I noticed today that if the topic of RIPR (Rifle Integrated Power Rail) comes up on a forum or blog a couple of things happen:
Now I have mentioned RIPR. Will the cycle repeat? I’ll start by commenting that I don’t think I will ever have a need for this device.
Amateur astronomers have located the officially secret orbit of the X-37B, affectionately known as The Flying Twinkie. This is a reusable, unmanned orbital space plane that experts believe will carry on research for the Department of Defense after the manned shuttle fleet is grounded. It was launched back in April into low-Earth orbit on a mysterious mission. I’m going to set an alarm for early morning and try to get a peek if the skies are clear. You can track the orbit and see the X-37B yourself using Chris Peat’s excellent website, www.Heavens-Above.com
Also, this X-51A Waverider hypersonic scramjet launches May 25th. [link]
The X-37 shuttle is doubtless rooted in the development of surveillance, but the X-51 has serious potential as a weapons platform. The USAF has openly stated their desire to get a cruise missile on target anywhere in the world in under an hour. This thing is a step in that direction].
I would like to think that if I was actually a ship-boarding hostage-taking real life pirate that I would avoid situations like the one I am going to link below. I will spoil the story a bit because the headlines don’t convey the comedy of the situation to my liking. Yesterday, Somali pirates attacked a US flagged vessel in international waters. Unfortunately for the pirates, the vessel was a US Navy guided missile frigate, the USS Nicholas. Oops!
US Navy Frigate Captures Pirate Mother Ship
…The USS Nicholas was just west of the Seychelles in international waters Thursday when crew began taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff, NBC News reported. The Nicholas returned fire and disabled the pirate boat, then pursued the skiff until it finally broke down.
The U.S. sailors were able to board the skiff and arrest three suspected pirates. On board, the sailors found ammunition and several cans of fuel, NBC News reported.
A short time later, the sailors were able to take control of a nearby mother ship and detained two more suspected pirates…
Truly, these men are the Napoleons of crime. Go Navy!
As proof that the internets have made the world a smaller place I submit the curious cross-over of two personal interests: Zombie Squad and finding people who fake military service.
In this corner we have Patrick Curtis Kelly, Special Forces Super Soldier.
Aka csmabnmp, lawdawg46, Team Sgt on the Internet
Kelly’s False Military claims:Ranger School GraduateGreen Beret / Special Forces5th Special Forces Group Service11th Special Forces Group ServiceCombat experienceMilitary Service in 1960′s*Rank of Command Sergeant Major.there are more.* He would have been 15 in 1969. [ LINK ]
Mr. Kelly, please tell us a bit about yourself.
…currently the Command Sergeant Major of the 2nd Battalion of the Ohio Military Reserve, and is a Captain with the the South Bloomfield, Ohio, Police Department, assigned to a Strike Force with the United States Marshall’s Service. CSM Kelly has served in the past with local, county, state and Federal Law Enforcement and Corrections agencies, as well as serving in the United States Army in Infantry, Cavalry and Special Forces. CSM Kelly has been a trainer of law enforcement Officers for the last seventeen years, and has trained students serving with Franklin , Pickaway, Union and Madison County Sheriff’s Departments; Columbus, Circleville, Ashville, South Bloomfield, Richwood, and New Holland, Ohio, Police Departments; as well as Franklin County Court Appointed Special Advocates and Franklin County Child Support Enforcement.
A search of military records by people who excel at such things indicates different facts.
…it is declared that Kelley, Patrick C. is a non-graduate of the United States Army Ranger School.
Also,
claims Ranger Class 4-72, CSM, SF 5th Group active, 11th Group/Reserves
email lawdawg46@juno.com“csmabnmp”Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:21 AM
Subject: Re: Rgr Check KELLY, PATRICK CURTISRanger Buddy,
I checked the class rosters for class 3-72 and 4-72 to see if he recycled or was on the rosters. He was on neIther roster, nor does he have a green card. I checked both Kelley and Kelly as well as Patrick and Curtis as first names with no luck.
RLTW
I would pay good money to see a face-off between the above Team Sergeant and THIS Team Sergeant. I had way too much personal experience with someone claiming military scout sniper secret squirrel training last year, so I am not suffering fools lightly in 2010.
I don’t believe in karma, but I love the concept. My wife is a believer and often refers to “instant karma” situations. An example of instant karma: as you make fun of someone being clumsy, you drop a crystal punch bowl full of grape jelly on the hardwood floor.
This situation isn’t exactly instant, but still quite satisfying.
