AF pic for the day. Click for a larger version:

U.S. Air Force Capt. Tony Bierenkoven, of the West Coast F-15 Eagle aircraft Demonstration Team out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., dismounts his aircraft after flying a practice demonstration routine for the Sentry Eagle 2007 open house at Kingsley Field , Ore., Aug. 10, 2007. Sentry Eagle, the Air National Guard’s largest air-to-air exercise, provides military pilots of the National Guard, Active Duty and Reserve components a forum in which to test their flying skills, including basic fighter maneuvers and air combat tactics against different types of aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz)

And don’t forget to donate a buck or two to Project Valout-IT. Murdoc’s on Team Air Force, and we’re lagging. Bring it on!

Michael Goldfarb noted some Unprecedented Stupidity at HuffPo. Seriously, it’s some good stuff.

I was all set to dig into it myself, but John at Op-For basically covered all the bases I was going for, so go read what he has to say as well.

One thing: Who would have ever guessed that regular old fuel oil was some sort of shadowy secret plot?

Also: The standard “this is what you get when an english professor writes about the military” rule is in effect. But, seriously, this is some of the worst writing I’ve seen from someone claiming to be a writer of any kind. Not the facts or the knowledge of the subject or the general point. The actual writing itself. It reads like the crap you find on most message boards.

Guard soldiers pass on lessons learned in Iraq

The Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Brigade has been alerted that it could be deployed to Iraq in early 2009. The brigade, the only one in the National Guard with Strykers, is still transitioning.

The troops have been training on Strykers for two years, and now it’s time for them to learn what experienced troops in the field have learned.

“We’ll be learning tactics relevant to that environment,” said Lt. Bryan Hanisko, a National Guardsman from Halifax. “This is not a European-type battle.”

And Shylock in Amishland, a member of the brigade comments:

All of us, the entire unit, are taking the training very seriously. Pre-deployment notwithstanding, I don’t fear what will happen in theater with our regular supporting cast. My anxiety stems from the branches we’ll invariably graft in for full-spectrum combat operations.

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Time for the annual fundraiser for Project Valour-IT. Murdoc has once again been drafted by Team USAF.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the ‘Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field. The experience of MAJ Charles –Chuck” Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops can be to a wounded service member’s recovery.

Got a couple of extra bucks? Click the button. This is a truly great program.

The MQ-9 Predator-B: Designed from the outset to hunt fleeing meatsacks and cut them down like corn

Link sent by a reader who writes

I shouldn’t laugh at the wording in the article. Shouldn’t, but do.

See here for a Predator B with all the options. Or here for a kinder, gentler killbot.

Not quite so special due to revised marketing plans.

It appears that previous claims were just plain wrong. A story in USA Today, erm, today, includes this:

In last week’s spending request, the Pentagon said sniper attacks have quadrupled in the past year and, if unchecked, the attacks could eclipse roadside bombs as the top killer of U.S. troops. However, the rate of sniper attacks has dropped slightly in 2007 and fallen dramatically in the past four months, according to military records given to USA TODAY.

Pentagon officials acknowledged the mistake Monday after questions about the data were raised by USA TODAY.

“The term quadrupled will be removed from the justification because it is simply incorrect,” said Dave Patterson, deputy undersecretary of Defense.

In 2006, there were 386 sniper attacks on coalition forces, according to data from the Multi-National Force-Iraq headquarters in Iraq. Through Oct. 26 of this year, there were 269 sniper attacks, the figures show.

October 26th was the 299th day of the year, so that means that there is an average of 0.899 sniper attacks per day. Less than one.

Regardless of whether or not the number of sniper attacks is growing or shrinking, and regardless of whether or not all the advanced technology being rushed into service will help, the best counter to a sniper is, well, a counter-sniper.

And, as usual, I will insert a plug for AmericanSnipers.org. One good sniper can make a huge difference, more so now as violence falls than ever. AmericanSnipers.org makes sure that our marksmen have the tools they need to get the job done.
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They can’t handle the inconvenient truth!

From the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS), Florida State University.

My point here isn’t that the climate is fine or that there is no global warming or that climate change doesn’t affect tropical storms or hurricanes.

My point is that the climate alarmists don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, and that we should remember that fact when people claim that we should use the predictions of those climate alarmists to determine policy.

Once again, via Instapundit.

Via Instapundit.

Here’s one for the virtual trophy case:

Seems pretty cool. I hope I don’t have to give an acceptance speech or anything.

From the site:

Presentation of these awards can bring acclaim and notoriety beyond their wildest imaginings.

I don’t know…I can imagine quite a bit…