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Thursday, July 31, 2008
Organizational Structure of the Army
Nowadays the military is more remote from the lives of most Americans. We hear about the military via the news media, rather than through personal experience or contact. Between the news media's dispassion with the topic and the news media's romance with inaccuracy, few people really understand the terminology of our Armed Forces.
When we hear on the news that a platoon engaged the enemy or that someone is a Sergeant in the 2nd Armored Division (I made that up), we lack a context or scope to understand what that means. In the near future I'll attempt several articles that will scratch the surface of the topic.
Today we'll examine the Organizational Structure of the Army:
Squad
- Size: 9 -10 soldiers (depends on its function)
- Consists of:: none
- Command: Sergeant (various numbers of stripes)
- Misc:
Platoon
- Size: 16 - 44 soldiers
- Sub-units:2 -4 squads
- Consists of: Lieutenant
- Misc:
Company / Battery / Troop
- Size: 62 - 190 soldiers
- Consists of: 3 - 5 platoons
- Command: Captain
- Misc:
- An artillery unit of equivalent size is called a battery
- a comparable armored or air cavalry unit is called a troop
Battalion
- Size: 300 - 1,000 soldiers
- Consists of: 4 - 6 companies
- Command: Lieutenant colonel
- MISC:
- Capable of independent operations of limited duration and scope
- An armored unit of equivalent size is called a squadron
- An air cavalry unit of equivalent size is called a squadron
Brigade
- Size: 3,000 - 5,000 solders
- Consists of: 2-5 combat battalions
- Command: Colonel
- MISC:
- Employed on independent or semi-independent operations.
- Armored cavalry, ranger and special forces units this size are categorized as regiments or groups.
Division
- Size: 10,000 - 15,000 soldiers
- Consists of: 3 brigades
- Command: Major General
- MISC:
- Divisions are numbered and assigned missions based on their structures
- Performs major tactical operations for the corps
- Can conduct sustained battles and engagements.
Corps
- Size: 20,000 - 45,000 soldiers
- Consists of: 2 -5 divisions
- Command: Lieutenant general
- MISC:
- The deployable level of command required to synchronize and sustain combat operations
- Provides the framework for multi-national operations.
Labels: Armed Forces, armored, Armored Division, batallion, battery, brigade, captain, cavalry, colonel, company, corps, division, general, Lieutenant, major, military, platoon, sergeant, squad, troop
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Get It Right, Wouldja?
James Cagney didn't use that line in any of his many films.
In a speech to the American Film Institute in 1974 he made a point of saying "I never said "Mmm, you dirty rat!"
Get It Right, Wouldja?
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Grip, Best Boy, Gaffer. Especially the Gaffer Part
John McCain's problems with facts (this week's edition). He has raised the bar for making gaffes.
"I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," McCain said. The ABC posting added: “Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.”
-“Somalia” for “Sudan” - As recounted in a reporter’s pool report from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?" Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: “Sudan.”
-“Germany” for “Russia” - A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia - following a trip to Germany - as “President Putin of Germany.”
-This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were “down to pre-surge levels” when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.
-Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently. Even though aides and Joe Lieberman repeatedly corrected him, he made that gaffe 4 times in 3 days.
-In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to "Czechoslovakia,” which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April.
-In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years - but had always referred correctly to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.
When he totally blew it on "The Surge" - when it happened, what events it triggered, he had to redefine it as "the surge", the one he defines as "a counter-terrorism measure".... just not the one for which the President takes credit, the one that the rest of the world understands.
And don't get me started on his campaign's anti-Obama smears - the ones that are chock full of lies. FactCheck.org
Labels: Best Boy, Czechoslovakia, Gaffer, george w. mccain, Grip, john mc bush, mccain, packers, somalia, steelers, sudan, vietnam
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Get It Right, Wouldja?
Puppets are fitted over the hand and operated with hand and finger motions, with no intervening strings (think: sock puppet or Muppet). Instead, a puppet is fitted over the hand. Of necessity said devices are controlled from below and/or behind, with the puppeteer acting somewhat like a proctologist.