…A co-worker at Walter Reed said Hasan would not allow his photo to be taken with female co-workers, which became an issue during Christmas season when employees often took group photos… link
karma strikes back in 5…4…3…2…1…
…a female Fort Hood officer had shot and wounded Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, ending the bloodletting on the Texas base… link
Bam! Said the lady. That’s got to suck hard. Bravo, Sgt. Kimberly Munley. You took direct decisive action and did a lot of good. Get well soon. Details on “Mighty Mouse” here
Please don’t let anything like research or journalistic ethics prevent you from jumping on a meaningless and inaccurate statement like “Cop Killer” when the opportunity arises. For the benefit of non-shooters, the pistol reportedly used by the Ft. Hood shooter is no more designed to kill cops than a thousand other firearms. It just isn’t. It uses the same caliber ammunition as a carbine designed as a military weapon, yes. Government agencies and law enforcement can buy armor piercing ammunition for the FN FiveseveN pistol and the submachine gun that uses the same caliber, but this cull cannot legally buy it. We civilians get ammunition that is certified by the BATFE as not armor piercing. The jury is still out on whether or not the pistol, with it’s shorter barrel, can fire the AP ammo at a high enough velocity to defeat armor anyway. As a rule of thumb, if you can kill a deer with it it will defeat all but the very best body armor. This thing won’t kill a deer or defeat a vest unless he was using illegal ammo witch would make him, what, more of a murderer?
If they guy had been a real gun guy and chose a pistol in a real grown up caliber he might have done even more damage, so I am personally glad he chose the “cop killer” because it sucks at killing people. I don’t know why I’m surprised at news outlet parroting bad information when they don’t even bother to learn the difference between calibers and millimeters. See the links below.
A while back I made an abnormally emotional post (Paradigm Shift) about the rise of Active Shooter incidents and the proper response to them. Now there has been another, this time at the U.S. Army base Fort Hood, Texas. It seem that local law enforcement acted in accordance with the new thinking on these ultra violent offenders by responding quickly and taking direct action to engage the gunman without extensive staging or coordination. While the number of dead and wounded is shocking the potential for greater suffering was immense with six hundred unarmed victims in the building.
My heart goes out to the victims and there family, and I applaud the bravery and sacrifice of the first responders who took action to stop the threat and rescue the wounded. Not to be overlooked are those bold men and women who identified the danger when violence broke out and acted to secure and protect those in the building avoiding further casualties.
On a related and totally personal note, if your cousin is accused of murdering thirteen co-workers and wounding thirty others, all fellow American soldiers, please don’t get on TV and say that he is “a good American.” Think of something else, like “he had a lovely singing voice” instead. KTHNX!
What is this mystery weapon? Well, its common family name is “bunker buster.” We have bunker busters in the Air Force inventory now, but they are wee in comparison to this new monster. The current model, the GBU-28, tips the scale a tad under 5,000lbs and is made out of old howitzer barrels. They did a fair job of busting buried bunkers in the most recent misadventure in Iraq. They are a popular export item, too. Israel has stocked up on our standard deep penetration gravity bomb to tackle hardened underground armories or command and control targets in the event that hostilities with their neighbors flare up. If a target is hidden under less than 100 feet of dirt or 20 feet of concrete, it is history.
This new Massive Ordinance Penetrator weighs a staggering 30,000lbs, is not made out of scrap metal and has added accuracy thanks to GPS guidance. Telling the world the exact technical specs of this beast is unwise, but the money and minds behind MOP know that leaking some capabilities could serve an important diplomatic function.
“I saw on your FaceBook that you have built your uranium enrichment facility under 100 feet of earth and 50 feet of reinforced concrete. That’s cool. Hey, did I mention we had a bomb that can penetrate 300 feet of earth and 60 feet of reinforced concrete? Oh, it can be dropped from our B2 stealth bomber, too. That’s the plane that can defeat any integrated air defense network in the world. The bomb’s guidance works in any weather. You know, just FYI. L8r!”
While doing some research for an upcoming speaking engagement for which I have been asked to contribute I re-discovered how quotable a speaker was Sir Winston Churchill.
If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
Wow.
This weekend you should try to get out and look for the International Space Station as it does a fly-over. The space shuttle Endeavour is working on STS-127 and is currently docked with the ISS. With the added real estate of the shuttle along with the new solar arrays the ISS is bright with reflected sunlight from beyond the horizon and will appear quite large in the sky. Check it out.
Chris Peat’s excellent website, Heavens-Above, makes it easy to catch interesting objects in the night sky. Just plug in your location information and it does the math for you. Armed with that data and some simple optics (a binocular with a large objective is ideal) you are set to see not only the ISS but also the Hubble Space Telescope, various spy and communications satellites as well as space junk from all eras. The Lacrosse series of military reconnaissance satellites are among my favorite to look for because they are large and almost ubiquitous. Your tax dollars at work…
Happy hunting!