After spending two months in college, Gary Beikrich decided he wanted to join the Army and become a distinguished member of the Green Berets — and that’s precisely what he did.
Once Gary enlisted, he trained his way through the tough pipeline and earned the elite title of Green Beret. With a sincere desire to help others, he received advanced training as a combat medic before shipping out to the dangerous terrains of Vietnam.
In 1967, Gary was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group stationed in the Kon Tum Province.
Gary and his team were ordered to protect and teach a group of Montagnards tribesmen located in the area. The experience of working with the loyal tribesmen allowed Gary to go “native,” spending days without speaking a word of English.
On the early morning of Apr. 1, 1970, the NVA decided to attack Gary’s camp — one he worked so hard building up. As the enemy rained down heavy artillery into the area, the massive force tore through the peaceful compound — causing allied forces to suffer terrible casualties.
Gary sprang into action and rendered treatment. Then, boom!
A 122mm artillery shell landed near Gary and shrapnel ripped into his back, causing a spinal cord concussion. Now immobile, two of Gary’s trusted Montagnards tribesmen came to his aid. The men assisted Gary around the compound so he could patch up the other wounded as quickly as they could — until he finally collapsed.
The two Montagnards tribesmen that assisted Gary. (Source: Medal of Honor Book/ Screenshot)
Bleeding and severely wounded, Gary was placed on a medevac and was sent back home to the States. After recovering, Gary went back to college as a pre-med student. But his time in the classroom didn’t last long; Vietnam protesters tormented him, shouting hateful remarks.
Gary decided to pack his van and drive away, eventually finding a peaceful area all to himself — a cave.
Literally.
One day, Gary went to the post office where he received his mail, and an unexpected message was waiting for him. The Army veteran was to receive the Medal of Honor for his bravery and service during that enemy raid.
On Jul. 19, 2017, the Air Force posted a request on FedBizOpps, the U.S. government’s contracting opportunities site, looking for price quotes on how much it would cost to acquire 12 each fresh frozen normal human Synovial tissue and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) samples.
Let me google that for you.
The samples must be free of sexually transmitted diseases and musculoskeletal injuries. The most interesting part was the requirement that all the samples be from Russia and be Caucasian – Ukrainian blood, RNA, and tissue samples will not be accepted. This recently raised a few eyebrows in Russia.
No weapon like this has ever proved to actually exist. So what could the Air Force actually want?
1. They want to solve the Anastasia Romanov mystery.
You know what I mean. If you’re anywhere near the age of 30, chances are good you’ve heard the story of the last Tsar of Russia’s “missing” daughter, Anastasia.
And you heard it in his voice. Oh god, why is he at a carousel?? WHY?!
It’s a well-known fact that the Tsar’s Russian Imperial family was murdered by Communists, gunned down, bayoneted, and clubbed in a basement somewhere near Yekaterinburg. Somehow, the story goes, the 17-year-old Duchess survived, escaped, and fled to America. In the intervening years, many women have come forward, claiming to be the lost Anastasia Romanov.
Anastasia at the time of her death (left) and what she might look like today, almost 100 years later (right).
It might be time for the Air Force to settle the mystery once and for all. And maybe find a real claim to the throne. Who loves America.
2. Better digestion.
Have you eaten an MRE lately? Are you still waiting for it to digest? I ate a chicken tetrazzini MRE in 2006 and I’m still upset about it. But do you know who seems like they can digest anything? Russians. Especially Russian soldiers. Look at what they get served in their DFACs.
Just add two pieces of lettuce and a slice of white bread I’m back in the tent city.
Yet, the Russian Army still runs on its galvanized steel stomach. Maybe in basic training they’ll stop putting salt peter in the gatorade and switch to hearty Russian gut bacteria.
If you’ve ever spent a day in the U.S. military, you probably know what makes the grass grow. Maybe Russian blood can help the cabbage grow, too.
GUYS. They love this sh*t.
4. Whatever is happening here.
Seriously, who is this woman from the meme? Is she really Russian? And what purpose will tossing tree trunks serve? Are we planning to invade Scotland and fight on their terms?
5. Seriously, a biological weapon.
It would help immensely to be able to expel ethnic Russians from Ukraine without killing Ukrainians. Or anyone else for that matter. Imagine a war where only the enemy dies.
(Laughs in Mongol)
Except the Russian Army is as genetically diverse as the American Army. Many countries in the former Soviet Union are still very friendly to Russia and fiercely pro-Russian. Non-Russians have joined its military since the days of the Soviet Union.