A puppet usually has a hollow head, enabling the puppeteer to animate the creature's head and neck by inserting a finger into the hollow head. Therein it differs from the practice of proctology in that few doctors have fingers long enough.
The most famous puppet is Kermit the Frog.
When an such an object is controlled from above, with the operator using strings to control movement, the "puppeteer" is actually a "marionetter" using a marionette.
The most famous marionetter is Geppetto. The most famous marionette is Pinocchio. In the story of Pinocchio, the marionette was freed from his strings and turned into a boy. He sang "I have got no strings on me...". He did not sing "I no longer have Geppetto's hand crammed up my...." That's a good thing, because Pinocchio was underage, and therefore jail bait for a leacherous old man like Geppetto. Hey' I'm just sayin'....
In any case, the correct expression is "Marionette On A String." Of course, that is redundant. "Marionette" will suffice, even though it it lacks the ability to rhyme with common words such as "ring", "thing", "sing","sting", and so on.....
Get It Right, Wouldja?
Labels: marionette, puppet, puppet on a string
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
Get It Right, Wouldja?
No one in the Star Trek series, not even Captain James T. Kirk, ever said it.
in the Star Trek series. Captain Kirk got closest to this statement when he said "Beam us up, Mr Scott", in the 'Gamesters of Triskelion' episode.
Get It Right, Wouldja?
Labels: beam me up, kirk, mr. scott, scotty, star trek
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Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wisdom From The Past
Labels: government, plato, politics
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Friday, July 25, 2008
McCain's Problem: Facts, Reality, or Truthiness?
McCain and other Republicans have been pushing to allow more offshore drilling in U.S. waters, and emphasizing the environmental safety of offshore drilling is one part of the strategy. In a recent speech, McCain said, "As for offshore drilling, it's safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston."
Which, it turns out, isn't actually true. According to government figures,
- Storms in 2005 caused 146 small spills in federal waters
- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita completely destroyed 113 oil rigs and damaged 457 pipelines.
- The resulting oil spills were large enough to be seen from space. (But apparently not from campaign headquarters.)
Stolen from Grist
Labels: george w. mccain, john mc bush, mccain, oil rig, oil spill, problem with facts, problem with lying, problem with reality
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Top 10 Psychological Problems of a Nation of Whiners
The following is a list of the Top 10 Psychological Problems of a Nation of Whiners.
- HOUSING FORECLOSURES INCREASING: As a result of the subprime lending crisis, "housing foreclosures nationwide were up 50% in June compared with the same month in 2007." In California alone, foreclosures have reached an average of 500 per day.
- HOMELESSNESS INCREASING: The number of homeless people in America over the age of 50 is "steadily increasing."
- HEALTHCARE COSTS RISING: According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, "health-care costs are growing much faster than the economy." Costs are rising so significantly, some Americans are delaying retirement.
- GAS PRICES RISING: The national average gas price is $4.09, up 33 percent from this time last year. Gas prices are now expected to hit "$4.25 by the fall and then stay at more than $4 a gallon until the end of 2009."
- JOB LOSSES INCREASING: In the first six months of this year, a total of 438,000 jobs have been lost, bringing unemployment to 5.5 percent. The CEO of Bank of America commented, if unemployment continues to rise, "all bets are off."
- FOOD COSTS RISING: "U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007" -- the fastest rise in 17 years (The supporting document is no longer available) -- and as a result, food stamps have considerably less buying power.
- HEATING AND ELECTRICITY COSTS RISING: Heating oil costs across the North are expected to be "up 60 percent from last year," and utilities across the country are "raising power prices up to 29%."
- REAL WAGES DECLINING: "Slower wage growth and faster inflation has led to falling real hourly and weekly earnings for most workers."
- LEISURE SPENDING DECLINING: As a result of the rising cost of living, Americans are "tightening their belts and thinking twice about spending extra bucks on entertainment and leisure products."
- VALUE OF DOLLAR DECLINING: The dollar "has been declining steadily for six years against other major currencies, undercutting its role as the leading international banking currency."
