If LBG and DeltaBravo did the news ....

I think it would go something like this.



Hat tip Breitbart.

Sid takes them to school ...

Over at the USNIBlog, Sid - with covering fire from Byron - engage in some withering counter fire with the LCS cult.

Great reading not just about LCS but some shipbuilding, policy, and ampib talk as well. Sid's facts trump PPT cant everyday...

Fullbore Friday

Another giant from a family of giants has left us.

The U. S. Naval Institute mourns the passing of Navy Cross recipient, strategic visionary and Naval Institute member Victor H. Krulak. Lieutenant General Krulak died in his sleep on the evening of December 29 at age 95.

Born in Denver, Colorado January 7, 1913, General Krulak graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1934 and served as a "paramarine" during World War II. His remarkable heroism in leading a diversionary raid associated with the fall 1943 invasion of Bougainville earned him the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart. Widely credited for his role in fighting post-World War II attempts to abolish the Marine Corps as a separate service, "Brute," as he came to be known, went on to serve as a counterinsurgency advisor to the Joint Staff and to command Fleet Marines in the Pacific during the Vietnam War. His son, Charles C. Krulak, followed his father's footsteps to the Naval Academy and Marine Corps, eventually serving as the Marine Corps commandant.

One of Victor Krulak's lasting legacies is his Naval Institute Press epic First to Fight – a riveting insider's chronicle of the unique esprit de corps displayed by U. S. Marines on and off the battlefield. Alluding to the general's role in pushing aside arguments to do away with the Corps, Publishers Weekly called the book "the most complete account to date of the Marines' struggle for the 'right to fight.' " The texts' lasting value is evidenced by its inclusion over many years on the Marine Corps' Recommended Reading List. In 2007, it was made required reading for all Marines. Explaining the decision, in the November 2008 edition of Proceedings, Commandant of the Marine Corps James Conway praised Victor Krulak's admonition that Marines "must see no mission as too dangerous, no notice too short, no task too humble." "Indeed," observed Conway, "the nation expects her Marines to roll out fast and hit hard on the other end, and this is what makes First to Fight the marquee title of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program today."

In 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Victor Krulak's service, noting that the general's life offered important lessons "about learning from the experiences and setbacks of the past, about being open to ideas and inspiration from whatever they come, and about overcoming conventional wisdom and bureaucratic obstacles thrown in one's path."

Though funeral plans are pending, it is anticipated a memorial service will be held at Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar in early January.

A few of books about the times LTG Krulak fought the good fight at the highest levels - I recommend Triumph Forsaken, Masters of War, and The Combined Action Platoons.

BTW, if you have not read his stuff from ~1966 about Vietnam - then you don't know how LBJ threw away the Petraeus of his age in favor of the opinions of the Ivy League "Best and Brightest." "Ahem," says history.

2008's "Shape, clear, hold, build." That is Krulak's gift to us.

Hat tip USNIBlog.

Have we moved on?

As I watch this Congressman, all I can think of is, "I think we as a nation have moved way beyond this tired old race-baiting cant."

Seriously, I just don't think it works anymore. Cry wolf, cry bigot, cry havoc --- I don't care. In 2008, this flaccid tactic to avoid answering valid points just doesn't make it. Not only is it not reflective of today's reality - it is an insult to the past. An insult to this nation.

Does someone have a pasture somewhere?



Oh, one note. No one tells the Senate they "have" to do anything. Just ask a Senator. Definition #4 of counterproductive.

Hat tip HotAir.

Saying goodbye to a friend

Join ninme and me to pass on condolences to Bubblehead recent loss of his beloved, and lov'n, cat Hercules.

In his prime.

Time to cheer up Skippy

...because that is what Shipmates do --- and I know he is in pain today. It is a job he does for all of us.



BTW, don't ask me. The Japanese are, well, Japanese; and we should thank them for it....and yes LBG - that is very nice slo-mo work.

Hat tip Howie.

Diversity Thursday

We are banning names and patches again.

This one is a funny story, mostly because 99% of people out there will need an explanation why the lightening bolts you see on the patches are offensive ... and then you will need to explain the, ahem, "dynamics" of it to 50% of those you explain it to. I won't do the second part in any great detail ...

Let's start the New Year off right with a DT that will sober you up pronto. Just a warning....

What has been seen cannot be unseen. What is known cannot be unknown.

If you wish to be saved (I am talking to you Kristin) from knowing one of the more esoteric "cheeky" Gen. Y jokes, then stop reading now.
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The Electronic Warfare EF-18G is officially known as the "Growler." Hmmmmm - words have meaning. What is the definition of "Growler" for the rest of the world? Well the answer is complicated, in the UK it means this,

growler - This term has two suggested meaning from two different people. The first is a slang name for vagina, i.e.. "I'd love to see her growler". ... The other meaning is: the sort of person who is very drunk in a pub and is looking for a fight, maybe a mad looking bloke sitting at the bar staring at people.

On this side of the pond, it means this,

growler - Defecation causing extreme pain, and audible growling sounds, i.e. "After eating that Mexican food, I took a serious growler."

Of course, when "Growler" was announced as the name for the EF-18G it was well known what the underground meaning of "Growler" was before the aircraft was named - warnings were sent up - but "they " did it anyway. Right away, most Gen X and below started giggl'n and hated the name, but the Boomers in charge just thought having the "G" in EF-18G combined with the old EA-6B name "Prowler" was just too cute not to combine. Few under CAPT thought it was a good idea.

As we expect from those with the personality to want to fly off carriers - the proud but disgusted JOs with the attitude Naval Aviators as known for stepped into the lexicon for other options. That is when "Shocker" came up.

"Shocker" seems an interesting and noble name perhaps, if for no other reason besides being an electronic bird.

Look at those patches at the top of the post; do they seem shocking and in poor taste?

To the Navy, a pinkie standing out with the index and middle finger out and the ring finger in usually means, "I didn't listen to the safety guys and kept my wedding ring on when underway."

The mind, however, is different in the 21st Century...and there will be no fun allowed. Though "Shocker" was an option, it was killed - and probably should remain killed - for obvious reasons.

The shocker, also known colloquially as "two in the pink, one in the stink",[1][2] is a hand gesture with a sexual connotation.

You can do more research on your own if needed. How about we call the EF-18G the Snuggly Bunny instead?

Get 'em here while you can. Further Gen Y hand signals can be found here.

Hate to say it - but in this case the elders from Footloose are right ... and so are the JOs. "Growler" is a horrible name, and just as tawdry as "Shocker" if we are going to be hyper-sensitive about anything involving tender viddles and what you may or may not do with them.

Happy New Year - and lets try to have fun through the tears.

Hat tip "I."