Honor, Duty, Sacrifice from GCS Distributing

I had previously had a wonderful slide show that was a tribute to our troops sent by email to me a few times. Today I found out the producers are GCS Distributing and they have several similar presentations, to include a new one: "Honor, Duty, Sacrifice." This show is very recent, as it includes the now famous Michael Yon (first link is to his weblog) photo of the Styker Brigade Major Beiger holding an Iraqi child named Farah. This link is to the index page to the other tributes they have made.

Encouraging Words from Down Under

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs has a post up quoting Paul Edwards from Austalia in a "Thanks, America." You know there's more like him out there, but he took time to say it...and admit he took too long to do so... Back at you, Paul Edwards: Thank you for your kind words.

The International Freedom Center?????

There is a move afoot to place a center at Ground Zero that will present a wide variety of things that the American culture has done poorly at handling, and the details are covered in many editorials, such as one on the 911 Families Website and Michelle Malkin's site. I picked up on this from several sources, but used a link from Mudville Gazette to find a defense of this shameful idea. In it, there is a link to a repsonse in the Wall Street Jounral to the uproar by Richard Tofel, the President for the organization who is championing this idea. Wonderful logic on which even Tofel missed the irony of his defense of smearing America by saying this:

"Ground Zero is precisely the right place to make this stand and leave a legacy for our children and generations to come. No less than Abraham Lincoln told us so, and at no less a place than Gettysburg. One hundred and forty-two years later, many Americans remember what was done there,...

I firmly believe the National Park at Gettysburg only memorializes the battle tah happened there. While I haven't been there, I have been to Antietam several times, and noted no museums documenting the internment of the Japanese Americans, nor or of even something as topical as Andersonville. I have stood on the USS ARIZONA, and saw no attribution to any other events, just the single attack of December 7th, 1941. Using his own logic, the center should be exclusive to what happened on 9/11/2001, for the World Trade Center Twin Towers, before that day, were merely well designed pieces of architecture not unlike many other steel, glass and concrete marvels around the World. They had not yet had their inanimate struture washed in the human blood of innocent people who went there to work that day, which is all we as people revere, the lives of others, not the physical builings we have. Recommendation to Mr. Richard Tofel: Find somewhere else to put up your monument, like, let's say maybe in Tianimin Square....Leave this hallowed ground for those who pershied on 9/11/2001.

Time for a name change: The "HBM"

It seems daily as though the (what we refer to in the blogosphere with great regularity) "Main Stream Media" (MSM) loses ground, for their "journalism" has just become pretty blatant editorializing, but, without much "investigation." Maybe they have just lost their identity and are seeking where their niche has gone to. They strike me as shifting away from being journalists, but not achieving a goal of being investigative reporters. Well, maybe I could give them that they can adequately handle consumer complaints about not getting a proper service job on an AC unit, but the bigger picture of the important geopolitical landscape seems to escape them. Mostly, the content of the stories leave out significant factual information, while other stories are completely ignored. In doing the "censoring" of the "product" being "packaged" to put the most money in their stockholders (or owner's) pockets, the world view leans heavily towards hate, violence and other disgusting things, but you all knew that... Therefore, I suggest a new name for the "MSM:" "Has Been Media," or "HBM" for short. One day, when the go back to school and, once more comprehend the purpose of a journalist is to report the facts on both sides, maybe they will be worth paying attention to once more. Comments?

On Power Plants and Breakaway Music.....

Ships have "Breakaway" music and flags. These are used at the end of an alongside replenishment, when, as soon as all lines connecting the ships are cleared, the throttles are advanced and the replenished ship moves ahead of the one it replenished from, on the same course, at first. This is when the Officer of the Deck usually yells into the pilot house for the Boatswain's Mate of the Watch (BMOW) to hold the 1MC (General Announcing system) mike to a cassette player (and I'm sure now a CD player), to play the music over the weather deck (topside) speakers. Simultaneously, the Signalmen "break" the breakaway flag on the side towards the other ship. For all my 20 years in, this was done as a matter of routine. I began my career on a replenishment ship, so I saw many ship depart from alongside, and heard a variety of music played. For the most part, many ships had their theme music, and almost exclusively played that. A few ship were the song of the moment types, and would just play something appropriate. For my first deployment, our ship would be accompanied by USS CONYNGHAM (DDG-17), and ADAMS Class guided missile destroyer, with 2 5"/54 Mk 42 guns, and a MK 13 Missile launcher, loaded with SM-1(MR) weapons. That class of DDGs are impressive to watch slicing through the water, with a narrow beam and an elevated bow that gracefully sweeps upwards. They were the picture of the front line guided missile "tin cans" from the 50s and 60s. CONYNGHAM had a great crew and a CO that made them do it right and fast. From the outside, professionalism oozed out of everything they did. Their ship handling was smart and they were on time and on target. Their breakaway flag white background, with a large green shamrock. Their theme music was the Star Wars title track. When they completed an UNREP (Underway Replenishment), the crew would stand at attention until they cleared our side, then they would move like aggravated ants to prepare the ship for the next evolution. The horsepower generated by their four 1200 PSI boilers and twin shafts could get them up to speed quickly and on their way to their next evolution. Being a "shoe" on a "fat ship," I longer to be a destroyerman, so I would watch, as much as my duties would allow the destroyers that had come alongside. I was always impressed with the seamanship of the CONYNGHAM's crew. Departing with the Star Wars music playing impressed me every time. Later the USS SPRUANCE (DD-963) was added to our battle force. She was a few years old now, but because she was the first of the class, she was the proof of concept for the 29 (and later 30) hulls like her to follow in her footsteps. In any case, assigned to our battle group, she would be making her maiden overseas deployment. Unlike previous destroyers, she was powered by 4 GE LM-2500 Marine Gas Turbines. 20,000 horsepower each, with two shafts, and throttles were usually controlled directly by the watchstanders on the bridge. SRPUANCE's theme song was, you guessed it, Star Wars. Their breakaway flag was a large yellow background, with large block red letters saying "BEWARE JET BLAST." this mimicked the warning seen painted on the island of an aircraft carrier. One day, the SPRUANCE was alongside before CONYNGHAM. At the completion of refueling, lines cleared, the music came on, the flag was broken, the turbine whine ramped up in seconds and she seemed shoot ahead of us. The CONYNGHAM followed her into station alongside us on the same side. Somehow, it was never the same for me to watch the proud, but aging DDG, play Star Wars and display her flag, as she steamed out ahead of us. No matter how professional, the SPRUANCE had her hands down on performance. Years later, I was driving one, and the thrill is quite excellent.