Shamelessly heisted from the newsletter of the Center for American Progress, 7.11.2008
Labels: george w. mccain, gramm, mental recession, nation of whiners, psychological problems
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Doncha Hate It When This Happens?
In the fourth quarter Dallas Cowboys' defensive lineman Leon Lett recovered a fumble committed by the Buffalo Bills' offense. Ball in hand, he lumbered down the field, attempting to return the fumble for a touchdown. With no one in front of him, he seemed to be headed for an easy 6 points.
As he was nearing the end zone he stretched out his arms in celebration. A hustling Buffalo Bills' Don Beebe chased him down from behind and knocked the ball out of Leon's hand just before the Cowboy crossed the goal line. That maneuver sent the ball through the end zone, resulting in a play-ending touchback - negating a slam-dunk touchdown and returning the ball to the Buffalo Bills.
Instead of the enduring glory of a Super Bowl touchdown, Leon Lett's premature victory dance earned him the ignominy of owning one of the most embarrassing moments in football history.
Fast forward 10 years.
Instead of being in the sub-tropical splendor of a Super Bowl, think about the Hell-on-Earth known as Afghanistan.
While I'm certain that he would resent the association, think of Mr. Beebe as the Taliban. Guess who gets to play Leon Lett? Hint: dub-ya
Instead of concentrating on the touchdown, Mr. Lett got distracted, with disastrous consequences.
Arrogantly the poser actor (Bush/Lett) led a nation into a distraction that has killed and wounded thousands of our troops, and killed/wounded/displaced hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. He let Don Beebe catch up and strip him of what would have been his glory.
Now Don Beebe (the Taliban) is back in control of most of Afghanistan, and the unwarranted joyous diversion continues(!)
Oddly, his die-hard supporters still consider Lett (Bush) to be a hero. Meanwhile our troops continue to die.
Labels: afghanistan, Don Beebe, embarrass, Leon Lett, super bowl, super bowl XXVII, taliban
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Sunday, July 13, 2008
Journal of Nirvana
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
Warning Label
Alcohol could intensify this effect.
Use caution when operating a car or dangerous machinery
while reading this blog.
Labels: blog, humor, warning label
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Friday, July 11, 2008
Get It Right, Wouldja? What's your "FOR-TAY?"
Forte is a word that has three meanings and two pronunciations. Most people manage to get them all wrong.
When one correctly uses "for-tay," it is a musical term that means "loud" or "forceful".
In all of the other meanings of "forte," the "e" is silent and "forte" are pronounced "fort."
"Forte" (other than the musical "forte") refers to one's strengths, those skills in which one excels.
The word has a violent, but interesting, origin in fighting - specifically, swordfighting and its genteel cousin, fencing.
A sword has four parts:
The hilt is the part that you hold: guard, grip, and pommel (and in the case of Italian swords, a quillion and a ricasso).
The forte is the portion of the blade that begins at the hilt and extends approximately one-third to one-half of the length of the blade. In terms of leverage when fencing and swordfighting, it is the best part of the blade to use in a defensive gesture usch as parrying the opponent's thrust. [ Look 'em up yourselves. It's my nap time.]. This is because the forte is the strongest part of the blade. Likewise, in human terms, one's forte is one's strengths. The musical term "forte," in its own way, refers to "strength."
The foible is the top portion of the blade. In fencing and swordfighting, it is the part of the blabe best used for the speedy movements used on offense. If a sword blade is going to break, it will most likely break in its weakest area - the foible. Like "forte,""foible" started as a swordfighting term and has become used in common speech. "Foible" is a weakness - the place in which people's personalities and actions are most likely to break.
The point is, um, the point. In fencing, it is the portiion of the blade with which one scores points. In swordfighting, it is the portion of the blade used to impale one's opponent.
To pronouce it correctly, remember that forte as in "for-tay" is a musical term. Otherwise, pronounce it "fort."
The point is that a very common foible among English-speaking people is the misuse of the term "forte."
