I wonder if the officer giving this speech, LTC Randolph C. White Jr., has read Heinlein's Starship Troopers? This is powerful stuff. Makes me feel somewhat "lesser" for never having served in the armed services. But at the same time thankful for everyone who has. Watch the whole thing.

(Seen almost simultaneously at INDC Journal and Target Centermass).

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Via The Officer's Club, read this amazing story about WWII B-17 bomber pilot Glenn Rojohn.

Update: Note that The Officer's Club has moved and changed their name to Op-For. Adjust your links accordingly.

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Stephen Green. Now.

(And Margaret Friedenauer).

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A couple of random, but loosely-linked posts:

Rocket Jones found (via Flea) a great video of a machine gun versus a Katana sword. The super-slow-motion of the bullets striking the blade is breathtaking.

At Troynovant, William H. Stoddard has updated an old book review of The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. He observes the ambivalence of the residents of the 16th century toward the sword, and draws an analogy to our current culture's ambivalence toward handguns.

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Well, we've finished our BBQ brisket and pork rib lunch.

I'm sure a lot of people are eating similarly, enjoying some time outdoors in the late Spring weather, and spending time with family.

While we enjoy the freedom to do these things, let's remember the reason for this holiday.

Happy Memorial Day.

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Via Target Centermass and Eric's Random Musings, a link to a verrrry cool video of the Israeli Merkava Mark 4 MBT in training action.

I wonder what Eric and Gunner (and any other former armor readers of mine) think of the Merkava. Is the Merkava 4 comparable to the M1A1/A2 tanks we have? Are there any MBTs that would have a fighting chance against ours?

Posted by: JohnL at 10:14 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Check out this slideshow detailing the numerous violations of the laws of war by the terrorists in Fallujah: (HTML Version) (PowerPoint Version).

(Via Gene Expression).

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I've seen these WWI color photos in a couple spots now (most recently at Point2Point).

I linked to a similar collection, along with links to descriptions of the color photography ("autochrome") process back at the end of March.

As I pointed out in that post, lest we think of the autochrome process as "primitive," the method of taking three greyscale pictures with three colored filters and then projecting the images through colored lenses is essentially the same technique used by the Mars Exploration Rovers to create color images today.

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David Boxenhorn points out the obvious: imminent war with Iran. War with or without the US. Would Israel really stand by and wait for the vaporization of Tel Aviv?

Yet another reason I'm voting for Bush, even with my many misgivings about the Republican Party platform. I have more confidence that the President will do what is necessary to secure the nuclear facilities in Iran before it is too late. I am just worried that Bush is constrained by election politics from doing the right thing now.

Just a few nights ago, John Kerry said with one breath: "Iran is moving toward nuclear weapons and the world is more dangerous."

But just a few minutes later, he explained what he would have done differently than Bush: "I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes. If they weren't willing to work a deal, then we could have put sanctions together. The president did nothing."

I know that Bush understands we are at war. A war that was declared on us. And I know that he will not surrender to the Islamists. And I am certain that he will not arm the enemy and call it a gesture of good will. I can't say the same about John Kerry.

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From Gravity Lens, a link to a Russian Tank Museum.

Be sure to check out the photogallery of armored trains. Amazing.

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Stephen Green channels that other Steven today, musing on what victory will look like in this war, and whether we can plan to "win the peace."

Meanwhile, doc Russia makes a compelling case that we are in fact winning:

Well, we are now in no danger of Iraqi WMD's being used on american soil for the next twenty years. We are now establishing a foothold for democracy in the middle east. The map of the middle east, once covered in its length and breadth with breeding grounds for terrorists, has now broad expanses of areas where terrorists must focus their energy, and not a half a world away. Now, the terrorists are trying (and failing) to hold on to their territory in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Africa, instead of trying to destabilize and demoralize the US. Is that what the moments before victory will look like?

Would it look like Marines stomping in the guts of the last holdouts of the Taliban?

Would it take the form of fresh-faced soldiers lighting up Al-Qaeda insurgents?

Maybe the laughable idea (at least in 2002) that the Saudis and even the Pakistanis would be rounding up terrorists within their own borders?

Would victory include terrorists being rounded up both here in the US and in Europe? Would we be able to get the terrorists to fight our kind of war, and send them to their deaths at every turn?

Would we in fact have newspapers ever proclaiming that Al-Qaeda was on the run?

Would there come a penultimate moment when even the hardiest of martyr wannabe's can see that they are going to lose?

Be sure to read the whole thing.

While part of me hears the voice of Han Solo ("Great, kid, don't get cocky"). there is some real evidence that we are making significant progress, and we should be cautiously optimistic.

(Hat tip: Owlish).