The Adventures of Jim, Sr - Part II

It's the 5th of June here, just before midnight on the 6th. 61 years ago, Lt Jim Helinger, Sr, was making his preparations to fly a glider full of troops and be one of the 200,000 men to invade Europe. I can't begin to imagine what his thoughts and feelings were. Here is Part II of the story Jim, Sr told me. Part I is here. For two months, Jim was assigned to Primary Flight Training at Coleman, TX. His training aircraft was a Fairchild PT-19, a monoplane with two open cockpits. Following primary training, he was sent to Sherman-Dennison, TX to train to fly the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which provided the student pilots with more instruments, so they could become proficient flying in bad weather, or at night. Under the normal pipeline for pilot training, the pilots would have then be split out for advanced training in Advanced Single Engine (fighters), Or Multi-Engine (bombers, transports). An urgent call came in to the beginning pilots: An offer to become glider pilots. Attached to this request was incentive: 50% extra flight pay. That would be added to their current pay, 20% overseas pay and combat pay they would be receiving when they were sent overseas. Jim volunteered to be a glider pilot. The training for gliders first took Jim home to Louisville, KY, where it looked like that would be the main location for glider training. The Army changed its mind and changed the training from Bowman Field, KY. When Jim got wind of this, he tried to pull his application for gliders, but, it was too late, so it was back to Lubbock Field, TX. Most of the pilots in the glider training with Jim had backgrounds as “service pilots.” That was the term used for pilots who ferried aircraft to and from the factories. Most of these service pilots were older men, in their mid to late 20s. Once again, Jim found himself in a PT-19 as the surrogate for a glider in the training pipeline. They flew four hours a day, and had ground school for the other four hours a day. Both parts of the day were “intense” according to Jim. One of the requirements was to learn to Morse Code. Jim had a problem with this and had to spend his evenings in the training lab, trying to get proficient enough to pass the test. On the tenth evening, he broke through the barrier and was able to pass. He never used Morse Code ever again after the test. With graduation came the big band at the ceremony, the presentation of the pilot wings with the distinctive “G” in the center, to delineate “glider.” It was off to two weeks of hard earned furlough, which he spent back home in Louisville, KY. At the end of the two weeks, Jim reported to Laurinburg-Maxton, NC for overseas combat training, which was combined with the 82nd Airborne Division troops. Six weeks of landing gliders in fields and also in lakes followed, with another week of furlough at the end of this training phase before shipping overseas. For the duration of his time in the service, Jim was assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 442nd Troop Carrier Group. Jim flew a glider into the Utah Beach invasion area behind Normandy on D-Day. On landing, the glider pilots fought with the Airborne troops, until the area was secured. Once the landing area was secured, the glider pilots would walk backwards, still ready to fight, back to the gliders. Once there, Jim was one of the officers trained to survey the airframees and find the airworthy ones. When found, they would rig a set of goal poats, a tow line and then fire a flare, to alert the orbiting C-47 (equipped with a tailhook) to make a low pass and snatch the glider from 0 to 135 MPH and off the ground. He said he had to wrap his arms around the steering wheel, and lean forward, holding on tight, that it was quite a shock to take back off like that. He did say some of the glider pilots somehow "forgot" to return to get a ride back, and fought with the ground troops all the way to Germany. He flew supplies into Patton’s Army, when they were being cut off from the normal supply train, so General Montgomery could push ahead. No one was really paying attention to what the glider pilots were doing, so General Patton had supplies brought to him, including gasoline for his tanks, via glider. Jim flew some of those missions. One of the missions he flew, he carried donkeys, that would be used as pack animals to carry gas cans. The donkeys were not happy with their accommodations and managed to kick holes in the fabric covering of the rear of the gliders. Jim prefers to only briefly describe some of the technical details of the operations, such as a response to a question most people wouldn’t think to ask: “Did you stay and fight with the airborne troops, or did you get out of the combat zone and how?” His focus is on the slices of life that defined the fun and good things. He did say he had also helped liberate the death camp at Dachau in Germany, and that was all he said about that. More to follow.... Part III

We Sunk the Kursk? Oh, Yeah....Chapomatic was Bored

Oh, now this is classy....US sunk Kursk. Yep, and a Navy Cruiser, off the coast of Long Island, was doing a MISSILEX at night, with no range safety assets, and just needed a target to give the crew something to do...and the CO convinced the entire crew to not say a word...ever....or they would be buried in the sands of Iraq, with their families by Saddam Hussein. Were these people dropped on their heads at birth? When will it end? Apologies to Chap...he's just my favorite bubblehead blogger...and I needed an example. Update: Chap does a fine job of providing what MK-48 ADCAP damage really looks like...and, as Yankee Sailor notes, pics like this scare us surface guys...

Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) - A Double Edged Sword

Yankee Sailor, an active duty "surface" type put up this post today on the topic of using Commercial Off-the-Shelf "stuff." Not only is it an interesting topic, for the military, as well as industry, I bumped across an article in Avionics Magazine on the very topic a few days ago. I saw some of the first big COTS projects for the Surface Navy, back in the mid-80s. The Joint Operational Tactical System (JOTS), which was fielded under the oversight of Adm Jerry O. Tuttle, gave us incredibly powerful computers that did an incredible job as providing mobile staffs and older ships with almost as much horsepower as a full blown, military developed Combat Direction System, and JOTS had 16 colors! That's not said lightly, for color tagging made for quick mental integration of the mountains of tactical info in hi tempo ops. I saw the HP9020s come in the "rapid prototyping" model, and our staff, in particular OSCS Jim Koch, had access to the JOTS code (which was running under UNIX and written in Rocky Mountain BASIC), and regularly sat with the programmers, one I recall was Dr Lee Whit, and Jim and I actually found and fixed a few bugs, which ended up in the fleet. From a configuration management standpoint, it was a software developer's nightmare, as the programmers went from ship to ship, and eagerly took "inputs" from the users, and in many cases, we (yep, I was party to it) had what we asked for last night the next morning. JOTS was first developed for use aborad ships, but became to centerpiece of the Joint Maritime Command Information System (JMCIS), being used fixed bases and with mobile units ashore In the later part of my tour on CDS 32, we also saw the same systems, using the Prototype Ocean Surveillance Tracking (POST), which morphed into the Ocean Surveillance Information System (OSIS) program, put out in the CICs of ships to help pre-process communication traffic for the Tomahawk cruise missile. Those POST instalations flew aboard the ships, after our staff reported out our results of some Operational Test Launches (OTL), to address some manpower loading issues for the THawk DataBase managers. The system ran on the HP9020 family of computers. More COTS. A then captain (later Admiral) John Gauss was the driving force behind all of that. He's also the only Captain I even saw look across the table in a meeting with Admiral Mike Boorda, and say "If the CTs steal one more of those systems, I'm pulling them off all the ships!" Adm Boorda turned to his senior cryppie and told him to fix the problem, NOW! I proceeded from CDS32 to Naval War College. One trimester was "National Decision Making." Those were fancy words for my indoctrination tot he McNamera methodology of system procurement. It was fascinating, and the most significant lesson I walked away from that trimester was: Once you buy into a level of technology, you are fundamentally stuck with it, so choose very carefully." In other words, you buy something like a fleet of radial engined cargo planes, then they get old and cranky, but if you decide to go jet, you better have a huge pile of cash, not only for new planes and engines, but to retrain your entire maintenance force, and buy all new spare parts, not to mention changing from AVGAS to JP series fuels. It goes further than that in this day and age, where we in the US don't make much of anything. Even "Made in the USA" means assembled from parts from all ove the far east, in the electronics field. Years later, I was the Systems Engineer at Fleet Combat Direction Systems Support Center, Dam Neck, VA (oh, hurt me with shore duty on the beach!). One major project I had oversight on, and was part of the training committee for the Program Manager, Capt Herb Kahler, was the Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT). I also had the programs for the FFG-7, DD-963, DDG-993, non-AEGIS CG/CGN, and JTIDS projects in my shops. Those were all military developments, hardware and software included. Lots of contrast. BFTT could not have blossomed as it did w/o COTS. Capt Kahler had a novel idea: Figure out what the BFTT project would do, them instead of building it from the basement up, see what other "puzzle" pieces already exist, and with minor modification, can be integrated for the final functionality. He found the projects. He began with the Tac3 series of computer parts, and Versa Module Europa (VME) card cages. Brilliant idea. UNIX was the OS. He found a project named Tactical Decision Making Under Stress (TADMUS) then out of a Navy training command office in Orlando, headed by Dr Jan Cannon-Bowers. That program had been developed as a fall out of the problems noted with USS VINCENNES CG-49). It is difficult to practice for the real world, when you're not getting the dimension of stress. TADMUS addressed that. I learned more about Industrial Psychology than I wanted to, but that was part of the program. He also found a program written by FLTAC, Corona, which used 3D modeling to reconstruct what happened on the open ocean range testing. That was a good tool to rerun the problem for the crew critiques. On and on the list went. Herb saved us many dollars, and he "broke the mold" by not holding his entire development close to his chest. He found already spent dollars, and "recycled" them by using the functional hardware and software in the inventory. It risked him not getting all the credit, but it got us a remarkable program, which is still alive and well, as a result. The description above shows it was a mix of COTS and military work, but the COTS was the hardware component. Side notes (and bragging rights) on BFTT: The Navy was the first service to successfully conduct an system demonstration of the intergation of live, constructive and vitrual "entities" in a traing scenario. BFTT was alwys planned to be able to be intergrated into a larger Joint training and simulation system. I also posted some interesting developments on BFTT for the gaming industry in a post last February. Side note to the side note: It looks like Dr Cannon-Bowers is entrenched in the gaming aspects of Industrial Psychology. That may have been a result of decreases in funding for R&D, or more lucrative funding from the commercial developers. When I knew here, she was hot on the trail of figuring out the interactions of people in teamed environments. A noble, if not incredible difficult