6. No, really. Trauma research.
Human synovial tissue is an incredibly specific request, judging by my time researching medical things and then asking my pathologist ex-girlfriend what those big words mean.
But the Air Force says, “the supplier originally provided samples from Russia, suitable for the initial group of diseases, the control group of the samples should also be of Russian origin. The goal is the integrity of the study, not the origin (of the samples).”
Ahead of the premiere of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” many critics have praised Donald Glover’s portrayal of Lando Calrissian in the film, despite the film’s lukewarm overall reception. But more importantly, Glover’s role seems to have won over the people behind the movie.
On May 16, 2018, Lucasfilm studio chief Kathleen Kennedy told the French publication Premiere that she would “love” to give Lando Calrissian his own spin-off movie.
With over a week until the release of “Solo,” the film is projecting to be the worst-reviewed “Star Wars” film since “Attack of the Clones.”
“Solo” currently has a 72% critic rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but many reviewers, including Business Insider’s Jason Guerrasio, have heaped praise on Glover’s performance.
Guerrasio wrote in his review that Glover “completely knocks it out of the park as Lando Calrissian.”
In a review for The Atlantic, Christopher Orr wrote, “If you are not already a fan of Glover (and, let’s be clear, you should be), this ought to make you one.”
Critical praise for Glover’s role, along with Glover’s star rising from his Emmy-winning FX show, “Atlanta,” and his recent viral hit single as Childish Gambino, all rightfully have Lucasfilm encouraged to pursue a film with Glover in what would be his first blockbuster lead role.
UPDATE: After the publication of the original article by Premiere, Lucasfilm clarified to the publication that while the company would “love” to devote a spin-off film to Lando in the future, such a film had not been confirmed yet and would not be “next” (as implied by the original Premiere article).
This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.
From left, Equipment Operator 1st Class John Owen, Aviation Structural Mechanic 1st Class Jose Esquivel, Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Michael Burke and Gunners Mate 1st Class Keean Durocher lift a motivator during a physical training (PT) session at Naval Air Facility Atsugi. The PT session was part of the final day of the installation’s CPO Initiation season.
If you are asking any variation of “should I keep training even with (XYZ) injury or condition?” The answer is yes.
Then nuance ensues. You can’t necessarily keep training how you were before, and you definitely shouldn’t be training at the same intensity that you were before. At least not initially.
Just keep movin’
You need to dial it back, not off
You can still bench if you injure your ankle.
You can still squat if you hurt your elbow or shoulder.
That’s obvious. The body part that is injured will require some adjustment but the rest of your body is probably fine.
But if you injure your ankle or any part of your lower body you can still squat too; you just need to dial it back to what you can do with no pain.
One of my favorite sayings around this topic comes from Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum over at Barbell Medicine; it goes like this:
“…What are you gonna do? Not train?”
Not training isn’t an option. You should just remove it from your list of possibilities right now.
As a military professional, you need to find another way…
Do things properly and you’ll never have an issue.
You need to target the issue
Target the root cause, not the injury.
The incident/exercise that you’ve targeted as the cause of your injury or pain IS NOT the cause of your injury or pain. It is merely the culminating event. Your chronically bad form or overly aggressive programming is the cause. Honestly, it’s most likely a combination of the two.
The most common example I see often is people doing deadlifts for time, (WOD anyone?) with sh!tty form where they:
Bounce the weight and “catch” it with their low back in flexion
Hyperextend their low back at lock out at the top of the rep
Have a fundamental lack of understanding as to why these are bad things.
These are things you will never have to worry about if you’re doing the Mighty Fit Plan
This type of action with heavy weight repeatedly is a recipe for an acute injury, as well as chronic stress. The athlete deadlifting in this fashion often comes to the conclusion that deadlifts are bad and cause injuries.
That’s a false narrative.
What they were doing is bad and causes injuries, not deadlifts.
More times than not, I see that poor form translate into the lifting of all things, including luggage, small children, a case of beer, and dropped pencils.
Targeting the issue doesn’t mean you stop training
Demonizing a movement or activity like deadlifts is a red herring. Taking them out of your life will do nothing for all of those other times you have to pick something up in your life as I mentioned above.
Pain from deadlifting is just a symptom.
The root cause is poor form.
This is a good thing. This means you can do anything and need not fear any one particular movement or activity.
It also means you never have to stop training. You just need to dial things back.
There’s always a way to simplify if you can control your ego.
An example: How to dial back deadlifts
You should regress your exercise until you get to the point of no pain. That implies that you start by dialing back range of motion, weight, and intensity.
