Troops who crashed wedding criticised
US troops crashed a wedding and “breached Irish neutrality.”
US soldiers ‘did not gatecrash wedding’
Except that they were there by invitation of the bride and groom.

A Petition to Name the Next United States Navy Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier the USS ENTERPRISE
Some yahoo submitted a Congressional bill to name CVN 79 or CVN 80 the USS Barry Goldwater.

Who’s afraid of the big, bad Chinese aircraft carrier?
The Varyag.

House Reverses Itself, Votes To Kill F-22 Buy
To be honest, I really thought this would end up going through. My guess is that another attempt will be made soon.

It’s Official – Ridley Scott is Directing the Alien Prequel!
That loud noise you just heard was Murdoc’s disappointment that an already-ruined franchise is going to be even ruineder. This is one of the only cases where a movie with a character waking up and realizing that the past few movies were all a bad dream is actually a GOOD idea.

Tactical Assault Flintlock
Replica Revolutionary War rifle has NYPD all worked up.

Air Force tests anti-ground C-130 laser
Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) incinerates test dummy.

US Air Force seeks 60 airlifters for irregular warfare
Looking for something in the King Air 350 class. Despite so much “fighter jock” mentality, there seems to be a persistent irregular warfare faction in the USAF.

Ernie Pyle
Great site at the Indiana University School of Journalism

‘Clunkers’ program runs out of cash
What a joke.

Used F-16s for Iraqi air defense?
High-hours Vipers for the Iraqis? Sell them used birds cheap, buy new F-16s for the USAF to replace them.

2 wheels from C-5A Galaxy jet out of Westover Air Reserve Base fall into woods in Belchertown
Oops.

USAF slammed for pranging Predators on manual
USAF using fully qualified human pilots to handle unmanned aircraft at all times has resulted in unnecessary, expensive crashes.

The 187th Carnival of Homeschooling
Lots of Homeschooling links.

Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance:

MDAA was at the Pacific Range Missile Facility in Barking sands, Kauai, Hawaii yesterday and witnessed off the northwest coast a few hundred miles from Kauai on a breezy warm afternoon, the USS Hopper ( DDG 70 ) destroyer which successfully tracked, discriminated and intercepted an ARAV ballistic missile target in its ascent phase. Time of interception was at 5:43pm HST, 3 minutes after the target missile was launched from the Pacific Test Range Facility (PRMF) located on Barking Sands, Kauai. The target missile represented a ballistic missile similar in speed, acceleration and burn of the same short range missiles fired by North Korea on July 2nd and 4th of this year. This intercept marks a first by a U.S. Aegis Destroyer and the second intercept in the ascent phase by the Aegis missile defense system.

Corps loans 90-year-old cannon

A World War I-era cannon first fired by Marines more than 90 years ago to commemorate the opening of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., was returned to the center in July, on loan for the next decade from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

The detachment of Marines fired the seven-inch tractor-mounted behemoth Oct. 16, 1918, a Navy release said. It’s been returned to the Navy proving ground in anticipation of the facility’s 100th anniversary.

On the day the installation was founded, the Marines launched a 152-pound projectile about 24,000 yards down the Potomac River. Army observers later described the weapon as, “the heaviest and hardest hitting gun for which a mobile field mount of this kind had ever been requested by any nation or army.”

Its range — between 19,000 and 25,000 yards — was more than double that of its predecessors.

Then:

A 1918 file photo shows the first gun fired at Naval Weapons Station Dahlgren. The World War I-era 7-inch, 45-caliber tractor-mounted gun will be reconditioned and placed on display during Rear Adm. John Dahlgren\'s 200th birthday commemoration scheduled for Nov. 13. Courtesy Photo

Today:

Transportation personnel at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren prepare to off-load a World War I-era tractor-mounted artillery piece, the first gun originally test fired to mark the establishment of Dahlgren as a naval proving ground on Oct. 16, 1918. The 7-inch, 45-caliber gun will be restored by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. Courtesy Photo Date: 07.20.2009

7 inches is 177mm

Just when you thought the Beer Summit silliness couldn’t get any, well, sillier:

President Barack Obama: Bud Light
Vice President Joseph Biden: Buckler non-alcoholic

People, those choices have to have been made by Karl Rove. I mean, come on.

Nigerian troops kill 100 Islamic militants

The government warned people to evacuate the area, then shelled and stormed the group’s mosque and headquarters Wednesday night, setting off a raging firefight with retreating militants armed with homemade hunting rifles, firebombs, bows and arrows, machetes and scimitars.

An AP reporter saw soldiers shoot their way into the mosque under fire and then rake those inside with gunshots. The reporter later counted about 50 bodies inside the building and another 50 in the courtyard outside.

The militant group, also known as Al-Sunna wal Jamma, or “Followers of Mohammed’s Teachings,” had been attempting to impose Shariah law and had attacked police stations, churches, and government buildings over the past few days.

Don’t bring a scimitar to a gun fight.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. poses for a photo with the crew of the Arleigh-Burke class missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) at Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company, in Bath, Maine, May 22, 2009.(DoD photo by Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Ship named for MoH recipient to be christened

Navy officials will christen the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham during a ceremony Saturday in Maine, honoring the Marine corporal and Medal of Honor recipient killed five years ago after saving the lives of his comrades in Iraq.

The ship, designated DDG 109, is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Dunham, of Scio, N.Y., is the only Marine to receive the nation’s highest award for combat valor since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ceremony will take place at General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine.

Dunham smothered a grenade in Karabilah during the uprisings in 2004. Part of the helmet he used to protect his squad will be sealed in the ship’s mast.

Won this on eBay:

A SHIP TO REMEMBER - THE SAGA OF THE HORNET by Alexander Griffin

This is a 1943 book covering the short life of the original aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 8). I read this in about 5th grade or so, and it was probably the second in the string of books that really got young Murdoc interested in military history.

I’ve been watching for this on eBay for quite some time, and have just missed a couple of good ones over the years. This copy isn’t in the greatest condition, but it’s pretty solid and very readable. It’s a former library book, but it appears to have been a school library, not a public library. A penciled note appears to indicate that it was purchased 4/13/44. The last person listed on the handwritten library card is Howard Steffik(?) with a due date of 3-21-73. Howard had also checked it out in an earlier March (no year listed), as well.

Subs, frigate on list of ships being retired

The attack submarines Los Angeles and Philadelphia and three surface ships will be retired in the next year, according to a Navy message released Monday.

Los Angeles will be inactivated Nov. 2, and Philadelphia follows June 10. They will be decommissioned at a later date, according to the message.

The frigate McInerney will be inactivated Aug. 31, 2010. McInerney has recently been used to test the Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle. The frigate will be transferred to Pakistan, according to news reports.

The combat stores ship San Jose will be inactivated Jan. 27, and the ammunition ship Mount Baker will be inactivated Aug. 2, 2010. Both have been requested for use in fleet training exercises, possibly as targets.