job, since we seem to not have personal psychology down yet, but tha't my layman's opinion. As the Systems Engineer, I also had a separate shop, where a small group of man had written the entire program for the Advanced Combat Direction System (ACDS) Block 0. It was written to run in the ruggedized MILSPEC AN/UYK-43 computers, which were the upgrade of the long term workhorse, the UYK-7 Tactical Computer. The OS for ACDS was specifically designed for combat operations. Something as simple as interrupts to the OS were managed, based on tactical prioritization. If a printer went off line, then a missile alert followed the first interrupt, then missile detect alert moved to the top of the queue. Try that with Windows based operating systems.... From a practical standpoint of equipment maintenance in any environment, just because you and I can buy the newest dual layer DVD burner, and come home and install it, it's a more significant logistical problem when your assets number in the hundreds of thousands, and are spread around the globe, some in operations and some in the repair overhaul cycle. And don't forget the ready spares warehoused all over the world. Just think of the plan to haul out all the ones you aren't going to use (which have been paid for by tax dollars), and send them to the surplus disposal system. How about those stories where someone buys a few pallets of "non longer needed" material from DMRO (I think that's the disposal office, only to have someone find out they really needed more, so they sell them back and make a killing (equals more $$$ spent). I was trained as a software safety engineer as well. In the process of ensuring weapons aren't fired while doing training, and important stuff like that, you need to examine the software code at some point in the analysis process, where you have developed safety issues. When it's a military paid for application and OS, you can do that. When Bill Gates lives under your missile fire control and engineering plant controls, he's not going to turn the source code over to you. Will a printer off line alert keep a busy operator from seeing a missile inbound alert? You'll only need about 20 seconds to find out, in the worst case scenario, and it most likely won't be pretty. Up until earlier this year, I was in the electronics recycling business. I made a pretty decent living selling "old" parts. I found there are two "spikes" in the pricing of an item or technology. High when it's new, then as it's widely used, the price goes down. The next technology comes along, and while new companies can buy the new stuff, and the old stuff is cleared from the warehouses, the old company can't replace every zip drive they have in their multinational corporation. They had to come to the electronics recyclers. In this period of the lifespan of an item, it rises again. Then, as you horde these parts as a recycler, all of a sudeen you realize everyone in the world has upgraded their systems and the stuff you have clogging your shelfs, while you dream nightly of that phone call that will allow you to retire rich and famous has been superceeded. I think it was in 2001, I had a large company call me to find a controller for an IBM mainframe system. Pentium IIIs were pretty well established and PIVs almost out. I ended up finding their controller, at another recycler, and paid $2400 for it. I sold it for $3800 and they thought they were getting a "deal" and they were, for they didn't have to replace the multimillion dollar mainframe installation. Essentially, I sold them 80386 technology. That controller wasn't much more than an IBM PC, with a few specific bells and whistles for the mainframe proprietary interfaces. The Space Shuttle computers use 80486 chips, but not just any chip. Since the coding language is Assembelr, it is important that the chip architecture is exactly as the program is desiend to work in. NASA pay hundreds of dollars for these chips, and they are out there on eBay looking and buying, as well as working with select recyclers, who know what to look for. They can't afford to rpelace the computers. In such a mission critical environment, because to development and testing costs are not in the budget. As a side note, the POLARIS Missile project was where software and system safety were initially developed and it has been NASA who has been one place responsible for continued improvemes in this discipline, hence their understanding of their current position in regard to being "fast and loose" with system procurement decisions. I like the COTS idea. I professionally benefited greatly from it. I served on both sides of the equation, as a user and as a logistical support manager for end users. It's not that it is inherently a bad idea, it's just a decision one does not approach lightly, and one where you must project into the future as best you can to weigh the present day cost savings, versus the long term consequences of support costs in the lifetime of the product. We have seen the industry crank out new processors, storage technologies, video graphics cards, etc, etc, etc like there's no tomorrow. Just recall how quickly something becomes "yesterday's news." In my PC, nothing is so critical in the type technology that I can't replace it with a similar part (right now), but if I had to use a program that would only send output to an HP1100 laser printer, then I'd have to go scavenging for one, for they are long out of production. I have a smei-issue in this vein, with my own equipment. I do have an Orb Drive I bought in 2000. It stored 2G of data on a removable cartridge, and cost less that double that for a 100M Zip drive. While I found others had reliability issues with their Orbs, I never did. I bought the external parallel port version, so as I did consulting, I could go to anyone's computer and back up, etc. It was a great idea until WinME came out, and the company that produced the Orb quit writing drivers for the parallel post interface. This is my COTS nightmare. I have to load up a system with Win98 so I can pull my old archives forward. I would like to have the data, but if it got lost, I'd not be in a life threatening condition. The Orb is around, but you now need the USB version to have it supported. In this case it's not the hardware compatability issue, but one of support at the OS level that makes it difficult. "Total cost of ownership" is the filter you must evaluate COTS purchases with.

