manned/unmanned airplanes or rockets/missiles.

It's really the only way but many flag waving Americans would hate it with a passion.  What do you guys think?

Polish Heavy Tank IS-2


Anyone know what the markings on the barrel mean?