Labels: fencing, forte, sword, swordfighting
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Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Plug For A Great Product
FireFox is your portal to the Internet. It puts Microsoft's Internet Explorer to shame. For a discussion of FF's virtues, see Firefox web browser: Faster, more secure, & customizable .
What blew me away recently was that I was in the middle of an online 'chat' - using FireFox - with HP tech support. It was a dark and stormy night, and we experienced a short power 'blip.' That brief decrease in line voltage messed up a command that I executed, and FireFox closed - in the middle of the chat. I restarted FF, and it re-opened all of the web pages I had open - at exactly the same place as before the power glitch..... including the online chat, where the technician was waiting for my answer. We continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.
Try THAT with your Internet Explorer, Mr. Gates.
Labels: fire fox, firefox, ie, internet explorer, power blip, power glitch, power surge, restore, restore session., session restore, web browser
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Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Counting Words
Labels: english, most frequently used, most frequently used words, word count
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Why I Hate Liberals
- Public Safety:
- water quality standards
- air quality standards
- food and drug quality standards
- food and drug labeling standards
- consumer product safety standards
- minimum standards for possession and use of dangerous materials and weapons
- safety standards for vehicles
- mandatory safety inspections for airlines
- Education:
- state-assisted education from pre-school to Doctorate
- subsidized loans to assist with education expenses
- a well-educated workforce
- schooled, skilled, well-paid military personnel
- Health:
- affordable medical insurance for the poor, the elderly, and children of the working poor
- an abundance of well-trained medical generalists and specialists - all because of subsidized public education
- Workplace:
- unemployment insurance
- minimum wage laws
- child labor laws
- jobs with good pay scales, medical benefits, retirement plans, paid holidays, and paid vacation
- safe working conditions
- mandatory workers' compensation for job-related injuries
- the right to join unions
- Finance:
- insured bank accounts
- affordable mortgages because of underwriting provided by Fannie Mae, FHA, and Veterans' Administration
- social security
- an economy with regulations that minimize wide boom-and-bust swings
- Infrastrucure:
- public transportation
- public roads
- nation-wide electrification
- publicly funded and maintained parks and other recreation facilities
- Government:
- reduced numbers of non-defense federal employees
- reduced budget deficits & paid down national debt
- keep government out of our churches
- Human Rights
- equal treatment under the law
- civil rights legislation
- voting rights laws
I say we should go back to the good old days where men were men and where wimmen knew their place and where dark-skinned people went back to their own countries and left America to REAL Americans.
Next Week: How those commie-pinko-fag-junkie Democrats lose wars and encourage terrorists.Labels: boom-and-bust, child labor laws, consumer product safety, educated workforce, join union, liberal, medical insurance, safety standards, working poor
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Monday, July 7, 2008
Word of the Day
nonpareil \non-puh-REL
adjective:
Having no equal; peerless.
noun:
1. Something of unequaled excellence; a peerless thing or person.
2. A flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar.
Wait a minute! By this definition, isn't ALL chocolate "nonpareil" ?
Labels: chocolate, no equal, nonpareil, peerless, word of the day
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Sunday, July 6, 2008
Disaster
-- Argus Hamilton
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
Those Liberals Are At It Again
Juanita dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air she breathes is clean because some wacko liberal environmentalist fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
Tomorrow, she'll take her kids fishing at the river. The river's banks are clean, the water is clear, the fish are plentiful and safe to eat. A few years ago, it wasn't like that. The water was contaminated, smelly, dangerous. If there had been any fish, you wouldn't dare eat them. The pollutants floating on the river once or twice caught on fire.
Then those damned socialist democrats lied to people and made promises they couldn't keep without government intervention. The people responded, the government acted, the polluters complied (under protest), and look what happened!
This used to be such a great country - before the government meddled in everyone's affairs.
Labels: democrat, environmentalist, liberal, pollution
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Friday, July 4, 2008
What Is With Those G%$#&@~#@n Liberals ?