The Adventures of Jim, Sr - Part I

He walked into the office one day to ask about some repair work, and for some reason, I thought to ask him is he was veteran. The answer was yes. The following text is the story of Jim Helinger, Sr, a US Army Air Corps Glider pilot in World War II, about his wartime exploits. I'll segment it up some and post most of it in the next few days. It's not a story of blood and gore and the ugliness we all know goes on in war, but he rather would just tell of the things we know young men do in times such as these, when they are far way from home and facing the reality of conflict. Most of it will make you smirk, and some of it will have you laugh, as his stories are slices of life as it was, and, had then been blogs around, I'm sure much of this would have been typed by Jim himself. Before I post, my advertisement for capturing history for our future and those who follow us. I posted this "warning order" a few days ago.

"The Library of Congress Veteran's History Project has some useful tools to help you in capturing these valuable first person stories. Don't let them go undocumented!"

If you know someone, take the time to listen to their story and record it however you can for the Library of Congress. On with the show! Like so many others on Dec 7th, 1941, he heard the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor on the family radio, a Philco. He knew he had to do something, and at he decided to enlist. Sometime between the decision to enlist and heading for the Army Recruiter in Louisville, KY the next morning, he figured if he was going to go in, he wanted to fly. Visiting the recruiting office the next day brought a harsh reality home. At 17 years old, he would not be accepted into the Army Air Corps. He might have joined the one of the other services, but he wanted to fly. He waited until his 18th birthday, February 22, 1942. Arriving at the Post Office on his birthday, he found a line of about 50 men. He got in it and asked the others what it was for. The “Aviation Cadets” was the answer. He was in the right place. He was shepherded through the input process, taking the written test and “squeezing by.” The medical exam was done as well as the physical fitness exam, which he did very well on. He was called on the loudspeaker back into see the doctor. He was told by the Doctor that he wasn’t qualified medically, because he had a heart murmur. He said “It doesn’t hurt.” The Doctor told him he was sure he was a patriotic young man and assured him he could probably serve in the Navy, or somewhere and sent him home. On leaving the part of the office where he had tried to make it into the Army Air Corps, he saw another line outside the other end of the building. He asked someone in it what it was for. “Aviation Cadets.” He got in line. This time, he “breezed through” the process and so began the flying career of Jim Helinger, Sr, US Army Air Corps.. The first stop on the route to becoming a pilot was Basic Aviation Cadet Training in Biloxi, MS. Jim’s first comment about this training was “they tried to break your spirit, knowing you would be pilots and officers.” It was Corporals and PFCs who ran the place. The purpose of this initial training was to teach these men how to be soldiers first, before receiving any specialty training. While he was in Biloxi, he said he never got off the base, and that everyone got sick with the “Mississippi Miseries,” which was a generally miserable feeling, and a hacking cough. Upon finishing basic training, it was off to the College Training Detachment at Southwest University in Memphis, TN. For eight weeks, Jim studied college course, and picked up eight college credits. Following “college,” the next stop was the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (SACC) for a month of school that trained, then tested the cadets for dexterity, reflexes and knowledge retention, under varying conditions. It was here that Jim had to indicate his preference for assignment in the aviation ranks. The card he had to fill out, along with the others, had three choices: Pilot, navigator and bombardier. You didn’t just check the block, you indicated your desire for each by a numerical grade, with 9 being the highest. He put a 9 for pilot, 1 for bombardier, and left the blank for navigator empty, against directions. As he told this part of the story, there was a twinkle in his eyes and a big smile on his face as he said “I wasn’t going to be a navigator, doing all that math in the plane.” He was assigned to train as a pilot, getting his wish. End of Part I. Stay tuned for more action and adventure! Part II Many thanks to the Greyahwk Team of Mudville Gazette for the "Open Post" opportunity!

Treasures of Tanis

I found this a few days ago while digging about after information. Facinating! Here's a tease, so go read the rest! Archaeology Magazine features the "Treasures of Tanis."

"Millions of Americans were dazzled when the treasures of Tutankhamun toured the country in the 1970s. Now, as preparations are being made for a new exhibition, a new generation is eagerly awaiting a chance to see the boy king's royal paraphernalia. But there is another royal Egyptian treasure, from the ancient city of Tanis, in the Nile Delta northeast of Cairo, that in many ways is more spectacular yet remains virtually unknown to the general public. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, an entire complex of royal tombs was found intact at Tanis, yielding four gold masks, solid silver coffins, and spectacular jewelry, some even once worn by a pharaoh mentioned in the Bible. The treasures are one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. But because it was discovered during World War II, and published only in French, it went unnoticed. Even today, visitors to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo gather around Tutankhamun's gold mask and gawk, but walk right past the room in which the treasures of Tanis are displayed. And while everyone knows Howard Carter's name, that of the excavator of Tanis is Egyptological trivia. It's Pierre Montet.

Thunder Six is back in Iraq......

I have regularly commented on the quality of the writing ability of a junior Captain in Iraq with the 365 and a Wakeup. He's returned to Iraq after his "environmental" leave ("R&R") and has a post up that talks to several things of great importance. READ THIS! 1) Note how a man who has seen the horrors of battle can write magnificantly about the beauty of nature. 2) Read carefully his thoughts on the clinical nature of the reporting of the day's battles by someone who is dressed to the 9s in a nice TV studio, safe in the arms of freedom. He communicates the contrast well... 3) If you want to see what not only our young troops and NCOs/Officers, as well as the maturing Iraqi Army, are doing in battle, he tells of an ambush. It's not so much his words directly that tell the best part of the story, but the things not said, but implied by the report. Imagine being caught in an ambush...bad juju. They react tactically, but..imagine that the tactic of hiding behind the innocent is part of the equation of this cowardly enemy and the rounds are inbound to you. I'm in awe of the quick thinking that had to go on by these troops, as they fought back in defense, not only of themselves, but that of the people who were being used as human shields. Men were wounded, and you have to wonder, how many took rounds and shrapnel, because they chose to minimize "collateral damage" at risk to themselves? Brave men, brave women and Iraqis who see a future, are making these decisions in milliseconds, decisions that put themselves at greater risk, so as not to hurt someone who also is hoping for a future. Another "Greatest Generation" in the making I believe...and these same people will one day work in "regular" jobs here and in the Middle East, using that same refined decision making practice for far better things. I think the future is bright (where did I put my shades?).

Little Help Here! I'm Looking for "Snipes"

Once again, I have the urge to dredge up some old history of how the Navy "works." I need some background on how things like Engineering Operating Sequencing System (EOSS) and Personnel Qualification System (PQS) stuff came to be. Being a "shoe," I have had my fair share of exposure, beginning in the latter part of the 70's, with PQS first. I also recall the Engineer on MILWAUKEE being very pleased we would be the first "non-combatant" to get EOSS. He had one of those cheshire cat grins, for this was partly due to his "maneuverings." None the less, EOSS and the Opperational Propulsion Plant Exam (OPPE) were still fairly new "beasts" for us surface guys. As a Department Head, the Engineer specifically, I got a close up and personal view of EOSS, and a healthy dose of PQS that had to be done right. I'm looking for any old "snipes" that may have been around the waterfront, or aboard combatants in the early to mid-70s, who may know some of the history behind the development of both PQS and EOSS. I know you submariner types, spurred on by your sea daddy, have had procedures like EOSS for a lot longer than us shoes. As a result, I suspect you may know of some cross over of the process from beneath the waves, to the surface. So, any of your Navy people with sea stories, anecdotal evidence, or knowledge of the real facts of the history of EOSS and/or PQS, I'd appreciate you either leaving a comment and hopefully an email address where I can get ahold of you.