Here’s how I would do that for a theoretical low back issue as I mentioned above:
Stop doing deadlifts for time. Events for time are for people that have perfect muscle memory of a movement, your injury has proved that you aren’t at that point.
Reduce the range of motion. If it hurts at the top of the movement, don’t do that part. Hurts at the bottom? Do a rack pull.
Drop weight. If you can do the full exercise at a lighter weight, do that. Use a weight in which you are at less than a four on the pain scale of 1-10.
Something you need to mentally accept here is that you’re not “gonna be gettin’ it” like you were before the injury. BUT, you’ll still be training.
Again, for a more in depth conversation on this topic, check this out.
Rebuild one part at a time… that’s good advice.
The process of champions
This is the smart process. It will get you back in the saddle quickly and smartly. Three to six weeks of reducing your training on exercises that cause pain will ensure that you properly rehab your injury AND ensure that you continue the habit of training.
It will prevent you from sitting on the couch and waiting for yourself to “heal.” It’ll prevent you from writing off entire exercises or workout modalities for the rest of your life.
It’ll flex your patience muscle. Being patient with your body is not easy, especially when you used to be able to do something. Patience is a great thing to hone so that when you get old and frail, you don’t become one of those curmudgeons who hate the world for how it wronged you. (Damn, that got deep.)
It’s all connected people. Use your training as a testing ground for the positive character traits you value and want to exhibit in your everyday life.
Warming up is an essential phase of your workout, and there are three phases to an effective warm-up. Let’s jump right in:
Phase One: Shift your PH
Time commitment: Five minutes
Our bodies are slightly alkaline with a PH of around 7.3 to 7.4. The function of the warm-up is to shift your body to a more acidic state, which improves muscle efficacy and reduces risk of injury. It’s preferable to use movement patterns similar to ones you will be doing during your workout.
Example: Rowing for five minutes is optimal on both “pull days” and “squat days” due to the specific pull and squat range of motion.
By the end of phase one, your body should be producing some sweat and your heart rate should be elevated to over 100 beats per minute.
There are a few different types of stretching. For brevity’s sake, let’s reduce them to two: static and dynamic. Static stretching is likely what you learned in high school gym class and involves holding a position for 15 seconds to one minute (think touching your toes and holding before doing a leg workout). This type of stretching prior to dynamic movements (running, jumping, weight lifting, and just about every kind of exercise) is dangerous. Don’t do it.
Your muscles and joints will not be static during your workout, so they should not be static during your warm-up. Instead, try the worm walk.
This movement not only prepares the specific joints and muscles for what’s to come, it maintains the athlete’s elevated heart rate and PH level.
Dynamic stretching allows the athlete (that’s you) to effectively and gradually move joints through the range of motion they are about to demand from their body while under load.
*The most extreme version of this is ballistic (or bouncing) stretching, which should be reserved for athletes with extensive experience.
Phase three: Pre-set
Time commitment: Three to 10 minutes
Simply do the movement you plan on doing but with less weight.
Example: If today is your squat day, do three sets of 15 to 25 squats with just your body (commonly referred to as air squats). Listen to your body; if your joints still feel tight, do 30 to 60 seconds of walking lunges before approaching the barbell.
Continue this phase by loading the bar to roughly half of the load you plan to lift in your main set. Complete three to eight repetitions. Increase the amount of weight by roughly 10 percent until you arrive at your desired set weight.
Every body is different. By spending 15 minutes preparing your body for the strenuous movements to come, it will be more capable of performing at peak levels. The desired physiological adaptations occur when an athlete operates at those levels, whatever they may be specific to their current level of fitness.
Remember: An effective warm-up should always be specific to the nature of your day’s training.
Seeing the world is just one of the many reasons for joining the military. But what if dreamy vacation living was possible within the continental borders? Taking advantage of what is possible within a day’s drive is one way to save thousands on airfare and explore more of what our country has to offer.
Strategize your next PCS choice with these staycation worthy locations. From the beaches to the mountains, and east to west, settling into ‘home’ at any one of these installations is easy to do.
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho (Air Force)
Nestled at the foot of the Sawtooth Range, and within a half day’s drive to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, Mountain Home AFB is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. There’s world-class skiing at Sun Valley in the winter with plenty of roadside accessible hot springs along the way. Idaho isn’t on your radar because she’s everyone’s best-kept secret.
