Warriors, Weapons and Challenging Authority
Warriors, Weapons and Challenging Authority
John Kaires
Open discussion on history, warfighters, weapons, science, superhero’s, fitness, leadership, tactics and more.
Civil Affairs in the Military
Civil affairs soldiers help plan missions that may involve civilians, such as evacuations, and work with civilian aid agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and commercial and private organizations. They may also support counter-drug operations that involve civilians or non-combatants. Civil Affairs Soldiers are the governance and foreign-culture experts of the Army. They have the ability to engage with foreign populations and governments, gain understanding of the non-military factors that affect military operations, and affect change through the networks they build. The Civil Affairs Soldier is able to think and survive on their own, in any kind of operating environment. CIVIL AFFAIRS ELIGIBILITY CHECKLIST Civilian recruits, current Army Soldiers, and Army officers must fulfill different initial requirements to join Civil Affairs. To determine your eligibility, please read the following information carefully. Joining the Army as a Civil Affairs Soldier If you are interested in becoming a Civil Affairs Soldier, you must meet the following basic requirements: You must pass an Army Physical Fitness Test and clear height/weight standards You must have a PULHES 111221 or better You must have an Enlisted Record Brief/Officer Record Brief You must be within the rank of Specialist, Sergeant or Staff Sergeant You must have an ASVAB TECH score 107 or above You must meet time in service/time in grade requirements: SPC: no less than one year TIS and no more than four years TIS and three years TIG SGT: no less than two years TIS and no more than six years TIS and three years TIG Be eligible for a Secret security clearance (security clearance is not required to attend) Joining the Civil Affairs Branch as an Officer In order to qualify as a Civil Affairs officer, you must have the following additional qualifications: Be eligible for a Top Secret security clearance under provisions of AR 380-67 Be a First Lieutenant or Captain in a targeted year group Possess a baccalaureate degree Have a valid DA photo
Mar 6, 2021
21 min
Part I: Vietnam Hero
PFC THOMAS FRANCIS MINOGUE
Initial series on the Tommy Minogue story. John and Tom’s brother Jack Minogue shares Tommy Minogue’s story. Tommy Minogue, from Inwood in Manhattan, was killed in Vietnam on March 21, 1967 in a ferocious firefight that became known as the “Battle of One Niner.” He had just turned 20. “One Niner” pitted Minogue and about a hundred of his fellow Americans against an estimated 1,000 North Vietnamese regular troops. Anyone who has seen the movie “Forrest Gump” and its Vietnam battle scene will recognize the heroism of Tommy Minogue. In the movie, Forrest, played by Tom Hanks, is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism under fire. Tommy Minogue was on his way to being awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his heroism. Then the army bureaucracy had another idea and awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award for gallantry. This didn’t rest well with Minogue’s family and friends and a few years ago a campaign was launched to have Minogue promoted into the hallowed ranks of Medal of Honor winners. Tomorrow’s Guantanamo parade is organized by Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay and it will require a joint effort involving an array of supporters to see the campaign for Minogue through to a successful conclusion. One of those campaigners is Brigadier General John Hussey, who describes Minogue’s heroism in a parade news release. Minogue, a field medic, was killed in action when, as Hussy describes, “he shielded his company commander from enemy automatic fire with his own body.” Minogue, according to battlefield accounts, also took a machine gun from a fallen comrade and helped drive back the attackers. Wrote General Hussey in part: “The North Vietnamese had killed most of the Company officers and were attempting to kill the company’s commanding officer and overwhelm the remaining U.S. soldiers. During the attack Pfc. Minogue procured a weapon and returned fire on enemy positions while simultaneously treating the wounds of his fellow soldiers before shielding his commanding officer from enemy fire.” Minogue’s actions allowed the company commander, Captain Ronald Rykowski, to call in close air support, indirect fire and medical evacuations, and saved fellow American soldiers. Tragically, Minogue was unable to defend himself as he took bullets aimed at Rykowski who himself had been wounded three times.
