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I don’t know if this is real or not.

But if it is…

And as an added bonus.

Britain’s largest surviving artillery piece is due to make an historic journey to the Netherlands to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht.

The Breach Loading 18-inch Rail Howitzer gun serial number L1 is one of just twelve railway guns left in the world. It was manufactured by the Elswick Ordnance Company set up in 1864.

The gun, which weighs 200 tons, has been on display at Larkhill, Wiltshire, since 2008 but today it began its 387-mile journey to the Dutch Railway museum.

via Rare 200 tonne railway gun to make historic journey to Utrecht to mark 300th anniversary of treaty that ended Spanish War | Daily Mail Online.

Before airplanes, the only way to reach behind the enemy lines was artillery.  Railway guns had a relatively short useful career. About the time the technology came into use, the airplane did too, so they were quickly rendered obsolete.

Quite a few were used in World War II, but it was very much in a niche role. The closest to a post war railway gun was the US Army 280mm atomic cannon, which was actually  moved by truck, not railway.

I was having a discussion this morning with friends about wearing a suit to a job fair.

Which, yeah, you should.

I’m reminded of the several times as a recruiter when a young man or woman would decline the opportunity to serve because “I don’t want to have to wear a uniform.”

Usually said with the counter of a fast food establishment separating us.

But here’s the thing.

Everyone. Wears. A. Uniform.

Wall Street Tycoon? Bespoke suits during the week, and Brooks Brothers casual while out on Long Island for the weekend.

Tattoo artist? Please, I at least got to take off my uniform at the end of the work day.

Unix programmer? Hope you like Cheetos.

One thing outsiders rarely grasp is that, within the service, there’s actually a pretty fair amount of individuality just in the way the uniform is worn.  The common patrol cap worn with the ACU uniform (or the BDU in my day) was crushed and shaped in a nearly infinite variety of ways, each of which was a reflection of the individual.  A guy that really kinda regretted joining? Flat brim, just slapped on his head. Guy who wanted to be a Ranger, but not enough to, like, go to Ranger School? The brim was really rounded, and had a textbook Ranger Crush.

Another thing not instantly obvious to the outsider is that uniformity forces you to consider a person by truer signifiers. How one dressed told you little about them. Instead, you had to consider their deeds and words. By stripping away the most superficial signifiers, one was forced to actually get to know people.

Two Air Force fighter pilots whose F-16C jets collided in midair in October survived, despite one plane crashing and the other having a five-foot section of its wing sheared off, according to a report the Air Force released Friday.

The collision occurred while the jets were flying over Kansas in formation Oct. 20. One of the planes, flown by a highly experience instructor, crashed in a grassy field in the town of Moline. The other, flown by a relatively inexperienced pilot who recently had joined their squadron, flew about 100 miles south to Tulsa Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma with part of its right wing missing, and landed safely.

via Near-miss: This F-16 landed after half its wing was sheared off – The Washington Post.

Incredible. And most importantly, everyone went home alive.

Not a lot of context here, but wow!

H/T @rdbrewer

In the first desperate hours of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, a young Army lieutenant was given an order that seemed impossible: stop a fast-moving column of German tanks from advancing.

The three soldiers assigned to the lieutenant were not trained in anti-tank warfare. The only artillery piece available was designed to bring down airplanes, not tanks. And the firing position provided no cover if the tanks returned fire.

A battlefield dispatch from The Associated Press described what happened:

“Anti-aircraft gunners, who stayed behind when the infantry withdrew, played a vital role in preventing a major German breakthrough in Belgium. … One battery, commanded by Lt. Leon Kent of Los Angeles, knocked out five tanks, including one King Tiger tank, in two hours.”

via Leon Kent, who stopped a line of tanks at Battle of the Bulge, dies at 99 – Veterans – Stripes.

Dark days then. And it’s not like AAA crews expected to find themselves on the front lines.

Thank you sir, for your devotion to duty, and a life well lived afterwards.

The introduction of new weapons and platforms into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has captured the attention of much of the world for well over a decade. However, new equipment is only one element of the PLA’s long-term, multi-dimensional modernization process. There is much to be done and no one understands this better than the Chinese themselves. Based on what PLA commanders and staff officers write in their internal newspapers and journals, the force faces a multitude of challenges in order to close the perceived gaps between its capabilities and those of advanced militaries.

New weapons, increasing defense budgets, and recently corruption tend to generate headlines in the Western press, but at least 10 other factors raise serious questions about the PLA’s current ability to fight a modern war against an advanced enemy (some of which are discussed in a new RAND report, to which I contributed a collection of sources):

via Ten Reasons Why China Will Have Trouble Fighting a Modern War.

This is a pretty dang good list. There’s no way I can do more than skim the RAND report.

Some of the factors listed are bigger issues than others. Right up at the top I’d have to say is China’s struggles with realistic training. So much of their training appears to be set piece, more a show than an actual learning evolution.

And while a reality check like this is useful, it’s also important to not the progress China has made, aside from equipment and weapons, in the areas noted. It has been an impressive achievement.