NAS Whidbey Island, Washington (Navy)
Craggy coastlines, tide pools teeming with sea life, and million-dollar views are how to describe this installation just over an hour north of Seattle. The barrier islands of the Puget Sound are home to seductively slow island life, away from traffic, and a ferry away from Olympic National Park or the San Juan Islands. Watch both whales and submarines surface from one of the dozens of state parks by the fire and on the beach.
Fort Carson, Colorado (Army)
Located just outside the Garden of the Gods, this Army Installation is another ruggedly beautiful spot to call home. The state exudes adventure in all terrain types, like sand dunes, snow-capped peaks and breathtaking arch formations. Colorado experiences all four seasons, providing a little something for every preference. Your PT test is sure to stay on point during the winter season with infamous ski resorts like Breckenridge and Telluride to choose from.
Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia (Air Force and Army)
What we love about JBLE is the easy accessibility to all the major east coast metropolitan cities. Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City are all a connected train ride away. National history, monuments and bustling nightlife make life on this coastline more than noteworthy. In addition to city life, Virginia is home to Shenandoah National Park and fall foliage, which draws crowds year-round. Tapping into history or the political pulse of the country are all possible here.
MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina (Marines)
Life in the low country is slow and sweet. The tidewater region is situated between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, two historic southern towns rich with seafood and charm. A subtropical climate provides beach access year-round, with plenty of sunshine to boost any mood. Another point to love is the affordability of the region compared to other, more high-cost stations, putting more vacation dollars into your pocket.
Sector Key West, Florida (Coast Guard)
The southernmost point in the continental U.S. is as beautiful as you can imagine. Dolphins, coral reefs and sailboats are all at your doorstep, which is likely oceanfront. Lesser known, yet completely noteworthy interests like the Hemingway Home and Dry Tortugas National Park are also found here. Key West also boasts several shipwrecks to explore in turquoise waters, making a dive certification a card you need in your wallet.
It’s all about location, and there’s plenty to choose from during your military career. Europe and Hawaii are not the only prime spots to be had, and this list is proof. Experiencing life in varied climates and states provides a perspective unlike any other when the time comes to settle down after service.
For many Americans, it can be tough to understand exactly how Iran’s military apparatus stacks up against our own. Both nations manage their defense efforts in fundamentally different ways due to necessity, cultural differences, and internal politics. The U.S. Military does not operate within America’s borders except under very specific circumstances, it receives its funding through Congress, and perhaps most importantly, there’s no question as to where its loyalties lie.
The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, however, function in a very different way, with its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) overlapping many of the roles occupied by the nation’s formal Army and garnering the vast majority of the nation’s defense budget. The IRGC also operates a number of legitimate Iranian businesses, securing alternate funding sources while compounding power and influence over the nation’s economy and government. When Iranian citizens take to the streets to protest, it’s the IRGC that suppresses their efforts with brutal precision.
In April of this year, the United States chose to designate the IRGC as a terror group, but deep within the organization’s structure, a small sect of the IRGC has already carried that distinction for over a decade: the IRGC’s secretive foreign intervention arm, the Quds Force.
Quds Force operations are divided into 8 directories, shown here in different colors.
(WikiMedia Commons)
The Quds Force are tasked with clandestine operations outside of Iran
Because Iran isn’t capable of fielding a large and modern military that can stand toe to toe with giants like the U.S., the IRGC’s Quds Force has adopted a unique approach to projecting the nation’s power beyond Iran’s borders. The Quds Force operates entirely within the shadows, supporting foreign terror groups and militias, conducting attacks and assassinations, gathering intelligence, and doing anything else Iran needs to keep hidden behind a veil of plausible deniability.
Some Quds Force operatives could be compared to CIA handlers tasked with developing local intelligence assets. Others are more like American Green Berets, tasked with training and equipping foreign military forces. These troops are also known to engage in unconventional warfare operations themselves, often in the form of terror attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings.
Iran’s long-standing beef with Israel permeates throughout the nation’s military apparatus, but none so directly as the Quds Force, also commonly referred to in Iran as Al-Quds. In Arabic, Al-Quds actually means Jerusalem, or literally translated, “The Holy One.” They didn’t adopt this name as a respectful nod to the ancient city under Israeli control, but rather as a lasting reminder of their long-standing goal to recapture Jerusalem for the Arabic People.
Iran also celebrates Quds Day, though not as a direct affirmation of support for the military unit. Quds Day, which has now spread throughout like-minded groups of the Middle East and even as far off as London, is a day dedicated to parades, fiery speeches, and other demonstrations meant to denounce Israel and Zionism. This year, Iran’s Quds Day celebrations also included burning American flags and effigies of President Donald Trump.
