This shit is about to get real.

Check out the vid below.  James Yeager is somewhat controversial but he has a following and is a well known Firearms Instructor.  Check out his wording.  I've heard some of the same stuff in some rowdy parts, some of the same stuff in dens and living rooms, the same stuff at the firing range and on the back forty.

James is being careful.  Others are not.  This gun ban shit is gonna get real and no one is paying attention.  I hope lawmakers get there head out before its too late.  The country is a tender box and the President doesn't seem to care or it doesn't matter to him.





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UK Defense Images...

I guess elephant walks are all the rage.

F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons of the 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea; the 4th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Expeditionary Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah; and the 38th Fighter Group of the ROK Air Force demonstrate an 'Elephant Walk' as they taxi down the flightline at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Dec. 14, 2012. The Elephant Walk was a demonstration of U.S. and ROK air force capabilities and strength. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Fowler/Released)

via Military Photos.

M777 Howitzer External Lift

WestPac 12-02

Gun grabbers DO NOT understand the danger that they're causing.

The gun grabbers just don't understand the danger that they're causing with these upcoming gun ban bills.

They forget that the President was only re-elected with a 52-48% percentage margin.  THAT IS FAR FROM A MANDATE!

They forget that the President is only popular on the coasts and in large urban areas.

They forget what happened the last time they succeeded in getting a gun ban.

Have you ever wondered what would happen with a Brady Bill on steroids?  Have you ever stopped and thought about how many Timothy McVeigh's they're creating?  Did you not notice the rioting at the Mississippi State campus right after the election?

Instead of being a centrist leader, the President is seeking to transform America...unfortunately for him half the population ain't buying what he's selling.

Consider everything I've written and then watch the vid below.  There are people that are fanning the flames.  If this is being said in the open then wonder what is being said behind closed doors.

This could easily lead to massive acts of public disorder.  Not rioting but acts of disobedience that could easily be confused with terrorism.  Even worse is the fact that Police, National Guard and the Military are being lined up as the enemy instead of the leaders that are pushing this through.

THIS WILL GET NASTY.

Let's hope these bills are killed.  Gun grabbers have talked alot of shit.  Some gun owners won't talk at all...they'll just act.

Defeating gun control could come down to one man doing the right thing...

House Majority Leader John Boehner

I'm more than a bit disappointed by the pro gun forces.

We're unorganized (thank you NRA for doing absolutely nothing), we're scattered and we're flailing about.

Lets stop and assess the situation.  The gun grabbers control the White House and the Senate.  The supposed good guys control the House of Representatives.

Because of House rules, the supposed good guys can decide what gets brought up for a vote.  And that falls on one guy.

John Boehner.

I've been writing Congressmen like crazy.  I've even made a few phone calls.  I've followed the issue closely but no one is even suggesting that we should put pressure on Boehner.

Now for the bad news.

Usually bills aren't brought forward unless a majority of the majority are in favor.

Boehner broke that rule.

I hate to say it but unless someone can get in Boehner's ear, change Houseleadership or get a vow of right thinking from the Majority Leader then we could be in trouble.

UPDATE:
I stand corrected.  The Military Arms Channel already put it together and aimed its fire at John Booehner.  He's the key.  Check out the vid below.

Bleacher Reports Hit of the Year!

Can you say BOOM!

This is how anti-gun rights people actually feel about gun owners.

via Monderno. note...Monderno is pro gun rights, he simply found this article from an anti-gun nut job and passed it along.  Donald Kaul is the writer of the article.

Repeal the Second Amendment, the part about guns anyway. It’s badly written, confusing and more trouble than it’s worth. It offers an absolute right to gun ownership, but it puts it in the context of the need for a “well-regulated militia.” We don’t make our militia bring their own guns to battles. And surely the Founders couldn’t have envisioned weapons like those used in the Newtown shooting when they guaranteed gun rights. Owning a gun should be a privilege, not a right.

Declare the NRA a terrorist organization and make membership illegal. Hey! We did it to the Communist Party, and the NRA has led to the deaths of more of us than American Commies ever did. (I would also raze the organization’s headquarters, clear the rubble and salt the earth, but that’s optional.) Make ownership of unlicensed assault rifles a felony. If some people refused to give up their guns, that “prying the guns from their cold, dead hands” thing works for me.