Mar 3, 2021
35 min
US Air Force and Lackland Air Force Base
Air Force Veteran Edward Mastrosimone discusses his experience joining the US Air Force in 1959. Growing up in Brooklyn and Queens New York, Ed decided to follow his brother and enter into the newly formed United States Air Force. From the streets of NY to the hot weather in Texas, Ed shares his experience on Air Force basic training and becoming a Security Police and Military Police Officer.
Feb 28, 2021
23 min
Period Table of Elements in Chemistry: A Brief History
The chemistry must be respected." So says Walter White. Walt is a brilliant research chemist who has to leave his work and take up a career teaching high school chemistry. After discovering he has terminal cancer, he turns his skills to methamphetamine production in collaboration with former pupil Jesse Pinkman. The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. ... However, by performing experiments and recording the results, alchemists set the stage for modern chemistry. In 1869 Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev started the development of the periodic table, arranging chemical elements by atomic mass. He predicted the discovery of other elements, and left spaces open in his periodic table for them. In 1886 French physicist Antoine Bequerel first discovered radioactivity.
Feb 21, 2021
6 min
Quantum Physics equation
A fundamental physical constant occurring in quantum mechanics is the Planck constant, h. A common abbreviation is ħ = h/2π, also known as the reduced Planck constant or Dirac constant. The general form of wavefunction for a system of particles, each with position ri and z-component of spin sz i. Quantum mechanics, science dealing with the behaviour of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. It attempts to describe and account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituents—electrons, protons, neutrons, and other more esoteric particles such as quarks and gluons. These properties include the interactions of the particles with one another and with electromagnetic radiation (i.e., light, X-rays, and gamma rays).
Feb 17, 2021
6 min
Quantum mechanics: The basics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
Feb 11, 2021
6 min
Top Rated .45 Cal Pistol in 2021
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the U.S. Cavalry began trials to replace their sidearm arsenal of issued .45 Colt Single Action Army (SAA) in favor of the more modern and versatile double-action revolver in .45 Colt. After the example of the Cavalry, the Army in turn had fielded versions of double-action revolvers in .38 Long Colt. It was eventually evaluated that the .38-caliber round was significantly less effective in overall stopping-power than the .45 Colt against determined opponents in cases such as the Moro juramentado warriors, who were encountered in the Moro Rebellion.[3][4][5][6] The then-current issue rifle, the .30-40 Krag, had also failed to stop Moro warriors effectively;[7] the British had similar lack-of-stopping-power issues switching to the .303 British, which resulted in the development of the dum-dum bullet in an attempt to compensate for the round's deficiencies. This experience, and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904, led the Army and the Cavalry to decide a minimum of .45 caliber was required in a new handgun. Thompson and Major Louis Anatole La Garde of the Medical Corps arranged tests on cadavers and animal remains in the Chicago stockyards, resulting in the finding that .45 was the most effective pistol cartridge. They noted, however, training was critical to make sure a soldier could score a hit in a vulnerable part of the body. Colt had been working with Browning on a .41 caliber cartridge in 1904, and in 1905, when the Cavalry asked for a .45 caliber equivalent, Colt modified the pistol design to fire an enlarged version of the prototype .41 round. The result from Colt was the Model 1905 and the new .45 ACP cartridge. The original round that passed the testing fired a 200 grain (13 g) bullet at 900 ft/s (275 m/s), but after a number of rounds of revisions between Winchester Repeating Arms, Frankford Arsenal, and Union Metallic Cartridge, it ended up using a 230 grain (14.9 g) bullet fired at a nominal velocity of 850 ft/s (260 m/s). The resulting .45-caliber cartridge, named the .45 ACP, was similar in performance to the .45 Schofield cartridge, is only slightly less powerful and significantly shorter than the .45 Colt cartridge that the United States Cavalry was using at the time. By 1906, bids from six makers were submitted, among them Browning's design, submitted by Colt. Only DWM, Savage, and Colt made the first cut. DWM, which submitted two Parabellums chambered in .45 ACP, withdrew from testing after the first round of tests, for unspecified reasons.[8] In the second round of evaluations in 1910, the Colt design passed the extensive testing with no failures, while the Savage design suffered 37 stoppages or parts failures.