Paying It Forward and the Veterans History Project

One day, a WWII came to my office to get some work done. He mentioned he was a vet and had been in the Army Air Corps. While the boss looked on, we began a conversation. She sort of shook her head, smiled and went back to work. Jim and I have now met several times. The fallout of this meeting ended up with me volunteering to write some of his stories down. He thought that was a grand idea. He's a salesman and can run off on tangents and come back, and doesn't like to write. I like history and now have a face and several stories from so many years ago to place it with. We spent one evening at dinner, me scribbling furiously, as we laughed heartily and tried to get the cheeseburgers down in between him telling of his youthful days and the antics that came with it. After two hours, his wife politely excused herself and went home, having heard the stories, shall I say "several" times. She told us to not rush. About an hour later, as closing time for the restaurant approached, the waitress realized what was going on and kept us in iced tea and root beer. Even after closing, we stood in the parking lot for about 30 more minutes, as he told me more. Jim has the second draft for review now. It's not terribly long, but the six typed pages are slices of history, telling of a real man, in a real war, doing those things men do. Nothing obscene at all, just reality. I'm going to post it here when he and his wife (a school teacher) get done making sure I got it right, in fact and in spelling and grammer. Now, all of this to say this about all of the above. Jim and I were on the phone Friday, scrubbing a few details and Jane asked, in the background "How are you going to repay him?" Jim started to put that question to me, but before he could, I just told him, "Jim, don't worry, you already did from 42-45." There was a few seconds of silence, and we went right back to getting the story squared away. I'm just happy to help him get this recorded, and, his contribution has been paid in full and them some, for what we have. Please check around periodically for the "Adventures of Jim," or whatever I name them, as I'll post it in pieces to cut down the sit in one place commitment requirement. The final piece, will commemorate a very interesting feat of daring, for which Jim was the first to pull it off and it has a specific date associated with it. And with that tease, stay tuned! I urge you to do something like this as well, as we are losing about 1200 WWII vets a day now. The Library of Congress Veteran's History Project has some useful tools to help you in capturing these valuable first person stories. Don't let them go undocumented! Last week, a friend of mine, who served in the Flying Tigers in Desert Storm as a plane captain, had a real, honest, to goodness Flying Tiger, from the AVG, walk into his computer store. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to meeting him, too.

A Legacy of Change - A Citadel Grad Reports

In 1993, Shannon Faulkner was accepted into The Citadel. Upon her receiving the acceptance, it then was made known that Shannon was, in fact, a female. She had filled out the entrance application properly, except for one block, the gender one. Her academics were fine, and all those other things that go into determining whether an applicant is accepted. Thus began the legal and functional ordeal of women entering The Citadel. The all-male system had shock waves through it. It appears things have smoothed out. In 1999, the first woman, Nancy Mace, graduated. In doing a little googling, I found she has written a book on her experience, which seemed to get good reviews on Amazon. Anyhow, that's not the point. My most recent Alumni News magazine had a letter from Lt Vlasta Zekulic of the Croation Army, that I think tells a great story. Here it is:

A Letter of Realization After graduating from The Citadel in 2002, all my dreams of becoming an officer in the Croation Armed Forces came true. But the education has not ended and it took more months of military trainings and studying to reach the standards of becoming a Croation Officer. I proudly got my first command positioning in March of 2003. At that time, it was still just a dream...commanding the only unit of the Croation military that is deployed to any peace operation in the world - a Military Police unit trained specifically for ISAF, the NATO mission in Afghanistan. My commanders put me on the hard road to prove that I am good enough of an officer and strong enough as a person to win this postioning and lead the troops to Kabul. Once again, the patience, endurance and the strength that mostly The Citadel evolved in me to endure all this and prove myself worthy of their trust. So in February, 2004, I gathered my new unit, trained and selected them for the following six months and, by August, 2004, I was on my way to Kabul, Afghanistan. My function here is triple. I am commandingall of the Croation MPs in Afghanistan (38 of them), commander of the Croation Camp inside the Camp Warehouse in Kabul, and within the Kabul Multinational Brigade (KMNB) Military Police Coy. I work as an Operations and Plans Officer. Commanding and taking care of my soldiers has been quite challenging so far - making sure that they have all they need so far from home, being there when they are sick, tired, angry or joyful and at the same time plan patrols, operations, missions for the whole Coy (92 multinational MPs). Being one of two females in the contingent and being the first female ever to command the national operational unit in the peace operation an even bigger challenge - hard, tough, and at the moment, almost impossible to handle. But The Citadel prepeared me for that, too. When I remember knob year in 1998, and how I thought that I could never make it and then I remember how far I came by 2002, I know I can make it anywhere. When I feel worse and when situations and problems of leadership seem hardest, when no decision I make seems good enough or fair enough, I get the words of Col Lackey (Commandant of Cadets), "Girl, it is hard work to be a commander and a good commander is never a popular one. Do what you know is right and remember, it is a lonley place on top." The Citadel made me who I am today and taught me what kind of leader I wanted to be. I hope to remain faithful and follow this path until the end of my military career. The gold Citadel ring on my hand, that I even carry in Kabul, is my daily reminder of who and what I must not fail. Respectfully, Lt. Vlasta Zelulic Platoon Commander, MN MP Coy

I'd say the boys along the banks of the Ashley figured out the women were here to stay and to just get on with it. It sounds like she got a good schooling in leadership. The Citadel has a legacy of training foreign students. There were many Thai Army Officers who graduated from there, and many Iranian Naval Officers. A few in the classes before me, and many after. They came already commissioned, with their connections with to the Shah's family. Those still awaiting graduation in the spring of 1979 could not return to their homeland, because they would have been executed.