Posted by: JohnL at 11:36 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for the linkage. And you are spot on that this is not the time to get cocky, or to rest on our laurels. It does appear, however, that while we still have a ways to go, this conflict is heading in the general direction we want it to.

Posted by: doc Russia at August 11, 2004 03:58 PM (vFMqj)

2 Careful with that 'penultimate' word there. It doesn't mean what you think it means. I got bit by it a while back myself.

Posted by: Ted at August 13, 2004 11:22 AM (blNMI)

3 One could argue (I'm a lawyer, I have to argue ;-) that doc R got it right. The penultimate moment is when the bad guys see, i.e., realize they are going to lose, and the ultimate moment is when they actually get blasted to smithereens.

Posted by: John Lanius at August 14, 2004 04:18 PM (gplif)

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Fellow Munuvian Ace has the goods on this awesome automatic grenade launcher:

Be sure to click through to the XM307's site and catch the video.

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While we're on military topics, jump on over to SlagleRock's Slaughterhouse, where he has penned an ode to the M2 ("Ma Deuce") .50 cal Browning Machine Gun.

Check out some of these links for more on this classic weapon.

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Why wasn't this story on the front page last year, when it happened? Or at least last week, when Marine Capt. Brian R. Chontosh received the Navy Cross for his incredibly heroic actions? Why was it that the media assigned to our military the leering faces of the few bad-apple prison guards? Do they really want us to lose that badly? I wonder why.

Recap of what Capt. Chontosh did to earn the Navy Cross:

On March 25, 2003, during the race to Baghdad, Captain Chontosh's platoon was ambushed, being caught in a pre-sighted kill zone of machine gun fire. Rather than retreat, he ordered his Hummvee directly toward the enemy machine-gun emplacement, allowing the .50 cal gunner to shut down the Iraqi gunner.

Chontosh then directed his vehicle into the enemy trench, where he dismounted and proceeded to work his way down their line, dispatching them with his M16A2 and 9mm side arm. When he ran out of ammo, he twice picked up enemy rifles and continued his attack. He used an enemy RPG launcher to take out a group of Iraqis. When he was done, he had cleared 200 metres of trench, killing at least 20 enemy and wounding many others.

Instituted in 1917, the Navy Cross recognizes acts performed in the presence of great danger or at great personal risk and in such a manner as to render the individual highly conspicuous among others of equal grade, rate, experience, or position of responsibility.

(Hat Tip: Blackfive).

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This just sickens me.

First thought: "Nuke the effin' bastards."

Second thought: Which ones?

Third thought: All of 'em. Let their miserable bloodthirsty god sort them out.

Final thought: No, no, no. That would be lowering us to their level. We must remain civilized. That's what sets us apart from these savages.

Bill INDC does a great job summing all of this up.

Supplemental thoughts - we didn't cease to be a decent, just, and civilized society because of Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. Are we there yet? Does the relentless negative reporting by our media lead inexorably towards the "final solution" solution? God help us if that is the case.

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You know, when I blogged about Fabrizio Quattrocchi, I felt a little guilty singling out his heroism, when I knew that there were many stories of individual courage and honor left untold. I suppose that I, as a civilian (without military background) was moved by how Quattrocchi, a civilian, had met his death like a man -- the way I hope I would in similar circumstances -- a brave and defiant man.

Like many of us, I suppose I expect our military to be brave and honorable, so I inadvertently take the stories of individual military heroism for granted.

I'm glad that Ted points us to this moving story of the actions of several individuals, each heroic in their own way, to honor fallen hero PFC Chance Phelps, USMC.

I love Western civilization, and we owe its existence to the kinds of sacrifices that men like PFC Phelps have made on our behalf over the last 230 years. We should not and cannot take that for granted.

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I haven't blogged much at all about the war against the barbarians. I have too much trouble moderating my tone. Anyway, others like James Lileks daily say what I would want to say.

But today I read a little more about Fabrizio Quattrocchi, the 36-year-old pipeline security guard from Italy, who was shot in the neck and killed yesterday by Iraqi "insurgents."

Before he was murdered, he was forced to dig his own grave. He then tried to rip off his hood and shouted, "Now I'll show you how an Italian dies."

The world needs more Fabrizios and fewer psychotic death cult adherents.

Posted by: JohnL at 10:59 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Ted has another "boring" installment of Air Force Blue up at RocketJones. More fun stuff about security police training.

Money quote: "Big fun. Really. Like playing as kids, except we had real M16's full of blanks."

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Ted at Rocket Jones has this article (number six in his "Air Force Blue" series of tales about USAF training and duty) categorized under "Boring Stories." It's anything but.

Go back through the earlier installments, too.

(Money quote from entry number 1: "San Antonio in August. Hell with an accent.")

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From a Marine aviator in Afghanistan. (Via Instapundit).

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