The Ultimate Differential Theory of US Armed Forces (Snake Model)
Upon encountering a snake in the Area of Operations (AO)
Airborne: Lands on and kills the snake.
Air Force, O-6 and above: “Get that damned snake off the fairway!”
Armor: Runs over snake. Never knows it,as well as where the tank and the snake is on the battlefield. Continues […]

I wonder when the new MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle) will go on sale for consumer purchase. Thousands of Hummer drivers are waiting to trade in.

(I have to admit that I love the way military, construction and certain other vehicles designed for purely utilitarian purposes without the unnecessary aesthetic add-ons look.)

David over at War is Boring compares and contrasts the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Our politicos have lumped the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan together under the same ridiculous “war on terror” moniker, but these are two very different conflicts.
Most of Iraq’s major cities – Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan are the major exceptions – […]

[Hotel Tango: Neptunus Lex]

On the heels of last week’s declaration by Russian President Putin that he is the world’s only “pure democrat” (which was followed by criticism of civil rights abuses in the West), Russian authorities attempted to stop an opposition (read: anti-Putin) protest by encircling the rally’s planned location with dung.
Opponents of President Vladimir Putin had hoped […]

Interesting article in the June issue of The Atlantic Monthly:
To fight today’s wars with an all-volunteer force, the U.S. Army needs more quick-thinking, strong, highly disciplined soldiers. But creating warriors out of the softest, least-willing populace in generations has required sweeping changes in basic training.
I may have more to add on this when I’ve finished […]

A soldier from Fort Hood, the huge military installation 45 minutes north of Austin in Killeen, is missing somewhere in the wilderness on post. He apparently got lost on a solo training exercise.
Hundreds of soldiers and civilians scoured the rugged Fort Hood terrain Monday for a soldier missing since he set out on a solo […]

More National Guard soldiers from Austin and San Antonio shipped off for a tour in Iraq over the weekend. As sad as their departure is, I still think it’s healthy, to some degree, that our true citizen soldiers — those who are civilians most of the time and soldiers part of the time — be […]

Top Air Force brass, the House Armed Services Committee and The Army Times have come out against continued “in lieu of” taskings of airmen and sailors to perform the duties of soldiers and Marines.
“The committee is very concerned about the creep of nontraditional missions, such as ground combat skills, into the Navy and Air Force […]