Alternate Star Wars Script

I finally went to see Episode III yesterday. We have an IMAX here that shows the cool stuff, so my buddy and I went early, paid extra and sat about 8 rows from the front, almost centerline. I like the immersive effect. The second and thrid Matrix flicks were definitely cool here, also. As the movie ended, we thought this might have worked: Patamay: "Obi Wan, is Anikin alright?" Obi Wan: " Yes, he's on fire for you." (rim shot please...)

Desmond Doss' Movie

On May 5th this year, I posted a story on the 60th anniversay of the action where the first conscientious objector in WWII received the Congressional Medal of Honor, then PFC Desmond T. Doss, US Army. Today, I found that the documentary of his story is now available on DVD and VHS. The site is http://www.desmonddoss.com. I think it's a defineite addition to my library and have one on order now. If you don't know the story, it's a powerful one. I invite you to follow the lines from my post to a wealth of information about this man's life. And, Desmond Doss is still alive and well, living in Georgia.

Memorial Day, 2005 - It’s Not All About the Numbers

Memorial Day. We take a moment to consider those who have sacrificed their lives, so we may have our freedoms. It is difficult, however, to grasp being without such things as the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, and so many other things we enjoy every moment of our lives in the United States. The ABC Nightline program will be presenting the picture and reading the name of each of the American service personnel who have most recently been those who have fallen for our privileges. As many would put it, it seems anti-military. I’m not a fan of the press’ urge to present the negative of just about anything related to our casualties, mostly because, as I heard it put this morning, the “CIE” (context is everything) issue. We honor our war dead, but if this is not presented with the backdrop of what the “ultimate sacrifice” brings, and therefore, it does appear senseless. When researching the topic of genocide in 1987 for a philosophy class, it was made clear to me, that, very much like the numbers we are presented with such as “Over 1600 dead in the War on Terror,” we really don’t grasp it. We can intellectually understand the Hitler had 6 million Jews murdered in the death camps of Europe. What our mind is too finite to grasp, is the name and history of each of those people. Certainly, they had families, jobs, hobbies, interests, friends, a place they lived and things they had been experienced, that was unique to them. I guess I can best say it as though, for all the majesty of the brain’s storage capacity, it’s too much to fathom, much like getting that “You don’t have enough memory to run this application” error in Windows. Different from our computers, we can’t run out to Best Buy and buy a stick of RAM to upgrade with. We can envision the family down the street, killed when a tractor – trailer runs a red light. We have the capacity to hold on to the images an d words that named the people and defined their lives. It’s the larger numbers of names that baffle us subconsciously. Given this is a common phenomena across humanity, we find it easy to be “clinical” about large groups of people who have suffered, be it Indonesians or Thais after a tsunami, or the Jews who died at Dachau, not even to mention those who died in Auschwitz, and the many other concentration camps of western Europe, the gulags of Siberia, and the killing fields of Cambodia. Many websites around the country have done excellent jobs paying tribute to the now dead men and women of the Global War on Terror. Some sites are for individuals, others, such as Black Five and Mudville Gazette to name just two of the many, cover many of the stories of these people, including, in many cases both the heroism in combat, the solemn times of the funerals, and sometimes, the notes from parents and friends, and comrades from the fields of battle, speaking to us, putting these dead into the context of their lives. I think the only way we can attempt to understand how to thoughtfully honor those who have paid the price, is to look carefully at their pictures, which captures them forever young, to concentrate on their name as it is read, and to listen carefully to their hometown being called out. If these are the only bits of information we can glean, to personally memorialize the reality of these men and women, then we should grasp it while we have the opportunity. If you can add to that, the stories such as the one presented in today’s Parade Magazine about Corporal Jason Dunham, USMC, who covered a dropped grenade with his Kevlar helmet and held it down, in order to save his fellow Marines on April 14th, 2002, we help to put faces on those “numbers,” in past and present wars and conflict, who gave us all they had, thereby putting things in context. In the Bangor, ME Airport Terminal, where a dedicated group of local citizens greet our incoming and outgoing service members, there is a board, where the pictures of the dead are placed. The Soldiers and Marines see their fellow servicemen and speak make testimonies to these people's lives, as their moment of honor. From what I have read, it is a place treated with the respect it is meant to have. Respect, in the case of the profession of arms, may be tears, a statment of character, maybe vows of the living to never forget and to do what this person can no longer do, and it sometimes is a shared story in the form of a a practical joke that was played, and with laughter. All of it is honoring. The Nightline presentation by Ted Koppel gives us this opportunity, which is no different than a reading of the names of the 9/11/2001 victims. It is up to us to place this in context when we hear a list like this. I can't recall which of the great philosphers it was, either Plato or Aristotle, and I'm a little too lazy to find out which one right now, discussed the issue of the "intent" and the "outcome" of any action we take. While many things, beginning with good intention go far from the mark, many things with bad intention come out being very much for the good. Our judicial system relies on the inspection of the outcome, and sometimes mitigates punishment based on the extenution of the intent. I'd like the reading of the names and the showing of the pictures of these we know to honor to have any negative effect on recruiting, public opinion, nor the support of the troops, yet I cannot control how everyone will react. But I have hope, that many people will sit and watch and, in spite of not agreeing with the path this conflict has taken, they will be moved that our youth and some not so young in age anymore, have chosen to defend that which is good, the cause of freedom. It is in these moments, we can try to have our frail minds absorb the names, and not the numbers of those who have so honored us in these times, and the past.

The Arlington Ladies

The American Spectator of May 2005. A "random" pick up from the magazine rack. Memorial Day approaching. Page 12 - Humbleness defined. I know nothing is coincidental. The article is "The Arlington Ladies - American Voluteerism at Its Most Moving."

By Shawn Macomber Published 5/27/2005 12:09:54 AM THE STORY OF THE ARLINGTON LADIES stretches back to a day in 1948 when Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg happened upon the funeral of an airman at Arlington. What he saw disturbed him: There wasn't a soul at the service, save the chaplain and the Honor Guard members conducting it."