Juanita has a Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage because those commiepinkofagjunkie liberals think that home ownership is desirable - and not just for the wealthy. They actually think that letting working class people have their own homes benefits anyone
She's paying off her below-market rate federal student loan. She was able to get a good loan for education because some elitist cheese-eating, wine-sipping liberal decided that Juanita and the government would be better off if she were educated and earned more money over her lifetime. They think that in France, too.
Juanita never forgets that in addition to her federally subsidized student loans, she attended a state funded university. Democrats have always pushed for more funding for education, and more assistance for students. It figures.
Labels: cheese-eating, education, home ownership., liberal democrat, student loan, wine-sipping
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Thursday, July 3, 2008
When The Oil Men Took Over
When Oil Men Took Over The USA In 2001:
Oil was $27 per barrel.
Gasoline was $1.46 per gallon.
You do the math.
Just sayin'......
Labels: big oil, bush, cheney, foreign oil, gasoline price, oil, oil price, rip-off, ripoff
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Those G%$#&@~#@n Liberals
Those G%$#&@~#@n Liberals
When we last checked in on Joe, he was traveling to see his father at the family farm. Poor Joe had to drive in a car whose safety was ensured because of government regulations on automakers. He was forced to use government-funded roads and their liberty-depriving traffic regulations. He had to endure this tyranny because those G%$#&@~#@n liberals keep sticking their noses into people's private lives.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.
Labels: government regulations, liberal, liberty, safety, social security, taxes
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
On Being A Christian In Iraq
Christians and Christianity have been in Iraq since 35 C.E., when the Apostle Thomas went eastward to spread the Gospel. The church has thrived in peace with its Muslim neighbors for fourteen centuries.
Over the centuries Iraq's Muslims and Christians survived invasions by Mongols and Turks. They lived and thrived within a nation whose majority was Islam.
Under Saddam Hussein's regime, Christians were respected and treated as were any other Iraqi citizens. Tariq Aziz, Saddam's most valued adviser, was a Christian.
A million strong (albeit a minority) they enjoyed religious freedom - free to build churches, free to worship, free to speak Jesus' language (Aramaic).Most Iraqi Christians lived in a neighborhood called Dora, where Christians, Sunnis, and Shiites had lived together.
Now Iraq's Christians are fleeing their ancestral home to avoid being persecuted, hunted, kidnapped, and and murdered in the Shia vs Sunni civil war that rages on in Iraq. The frequent funerals are often conducted without the bodies of the deceased. Nearly all of the Christian churches have been abandoned or are destroyed. Most of the surviving members have fled to Jordan and Syria. Those who stay risk their lives and live in abject poverty. For many of those left behind, the only significant food is the weekly meal provided by the Church.
What changed everything was the American invasion, occupation, and destabilization.
Reverend Andrew Canon White is an Anglican chaplain and the Vicar of Baghdad. According to White, "The situation now is clearly worse than under Saddam."
"There’s no comparison between Iraq now and then," he told [CBS reporter Scott] Pelley. "Things are the most difficult they have ever been for Christians. Probably ever in history. They’ve never known it like now."
The U.S. military cannot help very much. Protecting the Christian churches would lead to the murder of more Christians. According to U.S. Army Colonel Gibbs, Islamic militants would view that as a Christians' collaboration with the U.S. forces.
Has "The Surge" helped? Possibly, but it's hard to tell, since Christians were fleeing before the surge, and have continued to flee during the surge.
This misery is testing the faith of Iraq's Christians.
"[This is ] happening because religion has gone wrong," [ Canon Andrew ] White told Pelley. "And when religion goes wrong, it kills others."
Pelley asked, "The Muslim religion has gone wrong, is that what you're saying?"
"It has. And in the past, Christianity has gone wrong," White says. "And what I say to people very clearly is that the history of Christianity is no better than the history of Islam."
"Some of your parishioners must ask you 'Why is God allowing this to happen to us?' " Pelley asked.
"To them I say, 'God is with you and he is with me and I am with you and I'm not going away,'" White replied.
Labels: christian, christian in Iraq, Christianity, civil war, persecution, saddam, shia, shiite, sunni, Tariq Aziz
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