Iran can’t go toe to toe with the U.S. and they know it, so they found a way around it.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Clayton Cupit)
They specialize in asymmetric warfare because they know the U.S. is stronger
Asymmetric warfare is, in a nutshell, a war between opponents with vastly different levels of resources or capabilities. Iran lacks the technological, diplomatic, and financial strengths the United States leans on to both deter and win armed conflicts, and as a result, they’ve opted not to fight on those terms.
In the modern era, this asymmetric approach has earned the Quds Force close friends in the form of terror organizations with similar extremist goals. Some, like Hezbollah, were even founded through Quds Force interventions. Even the Taliban, a group the Quds Force once fought side by side with American force against, has become an ally, bolstering Iran’s defenses along Afghanistan’s Western Border.
We’re pretty sure they make their ghillie suits out of confetti though.
(Javad Hadi via WikiMedia Commons)
No one is sure exactly how many troops are in the Quds Force
America’s Special Operations Command (USASOC) maintains a total force of about 33,000 troops, but it’s nearly impossible to tell how those numbers stack up against the Quds Force. Because of the secretive way in which subset of the IRGC operates, estimates have ranged from the low thousands to as many as 50,000 total troops, but to a certain extent, either number would be misleading.
Because a primary role of the Quds Force is to establish friendly militias and fighting forces inside the borders of other nations, the Quds Force total number doesn’t actually reflect the group’s force projection capabilities. With operations ranging from Syria to Venezuela, Iran’s influence over loosely affiliated fighting organizations the world over makes the danger presented by the Quds Force more difficult to quantify than conventional, or even many unconventional, military units.
Specialized IEDs purpose built to penetrate armor began appearing in Iraq as a result of Quds Forces.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
The Quds Force is already responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of American deaths
Declassified defense documents have linked the Quds Force to a rash of IED attacks in Iraq that claimed the lives of hundreds of U.S. service members during combat operations in recent years. These attacks utilized an explosively formed projectile, or EFP, designed specifically to be effective against armored vehicles like American troops utilize in combat zones. Iran’s special operations troops have also been involved in a number of insurgent attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq since 2003.
The Quds Force was implicated in the bombings of the U.S. Embassy, annex, and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and 1984, along with a long list of other terror attacks. It’s important to note, however, that the Quds Force tends to advise and support rather than directly participate in these operations, granting Iran the deniability they need to avoid open war with the United States.
The B-2 Spirit is one of the most clandestine and rare planes in the world. Only 21 were ever built, and they reportedly have a stealth profile similar to that of a large bird despite their 170-foot wingspan. And they’re invisible to many infrared seekers, despite four large engines.
Here’s how engineers made a massive plane with large engines nearly invisible to systems designed to detect threats exactly like the B-2.
The B-2’s stealth profile is the result of extensive computer testing that wasn’t possible before its design. While the F-117 and B-1 were stealth aircraft, they were designed by nerds with slide rules and minimal computer modeling because the technology and the computers necessary simply didn’t exist.
But when it was time to design the B-2, the all-powerful nerds had super computers and leveraged them to create a model that had no flat surfaces with which to reflect radar directly back to the sensor. While a machine with no flat surfaces is harder to manufacture, the increase in stealth was deemed worthy of extra costs.
If the B-2 were flying directly towards the radar, most of the waves would actually be reflected 90 degrees away from the receiver, giving the radar operators next to nothing to work with.
Husband and wife B-2 Spirit pilots pose with one of the rare aircraft. The engine intakes are visible to the left and right of the cockpit.
(Avery family courtesy photo)
But of course, the flying wing would lose most of its stealth if the engines were mounted outside of its high-tech form. So the engines were mounted inside with special openings for intake and exhaust that, again, would not reflect radar waves back to the dish.
It has a few (mostly classified) systems to help with this. The exact shape of the exhaust helps a lot, but it also cools its exhaust and mixes it with the outside air to create a final exhaust that is at nearly the same temperature as the air flowing into the intake.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Germaine McCall, aircrew flight equipment NCO in charge, 509th Operations Support Squadron, carries a life support equipment to be cleaned and inspected upon the arrival of a B-2 Spirit at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, August 28, 2018.
(U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Danielle Quilla)
This greatly frustrates pursuing missiles and fighters, but obviously still leaves it vulnerable if someone spots the plane and talks fighters into the vicinity to hunt it.
