The Arizona Rifleman

A few of the blogs I read have mentioned this epic smackdown, in which an actual SF soldier smacks down a wannabe.

Why is it that all the wannabes always claim to be Special Forces, Rangers, Marine Recon, snipers, or some other “elite” subset of the military? They’re never humvee mechanics, radio repairmen, or the like.

Sure, I was in the military. I drove tanks. I needed a break from the hum-drum life of fixing computers and twiddling around in college without knowing what I wanted to do with life, and tanks seemed to be sufficiently different to interest me. I accomplished exactly zero acts of valor in my service, and managed to avoid any dishonorable deeds. I did my job, kept my head down, and stayed out of trouble. When my unit was training up to deploy to Iraq, a medical issue developed¹ that prevented me from deploying. The army and I agreed that, due to this medical issue, it wasn’t in our mutual best interests for me to stay in, and I was discharged².

After I got out, I went back to college, got my degree, got a job, got married, and am looking to go to grad school (after which I’ll probably end up in a lab for the rest of my life, which is just fine with me). Not terribly exciting, which is why I suppose most of these poseurs never claim to be a lowly PFC who drove tanks around for a few years.

1. Bones in my feet started making fun happy grinding sounds. [↩]
2. Honorably, for what it’s worth, though I don’t really think I did anything that justifies such a lofty adjective. [↩]

Evidently a small band of Afghan insurgents decided to attack Kandahar Airfield, a military base of about 20,000 people. The Vancouver Sun has more details.

Their dastardly plot consisted of having one of their team sneak behind a nearby tractor, then dart towards the perimeter fence. Upon reaching the fence, he blew himself up, destroying “about $70 worth of fence”, according to Maj. Josh Major¹ of the Canadian military.

The other insurgents ran through the gap in the fence, and were killed “immediately” by 25mm autocannon² fire. None survived.

Even if they had managed to get inside the perimeter fence, they were merely a small group of 8-10, in a base of 20,000+ soldiers with a whole lot of whoopass on tap. That would have ended poorly.

Honestly, what were they thinking? Who thinks that attacking a major military airbase with a ragtag band of irregulars is a good idea?

1. Yes, his name is Major Major. Really. [↩]
2. Ow. [↩]

I’ve got mixed feelings on Wikileaks, particularly when it comes to ongoing military action.

On one hand, Wikileaks seeks to bring unethical behavior by governments and corporations to light. I respect and support this.

On the other hand, there’s some information that should not be published, such as information detailing or identifying sources, as it can put people at great risk. I think that such information should have been redacted to protect the innocent. In addition, there’s the ethical issue of the whistleblower breaking an oath to reveal classified information to the public. Where does one draw the line?

Hopefully he made the right choice, and innocent people are not harmed as a result. I can only hope that I never face such a dilemma.

It seems like every gun-related product is “the preferred choice of US Special Forces” or “used by US Special Forces”, but never have any citations for those claims. Many of the claims seem to be mutually exclusive (e.g. Company A advertises that their product is preferred by SF, while Company B makes the same claim about their product).

I wonder where one could actually find quantitative data listing precisely what products are indeed used by Special Forces and, out of those used by SF, which are preferred.

The USS Constitution is the nation’s oldest commissioned warship that’s still afloat.

While admittedly a bit of a tourist magnet, the ship is soaked in history (and whatever else happens to be floating around).

One of those bits of history is that the ship fires a cannon at 8am and at sunset.

Now, some of the nearby neighbors are complaining, and want to either have the firing stopped or the charges reduced. While I can see their point¹, the ship has been there for longer than they have, and while they can ask that the ship accommodate their wishes (free speech and all), they have no real standing; the ship was there first.

As a commenter on Fark said, “Perhaps they should stop firing blanks.”

1. My apartment complex has gardeners come by with gas-powered leaf blowers every weekend at 7am and they love to sit outside my window with the motors running. [↩]

As many of you may know, Google Voice is available on an invite-only basis. Unfortunately, it can take some time to receive one’s invite after one signs up.

For military members¹, however, Google Voice is available within a day of requesting an invite. This is fantastic for deployed soldiers, as people can leave voicemails and texts for the soldier, something that’s a bit difficult with the existing phone systems on base. As a US number, callers to one’s Google Voice number only have to pay normal domestic phone rates.

While voicemails and text messages are no substitute for a live phone call (which, in turn, is no substitute for face-to-face interactions), it’s better than nothing.

My hearty compliments to Google for recognizing this need and doing something about it.

1. Verified by means of one’s .mil address. [↩]

Time: 0200
Place: US Airways Baggage Service Office, San Francisco International Airport
Background: Short of the wings falling off and the plane plunging to a fiery crash, pretty much everything that could go wrong with the simple Munich-Philadelphia and Philadelphia-San Francisco flight yesterday happened, including missing a flight (and worse, multiple screaming babies crying in a harmony that would make John Williams listen in awe). More later.

Anyway, at 2am at the luggage counter in the otherwise closed-for-the-night airport, another traveller inquired where I was coming from and why. When I replied, “Munich, after visiting other cities in Europe on vacation”, he mentioned that he spent a few years in Germany back in the late 90s. When pressed for more details, it turns out he was a tank crewman with the US Army and was stationed there.

He’s the first armor crewman I’ve met who I didn’t personally serve with. Very cool.

That reminds me, I should see if I still have all the phone numbers and whatnot for the guys from my old armor unit. It’d be fun to meet up and share some beers again.

From the Times Online:

[N]ew recruits to the Afghan National Army (ANA) are being asked to swap their beloved Kalashnikov AK47, probably the most famous weapon in the world, for the American M16.

This seemed quite unusual to me, as the AK-47 is quite common in that region of the world, and many of the Afghani soldiers have a degree of familiarity with the AK.

The reason is explained as follows:

Traditionally, the Afghan will fire his Kalashnikov from the hip as he advances, spraying the enemy in all directions on automatic mode until every bullet has been expended.

But that is not the way of the British or American soldier who uses his ammunition stocks with greater husbandry and fires to kill, rather than to deluge the enemy with a wall of bullets.

The M16s the Afghanis are to be issued are equipped with the three-shot-burst fire control group (justt like the US military M16s), rather than the full-auto group.

I know the Israelis use M16s (or at least I’ve seen cute female IDF soldiers with M16s), and the US military uses M16s to great effect in sandy, desert conditions (yes, there have been issues, mostly due to lack of proper maintenance, but overall the M16 has performed very well).

While equipping the Afghan military with modern, accurate, standardized weapons is an admirable goal, I can’t help but wonder what strings were pulled to make the sale. Couldn’t they equip existing AKs with three-shot-burst capability, or simply buy new burst-fire AKs, rather than completely changing to a new weapons platform?

As they say, follow the money.

Michael Monsoor, a US Navy SEAL, led a distinguished career in the Navy: he earned a Bronze Star for his work advising Iraqi troops, a Silver Star for rescuing – under fire – a fellow SEAL that was wounded by the enemy, and was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for using his own body to shield fellow SEALs from an activated grenade.

Monsoor had an opportunity to escape the grenade’s blast, but the other SEALs did not. Without hesitation, he threw himself on the grenade to protect his team and was mortally wounded in the process.

His actions reflect great honor and credit upon himself and the United States Navy.

Though I never had the privilege to meet Petty Officer Monsoor, I think I can accurately claim that the world is a lesser place without him.