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4 strange weapons of the Vietnam War
War brings out the very best in technological innovation. Humans have shown themselves to be remarkably adept in devising new, creative ways to kill each other. The Vietnam War brought out this human capacity for creative destruction on a grand scale, even if it manifested itself a little differently on both sides.
The United States was blasting into the Space Age and, with that surge of technology, came chemical defoliants, like Agent Orange and jet aircraft that could break the sound barrier. The Vietnamese expanded their work on tried-and-true effective yet obsolete weapons, like punji stick booby traps. The two sides were worlds apart technologically, but when it came to murderous creativity, the combatants were close peers.
The 13 funniest military memes for the week of January 18th
It seems like everyone is doing that dumb "ten year's difference" thing on Facebook. Personally, I think this is just depressing for the military community no matter how you slice it.
Either you're a young troop who's now reminded of how goofy they looked as a civilian, you're a senior enlisted/officer who's now reminded of how much of a dumb boot they once were, or you're a veteran who's being reminded of how in shape you once were ten years ago.
If you're an older vet who's been out for longer than ten years, well, you're probably the same salty person in the photo, and no one could tell the difference or that you aged. Maybe a bit more gray and less hair.
Anyways. The Coast Guard hasn't been paid, but at least these memes are free!
The Air Force just changed enlisted performance reports
The Air Force recently updated evaluation policies for enlisted airmen, refining the process and requirements for enlisted performance reports.
The revised policies are in response to feedback from the field and are geared towards increasing flexibility for commanders and empowering performance within the enlisted corps.
"We are continuously making strides to reform our talent management system, including evaluating updates we previously made to the Enlisted Evaluation System," said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services. "Our focus is on making our system more agile, more responsive, simpler and more transparent to better meet the needs of our airmen and our Air Force."
Study claims VA wait times are now shorter than private clinics
Wait times at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics have gone down significantly from recent years and are now shorter on average than those in private-sector health care, at least in big cities, according to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Critics of the study pointed out that main contributors to the JAMA report were current and former VA executives, including Dr. David Shulkin, who was fired as VA secretary in 2018 by President Donald Trump.
This .50 cal machine gun fires twice as fast as the legendary Ma Deuce
The M2 heavy machine gun is an iconic weapon. When it entered service over eight decades ago, the gun quickly made its mark – and a deadly reputation.
The Space Medal of Honor is the highest award for astronauts
No, the Space Force will not receive this medal.
On Oct. 1, 1978, President Jimmy Carter wrapped the Space Medal of Honor around the neck of Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon. It was the first-ever of such medals awarded, even though the medal was authorized by Congress in 1969 — the year Armstrong actually landed on the moon.
Better late than never.
6 things geardos buy that are actually useful
No one wants to be labelled a "geardo." They're the person in the unit that spends way too much money to buy themselves things that are either not authorized for wear with the uniform or are redundant because the issued version is just as good.
It's not inherently a bad thing to make yourself more prepared for combat, it's more that people who buy extra crap are wasting their money to tack on useless crap that will do nothing but slow them down. Being fully decked out in mostly useless gear is also a telltale sign that the person has no idea what is actually used in combat — meaning they're probably a POG.
All that being said, some of the crap they buy isn't without merit. Sometimes, buying your own version of gear, something that was designed by someone other than the lowest bidder, helps plenty. The following pieces of gear are popular among geardos, but are actually useful.
What happens to an Abrams tank if hit by a battleship shell
The M1A2 Abrams main battle tank is arguably the best in the world. Yeah, Russia is generating some hype for the Armata family of tanks, but the Abrams is combat-proven and very hard to kill.
This former Defense Secretary has the solution to the shutdown and border security
Seldom has there been a public servant who cares more about the people he represents than Robert Gates — and no one more bipartisan. The onetime U.S. Air Force officer has worked under eight administrations, held the post of Director of Central Intelligence, and, of course, was once the Secretary of Defense. The former Cold Warrior has a Ph.D. in Soviet History, but keeps a firm grasp on the nation's security needs, even today.
And he has a solution for the government shutdown and the border security issue and is calling on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue to "put the interests of the country above their power struggles and political mud wrestling."