Anyone who has worked with most other jets knows that you can typically hear them before you see them, often by a matter of hundreds of feet. It’s the sound that lets you know to look for the plane, but the B-2’s tiny acoustic signature means that most observers on the ground won’t know there’s anything in the sky to look for.
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit flies past a crowd of spectators during the 2018 Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom on July 14, 2018.
(U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brian Kimball)
Combined, this makes the B-2 a plane with little radar observability, that’s too quiet for most people on the ground to notice it flying nearby, and it gives off little heat, frustrating missiles and fighters sent to down it.
All of this still requires good pilots and planning. Determined defenders could use low-frequency radar waves and skilled fighters to hunt down a B-2 following a too-populated or well-defended route. But the last element of B-2 stealth comes from good intelligence, allowing pilots and planners to send the bombers in through relatively undefended routes or through routes the B-2 can defeat.
Because that’s a big part of the B-2’s mission. It’s not supposed to act as the primary bomber in most circumstances. It’s a first-wave attacker, clearing the air defenses on the ground and opening “alleys” for less stealthy aircraft. Ideally, they get a picture of the air defenses they will attack from reconnaissance aircraft like the RC-135 and are then able to dismantle them piece by piece.
An Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber, deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., takes off March 27, 2016, in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations.
(U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joel Pfiester)
But the B-2 can and has been sent against other targets, including bunkers in Iraq housing command and control elements during the invasion of that country. This is particularly useful when planners need to eliminate a target too early in the timeline to dismantle the air network first.
After all, if an enemy commander shows himself at a rally in the capital during an air campaign, you aren’t going to wait for the B-2s to finish opening the air corridors, you’re just going to send in B-2s to the final target (or you send B-1s if the B-2s can’t get there in time). You can get the radars later.
And that’s what’s so great about the B-2. While the plane costs more dollars per hour of flight than many others and carries fewer bombs than planes like the B-52 and B-1, it can hit targets that few other platforms can, largely because of its amazing stealth.
Though military members of all stripes probably have an easy time sleeping in places other than a bed, infantrymen are especially adept at being able to sleep just about anywhere. We’ve ranked the best spots for grunts to catch some Z’s.
7. On a cot less than a foot away from the grunt next to you
6. On the floor of an Air Force terminal before deployment
When a writer needs to think up some great, imposing force to pit against their protagonist, sometimes they go a little overboard. Yeah, it’s great to see some young farmboy find the strength within needed to lead a rebellion against an evil, galactic empire, but most times, the troops fighting alongside the protagonist don’t have magic space powers (we’re looking at you, Luke).
And yet anyone who’s never seen the show will still think they’re just silly little robots…
(BBC)
The Daleks (Doctor Who)
At first glance, the Daleks are kind of silly. A rolling pepper shaker with two sticks for arms might not seem imposing — until you realize they’re almost impossible to kill inside their shells.
Fighting a near-undying force that’s backed by a ridiculous amount of troops hellbent on your extermination isn’t ideal — it doesn’t matter that you could just put a hat over their eyestalk.
Yep. And the other villains in the game try to capture these things — doesn’t work like that.
(Bioware)
The Reapers (Mass Effect)
Normally, giant, spacefaring warships are hard to kill. They’re even harder to kill if they’re sentient and are capable indoctrinating entire galaxies under their control.
Reapers are massive beings often confused with space ships. They dominate entire star systems by slowly brainwashing their inhabitants. Or, if that takes too long and they just need some troops fast, they can shoot out robot appendages to turn anyone fighting them into lifeless, obedient husks. Every conquered world joins their ranks, becoming a new enemy that our heroes must fight physically and psychologically.
A rocket launcher may be overkill, but you don’t want to take any chances.
(Bungie)
The Flood (Halo)
What’s worse than fighting zombies? Fighting space zombies. One of the most deadly things about the Flood is that they can destroy their enemies with a single touch.
They cover battlefields in disease, meaning any step may lead to infection. The Flood is so terrifying that it takes two great armies, the humans and the Covenant, to band together and defeat them.
Poor bug. No one ever takes them seriously.
(TriStar Pictures)
The Arachnid (Starship Troopers)
No good military satire is complete without an insane enemy that comes in insane numbers and is armed with insane psychic abilities.
One of the most deadly things about the Arachnids was how mindless they seem. Everyone who initially thought, “oh, just a giant bug” was in for a rude awakening when they discovered they can communicate telepathically and shoot down spaceships in orbit.
The Borg even managed to assimilate the great Captain Jean-Luc Picard. And adding Picard to their ranks definitely gives them an edge.
