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Putin’s actions in Georgia in 2008, seizure of Crimea, and ongoing campaign in the Donbass region of Ukraine all show an attempt to reinstate the Russian empire.

There was considerable speculation in defense circles that the Baltics, and other eastern European nations, were next on the menu.

But Russia was also compelled to put a major effort into propping up their vassal in Syria. Indeed, they’ve done more than I actually thought they could.

Russian forces are not unlimited. Any incursions into the Baltics would probably be an overreach. They simply don’t have the manpower and budget to start something there right now.

But as critical as Syria is to Russia, it’s more a time sensitive issue. The Baltics might be secure for now. But if you think Putin’s Russia won’t circle back to what he has long considered Russian property, you’re crazy.

The US Fleet at Pearl Harbor was a mighty host, thought invulnerable in the shallow, tight confines of the lochs of the harbor.  The US learned painfully that it wasn’t so.  Let’s take a look at how the Navy saw itself in the late 1930s using that fleet. Much would change in the short four years before the war that started there ended in Tokyo bay.

Several years ago my wife conceived a plan to take over Christmas decorations in our home. She’s been very patient, moving so carefully that I only realized the scope of her plan this year. This fight isn’t over, not by a long shot. But I’ve lost a lot of ground.I am what you would call a ‘Christmas kind of guy’. I love Christmas. I love the lights and the pretty packages, the wreaths, the greenery hanging everywhere. I like Christmas plates and coffee cups. Christmas cookies, Christmas music, Christmas towels in the bathrooms, Christmas napkins, Christmas movies and books, if they had Christmas toilet paper I would buy two cases (does anybody know if they make that?). I think Christmas lights on pickup trucks look terrific.

Source: The Crap Tree, 2015 | Innocent Bystanders

It’s not the Christmas season until The Crap Tree post goes up at IB. Read the whole thing.

If you keep your car well maintained, there’s no reason it shouldn’t last 20 years or more.  Most of that maintenance will be routine preventative care, such as replenishing fluids and changing tires. Occasionally components such as brakes and alternators will need replacement. What you probably won’t need  to do is completely disassemble and reassemble it.

But planes are different. We’re used to seeing assembly line pictures of airplanes. What you probably don’t realize is that it is completely routine over the course of an modern airplane’s lifetime to be stripped all the way down, have major components replace, and be completely rebuilt.

Authorities say no charges will be filed against an Uber driver who shot and wounded a gunman who opened fire on a crowd of people in Logan Square over the weekend.The driver had a concealed-carry permit and acted in the defense of himself and others, Assistant State’s Attorney Barry Quinn said in court Sunday.A group of people had been walking in front of the driver around 11:50 p.m. Friday in the 2900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue when Everardo Custodio, 22, began firing into the crowd, Quinn said.

Source: Uber driver, licensed to carry gun, shoots gunman in Logan Square – Chicago Tribune

Of course, Uber will fire him for violating their policies. But whenever a lefty says that people with guns never stop mass shootings, its because people with guns shoot before it becomes a mass shooting.

The tobacco lasted for eight days, against all odds. “I still can’t believe it,” platoon mooch Pfc. John Peters said. “That can never ran out. I must’ve bummed a dozen pinches from that chump and I didn’t put a dent in it. Hey, can I grab a Marlboro while we’re talking?”

Source: Can Of Dip Miraculously Lasts Eight Days In The Field

Platoon mooch- ha! Every platoon has at least one.

During my one and only trip to the National  Training Center, I swung by the PX before we entered the box to stock up on smokes. Lo and behold, they had some cheap no-name brand of cigarettes on sale at $2 a carton!* There was a five carton limit, but I was there with my mom and my dad, who happened to be in the area and stopped by for a visit. And they both had valid IDs. So I walked out with 15 cartons of cheap smokes.

How bad is the platoon mooch? Well, we actually only spent 14 days in the box. And I ran out of smokes.

*Cheap smokes and no state sales taxes!

