Sir I have JAG on my speed dial.

Whips out phone, calls and asks "Do I have to stand at attention when reporting to my Battery Commander? Is that a legal order? Just checking.

I can picture my Battery Commander dealing with that one, AND my First Sergeant. 

My BC would have simply said "Good one!"

Top would have said, "You asshole."

The BC would have taken that one to the O club.

Top would have taken it to the NCO club.

Neither of those two men would have EVER given me an illegal order.

In fact the BC stuck up for me when I questioned a 2LT giving a rah rah go for the team class on riot control. The 2LT even breathed a word on shooting protesters. I told him that i would shoot him before I fired on Americans.

Yeah. I was a pain in the ass soldier but for some reason I made E-5 in 25 months. 

Fact is it doesn't speak highly of me. It means I was in the right place at the right time.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

A beautiful day

I got to enjoy some of it outside and then opened the windows and did some spring cleaning. I also made slow cooker chili.

The chili is sitting in the fridge and tomorrow it gets put in containers and frozen. 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

War crimes.

Hospitals, public utilities, schools and orphanages are considered off limits so long as they are not used for military purposes.

However people forget the rest of the story. The 'so long as they are not being used for military purposes' part is often forgotten. That instantly changes things.

A power  plant that supplies any electricity to any military facility or unit whatsoever loses their protection and becomes a legitimate target.

Some time ago one of the wire services had an office in a building that was also being used to store ammunition that got bombed. They complained to Israel and in so many words told the wire service to settle it with the landlord because military hardware was being stored there.

Israel bombed a hospital because it was being used for military purposes. 

Currently the left is accusing Trump and Hegseth of war crimes which is a joke.

Two faced Mark Kelly flew air cover for people bombing utilities during Desert Storm so that makes him complacent in war crimes. Maybe we ought to charge him with war crimes and then watch the left stand there agape. Of course it would be a waste of time because some federal judge would likely throw any conviction out. That's probably a big part of the reason Hegseth didn't recall Kelly and courts-martial him. I would imagine the paperwork overturning anything done to him was already filled out and sitting in some judges desk drawer.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The A-10 Warthog is headed for the dustbin soon

and I would imagine that the Air Force is going to babble incoherently about how the replacement is twice as good and so on and so forth. My guess is the slow moving Warthog is going to be replaced by a fast mover that can't stay on site as long as the old Warthog can.

OTOH maybe drones will replace it. Technology changes incredibly fast these days. It's hard to keep up with.

While the replacement may very well wind up being a good deal, I have my doubts. OTOH I am no expert in the field of close air support.

What interests me is the A-10 has been considered obsolete for a long time now and it seems that every time something pops up the Warthog keeps showing up and tearing up ground targets like it's supposed to. 

It is the prince of close in air support.

I wonder if the Air Force bothered to ask the grunts and ground pounders what they think of it. Probably not but they should have.

Before anyone starts carrying on about the old beast being 70s technology don't forget that the BUFF (B-52) is well over 70 years old and projected to last until at least 2050. 

The M2 Browning is over 100 years old and is still being used. In fact with the WW2 leftover parts and guns we don't even have to order spare parts or new guns.

Sometimes the government screws up and does something right.

Look at the P-38 can opener, for example. The government belted one out of the park when they made that one.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

ONE GUY. One single man.

Say what you will about the war but remember nobody said a damned thing when Biden lost 13 of our guys withdrawing from Afghanistan. Nobody said anything when Clinton lost 18 of our guys in Somalia. Nobody said anything about Obama abandoning our people at Benghazi.

Yet look what Donald Trump did just to save ONE GUY!

ONE SINGLE GUY!

....and Jesus said 'a good Shepherd will leave the 99 to go and look for the one lost. Key word - A good Shepherd!

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I just read where a Swiss butcher got caught selling pork as Halal veal.

Seems he labeled it as veal and got away with it for three years and it is estimated he moved 3.1 tons of it.

He was selling inexpensive pork at veal prices to boot.

Nobody that bought it seemed to know the difference. It was discovered by a sharp-eyed inspector during a routine inspection.

He got six months and a fine. From a financial angle he probably came out on top.

For some reason I think this is hilarious.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I see where Pete Hegseth bounced about 30 generals

which is no surprise because on Day One he called a meeting of all generals, sat them down in an auditorium and announce he was going to be getting rid of a lot of dead wood in the near future. 

Most likely they won't be replaced. He's said we're top-heavy with generals and he's probably right. I see more getting put out to pasture.

I would bet that of the 30 that have been retires that there is no shortage of Obama and Biden appointees in the ranks. 

One of the things that many generals start to think is that they are indispensable which is a joke. If a planeload of generals crashed it would not really mean a whole lot. It would mean that a bunch of colonels got promoted and things would go back to normal almost immediately.

The problem lies with some with big egos that think they are running the show and their civilian boss isn't really in charge. Guess again.

If an officer can not or will not support the orders given to him then it becomes his duty to resign or retire. Period. There's no room for foot dragging, shirking or malicious compliance. It's a black and white issue.

Another thing is the military is no place for party politics of any party. A promotion to flag rank is not a reward for being a party hack. However, like the federal courts, Obama and Biden appointed any number of federal judges that were supposed to hamstring Trump or other Republicans in case one got elected again. 

They seem to have done the same thing with their appointment of general officers. Obama and Biden appointed a number of generals based on their political views. These most likely are the generals that think they are above SecWars orders. while they may not go toe to toe with him they will undermine him every chance they get.

That leaves Hegseth with no choice but to fire them. I would and so would anyone else that has half of a brain.

One of the things the generals always seem to forget. They forget who they are working for. They are not working with Pete Hegseth. They are working for the Secretary of War.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Looks like today has the makings of a pretty good day.

It actually was. I spent 5 hours in the Miata booming and zooming the two lane blacktop and just plain losing myself. 

 A Neighbor with a 6 speed ND had offered to let me try his out.

Curiosity intrigues me and I think I will take him up on his kind offer. 

I am not discounting any thing but you have to realize IMO that an NA Miata is as close to perfect for a sports car as an MGB. OTOH the Miata has a defroster that actually works.

Let's look at it this way. If I won the Powerball jackpot my daily driver would be a Dodge '62 half ton stepside pickup with a Slant Six, four speed (manual) transmission, manual choke no radio, heater only basic farm vehicle.  

  

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I see we lost a jet

and both aircrewmen were rescued.

I read we have flown over 13,000 sorties and so far lost six airplanes and no crewmen. Three were casualties of friendly fire on the part of the Kuwaitis. The tanker was involved in a mid air accident with another airplane that got down safely.

The other day we lost an F15E and an A-10 Warthog.

Iran claims they shot both down, we attribute the F15E to engine failure. Pretty much the same hold true for the warthog. No telling.

What is astonishing is that we have suffered so few casualties since the fighting has started. Our guys, from the janitor that sweeps the floor at the airplane factory to the flyboys in the aircraft are really quite amazing.

We can cram more death and destruction in a small jet than we could have in a B-24 and they can strike and get back to base a lot safer.

In 1943 we lost 60 aircraft with another 17 sent to the bone yard along with over 650 aviators on a single mission to bomb a ball bearing plant.

When you put it in that context it's amazing how light our casualties actually are.

Before you jump up and down, a single casualty is a tragedy. I'm just pointing out that casualties are far lower than expected so far. 

             

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY