Rules for Life...

1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can't push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

19 * Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate.

20 * Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll create a life. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any grief, be ready to receive a ton of crap...

WOW...

Lucky Gunner was nice enough to host some bloggers and others at a Memorial Day Weekend shoot today; and a rather strange day it was...

Yes, that IS a Civil War Re-enactor taking a break from shooting the cannon in the back ground and now shooting an AR-10...

Bloggers- Check, check, etc... Whole bunches of good folks showed up!

WWII Re-enactors (US and German with bivouacs set up)- Check

Civil War Cannons- Check

German PAC 38 Cannon- Check

Tanks (with MG and Cannon)- Check

Half Tracks (with multiple MG)- Check

Full Auto SMG- Check, check, check...

Full Auto MG- Check, check , check, well you get the idea...

1938 BAR, 1919 Browning MG, Water Cooled .30 MG, Lewis MG, Ma Deuce (WWII version), etc...

Personal weapons- Check (everywhere)

Huey- Check (with Sheriff's SWAT team aboard)

They're coming to take us... oh, you want to SHOOT what we brought? Sure!!! :-)

Free ammo- CHECK!!! :-) Thank you Lucky Gunner!!!

Sadly, the 1938 BAR actually ran out of 30-06 ammo at the end of the day

I am NOT exaggerating, the firing line was at LEAST 100 yards wide...

I would estimate 150 total folks there, and EVERYBODY including the kids were shooting anything and everything! And not a single gun turned bad and shot anybody...

We also honored two Wounded Warriors; one a Chaplin with a CIB (only the second one I've ever seen wearing one; he was prior enlisted), and the other a young troop who was a Blackhawk crew chief and shot in Afghanistan a month or so ago and now in rehab. They got head of the line privileges on anything they wanted to shoot (and did)!

All the tables had donation jars (which filled up quickly) for Wounded Warriors, and I personally cannot think of a much better way to honor them.

Traction Control has a few comments up from folks as he was blogging from the site (I was otherwise occupied... :-)

I'll get some videos up later in the week.

Oh yeah, and one 'side' comment- I asked one of the SWAT guys if they would ever hit one of the houses of the owners of some of the weapons being shot. He kinda cocked his head and said, "Um.. Nah, airstrike..."

Memorial Day...

Thank you to those who have gone before us and given their all for us...




Hand Salute!


Ready, Two.


Nuff said...

Book Report(s),,,

Two books I'd like to call your attention to...

Well, one 'real' book and one E-Arc.

The E-Arc is Larry Correia's new book Monster Hunter Alpha. In it we FINALLY get the backstory on Earl Harbinger, and it's presented in a rather interesting fashion. We also get the introduction of, what I believe, will be another major character in the Monster Hunter Universe...

And the whole thing about pies just kicked over my giggle box... :-)

I do have a complaint though... It wasn't nearly long enough, it only lasted three hours into a 12 hour flight! Larry, write faster :-)

Seriously, I didn't see any sign of a sophomore drop off in quality, characters, story arc or any formulaic writing. It was new, fresh, and the continuity was excellent!

And the guns are right, as usual! :-)

-----------------------

The second book report is Effective Handgun Defense, by Frank James.

It's a short book, only 250 pages, but it is 250 pages of EXCELLENT reference information on handguns, calibers, uses, manufacturers, holsters, and basically everything one needs to get and stay informed on defensive handguns. Frank walks us through history, with excellent pictures, anecdotes that make good points, and gives his recommendations along with the rationales for them.

Pros and cons are all on paper, giving the reader quite a few thought provoking options on concealment vs. stopping power vs. reliability. This is one I'd strongly recommend for anyone interested in handguns for use in self defense.

And for some reason the thought that kept running through my head was- Beware the old man with the one gun (in this case a .41 Magnum revolver) with all the bluing worn off... :-)

And yes, Frank was nice enough to actually GIVE me a copy, although I was more than willing to pay for it, and I was not under ANY obligation to put up a report on it, but I think it is well worth the $$, probably better than about 75-80% of the so called expert's books I have in the library right now...

The Huey is no more...

The last Hueys have been retired by the Army and the Marines, so an iconic airframe passes into history with little fanfair, other than military ceremonies...

First developed by Bell for medivac and utility use in 1952, first flight was Oct 1956 and first produced in Mar 1960. More than 16,000 total have been built. It first saw combat in Vietnam as the HU-1, hence the "Huey" nickname. It's official name was the Iroquois.

This is the speech given last week at Ft Rucker when they retired the last Huey:

CW4 Lawrence Castagneto, 17 May 2011

"Thank you Sir"
As a Vietnam Veteran Army Aviator, I would like to thank everyone for coming to this special occasion, on this to be honest...very sad day, the end of a era. An era that has spanned over 50 years. The retirement of this grand old lady "OUR MOTHER" ... the Huey.

I would like to thank, MG Crutchfield for allowing me to speak at this event and try to convey in my own inadequate, meager way.. what this aircraft means to me and so many other Vietnam veterans.

First a few facts:

It was 48 yrs ago this month that the first Huey arrived in Vietnam with
units that were to become part of the 145th and the 13th Combat Aviation
Battalions; both units assigned here at Ft Rucker today. While in Vietnam, the Huey flew approximately 7,457,000 combat assault sorties; 3,952,000 attack or gunship sorties and 3,548,000 cargo supply sorties. That comes to over 15 million sorties flown over the paddies and jungles of Nam, not to include the millions of sorties flown all over the world and other combat zones since then ....what a amazing journey.... I am honored and humbled to have been a small part of that journey.

To those in the crowd that have had the honor to fly, crew, or ride this
magnificent machine in combat, we are the chosen few, the lucky ones. They understand what this aircraft means, and how hard it is for me to describe my feelings about her as a Vietnam combat pilot.... for she is alive... has
a life of her own, and has been a life long friend.

How do I break down in a few minutes a 42 year love affair, she is as much a part of me, and to so many others,,,as the blood that flows through our
veins. Try to imagine all those touched over the years ...by the shadow of
her blades.

Other aircraft can fly overhead and some will look up and some may not; or even recognize what they see but, when a Huey flies over everyone looks up and everyone knows who she is... young or old all over the world she connects with all.

To those that rode her into combat... the sound of those blades causes our heart beat to rise... and breaths to quicken... in anticipation of seeing that beautiful machine fly overhead and the feeling of comfort she brings. No other aircraft in the history of aviation evokes the emotional response the Huey does... combat veteran's or not... she is recognized all around the world by young and old, she is the ICON of the Vietnam war, U.S. Army Aviation, and the U.S. Army. Over 5 decades of service she carried Army Aviation on her back, from bird dogs and piston powered helicopters with a secondary support mission, to the force multiplier combat arm that Army Aviation is today.

Even the young aviators of today, that are mainly Apache pilot's, Blackhawk pilot's, etc., that have had a chance to fly her will tell you there is no greater feeling, honor, or thrill then to be blessed with the opportunity to ride her thru the sky... they may love there Apaches and Blackhawks, but they will say there is no aircraft like flying the Huey " it is special".

There are two kinds of helicopter pilots: those that have flown the Huey and those that wish they could have.

The intense feelings generated for this aircraft are not just from the flight crews but, also from those who rode in back ...into and out of the "devils caldron". As paraphrased here from "Gods own lunatics", Joe Galloway's tribute to the Huey and her flight crews and other Infantry veterans comments:

Is there anyone here today who does not thrill to the sound of those Huey blades?? That familiar whop-whop-whop is the soundtrack of our war... the lullaby of our younger days it is burned in to our brains and our hearts. To
those who spent their time in Nam as a grunt, know that noise was always a
great comfort... Even today when I hear it, I stop...catch my breath...and search the sky for a glimpse of the mighty eagle.

To the pilots and crews of that wonderful machine ...we loved you, we loved that machine.

No matter how bad things were...if we called ... you came... down through the hail of green tracers and other visible signs of a real bad day off to a bad start. I can still hear the sound of those blades churning the fiery sky ....To us you seemed beyond brave and fearless... Down you would come to us in the middle of battle in those flimsy thin skin -chariots ...into the storm of fire and hell,..

...we feared for you, we were awed by you. We thought of you and that beautiful bird as " God's own lunatics"... and wondered ...who are theses men and this machine and where do they come from ...... Have to be "Gods Angels".

So with that I say to her, that beautiful lady sitting out there, from me and all my lucky brothers, that were given the honor to serve their country, and the privilege of flying this great lady in skies of Vietnam - Thank you for the memories...Thank you for always being there...Thank you for always bringing us home regardless of how beat up and shot up you were..., Thank You!!!!.

You will never be forgotten, we loved you then..... we love you now... and will love you till our last breath ...

And as the sun sets today, if you listen quietly and closely you will hear that faint wop wop wop of our mother speaking to all her children past and present who rode her into history in a blaze of glory ...she will be saying to them: I am here... I will always be here with you.

I am at peace and so should you be ... and so should you be.

I'm confident the Huey will be much like the DC-3, they will continue to fly forever... They are still out there world-wide, doing the job and bringing the crews back home at the end of the day.

Stick a Fork in It...

Done :-)

Heading back to the 'world' today...

Went over to the Seamen's Club and got a beer and a burger in celebration. This is a little known outfit, but they provide one hellva service to sailors that crew the ships spread all over the world supporting the US military and other organizations. They provide phone, email, decent food and all kinds of BEER :-) And it's all reasonably priced!!!

You can see their locations from the placemat below.

And since we were talking about Singapore, we decided to celebrate with Tiger, which is brewed in Singapore :-)

We may not be coming back with 'all' of the pieces and parts, but we are coming back with ALL of the folks in one piece and that is the most important part.

Went out to Sam's Anchor Inn for dinner, got Kobe beef teppanyaki style, along with shrimp and all the fixings, along with painted label San Miguel beer-

Our token one good meal of the trip. Now looking 'forward' (NOT) to 2 hour flight, 3 hour layover, 9 hour flight, 2 hour layover, 5 hour flight to get home... sigh...

Armed Forces Day...

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

On 31 Aug 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace individual services appreciation days. The single day celebration also stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department- the Department of Defense.

And has anyone seen this advertised anywhere? Any media coverage (Stars and Stripes DID cover it)???

/Crickets...

BUT they sure have covered the so called end of the world! WTFO???

Since I'm OCONUS I have been thanking all the folks I came in contact with yesterday to thank them, and a few (mostly senior folks) actually knew what I was talking about... sigh...

Here are a couple of pics of a "Challenge Coin" I was given by Jim Land. This one is pretty special to me. Here is the obverse-

And this is the reverse of the coin

Take a minute and thank a service member, active retired or otherwise... I've set this as an auto post, so I 'hope' it posts on the right day...

Notes to self...

Find some place else to stay next time...

Air Farce bases have some 'stupid' internet policies- Block any thing about weapons (e.g. blogs, firearms companies, NRA, etc), and this is the pop up

Your page is blocked due to a security policy that prohibits access to Category Weapons

but you're allowed to go to Brady bunch, VPC and all the other anti-gun sites...

Don't walk close to the compound fence at night. DAYUM those floodlights are bright... AND I got busted for smoking in a secure area! WTF???

Why is it, if you're inside the fence, everybody walking by on the outside 'ignores' you??? Are they pretending we don't exist???

Japanese econo-boxes (e.g tiny cars) have more features than most full size american cars! My tin can with roller skate wheels has automatic wipers, automatic headlights, auto dimming rearview mirror, and a rear windshield wiper...

Now if it just had THREE squirrels for power, instead of the two...

With four full sized Americans in three bags in it, it had to downshift to low gear to get up a hill. Pretty bad when the big diesel truck was pulling away from us going to up the 9% grade...

After five "days" of less than four hours of sleep, dingy (is that a word?) does not BEGIN to describe how tired we are. One guy literally went to sleep in the middle of the conversation!

Once again, truly impressed by the kids out here on the pointy end... They are good, and proud of what they are doing! And in casual conversations, many more (both male and female) are gun owners/shooters! Yea for them!

There was something elzzzZZZZZZZ

Nuff Said...

10 Lbs in a 5 Lb bag- Take 2...

Here we go again... Take two, plus some pics. Reconfiguration is complete more or less...

Different CONEX boxes, different cable reels and other toys.

And creating welding 101 :-) In the right center you see some folks squatting on the deck. They are welding padeyes to the deck, and as Danny observed before, painting them with White Lead, since they are temporary. Now it's raining at this time, so they did some creative welding/painting, by using the torch to heat up the padeye/weld, paint it quickly, and use an umbrella to deep the rain off for a couple of minutes until the paint dried... Pretty creative!!!

And Danny wanted some more pics of the ROV, it's a HYSUB 150/3000 (info HERE). This is a pic of the swing out derrick used to launch the ROV over the side of the ship, which does have DPS (1 meter accuracy).

Here's another view of the derrick and cable sleeve. As you can tell, it's a pretty 'healthy' assembly...

And here are some pics of their control station- Since we're not planning on using it, we don't have any of the ROV crew aboard.

My timing SUCKS!!!

Alternate title- Well, THAT was just special...

Sigh...

Pushed it a 'bit' late leaving the work site, so we decided to take the Expressway back up to where we were staying. Now the tropical storm eye wasn't quite here, but the wind/rain was getting interesting...

For those who've been over here, you remember the Expressway is made with volcanic rock in place of 'gravel' seen in most roads in the USA. It sheds water really well, but it's also SLICK when wet!

Anyhoo, we jump on the Expressway, and the "mid-sized" car (read tin can with roller skate wheels) is a bit of a handful. The guy riding with me is already nervous, since he's in the left front seat with no steering wheel, no brakes, nothing...

It's blowing 30ish knots, gusting 50ish knots, raining 'medium' (about what we'd call a frog strangler back home) and sideways. So visibility is not the best.

I'm more concerned about staying on the road than I am about speed, so I'm not really looking as I'm also trying to see the road and kinda crabbing into the wind. About that time we come out from behind one of the hills onto the first bridge going North...

Next thing I know, the other guy goes, "did you do that on purpose?"

What?

"Did you change lanes on purpose?"

I didn't change lanes!

"Yes you did!"

Huh???

"I can see the guardrail now, before I couldn't!"

Meh... So we get across the bridge, and there we go again...

See above... Same comments from him and from me. He has had all the fun he can stand, so he flops the seat back down and tells me- "Lemme know when we die!" and closes his eyes like he's sleeping.

So I fight the car up the Expressway for 25 klicks, get off, and- The wind drops off, the rain stops and the sun comes out...

And he looks up and asks, "Did we die? Is THAT why the sun's shining and there's no wind?"

My timing sucks!!! And I'm STILL trying to get the seat cushion outta my ass...

10Lbs in a 5Lb bag...

Well, here we go again... Trying to get 10lbs in a 5lb bag, er... ship...

This is a working ROV on the ship we are working with; it's not the cutesy little things you see on TV, this one is a workhorse ROV!!! 4600 lbs, 100 inches high, depths to 16000 feet, two manipulators...

And a pic of the ship from the pier...

The big blue thing sticking up through the picture is the port A-Frame support, capable of >30,000 lbs. The other bits and pieces are semi positioned on deck, based on offload and ability to flake equipment out prior to deployment.

This one is from the 01 Deck, looking aft past the ROV sheave. Even though the deck 'appears' open, you can see the cable spool that has to be spooled out down the center of the aft deck.

And finally, what I think is probably the 'best' headline I've seen about OBL. And it pretty much captures the folks out here on the pointy end's perspective...

And in what is becoming a habit, got another @#&*% Tropical Storm (03W) that has us boresighted... I want to find the sumbitch with the target painted on his back and send him somewhere/anywhere else... sigh...

Happy Mother's Day...

To each and every Mother, thank you for being there for us, bearing us, nurturing us, and most of all, putting up with us...

And a special thank you to those Blue Star and Gold Star Mothers out there. Without you, we would not have a military. Your sacrifices go above and beyond what any parent should have to endure.

The Blue Star Mother's Flag. Contrary to what some think, this is NOT a Brigadier General/Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Flag...

A Gold Star Mother's Flag- 'Technically' this flag is incorrect, the original intent was for the gold star to be slightly smaller than the blue star on the blue star flag and the blue star would form a border around the gold star.

USS Murphy DDG 112...

USS Michael Murphy, DDG-112 was christened today, 7 May, 2011 at Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine. Adding to the significance of the date is that this was also his birthday. Lt Michael Murphy would have been 35 years old. Instead, he gave his life during Operation Red Wings at the age of 29. He gave his life for the other team members, and his memory will live on in this Burke class Destroyer.

More on USS Murphy HERE:

More on Operation Red Wings HERE:

More on the christening HERE:

Of note, LT Murphy and the other SEALS had the option of killing the herders who initially discovered them, but chose NOT to take innocent lives, even though it would 'probably' cause them problems. THIS is the kind of thinking that sets US military apart from the bad guys... Sadly, we lost three outstanding sailors that day and only PO1 Marcus Luttrel survived, and he is living every day with survivor's guilt. I think it is truly appropriate that the "stock" photo used for the commissioning is not the officer portrait, but rather one of the last pictures taken of LT Murphy in theater. The ship's motto is also true of not only LT Murphy, but the SEALs in general, the motto is "LEAD THE FIGHT".

A bit busy...

Sorry for the light posting and commenting...

We took a bit of a different approach into Tokyo this time, as far as I could tell from listening to the controllers, this is the 'new' standard approach...

On the road for the next month or so, as usual lousy connectivity, and limited bandwidth at best...

So posting/commenting will be light and for that I apologize. I will throw stuff up when I can. Y'all go read from the side bar, ALL good folks over there!

Osama Bin Laden is dead!!!

Looks like the US got him yesterday with a SOCOM team (update- SEALS supported by 160th SOAR) on the ground in Pakistan! Been waiting for familial DNA comparison, apparently it came through tonight! Best news I have heard since 9/11!

And even better, all our folks got out okay!

NRA Convention Wrap up...

GREAT TIME! :-)

Seriously, the dogs are now howling, but it was worth the effort and the time...


Estimates of attendance are around 70,000 (official figures will be released later this week)


Sebastian over at Snowflakes in Hell has been doing the grunt work attending the law seminars and other important meetings, and his reports are up HERE. Thanks Seb!!!

Thanks go to the NRA PR office, they let us in, and even gave us credentials! Other thanks-
The Pittsburgh Police Department and the Sheriff's Department. Everyone of their folks I talked to were polite, helpful and pretty much 'ignored' all of those that were open carrying. Of course it might have been that they figured at least half of us were carrying...


And I did get a comment as I was leaving from one of the PD Sgts that not a single person had shot them the bird or called them pigs all weekend :-) Amazing how that courtesy thing works...

The event staff did an excellent job, they were unobtrusive, polite, helpful and the food was actually pretty good! But about those little bitty coffee cups...

I believe the 'signature' event was Wayne LaPierre's call for Holder's resignation. One can only hope they were listening in Washington!!!

We had a BUNCH of bloggers there, and it was a pleasure to meet folks I've been reading and those who comment (sometimes) on my poor little blog... One of the highlights was getting to meet Breda's Mom- She's in the dictionary- Under FEISTY! I can now see where Breda gets here attitude!


This morning I got in a 'bit' early, so I wandered around and ended up talking to John Bianchi for a few minutes, and got a chance to ask him how he came up with the design for the ambidextrous holster for the M-92. It was a truly interesting story involving three years of research and ALMOST didn't get accepted because he added the cleaning rod to the front of the holster. John said he finally told the General that Bianchi would pay for the rods themselves!!!


I also got in early enough to speak to Ronnie Barrett for a minute or so, he was on his way to the big meeting, so was formally dressed, but he was willing to stop and talk. He indicated the MRAD should be officially released next month!!! Interestingly enough, EVERY person that came up to him while I was standing there (probably 15-20 folks) ALL thanked him for his stand on California!


So THIS is now on my wish list (probably about the 12th of never, but what the hey)...




I also stopped back by the FN booth after my last conversation with Frank James about hogs and the amount of 'power' needed to bring them down. I got a chance to talk to Eric Lund, one of FN's shooters, and asked him for an honest appraisal of the SCAR 17. As we were talking I found out he used to be with an agency in Fairfax, and we know a number of people in common, including my gunsmith and folks that routinely whip my ass on the range...


His comments (or words to that effect)- It's a slower cycle time than an AR platform, since it's not direct impingement, it's easier to clean and breaks down quickly (he did it in about 30 secs). He said it's a smoother 'felt' recoil even as light as it is, and due to the lower alignment of the barrel to the stock, he felt the rise was very manageable for repeated shots. He also said the rifle should hold 1 MOA fairly easily. Trijicon is also making an ACOG optic that will fit it with the BDC built in like the TA31RCO. He also said it can be set up as either right or left handed depending on the shooter, with the exception of the ejection (always to the right).


I think this one goes on the serious want list...




And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Breda for setting up the blogger get together! It was great, and we had the added benefits of Alan Gura and Alan Gottlieb attending. Mr. Gura is one smart individual, and I believe there are other things coming from him. I also believe he has a critical capability that most of his opponents don't have, and that is the ability AND willingness to think out of the box! I'm just glad he's on OUR side!!!


And for those who are curious about the BBQ leather I wore last night, it was done by Kenny and Cody Rowe out of Hope Arkansas. Their web site is HERE!


I will defer to others who had MUCH better cameras than I for the pretty pictures, and thanks to all for the pleasure of your company! Looking forward to seeing you again next year, if not before!