Archive for the ‘Military & Defense’ Category
From a regular commenter here on MO:
I’ve been working with Chinese (mainland and Taiwanese) for close to 20 years now. I currently have a team of engineers in both mainland China and in Taiwan under my chain of command. I’ve spent months one-on-one with many of them as they have come here to the US for training, and I talk with them almost every day.
One thing I can say is that while they have a gazillion folks with engineering degrees, they have very few decent engineers. Good technicians, for sure. But give them a new problem, and nothing ever happens. I think this is more cultural than genetic, because there are quite a few decent engineers in Taiwan, who come form the same gene pool. They just have 40 more years of experience with capitalism under their belts, and they understand the importance of making a decision.
But the biggest problem with China, IMO, is the massive amounts of corruption. I mean, they make something like the Chicago political machine look like amateurs, and the US defense complex look like a bastion of honesty and logic. It’s horrible, and it permeates every aspect of life. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is easier to take out a Chinese aircraft carrier by dropping a duffle bag of 20 dollar bills on it instead of a 500 lb bomb.
Working with the younger Chinese (25-30 year olds) is pleasant. Some of them certainly “get it”. And once they open up, the first thing they complain about is the corruption, and the second is censorship. Third is pollution.
They will spend hours on the internet here, just reading stuff they can’t get access to over there. And as a general rule, they don’t trust their own military or even their police. Again, too much corruption. And they all know what really happened in Tiananmen square.
And while I am training them to take over my job (no, it’s not really that bad), I also derive great pleasure in exposing them to all sorts of political concepts and reading material. Everything from the Federalist Papers, to Bill Ayers, to Glenn Beck. They eat it all up. And I send them back home with a couple dozen copies of the US Constitution and a $5 bill to get them through customs. Yeah, it took me a couple years to learn that trick….
So all in all, I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about what the Chinese military might do to us. Too many of their citizens have already taken a bite from the capitalist apple, and they like the taste.
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Bing, as usual, honors the day:
Bing homepage on 07 Dec 2011
Some other search engines with a history of special graphics and whatnot for special days, as usual, do not.
Here are some posts from Pearl Harbor Day in years past on MO:
In Drydock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 7 December 1941, immediatly following the Japanese attack. Both ships had been severely damaged by bomb hits and the resulting fires. In the background, also in Drydock Number One, is USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), which had received relatively light damage in the raid. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, NHHC Collection.
"A Shot for Posterity -- The USS Ward's number three gun and its crew-cited for firing the first shot the day of Japan's raid on Hawaii. Operating as part of the inshore patrol early in the morning of December 7, 1941, this destroyer group spotted a submarine outside Pearl Harbor, opened fire and sank her. Crew members are R.H. Knapp - BM2c - Gun Captain, C.W. Fenton - Sea1c - Pointer, R.B. Nolde - Sea1c - Trainer, A.A. De Demagall - Sea1c - No. 1 Loader, D.W. Gruening - Sea1c - No. 2 Loader, J.A. Paick - Sea1c - No. 3 Loader, H.P. Flanagan - Sea1c - No. 4 Loader, E.J. Bakret - GM3c - Gunners Mate, K.C.J. Lasch - Cox - Sightsetter." (quoted from the original 1942-vintage caption) This gun is a 4"/50 type, mounted atop the ship's midships deckhouse, starboard side. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
USS Nevada getting underway on 07 Dec 1941
Finding the sunk Japanese midget sub in 2002
Plus today on Yahoo! News: Rare, Unseen Photos: Aftermath of Pearl Harbor
If you’ve got links to Pearl Harbor stories you particularly like, leave ‘em in the comments section.
China’s Carrier Seen From an Airliner
Photo of China’s starter carrier.
Navy’s Big Biofuel Bet: 450,000 Gallons at 4 Times the Price of Oil
Not cheap:
The Navy previously paid about $1,000 for each barrel of biofuel it bought to test out in its jets. This new purchase, at first, will cost just as much: $26 per gallon, or $1,092 per barrel. That biofuel will then be blended with an equal amount of fossil fuel, producing 900,000 gallons — and an effective price of about $15 per gallon for that 50/50 blend. It’s “roughly half of what was paid in 2009,” according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Tom Hicks, who serves as Mabus’ point man on energy issues.
But it is still far more than the Navy currently pays for its JP-5 jet fuel: $3.97 per gallon, or $167 per barrel.
As a developmental effort, this is something that Murdoc can get behind. First, the money poured into this should help get the foundation for more of this sort of thing up and running. Second, it will help get the military prepared to save some money (hopefully) down the road. Finally, it is an insurance policy against a severe restriction on the availability of traditional fuel.
Go read the whole thing at Danger Room.
Tech. Sgt. Sam Pastor fires an Mk48 Sept. 10, 2011, at the off-base firing range near Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan. Pastor is a vehicle maintainer with the Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane)
That seems to be very un-pastor-like activity. (Murdoc’s here all week, folks…)
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., drops a AGM-65 Maverick during a close-air support training mission Sept. 23, 2011, over the Nevada Test and Training Range. U.S. Air Force Weapons School students participate in many combat training missions over the NTTR during the six-month, graduate-level instructor course. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brett Clashman)
Secretive Air Force space plane sets endurance record
A secretive unmanned space plane is now in orbit for 270 days – and plans are to keep it up there a bit longer.
The experimental Air Force craft, known as the Orbital Test Vehicle-2, has been circling the Earth for about nine months. The X-37B orbital test vehicle was due to land in California this week, but the Air Force said Tuesday that the mission will be extended. A landing date has not been set.
It was launched on March 5th. Let’s hope it’s doing all sorts of sneaky stuff.
Tech. Sgt. Christian Corella, covers his sector from the door of an Mi17 Hip during an emergency resupply flight Nov. 11, 2011, through western Afghanistan. The U.S. and Afghan flight crews provided supplies to a remote Afghan border patrol outpost. Corella is an aerial gunner from the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo/SrA Tyler Placie)
Airmen load a tank into a C-5M Super Galaxy Nov. 15, 2011, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The C-5M is the upgraded version of the C-5 Galaxy and has a 30 percent shorter take off roll, 58 percent faster climb rate and allows significantly more cargo to be carried over longer distances. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)
Two M-1 Abrams tanks from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., are loaded in the cargo area of a C-5M Super Galaxy assigned to Dover Air Force Base, Del. The C-5M currently holds 42 world aviation records in airlift. The modernized version of the C-5, the Super Galaxy has 70 improvements, including new GE CF6 engines providing 22 percent more thrust and cutting climb time in half. New lighting in the cargo area increases safety of loading and offloading cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Chad E. Gibson)
This has now been expanded to include Southeast Asia War Gallery
The virtual tour site is pretty cool. Murdoc’s never been to the place, but it looks like out Boy Scout troop is going to go there next spring. Looking very forward to it.
