Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

Just about the best show on TV right now...The Office.



H/T Skye

Let's Just Get This Out of the Way Now

Beef Jerky time!

Mess With The Bull...

...yeah you know the rest.

From The Department of Redundancy Department

Haven't we done this once already? Did they not write all that stuff down when they did it the first time?



From Danger Room

The Speedhawk was funded by the Army to test the possibility of pushing existing helicopters to reach speeds up to 200 knots (360 kilometers per hour).

Anyone remember this? I mean besides me...

Specifications: Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenne
Dimensions:
Length: 60.04ft (18.30m)
Width: 25.92ft (7.90m)
Height: 13.78ft (4.20m)
Performance:
Max Speed: 245mph (395kmh; 213kts)
Max Range: 629miles (1,013km)
Climb Rate: 3,420 ft/min (1,042 m/min)
Ceiling: 25,997ft (7,924m; 4.9miles)
Structure:
Accommodation: 2
Hardpoints: 4
Empty Weight: 11,718lbs (5,315kg)
MTOW: 16,995lbs (7,709kg)
Power:
Engine(s): 1 x General Electric T64-GE-16 turbine engine generating 3,435hp.

From Military Factory.com

The Cheyenne was built in 1967 so maybe the dog ate the homework or something. There was also a Lockheed experimental compound helicopter known as the XH-51.

From WIKI

Lockheed began developing its rigid rotor concept with the CL-475 helicopter design in 1959. The choice of a rigid rotor meant that the helicopter was more agile than it would have been with a flapping rotor. The performance of the CL-475 encouraged Lockheed to seek further development. Lockheed submitted the CL-475 to the Army as a candidate to replace the OH-13 Sioux and OH-23 Raven helicopters. Lockheed also tested the commercial market waters without success. However, in February of 1962, Lockheed's Model 186, a new design based on the CL-475 rigid rotor, was selected as the winner for a joint Army-Navy program to evaluate the rigid rotor for high-speed flight capability.[1]

Two four-seat, three-bladed XH-51As were ordered and built for the program. Powered by the 550 shp (410 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-9 turboshaft engine, XH-51A (serial number 61-51262) first flew on 2 November 1962. As flight testing progressed, the original three-bladed, rigid rotor system demonstrated instability at higher speed ranges. Lockheed engineers solved the problem by modifying the aircraft with a four-bladed rotor system. In 1963, the Army's Technology Research and Evaluation Command (TRECOM) contracted with Lockheed to modify one of the XH-51 aircraft into a compound helicopter.[2]

The second XH-51A (serial number 61-51263) was subsequently converted by adding wings with a span of 16.1 ft (4.9 m), and a 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) Pratt & Whitney J60-2 turbojet engine mounted on the left wing to increase performance. The XH-51A Compound first flew without powering up the turbojet on 21 September 1964,[2] while tests were conducted for balance and handling. The aircraft's first flight as a true compound helicopter took place on 10 April 1965.[3] and on 29 November 1967 achieved a speed of 263 knots (302.6 mph, 486.9 km/h).[4]

So I guess the real question would be what are we proving or are we re-inventing the wheel...again?

Girl Friday, 26 DEC 08

Well, here we are the last Friday of 2008. Where did that year go?

Kinda late with getting her tree up is Lani Todd. I guess that's OK...we usually kept ours up until the New Year and she's pretty hot so I'll give her a pass.

Have a great weekend...and look out for traffic, it's a zoo out there.

Happy Holidays From Foxxy News

What A Feeling!

I hope Santa was good to everyone this year, except those guys who shot at me over Sadr City in '04 and '07 they can go to hell...if they aren't there already. But everyone else I hope you got what you wanted.

H/T Ace of Spades HQ

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This was shot in Christmas '06 by the PAO at Camp Taji...never the less, keep in mind all those that are currently deployed and away from their families this Christmas season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Band of Brothers

Not a big fan of the opera (by that I mean I can't stand it). But on this 64th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, I thought this video might be appropriate.

Fans of the HBO series, "Band of Brothers" may recognize the melody.

Naughty or Nice?

This is the kind of present that unwraps itself.


Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

I Want MY TWO DOLLARS!

Now this is the kind of stick-to-it-iveness that made America great.

Yes, As A Matter Of Fact They Do Care

I knew this already, but apparantly now that he's leaving office this is now important enough for newspapers to notice...

EXCLUSIVE: Bush, Cheney comforted troops privately
Met with thousands of war injured, kin out of spotlight
Joseph Curl and John Solomon
Monday, December 22, 2008

For much of the past seven years, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have waged a clandestine operation inside the White House. It has involved thousands of military personnel, private presidential letters and meetings that were kept off their public calendars or sometimes left the news media in the dark.

Their mission: to comfort the families of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to lift the spirits of those wounded in the service of their country.

On Monday, the president is set to make a more common public trip - with reporters in tow - to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, home to many of the wounded and a symbol of controversy earlier in his presidency over the quality of care the veterans were receiving.

But the size and scope of Mr. Bush's and Mr. Cheney's private endeavors to meet with wounded soliders and families of the fallen far exceed anything that has been witnessed publicly, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials familiar with the effort.

"People say, 'Why would you do that?'" the president said in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Times on Friday. "And the answer is: This is my duty. The president is commander in chief, but the president is often comforter in chief, as well. It is my duty to be - to try to comfort as best as I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish."

Mr. Bush, for instance, has sent personal letters to the families of every one of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in the two wars, an enormous personal effort that consumed hours of his time and escaped public notice. The task, along with meeting family members of troops killed in action, has been so wrenching - balancing the anger, grief and pride of families coping with the loss symbolized by a flag-draped coffin - that the president often leaned on his wife, Laura, for emotional support.

"I lean on the Almighty and Laura," Mr. Bush said in the interview. "She has been very reassuring, very calming."

Mr. Bush also has met privately with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans, according to White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. Many of those meetings were outside the presence of the news media at the White House or at private sessions during official travel stops, officials said.

The first lady said those private visits, many of which she also attended, took a heavy emotional toll, not just on the president, but on her as well...

For the rest of the story go to The Washington Times Website

H/T Texican Tattler

A Soldier's Night Before Christmas

Division Fly-By

This happened while I was in Colorado. What a cool picture.

As anyone who has participated in one of these type things can tell you, it's usually better to be in the crowd watching than participating. The ass-pain associated with rehearsals and the like usually sucks the FUN right out of it.

All of this was part of the Division Color Casing Ceremony as they (and we eventually) are headed back to Iraq.

A Long Time Ago...

Green Flight, 87-13 baby! As the wings on my hat attest, I had soloed and was on my way to being another Army aviator, seems like yesterday.

Girl Friday, 19 DEC 08

I'm going to try and make up for the abomination posted below. I know this won't make up for it in the eyes of most of the ladies but...sorry find your beefcake elsewhere.


If I recall correctly Skye over at Midnight Blue was fullfiling your needs so go over there and save your complaints for someone else.

In the meantime Dana Dagota makes an appearance to usher in the weekend...

Don't They Know It's Christmas?

I'm never buying another BK whopper EVER...thanks for the retinal damage Burger King.

Burger King is offering its own fragrance...sounds, oh I don't know, what's the word...disgusting. Yeah that's the ticket.

If I Didn't Shop WIth These Guys Already...

After seeing this Ad for Despair.com...I would be a faithful customer.

THE LAST MINUTE(This email is only for that angry lot of you that missed out on "THE GIFT" promotion.If you didn't, please ignore. There's nothing funny here. Really.)

IF YOU MISSED OUT ON OUR LAST PROMOTION, THERE'S HOPE. SORTA.
As seems to always be the case, after our last promotion, "The Gift", was over, we received a trickle- then stream- then flood of emailed complaints from people claiming to have received their Wailing List email too late to act.

Now- a great many of these people are likely NOT to be Wailing List subscribers, and in fact are just Bargain-Sniffing, Internet-Coupon-Site worshippers, who found out only too late that they missed out on a good deal. I know for a fact that some of the people who wrote us have never bought from Despair before- and yet, incredibly, these are the people who give Oscar-nominated complaint calls, full of sound and fury and tears and outrage.This is a near-transcription of a phonecall we received yesterday:

CALLER:"I'll never shop with your (EXPLETIVE) company again if you don't let me have my free stuff!"