12/3/2015 – DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — Changes to the Dyess Force Protection Plan, signed and approved by Col. David Benson, 7th Bomb Wing commander, now permits authorized personnel that possess a current and valid Texas Concealed Handgun License or a reciprocating state concealed carry license to transport and secure privately-owned handguns in privately-owned vehicles within legal boundaries of Dyess Air Force Base.”While this policy change does not allow concealed carry on base, it does allow those who carry concealed weapons to transport them onto and off the base in their vehicles,” said Col. David Benson, 7th Bomb Wing commander. “This provides a safe and secure way to bring their weapons on base.”Individuals wishing to transport a handgun must also have a valid Department of Defense identification card or Common Access Card and also hold one of the following statues: active duty personnel, Reserve personnel, National Guard personnel, retired military personnel, dependents of active duty personnel or Department of Defense civilians. However, private contractors, visitors or holders of special/one-time passes are not allowed to bring their handguns into the legal boundary of Dyess AFB at any time.Individuals are required to keep their Texas CHL or reciprocating state CCL on their person at all times when in the legal boundaries of Dyess AFB and must surrender it as well as their valid DoD identification card when approached by Security Forces, Office of Special Investigations or local law enforcement. Upon being stopped by SF, OSI or local law enforcement, individuals must immediately identify the presence and exact location of their handgun.

Source: Dyess allows concealed handgun transport in privately-owned vehicles

It’s a step in the right direction. Given the current status of federal law, I’m not sure that COL Benson could go any further.

For $25, you should too.

I joined not because I’m particularly interested in guns. Believe it or not, I’m not. I enjoy shooting, sure, but for the most part, guns were just tools of the job.

What I really care about is the Constitution. And not just the 2nd Amendment. Tomorrow night, something astonishing is going to happen. The  President of the United States of America, the chief executive sworn to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, will address the nation, and almost certainly propose to unilaterally take actions that will deprive American citizens, without any due process of law, of rights explicitly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

Should the President attempt to bar the persons on the terror watch list from purchasing firearms, that would be an assault on multiple amendments. First, obviously, the 2nd Amendment. But it would also be a 1st Amendment violation-

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There is simply no method for a citizen to petition the government to be removed from the terror watch list. For that matter, there is no way for the citizen to even know if he’s on the list, let alone why!

Arguably, being placed on the watch list could be portrayed as a seizure, raising a 4th Amendment issue. And given that an enumerated civil right is being denied, it’s a pretty obvious 6th Amendment violation, as you cannot compel witnesses to testify why you are being denied a civil liberty.

You cannot chip away at one fundamental liberty of a man without harming many others.

So while the NRA is a single issue organization, we see that every right must be upheld, or most will be lost.

Join me, in joining the NRA.

With the advent of heavier-than-air flight, the aircraft carrier has become a decisive weapon at sea. The effectiveness of large aircraft carriers was demonstrated early in the war, when dozens of Japanese fighters and bombers, launched from aircraft carriers, decimated the U.S Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in late 1941. In May of 1942, aircraft from Japanese and U.S carriers battled at the Coral Sea, the first naval conflict where the opposing ships did not make contact. This battle resulted in the sinking of the Lexington. The Japanese Navy also took heavy losses, most notably at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. There they lost four carriers and hundreds of airplanes—its naval power declined steadily after that. By contrast, ship production in the U.S accelerated dramatically in 1944 and 1945, when dozens of aircraft carriers (and other ships) were completed. Most came too late to make a major difference in the war, and many ships on order were cancelled at the end of the war in mid-1945.

Source: Details of the Fate of the 12 US Aircraft Carriers Sunken in World War II – 12 Sad Images

I suppose you could quibble about the Langley, as she was technically an AVP (aircraft transport) at the time of her sinking, but since she was our first carrier, I’ll allow it.

What I’ve always found interesting is that the Essex class carriers were not an “ideal” design, but rather a mass production adaptation of existing design. And yet, not one was lost. They featured a sound basic design and extremely well trained damage control parties. Many, such as the Franklin, suffered damage that should have seen them lost, but instead they survived where earlier carriers didn’t.

Read the whole thing.