Open Comment Post. August 7, 2018

Koalicia SV on wheels

Thanks to Vodnar for the pic!

One of the neater looking solutions that I've seen.

Bundesheer Leopard 2.

John (one of the tribe members) is in Norway and found these cubs...

Bears and CV90's in Norway.  Yep.  That's about what I would expect!  If he sends me more pics I'll get them posted.

Your Monday Fitness Inspirational! Just keep moving!!!

Tactical Athlete?  Maybe not anymore but you don't have to be a slimy bag of mush like most of the population.  Dare to be different.  Dare to get fit!

via Art Of Manliness.

When Kate was in her mid-20s, she noticed that her beloved nana was starting to slow down and get more frail. Having heard that studies had shown that taking just a short walk a day could help the elderly stay healthy and avoid disability, and wanting Nana to stick around as long as possible, Kate often encouraged her to take regular strolls — advice which, to Kate’s frustration, she rarely took. “It’s so easy to take a short walk,” Kate would muse to me. “I wonder why she doesn’t do it?”

Fast forward a decade or so, and to another conversation between Kate and I. “Boy,” she said, “it sure seems to be getting harder to want to move rather than sit now that I’m in my 30s. I wonder if it just keeps getting harder to get up and go with every decade of your life, so that by the time you’re in your 80s, the inertia is super strong. That’s probably why Nana didn’t do her walks.”

I thought of this exchange recently when I heard about a recent study which showed that daily moderate to vigorous physical activity significantly cut the risk of mortality — even if accumulated in chunks of ten minutes or less. 

Story here.

That's the key guys!  Keep FUCKING MOVING!

Once upon a time this stuff was called learning a lifetime sport.  That's one reason why Golf as once emphasized as a sport.  It causes someone (that's doing it right) to simply get out and walk for 18 holes.

Just walking is good enough!

But forget that nonsense.  Let me talk to the bubbas on this blog.  Most of us have served.  Most of us can look back at a time when we were physical specimens, chiseled from hardened steel that would not break.

Time, age, stress...hell life takes its toll.

Knees and back are common complaints.  Rolling out of bed can be painful and I know I've been so jacked up that I sat on the edge of the bed trying to figure out how I was going to navigate to the bathroom just a few feet away.

But FUCK THAT!

Make working out everyday an ESSENTIAL part of your schedule!

Make eating right and avoiding fast food a requirement of your very existence!

Put away the electronics and FORCE yourself to get enough rest.

You once did it for your country.  Now you're doing it for yourself and you count too.  And if you can't do it for yourself then do it for your loved ones.

The ultimate wealth?

Health!

Get rich!  Get healthy!

China's 194th Combined-Arms Brigade (pics) via China Defense Blog...

Way to go Lt Col Mann! Lead those squiddies into space!

Lt Col Nicole Mann (center..should be obvious, the only one in great shape with a properly fitting uniform..and sporting the scarlet and gold on her chest) is part of the Boeing Starliner Astronaut Team.

Way to go!

Lead those squiddies into space (that zoom boy too..somehow the Air Force always sneaks aboard even though its obvious the naval services lead the way)!

Now stop the delays Boeing and light the fire on this puppy!  Past time for America to get back into space!

Royal Thai Army - VT-4 (MBT-3000) 125mm Main Battle Tank

That is a shockingly modern looking vehicle isn't it.  We don't have any performance data or more importantly reports of how well it performs in combat but we should expect it to be roughly similar to at least the T-72.

What should worry?

What happens to our anti-armor plans when the Chinese get around to building anti-missile systems for their armor?  What happens when we're faced with good enough and also tons of them?

Have you considered what happens if China NEVER achieves technological equality but remains a near peer but adds numbers to the mix that we can't match?

Finally does anyone remember what happened when individually superior Tiger 2s faced hordes of Sherman's?  Some of those Shermans upgraded to almost equal Tigers in firepower in armor protection?

We need to get to work!

Maduro assassination attempt. You're talking politics, I'm trying to figure out counters to their countermeasures!

I've watched about a half hour of coverage of the Maduro assassination attempt.  I've read a few threads regarding it and most are doing as expected.

Talking about the politics of thing.  Debating the policies of the govt and trying to figure out how long they'll survive.

Me?

I'm watching the vid trying to figure out counters to the security details countermeasures!

Do you want to know why the Secret Service or any other professional on a Protection Detail works overtime to prevent even an attempt?

Simple.  Because when you have to start going live (take active measure to prevent death or injury) to protect the principal then you've already lost.

So while everyone is watching the stunned face of Maduro, I was watching his detail.  How fast they moved, what they did...I tried to get additional anges to see if overwatch remained in place and was actively scanning or moving to vehicles so that they could all ditty bop away.

I don't know who made this attempt but even though they did not succeed in getting the "kill" they now have more information on how to be successful the next time.

Maduro better hope that his security forces capture each and every perpetrator and that they're not professionals.

If they have even rudimentary training he's the walking dead.  They got valuable information on how they do things.  Unsuccessful attempt?  They got the Cliff Notes on how the protection detail works. 

They lost but won at the same time.

Crediting others and taking responsibility. The secret sauce of great leadership?

Interesting.

If you haven't noticed the Marine Corps and Army has switched places when it comes to advertising.

The Army has gone hardcore...leadership, fitness--both mental and physical, and winning on the battlefield while the Marine Corps seems intent on eviscerating everything and anything that has masculine traits.

So when I see the latest and greatest from Army social media it just makes me think that those silly bastards are getting it so right while we're getting it so wrong.