Then I would tie Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickup truck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the light on gun control.

Yeah that's right.

That's how the anti-gun people talk when they're behind closed doors.  If they want a war with real body counts then the gun owners of America is your huckleberry.

Oh and Mr Kaul.  From my cold dead hands works for me too.  Do me the favor of picking up mine yourself.

C-295 AEW with winglets.

Airbus Military has begun flight-testing a modification to add winglets to the C295 medium transport and surveillance aircraft – one of a series of product developments underway on the market-leading type.

The winglets, which are short extensions to the wingtips of the aircraft, have the potential to improve performance in the take-off, climb and cruise phases of flight by increasing the lift-drag ratio.

Possible in-service benefits include improved hot and high runway performance, increased range and endurance, and reduced operating costs.

First flight of the wingletted aircraft took place with complete success at Airbus Military’s Seville facility in Spain on 21 December. Data from that flight is being analysed and will be added to data from future flights, providing the basis for a decision on whether or not to incorporate winglets into the C295 design. The photograph shows the C295 during its first flight with winglets.

Sweet looking airplane...Eric Palmer Blog is convinced that the C-295 is more capable than the C-27.

I'm not sure but I am impressed by how versatile the airplane is.  A cargo, airborne early warning, maritime patrol and gunship version exist.  Quite honestly a smaller force would be wise to neck down to this one type to save money on maintenance alone, much less pilot training.

UPDATE:  Someone responded in  the comments section that  fully explains why the C-295 has been gobbling up orders all over the world.  I honestly had thought it had to do with price but its obvious from the figures put up by the anonymous commenter that the C-295 is indeed a world beater.  Next question.  How did it lose to the C-27 in the Army's Sherpa replacement contest????

Is Iran really that big a threat? I'm just asking questions out loud.

video via Navy Recognition...



Don't get me wrong.

I know that madmen with a nuclear weapon is dangerous...but then I look at Pakistan and N. Korea...

I look at their conventional forces and all I can think is that tiny Singapore would put up a MUCH more credible defense than Iran ever could....and then I think of all the multi-national drills that are being held to defeat this strawman enemy and I can't help but wonder if we're not being played.

I FULLY SUPPORT Israel...but they've taken out bigger and badder solo...so exactly what is the game here.  Why is Iran being held up as a clear and present danger to the world? 

This is gonna piss the Brits off.

Man!

I have issues with some Brits (that pedophile looking Pierce Morgan and others attempting to insert themselves into our internal politics when it comes to our 2nd Amendment rights) but the British people will have every right to be pissed about this.  Check out this article via the Guardian...

The UK and other European countries must use the money saved by withdrawing from Afghanistan to re-equip their military and help reverse worrying cuts in defence spending, the American ambassador to Nato will warn on Tuesday.Ivo Daalder said if Europe did not invest in new capabilities, its over-reliance on America would continue at a time when Washington had made the far east and China its new strategic priority."If we don't start soon in investing in those capabilities then the gap between the US and the rest is going to grow. And if it is bad now, then it will be worse. If we have problems, they will be even worse."

You better have balls the size of King Kong to tell a British Mother whose son died in Afghanistan some stuff like that.

You better brace up and be prepared to get punched if you tell a British serviceman that served in Afghanistan some stuff like that.

You better duck for cover when you realize that the UK was laughed at for supporting us in this war...especially when the US is about to cut back on defense spending itself.

The arrogance in this statement is stunning.  Who is running that shop and how did they think this was a good idea????

Oh, once again you doubt me?  Check out the vid below and then ask how we can lecture anyone on defense spending.

Project for the new year. ITS Plate Carrier Stand.

This is a hold over from last year.  I don't know why I never did it.  It won't take much time, you really don't need instructions (even though ITS does provide them) and it would take just a few minutes while sipping on some brew in the workshop to get it done.

Tomorrow I head to the lumber store to grab some...I think cedar will be nice...to build this contraption.

Defense and the budget.

I haven't blogged much on defense lately...I've been focusing on the gun ban bill soon to hit.