(Paramount Television)
The Borg (Star Trek)
These guys are the culmination of all the terrifying things on this list. Put together highly advanced technology, overwhelming numbers, near invulnerability, and mass assimilation and you end up with the Borg.
With most sci-fi hiveminds, destroying their leader usually means the destruction of their entire force. But with the Borg, it just means another Queen must take their place.
Who would win: 40 millenia of technological advancements or one Orky boy?
(Games Workshop)
The Orks (Warhammer 40k)
To be fair, every army in Warhammer 40k is a force to be reckoned with. But even in a universe filled with futuristic demons, robot zombies, and blood-thirsty elves, the Orks are considered the most successful intergalactic conquerors.
When the space savages aren’t fighting among themselves, they’ll band together to overwhelm their foes — even if those foes are Chaos gods, alien samurai, or whatever the hell Tyranids are.
As the US military is focusing on the Russian and Chinese threat, the Arctic becomes an ever more important region. The bountiful natural resources reportedly existing under the endless ice of the Arctic make the contested region highly desirable for all contestants — and there’s a lot of them.
In addition to the US, the European Union, China, Russia, Canada, and the United Kingdom all present some claim to the Arctic and are claiming sovereignty over portions of the plentiful natural resources that are hidden underneath the ice.
US special operations units, thus, have every interest to prepare for action in an arctic environment since they are at the tip of the spear of the American military.
In September, a Special Forces mountain team from 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, participated in exercise Valor United 20. The exercise, which brought together special operations and conventional troops, took place in Seward, Alaska. Its aim was to boost the experience and expertise of the participants in arctic warfare and increase the interoperability between special operations and conventional forces.
A Navy SEAL with a Special Operations Military Working Dog training in arctic conditions (US Navy).
The participants focused on patrolling, arctic, alpine, and glacier movement, crevasse rescue, and long-range communications under the austere conditions of the arctic environment. Regarding the last aspect of the training (long-range communications), the Special Forces team’s communications sergeants were able to send high-frequency messages from their positions to their headquarters in Okinawa, more than 4,400 miles away. In doing so, they tested their ability to securely transmit a message over an extremely long distance without being compromised. It’s important to remember that in a near-peer conflict, the enemy’s capabilities compete with or match those of the US military, unlike what has been happening in the Middle East for the past 20 years where US troops have been fighting a technologically inferior enemy.
A Special Forces communication sergeant (18E) with 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) sets up an antenna for high-frequency transmission during Valor United 20, an arctic warfare training exercise in Seward, Alaska (1st SFG).
While they were in the area, the 12-man Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) had the chance to work alongside the 212th Rescue Squadron and assist the Air Commandos in wilderness search and rescue missions.
“This was a great opportunity to refine previous Small Unit Tactics training and expand our proficiency to conduct arctic operations in an austere mountain environment,” said the ODA’s team sergeant in a press release.
Training offers units the opportunity to test tactics, techniques, and procedures, the utility of gear, and the rationale of established concepts in different environments. For example, a soldier moving and fighting in the arduous arctic environment needs significantly more calories than a soldier who sits on a forward operations base most of the day and goes out on a direct action mission at night or from a troop who is training a partner force. Thus, exercises like Valor United 20 are a great opportunity to answer the “what” and “how” questions units might have about operating in different geographical environments.
Rangers undergoing the Cold Weather Operations Course (US Army).
Army Special Forces soldiers aren’t the only ones who are getting additional arctic warfare training. The 75th Ranger Regiment, arguably the world’s premier light infantry special operations unit, has been sending troops to the Cold Weather Operations Course (CWOC) with increased frequency.
The Army has recognized the increased importance of and emphasis on arctic warfare by introducing the Arctic Tab. Since January, soldiers who successfully complete the Northern Warfare Training Center’s Cold Weather Leaders Course (CWLC) are awarded the Arctic Tab. This decision sparked some controversy since many feel that another tab would diminish the value of the preexisting ones, such as the Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Honor Guard Tab, or Sapper Tab.
This article originally appeared on Sandboxx. Follow Sandboxx on Facebook.
The Game Awards 2019 has announced this years list of nominees, which includes 107 different games spread across more than 20 categories.
Established in 2014, The Game Awards is an annual ceremony featuring live performances, celebrity presenters, major industry announcements, and world premiere trailers. More than 26 million people streamed the awards last year.
This year’s nominees are led by games like “Death Stranding,” “Fortnite,” “Control,” “Apex Legends,” and “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” all of which received three or more nominations. The Game Awards also includes special categories for unique genres, independent releases, virtual reality, and esports.