DESPAIR AGENT:"Have you placed an order with us before? I don't see your name in our--

"CALLER:"Let me speak to your (EXPLETIVE) manager!"

(Clearly, these people weren't Despair customers. You ain't gonna bust out the F-Bomb on us and expect us to cower in mortal terror and bend to your every whim. You can save that attitude for These Guys. They're trained to lick boot. Our guys just start laughing at you, then hang you up and add your recorded phonecall to our massive archive of amusing infuriated customer calls.)

Priorities...Gotta Have Them!

One Of The Funiest Things EVAH!

As Creepy As I Find This Character...

...this is pretty funny.

Rioting In The Streets Soon Followed

After Playboy Mexico published this cover...



There were riots and Hef was burned in effigy. No wait that would have been another offended religion. This is what really happened...

H/T Theo Spark

The magazine, which hit newsstands on Dec 1 as ceremonies began leading to Friday's pilgrimage to the Mexico City shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, showed a model wearing nothing but a white cloth over her head and breasts.

The model, Maria Florencia Onori, is pictured standing in front of a stained glass window with the cover line, "We Love You, Maria" in Spanish.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, said to have appeared to a sixteenth century Indian peasant, is Mexico's most revered Roman Catholic figure and the annual pilgrimage to the Mexico City basilica dedicated to her is one of the world's largest religious events.

In a statement, Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc said the Mexican edition of the magazine is published by a licensee, and the company did not approve or endorse the cover.

"While Playboy Mexico never meant for the cover or images to offend anyone, we recognise that it has created offence, and we as well as Playboy Mexico offer our sincerest apologies," the statement said.

Raul Sayrols, publisher of Playboy Mexico, said in a statement: "The image is not and never was intended to portray the Virgin of Guadalupe or any other religious figure. The intent was to reflect a Renaissance-like mood on the cover."

For the rest of the story go HERE

Homer Simpson was heard to say, "DOH!"

Now I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but back in the day when I was going to Sunday School, that picture on the cover looks a lot like the Virgin Mary, especially with the stained glass,...classy, and right around Christmas...double classy. Of course all the versions of the Virgin Mary I saw didn't feature partial nudity, maybe because she was a virgin. Odd choice, way to go Playboy Mexico, not quite as horrific as it could have been, but a pretty nice job of overall blaspheming.

Meanwhile Back In The Fight

From the Washington Post

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 12, 2008; Page A01

After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled up the steep mountainside toward its target -- an insurgent stronghold in northeast Afghanistan.

"Our plan," Capt. Kyle M. Walton recalled in an interview, "was to fight downhill."

But as the soldiers maneuvered toward a cluster of thick-walled mud buildings constructed layer upon layer about 1,000 feet farther up the mountain, insurgents quickly manned fighting positions, readying a barrage of fire for the exposed Green Berets.

A harrowing, nearly seven-hour battle unfolded on that mountainside in Afghanistan's Nuristan province on April 6, as Walton, his team and a few dozen Afghan commandos they had trained took fire from all directions. Outnumbered, the Green Berets fought on even after half of them were wounded -- four critically -- and managed to subdue an estimated 150 to 200 insurgents, according to interviews with several team members and official citations.

Today, Walton and nine of his teammates from Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 of the 3rd Special Forces Group will receive the Silver Star for their heroism in that battle -- the highest number of such awards given to the elite troops for a single engagement since the Vietnam War...

Read the rest HERE

But if someone does a little research they will find this at the USASOC website...

RELEASE NUMBER: 081211-05
DATE POSTED: DECEMBER 11, 2008

3rd SFG recognizes more than 100 in valor award ceremony
By Staff Sgt. Marie Schult
3rd SFG (A) PAO NCOIC

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Dec. 11, 2008) – On Wednesday, more than 100 members of 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) received valor awards for their actions in Afghanistan.

