[December 16, 2024] In 2006, the Coalition Strategic Plan in Iraq was to reduce the number of U.S. bases and personnel, consolidating them into larger bases near Baghdad. The Iraqi military would take over those bases and increasingly engage in combat, doing so slowly as they gained numbers, experience, and a professionalized force. This plan was feasible and… Read More »
[December 15, 2024] Here in New Jersey, we’re celebrating the overflight of unidentified drones, some which may turn out to be a bad boy neighbor. If this were Texas, I’d already have an extensive collection of nonfunctional drones in my backyard. BTW, I’ve been ordered not to shoot at them or I might make the Aliens mad and,… Read More »
[December 14, 2024] The Big Band Era was in full swing and growing up in the 1950s and 60s, my parents made us all watch The Lawrence Welk Show. And they made me polka dance to the music. I hated it more than anything. Broadcast on black and white television until about 1965 (and then in Living Color),… Read More »
[December 13, 2024] Growing up in the pre-computer, pre-smart phone age offered a number of unexpected opportunities and advantages for boys. These were times when your parents expected you to take care of yourself, be self-reliant and possess grit and determination. And that’s where the saying, boys will be boys originated. Boys were essentially pushed out of the… Read More »
[December 12, 2024] I honestly never heard about this shopping cart theory before this morning. After reading an article about it, click, I immediately understood the idea behind the theory. The “theory” states that you can tell whether somebody is fundamentally a member of civilization or a savage based on whether they return their shopping cart. It’s obviously… Read More »
[December 11, 2024] On this date in 2006, the Iraq War was entering a new phase. There was yet no new Army Operations Order, no special briefings, no new command guidance, or change in leadership. We would not even recognize this date for what would later become – the beginning of pre-Surge deployments of troops designed to destroy… Read More »
[December 10. 2024] The foreign policies of President-Elect Donald Trump are going to be radically different from the Biden Administration. We see this difference most easily regarding the Hamas strategy of holding hostages since October last year. “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World,… Read More »
[December 9, 2034] Aaron Elson is the son of a World War 2 combat veteran. After Aaron’s dad was hospitalized in 1980, Aaron bought a Sony Recording Walkman to use in one-on-one interviews with the soldiers of his dad’s unit – the 712th Tank Battalion. Later, he would interview troops from all branches of the U.S. military. The… Read More »
[December 8, 2024] From my earliest memory as a child, I remember my dad kicking the tires on our old car. “Why do you do that, Dad,” I asked, completely clueless. “Well,” he said, “that’s how you check to make sure the tires don’t fall off when driving.” Dads are always right, of course, so that’s always what… Read More »
[December 7, 2024] We see, published today, many obligatory articles about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, occurring almost a century ago, 83 years. The attack was an operational masterstroke, given that the country of Japan could send six aircraft carriers 4,000 miles undetected, execute an air attack, and return home unmolested. As brilliant as this operation was,… Read More »