Archive for January, 2009
Smith & Wesson 15-22 AR in .22LR
Hard to get a good picture. They are scheduled out in July and will have an MSRP of $499.99. Comes with a 25 round magazine. Click for a bigger view.
I’m on the road all day today, but don’t miss the continuing SHOT Show coverage over at GunPundit. Just keep going.
Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909
Oliver Otis Howard, born November 8th, 1830, in Leeds, Maine, was a star-crossed general in the federal Army during the Civil War. He was an officer of unquestioned bravery, with a deep devotion to his Christian faith, and terribly maligned for actions that, in the main, were beyond his ability to control. Despite the political ravages of his enemies, his life was one of great accomplishment in the face of adversity, and for the benefit of others.
Howard lost his father at the age of 9, and with it the innocence of youth. His schooling included Monmouth Academy, Yarmouth Academy, and Kent’s Hill School, prior to graduating from Bowdoin College at the age of 19, in 1850. Afterwards, he gained acceptance to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in 1854, 4th in a class of 46 cadets. He was commissioned as a brevet 2nd Lieutenant of Ordnance, and posted to Watervliet Arsenal in New York. Shortly thereafter, he became the commander of the Kennebec Arsenal, in Augusta, Maine.
It was at Kennebec that Howard started his real career. Maine, with it’s many rivers and tidal estuaries, had 11 rolling mills producing black powder. By 1865, those mills had produced a staggering 1/3 of ALL the black powder used for small arms ammunition in the federal Armies during the civil war. The oversight by Howard set the Kennebec Arsenal in good stead to start production of small arms cartridges, which it did, along qith other items, through the course of the war.
In 1861, Howard was granted a leave of absence from the Regular Army to accept a volunteer commission as a Colonel, leading the newly-formed 3rd Regiment, Maine Volunteer Infantry. Shortly after arriving in Washington, DC, Howard was placed in charge of the brigade to which the 3rd was attached, and for his conduct at Bull Run in July, 1861, he was promoted on September 3rd to Brigadier General.
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Navy awaiting OK to capture pirates
“Once we get that authority, we’re going to change my orders,” said Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, which until now have been, “disrupt, deter, but do not capture.”
Authority is expected “within the week.”
Also: New Central Command Unit Makes It Tough to be a Pirate about Combined Task Force 151.
800-ton bow section of the USS George HW Bush (CVN 77) being put into place in 2006.
That sound you just heard was my jaw not hitting the floor in surprise.
Report: Shipbuilding consolidation for naught
“The ship sector followed the behavior and outcome of the aircraft industry more closely than that of the missile industry,” IDA said. “There appears to have been little consolidation-driven rationalization savings to the government in either case.”
It’s hard to know where to point the finger on this one. On the one hand, the two remaining major players, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, can’t just shut down some of the yards they acquire and truly consolidate. Northrop Grumman, for instance, can’t just decide to build aircraft carriers at Ingalls in Pascagoula instead of at Newport News.
On the other hand, the fact that there are only two major shipbuilders vying for big contracts means that whatever competition existed has mostly evaporated.
For more info on the Bush’s bow section being put into place, see CVN 77 takes a bow.
Fewer ships built by fewer competitors will never mean cost savings.
Don’t forget GunPundit’s ongoing show coverage. Picture heavy. Just start scrolling.
PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 16, 2008) The missile launch system aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) is tested during a combat systems ship qualification trial (CSSQT) at sea. CSSQT tests the operability of combat and weapons systems across all warfare areas and provide the crew an opportunity to test the functionality of all combat systems in live-fire tactical scenarios. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
Sam Deely: Racial Media Bias Meets Liberal Media Bias:
Hasn’t the mantra from media types all along been that journalists are objective?
If we accept that black reporters will have a different take from their white colleagues on Barack Obama, does it follow that one of those views is more “accurate” or legitimate than the other?
There’s no room for you and your logic here, pal. (via Instapundit)
Video by Christian Lowe at Defense Tech.
The Russian military is going to buy 34 MiG-29 fighters that Algeria rejected and claimed were built from spare used parts, not newly-produced aircraft.
“Procurement of these MiGs by the Russian Air Force confirms the high quality of these aircraft,” a spokesman for the Rosoboronexport state arms export monopoly said Jan. 14.
Because the Russian military would never buy anything except the very best, highest-quality equipment.
Rmember: Always keep your receipts when buying military aircraft