The 3rd SFG(A) commander, Col. Gus Benton II, presented the awards to his men at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Auditorium, in the presence of more than 300 of their friends, Family members and colleagues. In all, the Soldiers received 43 Bronze Star Medals with V-device; 39 Army Commendation Medals with V-device; and 42 Purple Hearts.

The valor device denotes that individuals were awarded a decoration in recognition of a valorous act they performed during combat operations while under direct fire from enemy forces. It may also denote an accomplishment of a heroic nature in direct support of operations against an enemy force.

Benton encouraged the Soldiers to continue to find, fight and finish their enemies. He also took a few moments to praise his men and their actions. Benton said that if asked, none of these Soldiers would claim any greatness. They merely cling to the concept that they were just doing their job.

Benton was speaking about men like Staff Sgt. Morgan P. Ford, who received the Bronze Star Medal with V-device for his actions in a firefight on Nov. 2, 2007. Ford was the .50-caliber machine-gunner on his truck when his convoy was attacked.

“I don’t know what I think,” said the Special Forces weapons sergeant, who had a hard time finding words to describe his feelings on receiving this award. Ford wouldn’t talk about his actions that day, but he did say that his team performed very well.

He added that the action made him more ready for later firefights, of which there were many during the six-month deployment. Ford also received two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained while on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.

“I did my job and I’ll continue to do my job,” said Sgt. 1st Class Karl W. Wurzbach, the senior weapons sergeant for his team. “I like to think I’m good at it, and I couldn’t imagine life in the civilian world.”

Wurzbach, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with V-device for his efforts during a six-and-a-half hour gun battle on April 6 in Afghanistan, in which six members of his team were injured —— four of them critically.

While the awards show the extent to which these Soldiers will go for victory they are by no means the capstone of 3rd Group’s efforts. A second valor-award ceremony will take place Friday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. in the JFK Auditorium. During that ceremony, 19 Soldiers will be awarded the Silver Star Medal. Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland, commander of the United States Army Special Operations Command, will present the awards.

I'm sure this will be on the news tonight.

Girl Friday, 12 DEC 08

I'm finished with my mountain flying school (check ride complete, baby)and will head back to Texas tomorrow. So here's a good way to start the weekend. Aim High!

Service Interruption

I'm in Eagle, Colorado for a week on business...so you'll just have to get along without any posts until I get home.

Cheers!

Now If They Would Just Do It

Check out West Point's new unis.

An explination via Business Wire.com follows.

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nike (NYSE:NKE) will debut its new “Enforcer” football uniforms this weekend as one of college football’s most storied rivalries enters into its 109th meeting. The new uniforms, which will be seen for the first time during the Army vs. Navy football game, were developed as the next evolution of Nike’s shrink wrap uniform with high performance materials that will help the athletes perform at their highest standard.

The Nike “Enforcer” uniforms designed for the Army and Navy squads are lightweight, breathable and more form-fitting, enabling superior field performance. The uniforms provide greater moisture management and reduction of grab points while also incorporating inspiration from two of the nation’s military units in its design.

Army

Building off the strong and unique look that the U.S. Military Academy has traditionally displayed, Army’s football team will debut a helmet and pant with a digital print camouflage pattern. The pant will feature the name “West Point” along the right side with a Swoosh design trademark. “Boots on the Ground,” Army’s slogan, will run along the left side of the pant.

In place of the name plate, “Duty, Honor, Country” will be displayed on the back of each player’s jersey along with their uniform number. Each player will also have a unit patch on the front of their jersey.

“The thought behind our new uniform design is something I’m very proud of and have enjoyed working with Nike on this special project,” said Army football head coach Stan Brock. “One side of our pant leg says 'Boots on the Ground.' This is a distinction of West Point and it is what makes us different from the other service academies. That’s an attitude that really separates us.”

By "Do It" that means, WIN.

GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!

Girl Friday, 5 DEC 08

The first week in DEC is gone and it's the yuletide season. Here as the Girl Friday for the first Friday in December is Cristal Houston. Y'all have a great weekend.

Coming To You From Our WTF Department

Who, what the...oh I give up.

Hey Santa I Think It's Shooting A Little Low

...and to the left.

From the fine folks at Despair.com comes this awesome shirt just in time for the holidays.