Fans can help choose the winners in every category on the event’s website or by searching “TGA vote” on Google. You can vote for a winner in each category once per day through December 11 — your vote will be authenticated with an existing social media or Google account. (Chinese viewers can use Bilibili to vote.)
The Game Awards ceremony will be held on December 12 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles at 5:30 p.m. PT. The awards will be streamed live on more than 60 different international platforms — including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and Mixer — but tickets to attend the event in person are also on sale now.
Cinemark Theatres across the United States will host a special event in 53 of its theaters where it’ll pair a live simulcast of the awards with the world premiere screenings of “Jumanji: The Next Level.”
Here’s the full list of The Game Awards 2019 nominees:
Another week of quarantine, another round of memes. The Tiger King references are slowing down since 99% of the population has already seen it, made fun of it and determined Carol Baskin is actually THE WORST. But the rest of the problems in the world are still very much being leveraged for a little dark humor.
Hope you and your families are staying safe, washing your hands and have plenty of liquor and TP.
1. Stop the throwbacks
I’m sure them seeing you smiling right after your senior prom before you got to graduate with all of your friends is making them feel super supported. Whatever, we still like seeing who is clearly doing the botox and who had hair way back when.
2. Truth bomb
Turns out there is a right way to load the dishwasher, Steve.
3. Stimulus check
Nothing to see here, nothing to see.
4. Graphs
We’re okay without the anarchy but the zombies would have at least given us some sports.
5. Make your decision now
You shouldn’t be sick of any of the local places.
6. Natural beauty
The mascara down to your cheeks look is the new smoky-eye.
7. Part of your world
Even Michael Scott knows the rules.
8. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
The good old days.
9. Princess Bride
Another great movie in case you haven’t finished Netflix yet.
10. Sweet Forrest
Life is like a box of chocolates and a dangerous one at that, especially if you share that with someone who is right next to you.
11. The walls are closing in
It’s about to be Thunderdome in here.
12. What day is it?
Best part, neither one of them have on pants. #spiritanimal
13. Prime time
You’d better chlorox her too!
14. Romeo & Juliet would have been fine
Well, up until they weren’t.
15. Snow White knows
Grumpy is spot on these days.
16. Must be nice
There is no try. Only do or do not.
17. Flashback
We’ll never drink a corona the same again
18. Those coupons!
It’s all a marketing ploy to get more customers in the TP deficit.
19. Casual Friday
Might protect your face but it’s so hard to type with those tiny little t-rex arms!
20. Nature is healing
This one quacked us up. You’re welcome.
21. Desperate times
It’s like being in a carwash, for dishes.
22. Groundhog Day
Even the super heroes are restless.
23. Commute
Really Homer, we know you aren’t putting pants on to go downstairs.
24. Jacked!
And feed myself pancakes in bed.
25. Live footage
She’s gonna need a whole lotta time at the spa.
26. What a relief
As long as they don’t sneeze, you’re good.
27. My precious
That rocks. (See what we did there?)
28. Double meaning
Not like you were going to get together anyhow…
29. Scrub-a-dub
This hand sanitizer is so moisturizing, said no one ever.
30. Largest piece of the pie
Did I always touch it this much?
31. Even the celebrities are alone
Hopefully he’ll use this time to write something amazing for us.
32. Never let go Jack
It’s your time to shine and provide comfort.
33. I only had one drink
Wonder what skills she’ll find out she has after that beverage?
34. Cruise ship
Samesies. Except not at all.
35. Zoom progression
We call this developing to our surroundings. Also, breaking.
36. Sweet ride
Making teachers everywhere proud of your newfound independence brought to you by day-drinking during homeschool.
37. Can’t touch this
We know someone will eventually cave for that.
38. Even the emojis are sick
But do the animals have on masks too?
39. Suntan lines
Cruise this time of year: . Mask lines: priceless
40. Thieves oil please
Sell it all to me!
41. Bring your own lighter
It’s much easier to judge people from a perch.
42. Sneeze?
Is that you, Rona?
43. Pass the tacos
It’s hard to be in quarantine.
44. Smocked and bows
No, we don’t know where you can buy this.
45. The forbidden flower
Its magic is dying.
46. Sums it up
Everything is fine!
47. Slap your face
Too bad you can’t see your mom to ask her.
48. YouTubers
Time to find a new goal, kids.
49. But tickets were so cheap
Not worth the risk buddy.
50. YESSSS
Well, at least you don’t have to search COVID-19 memes, because we have the best ones right here. Stay safe!