Luckily CDR Salamander is thinking about it and things look grim.  Check out his entire article at his house but this tidbit has me worried...

The "deal" that everyone is talking about from last night will do nothing. The problem is spending, and all the class warfare perpetual campaign taxing will do nothing to either grow the economy of fix the budget problem.  A promise to cut spending some insignificant amount at a later date is just an advertisement of the dismal state of leadership, vision, and courage we are in.
The Republicans only control the House, so there is only so much they can do even if they had a different Speaker than Boehner. Senator Reid's Senate has not passed a budget (in violation of the Constitution) in years. The President has neither the background or the inclination to be a national leader or to govern, he is a revolutionary. He is doing exactly what he wants to do, that is to create wholesale change in this nation more in line with his ideology.  We elected him to do so, and he is doing it.  Agree or disagree, but what do you expect him to do?
So, as we talk about "payloads and platforms," Pacific Pivot, the LCS makeitwork patch of the month, and all that good stuff, remember this - it is no more important than Napoleon in 1812 deciding on the best winter gear for his infantry. Important in an isolated sense, but not critical to the macro decisions happening in the background.
All this has been known for years - Professor Lieberman warned us about it in the late 80s as I sat in his classroom in quasi disbelief that we would ever let this happen.  Well, we did, and here we are.
As I outlined in an email to some folks last night, our plans for a future fleet right now is vapor-locked, and unless a major global war or significant regional maritime war breaks out in the next decade, there is a better than even chance that on the Surface side of the house at least, we will be in stasis until we leave the 2020s. 
The big challenge for the next 15-years will be force level preservation in a military fiscal environment not unlike the the time period of 1920-1933 - without the innovation that we saw in the same period in carrier and cruiser development.  

Yeah.

Sobering.

And if you break it down to the Marine Corps what does it mean?  Probably that we will have to "play with what we have in hand" for a generation.

I don't follow the Commandant or the SgtMajor of the Marine Corps because quite frankly I don't like them (though I've never met them), don't trust them, have zero respect for them and think that they lack courage.  Not physical courage but moral courage...of course that can be laid at the feet of 99% of our leaders today so that just makes them ordinary.

The bad news is that this is a time when extraordinary leadership was called for and the people sitting in the big chairs are all lacking.  But I digress.  I don't follow him closely but in reading some news stories I came across him warning of tough cutbacks.

What does that mean?

Probably pain all over the place.

Keep your eyes on the Marine Personnel Carrier...the JLTV...the GCV...CH-53K and perhaps even the F-35.

Can you feel it?  Something tells me 2013 is gonna suck. 

World War Z - Official Trailer

Super fast, super strong zombies?

Seems like a good motivational movie to get in shape to crush the horde in the upcoming fight!  Zombies (yeah its fictional but stay with me) are able to perform superhuman feats because the brain is turned off.  But the fact that if a properly conditioned body is able to do x,y or z but the brain or more precisely THINKING that its not possible is the limiting factor then how do you shut down the brain and do the impossible?

In other words how do you push it to the limit without placing yourself in that life and death, adrenalin filled predicament?  How do you attain maximum physical capability on a daily basis?

When you figure it out let me know.

Apollo Mission Events Graphics

A blast from the past when NASA was actually a great organization and a trail blazer.  Its a shame how far they've fallen.  I found these scans here.

Demand A Plan? Demand Celebrities Go F*ck Themselves

Happy New Year. Now get off your ass and do stuff!

Happy New Year.

With that said, get off your ass and do whatever it is you always said you would do...Organize your house, get in shape, spend more time with family...whatever it is just fucking do it and stop making excuses.

It takes 30 days to develop a habit and 120 days to make a life style change.

In other words you can't claim victory after a month of doing it right.  I contend even if you make it till April without backsliding you still haven't won the war.  The war against yourself is eternal.  You can look around and see people that have given up.  Don't be that guy.

Win!

You sure you know the difference between an assault rifle and a sporting rifle? Watch this and learn!

Blast from the past...Sikorsky S-67.

What a beautiful beast.

It combined attack with a light utility capability...in essence it could have been the American Hind.  Read more here and here.