[8] The Colt pistol was adopted as the Model 1911. The cartridge/pistol combination was quite successful but not satisfactory for U.S. military purposes. Over time, a series of improved designs were offered, culminating in the adoption in 1911 of the "Cal. .45 Automatic Pistol Ball Cartridge, Model of 1911", a 1.273 in (32.3 mm) long round with a bullet weight of 230 grains (15 g). The first production, at Frankford Arsenal, was marked "F A 8 11", for the August 1911 date. Other US military cartridges include: tracer M26 (red tip), blank M1921 (rolled crimp, red paper wad), M12 and M15 shot shells, and M9 dummy (holes in case). The cartridge was designed by John Browning for Colt, but the most influential person in selecting the cartridge was Army Ordnance member Gen. John T. Thompson. After the poor performance of the Army's .38 Long Colt pistols evidenced during the Philippine–American War (1899–1902), Thompson insisted on a more capable pistol cartridge.[9]
Jan 24, 2021
23 min
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein and the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, a distance of two thousand miles. By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its apogee; in training, doctrine, and fighting ability, the forces invading Russia represented the finest army to fight in the twentieth century. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources. In late 1942, as Hitler and Zeitzler pondered the looming disaster, Manstein seemed their only hope. On November 20, they summoned the general from the Leningrad front and put him in charge of a new formation, Army Group Don. The campaign Manstein would fight would be a lesson in how a genius can impose his will on a battlefield. In the course of this most difficult conflict, Manstein’s improvisation would overcome seemingly impossible obstacles and prove that in war one man really can make a difference. But he would also find himself a prisoner of his strategic situation, reminded that even a brilliant commander has limits.
Jan 17, 2021
2 hr 39 min
MARVEL MOVIES and the way ahead.
Mr Sherman and John cover the up and coming Marvel movies and series. Updated December 11, 2020, with all the massive news from Disney’s Investors Day, including all new release dates, confirmed castings for Thor and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (and that name), plus plenty on Disney+ series we knew about – and some we didn’t. 2020 was the first time in more than a decade without a single Marvel Studios film in release. Though the year was meant to usher in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the effects of a real worldwide pandemic halted the company’s momentum as release dates had to be postponed to deal with theater closures, safety concerns, and production shutdowns. But all pandemics end (right?!), and though completely delayed, Phase 4 will still begin in theaters with Black Widow, the film bearing the brunt of the sliding release schedules, set to release in May 2021. And once it finally makes its way to theaters, Marvel’s domination of box office charts will no doubt resume. Also, Phase 4 will begin on the small screen early next year with the Disney+ series WandaVision premiering in January, before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki follow suit. Beyond that, of course, the horizon includes some exciting additions to Marvel’s universe, like Mahershala Ali as Blade, Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk, and the eventual arrival of Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four. (Finally confirmed by Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige at Disney’s Internet-breaking Investors Day in December 2020.) As we have for the last few years, we’re keeping track of it all in this comprehensive guide of every upcoming Marvel Studios film (and television show) with a handy calendar of Marvel films into 2023.
Jan 16, 2021
1 hr 4 min
The Vikings: A Brief History
The Vikings were a seafaring people from the late eighth to early 11th century who established a name for themselves as traders, explorers and warriors. They discovered the Americas long before Columbus and could be found as far east as the distant reaches of Russia. While these people are often attributed as savages raiding the more civilized nations for treasure and women, the motives and culture of the Viking people are much more diverse. These raiders also facilitated many changes throughout the lands from economics to warfare. The Vikings set up colonies on the west coast of Greenland during the 10th century. The Viking sagas tell of journeys they undertook from these Greenland colonies to the New World. They mention places named "Helluland" (widely believed to be Baffin Island), "Markland" (widely believed to be Labrador) and "Vinland" (a more mysterious location which some archaeologists believe could be Newfoundland).
Jan 16, 2021
8 min
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