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Missile Man
For folks in my age cohort, there has always been the nuclear triad, consisting of manned bombers, submarine launched ballistic missiles, and of course, land based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. But it wasn’t really that long ago that the last two legs of the triad were introduced.
Here’s a pretty interesting look at the first operational ICBM system, the SM-65 Atlas.
Of note, the first operational launch sites were not hardened. Also, before inertial guidance was accurate en0ugh for operational use, the very unwieldy radio command guidance was used.
Finally, you’ll notice for the most part the uniforms were simple and functional. Plain green fatigues (and some of them pretty dang faded) or the simple unadorned khakis. Seems to me the services were quite capable of doing big things back then. Maybe we should go back to dressing that way.
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Chicago Maritime Museum
You could be forgiven for not associating anything maritime with the largest city in the Midwest. Granted we sit on the southwestern shoreline of that Great Lake carved out by glaciers in the last ice age but it’s just that the Chicago’s maritime history isn’t as well known.That maritime history history is kept alive by the Chicago Maritime Museum. Located in the Bridgeport Art Center (in the Bridgeport nieghborhood) the Museum’s mission is to “become recognized as the leading authority on our waterways and their significance to Chicago and the world in the past, present and future.”
This past weekend I visited the Chicago Maritime Museum for their annual Christmas party and took a look around. The Museum features a number of interesting model and photographic exhibits of significant Chicago maritime historical events and ships. Here’s some of what I saw:
1:72 model of the USS Wolverine on display at the Chicago Maritime Museum. Aircraft on deck are the Grumman Wildcat, an SNJ trainer, SBD dive bomber, Grumman Hellcat and Vought Corsair. A Grumman Avenger appears to the left and another SNJ is show trapping aboard aft. 
Another view of the USS Wovlerine and the flight deck forward. 
An SNJ caught trapping aboard the USS Wolverine. 
This is an ELCO PT boat. 
A taffrail log was an inturment used to measure a vessel’s speed. 
A model commemorating the SS Eastland diaster on the Chicago River. The ship rolled over pierside on the southern branch of the Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle streets on 24 July 1915. 844 passengers and crew were killed. 
A ships wooden screw. I’m not sure what the measurements denote. 
Some of the warships that had visited Chicago over the years. There are some legandary names here. There’s a lot more here to see and there are plenty of models being worked on by staff that you can view in various stages of completion in the storage area. The Chicago Maritime also put on a brief program about the Christmas Ships that brought trees from Wisconsin to Chicago. The most notable of these Christmas Tree ships being the Rouse Simmons. The legacy of which is now carred on every year about the United States Coast Guard Ship, Mackinaw.
USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB-30). Carries on the Christmas Tree legacy of the Rouse Simmons. The Chicago Maritime Museum is one of the city’s interesting most interesting place to learn about some little known Chicago History. The Museum does have plans for expansion but in the meantime it’s worth the visit if you have an interest in either maritime history or Chicago’s history.
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At The Point Of A Gun: With Apologies To The Real Men Of Genius Commercials
At The Point Of a Gun presents: Real Men of Genius!
Background singers: Real Men of Genius.
Today we salute you, Social Justice Warrior.
Background singers: Social Justice Warriors!
via At The Point Of A Gun: With Apologies To The Real Men Of Genius Commercials.
Go read the punchline.
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Load HEAT- Pat Benatar
Every single guy in my age group had a crush on Pat Benatar back in the early 1980s.
Maybe not her best song, but she looks terrific in the video, especially toward the end.
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Mini Load HEAT- Charo
You’ll get your regular installment in the morning.
I mostly remember Charo from the 70s acting like a bimbo on Hollywood Squares and The Love Boat. But it’s important to remember that her rise to fame was based on her incredible talent as a flamenco guitar player. Indeed, she’s one of the best in the world, and still gives bravura performances.
And at 63 years old, she still looks fantastic!
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Name the plane.
This is a pretty easy one. -
National Security Cutter
So, back on December 10, the Coast Guard commissioned the fourth of a planned eight of the “Legends” class National Security Cutters. The NSCs are the replacement for the long serving Hamilton class high endurance cutters.
The development of the NSC was part of the troubled “Deepwater” Coast Guard/industry partnership to recapitalize the Coast Guard’s inventory of ships and aircraft with modern, integrated systems. If the development was sometimes troubled, it was in the end successful in fielding the NSC, the Fast Response Cutter (as a replacement for the 110’ cutters) and the HC-144A patrol plane, as well as new classes of small craft.
At 418’ long, and displacing about 4500 tons, the NSCs have enough endurance to patrol for 60 to 90 days at a time. They have a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion system, with a pair of diesel engines providing economical cruise power, and a dash capability from the LM2500 turbine for a top speed of about 28 knots.
They’re large enough to carry and support an aviation detachment with up to two helicopters. They have a very respectable sensor suite, and are able to datalink with other Coast Guard assets, Navy networks, and allied forces.
The NSCs were built with a great deal of attention paid to crew comfort. The largest berthing compartments have only six racks. Furthermore, they were designed with excess capacity. The crew consists of 113 officers and men, but the ship has accommodations for up to 148.
The Coast Guard’s virtual tour gives an excellent look inside, and I highly recommend it.
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Budget experts: Move Tricare beneficiaries to Obamacare
And, John Mayer, a military health and energy analyst with Booz Allen Hamilton, added the Pentagon should be under no obligation to continue providing “free health” care to those who have retired from military service and have access to health care either through their employers or the Affordable Care Act.
“Having a program where they can go in and get free health care, and do it as often as they want seems to be a burden that the American public shouldn’t have to bear,” Mayer said, speaking of the military retiree population who uses Tricare.
The growing cost of health care is a longtime concern for the Pentagon and is one of the benefits being reviewed by the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, an independent panel commissioned by Congress to review military pay and benefits, to include housing, health care and retirement packages.
via Budget experts: Move Tricare beneficiaries to Obamacare.
TriCare For Life has been a godsend for my mother. She’s received excellent health care through civilian health care providers, and has not had the usual hassle that civilian insurance programs always seem to put their customers through.
The veteran community, especially military retirees, is a powerful political force. I can’t imagine they won’t vigorously oppose such a betrayal of the families of the military by even considering shunting them from a program that was promised to them unto the utter disaster that is Obamacare.
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Breaking: Federal Gun Law Unconstitutional
For the first time since Washington, DC’s firearma’s ban was tossed out in 2008, a federal gun law has been ruled unconstitutional.
In 1986, Charles Clifford Tyler spent a month in a mental health care institution, and as a result he’s been banned from firearm ownership ever since. When he tried to purchase a gun for his own protection, he was arrested and charged with a felony.
Now, the law that kept Tyler from freely exercising his constitutional rights has been thrown out by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinatti, OH. The three judges voted unanimously to restore Tyler’s rights as an American citizen.
via Breaking: Federal Gun Law Unconstitutional.
I keep seeing this case reported, and virtually every time, it makes the same mistake this particular article makes.
The court didn’t rule that Tyler had to be allowed to possess or purchase a firearm.
Tyler was prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm, as a result of his commitment to a mental health facility.
That’s a pretty reasonable restriction in keeping withe 2nd Amendment.
The issue was that there was no mechanism by which Tyler could appeal to the state for reinstatement of his civil rights. Absent a review on the state’s power, the 2nd Amendment rights of many could be arbitrarily denied. Here the court simply said that a method of review must be constituted.
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All Time Favorite Splodey
I somehow threw out my back, so it hurts like heck, which also makes writing difficult. So I’m not. In the meantime, here’s a repost of a video, pretty much my all time favorite.
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