At the link above, you can read the article. Here's the short version: Beginning in 1948, the wife of Air Force Chief of Staff, General Hoyt Vanderberg, Gladys, began attending funerals of the fallen at Arlington National Cemetary so no one would not have someone at their funeral, and, even if they did, the Arlington Ladies would be there to support the family as necessary. In 1972, the Army Arlington Ladies "stood up." In 1985, the Navy began it's "watch." The Marines will always have a representative from the Commandant's Office at every Marine funeral at Arlington. Compassion comes to mind. The women who have done this seek no recognition in these forums. They are there for the fallen, not for us. It is but one more example of the bond of the military family so many of us have been a part of, or are still. It is a read fitting for such a weekend, to show how the spouses of our military have honored our dead.

Total Quality Leadership - Why Did They Have to Sell Me?

After reading the sage words of an "ol' cavalryman" in this post at ROFASix, I reflected on this comment he made, and it took me back to sometime in the early 90s:

"Here is NOTR's explanation for this seemingly surreal realization of the obvious. It all started because a General Officer (GO) got an idea! It was probably after receiving an inquiry from a member of Congress asking what the Army was doing to reduce the number of casualties from IEDs. Instead of responding, "We are going to kill more bad guys Senator," this GO decided it was time to start an informational campaign after hiring a contractor to "study the problem." "

Sounds like a "Process Action Team" (PAT) in the making to me. Roll the time line back to the summer of 1973, teleport to Charleston Naval Base, aboard USS CONE (DD-866). Envision a 3rd Class Midshipman, in dungarees, being assigned to the Engineering Department for two weeks, while the ship would be underway in the summer, in the Caribbean (are you sweating yet?). For two weeks, I spent the 8-12 watch daily in the Aft Boiler Room. While there, I helped record all sorts of data on the many systems in the plant, which were passed to the Biloer Room Supervisor to review, and then they were sent to Main Control for the Engineering Officer of the Watches (EOOW) examination. "Out of Limits" readings were noted, and corrective actions taken. Trends were monitored, and, the next morning, the Engineer Officer would look at the mulitiude of hand written data collections and sign off on them, many times, grilling the Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA), Electical Officer, or the Auxilaries Officer as to why things were doing (or not doing) what the logs reported. Identify the problem with sound data, then develop a fix. Fast Forward, USS MILWAUKEE (AOR-2) c. 1978. Fresh caught Ensign spends time in the Engineering spaces, completing his Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) professional qualifications. Learns from the EOOW what the logs and records are useful for, getting a "guided tour" throught many of these reports. Same thing: Watch your system, identify the problems, and fix them. Fast forward, USS CONOLLY (DD-979) 1983. Assigned as Engineer Officer, qualifed as EOOW, therefore reviewed logs during the period of my watches, and also had the "pleasure" of distoring my signature to something much less legible, by signing about 30 some logs each day (and if we were inport and it was Monday, about 90 log sheets). Regularly asked my MPA, the ElecO and AuxO, sometimes to their dismay, why things were (or were not) doing what they were doing. Fast forward, Combat Systems Mobile Training Team, c. 1991. Adm Frank Kelso is Chief of Naval Operations. Someone tells him about a guy named Dr. Deming and "Total Quality Management." He gets briefed, decides it's the new sliced bread, and we all are have to get edumucated on TQL. TQL you ask? Not TQM? Nope, we do "leadership" we don't "manage." LCDR Tilden is the "facilitator" introduction to TQL, held in a building on the CINCLANTFLT compaound. I sit and listen to how we have to now learn how to gather data, so we may look at it carefully and then put our collective heads together and come up with solutions to the question: "How can we do this better?" I raise my hand, impertinant O-4 that I was, peeved for having to go to some mmeting for a day, when the Fleet had things to be trained on. "Aren't we doing that now?" But, a marketing "objection handling" routine was rolled back at me: "No, this is all new, and you have to learn to embrace it." I shut up. I saw where this was going. The tennants of TQM/TQL ahve a lot of merit. I have taught many things, in and out of the military, and have found people absord something best and quickest, when you connect the new thing to a similat old thing they are familiar with. for example, if any of my potential skydiving students in the First Jump Course had any experience flying (and I mean hands on the stick experience), I could easily explain how to pilot an open canopy, and the landing aptterns to follow during the approach to the landing area. We refused to do this in the Navy. TQL was the new method, and we had never had a clue about it. Bottom line: I think this happened because how would it go, for marketing and sales, if you showed up at a CEO/President's office and said: "I have a way to make you more efficient and therefore more profitable. All I have to do is take you back through all the good concepts of your MBA program and remind you about the methods of ecnomic analysis add a little statistical analysis, and the like. Pay me $2.7 gazillion and I'll get to work." Yeah, right. Response: "Get out of my office, I'm already doing that." How would it have looked if the CNO said: "Listen up. We are going to improve on the good work we already do daily, and have been doing for years. We'll take the successful methods from the engineering and aviation communities, and apply them everywhere it's feasible. You already have the basics down, so let's make it better!" What would the outside world have done? Oh, well, that's my long pent up rant about how the Navy blew their chance to make a TQL thing fly fast and far in the "culture." Just know that if I had been CNO, I'd have don it differently! ;)

Sending My Son Back to War - A Father's Sermon

I found this link to Pastor Charles Rush's website who actually gave the sermon that Toni and Marine Corps Mom each quoted from. They each extracted some great parts, but the entire message is a window through which you see, from a father's viewpoint, his observations of his son in the Marine Corps. He speaks to family relations, professional ethics, the concern of a parent, and the views of our society. The "link chasing" began as a result of the daily open posts (one here) that the Greyhawk "team" of Mudville Gazette so graciously puts up each day for us "little guys" to point readers to our work.