XBradTC

Media narrative as soon as they found out the San Bernardino shooters were Muslims.

We live in a nation with civilian control of the military. Sometimes, you just have to shut up and salute.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, the newly independent states within its former domain inherited enormous stockpiles of weapons the Red Army left behind.One of the most interesting cases involved the air force of the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova. The new republic’s inventory consisted of 34 MiG-29 Fulcrums, eight Mi-8 Hip helicopters and a handful of transport aircraft — a sizeable force for such a small state. To put Moldova’s size into perspective, the country’s population is smaller than the metro area of Portland, Oregon.Moldova couldn’t afford to maintain the fleet and, to make matters worse, was in a deep recession. Meanwhile, the United States feared Moldova would sell the MiG-29s to Iran, which could use them to bolster its own fleet of Fulcrums. Washington was also wary that Moldova might pass the technology to Iran’s rivals since the fleet included 14 MiG-29C variants configured to deliver nuclear weapons.

Source: Exposed: America Purchased 21 Lethal Russian Mig-29 Fighters | The National Interest Blog

The headline is somewhat misleading. I remember seeing the purchase announced in the open press back when it occurred.

Via PopMech, and with a H/T to ijkvmi88.

That’s a pretty good demonstration of the stabilization used on the main gun of a modern fighting vehicle.

Also brings to mind drinking the two beers per night allowed in the mess hall at the Graf cantonment area. Good times, eh?

Though uncomfortable to address, there is this simple truth – this Long War is global, international, and is not going anywhere. If you think bringing in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from already radicalized nations will decrease these attacks, you are wrong.If you think talking about climate change will decrease this slaughter, you are delusional.

If you think the response to an attack by a hostile and foreign socio-political-religious movement is to attack the rights of your own citizens to speak, move, communicate, and defend themselves – then you are worse than wrong – you are providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

Source: CDR Salamander: Paris to San Bernardino; the Pettiness of Our Politics

Emphasis mine. And I think that really is the heart of the matter. As the world grows ever more interconnected, via air travel and technology, we will increasingly see this sort of attack. And frankly, there is very little the security services of the state can do to stop them, without becoming a nightmare police state straight out of a bad dystopian novel.

And in keeping with the traditional American spirit of independence and self determination, I would suggest two things:

1. Arm yourself, legally.
2. Increase your situational awareness. Don’t go heads down on your smart phone and tune out the world. That’s not to say be paranoid, but rather simply pay attention to what is happening in your immediate vicinity. And profile people. Yes, you should profile people. You know pretty well walking down a city street which people pose no threat, and which one is the crazy guy that you want to cross the street to avoid. Trust your instincts.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter will order the military to open up all combat jobs to women. Declaring that “we are a joint force,” Carter said that while moving women into these jobs will present challenges, the military can no longer afford to exclude half of the population from grueling military jobs.He said that any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve, and he gave the armed services 30 days to submit plans to make the historic change.Carter’s order opens the final 10 percent of military positions to women, and allows them to serve in the military’s most demanding and difficult jobs, including as special operations forces, such as the Army Delta units and Navy SEALs.The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, former Marine Corps commandant, had argued that the Marines should be allowed to keep women out of certain front-line combat jobs, citing studies showing that mixed-gender units aren’t as capable as all-male units.

Source: Carter telling military to open all combat jobs to women | Fox News

Facts and reality be damned, we have to do this for equality!

And the canard that we simply must be able to recruit from the entire population to fulfill combat arms is just that, a canard. Yes, there is a small slice of the population that is qualified for military service, and an even smaller slice of that pie is fit for combat arms.

On the other hand, the truth of the matter is that of a population of some 350 million Americans, the numbers that actually serve in combat arms is ridiculously small. You could probably fit every rifleman in the entire DoD into a football stadium.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Medium Endurance Cutter Campbell (WMEC 909) and its crew returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on December 1st following an exhausting and extensive 10-day strategic fisheries patrol, according to a spokesman.Around 200 family members were waiting at the pier for their loved ones to return after what must have seemed like an eternity. Many were holding enormous “Welcome Home!” signs and once alongside, tears streamed and smiles were abound as crew members and families were reunited.

Source: 10 Long Days At Sea: ‘Emotional’ Coast Guard Cutter Homecoming

Last year, the Air Force achieved a little-noticed aviation milestone: the first-ever drop of a winged, precision guided aerial mine. Almost fifty years after Texas Instruments slapped a laser guidance kit on a M117 dumb bomb, the Air Force added a guidance kit to a dumb mine, and greatly expanded the potential for aerial mining. The late arrival of precision capabilities to the antiship mine is no less revolutionary than it was for the advent of precision bombs in the first place, allowing precise placement of mines and improving the survivability of the employing platform. This development has the potential to revitalize aerial mining and add immeasurably to joint countermaritime operations.

Source: New Wrinkles in Maritime Warfare | The Diplomat

Read the whole thing. Our own Spill gets a linkback on his post on Operation End Sweep. And the author has some interesting ideas on stealthily mining inland waterways.

The lovely Gina Elise and her friends at Pin-Ups For Vets are marking a decade of producing calendars to raise funds to support veterans.

Iconic pin-ups like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable are a thing of the past, but thanks to Pin-Ups for Vets, you can still buy a calendar that looks like it was shot in 1945 — and the proceeds go to a great cause.

The Pin-Ups for Vets non-profit organization, which produces their signature WWII styled pin-up calendar featuring veterans and military spouses, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of funding veteran and troop initiatives.

“We do everything from our 50 state VA hospital and military tour, where we get dressed up like pin-ups and deliver our calendars at the bedsides of hospitalized veterans around the U.S., to donating thousands of dollars worth of rehab equipment to VA and military hospitals nationwide,” founder Gina Elise told FOX411.