Must-See YouTube

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).

Your Reading Assignment Tonight

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.

Required Reading

Stephen Green. Now.
(And Margaret Friedenauer).

Swords and Guns

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.

Happy Memorial Day

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.

Merkava Movie

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?

War Crimes in Fallujah

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).

Photos From the Front

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.

Proverbs 3:8b

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.

Russian Tank Museum

From Gravity Lens, a link to a Russian Tank Museum.
Be sure to check out the photogallery of armored trains. Amazing.