The Wandering Minstrel

The Better Half and I are proud to have met Major Chuck Ziegenfuss at the Gun Blogger’s Rendezvous two years ago. Chuck was gravely injured in Iraq by an IED. We personally heard his story about his injuries and subsequent recovery. It was Chuck’s idea to distribute laptops and voice recognition software to injured military unable to use their hands. Please listen to Chuck’s message regarding Project Valour-IT and Soldier’s Angels.

Yesterday, during our “playing tourist” session, we bought a new sign to post on our patio. We both concur with the slogan on the sign. Clickable image.

First of all, I would like to wish the men and women of the armed forces of America a safe, happy and deeply appreciated Armed Forces Day. God bless you all.

Today, the menu consisted of grilled pork baby back ribs, The Better Half’s awesome potato salad and baked beans. I hope that all of our service people had a great meal such as this. Clickable image - half rack of ribs on the grill.

Try not to drool on your keyboard.

This is typical of most of the township’s reaction to the demise of Usama bin Laden. Notice that there is no mention of commanders but only the select US Navy Seals team that did the world a great favor.

Clickable image: A local business thanks the Navy Seals for a job well-done. Courtesy of The Better Half.

Rumor has it that CINC (the Obamination) put the Generals and everyone else down the chain of command on hold for 16 hours “to sleep on it,” before giving the go-ahead. A lot could have happened in that window of time that may have changed the outcome of this event. Better to take your shot when you have the target in your sights rather than waiting. So much for the credit being taken by the administration. What a farce.

I ran across this article on Fox Nation this morning:

The XM2010 sniper rifle is making a name for itself in Afghanistan. Officials won’t say how many are there or where they are. But at the time of the Sept. 20 contract, officials said the first 250 rifles would be ready by early December and sent directly to Afghanistan.

No matter how many are there, this is clear: The weapon’s performance has been strong enough to warrant full fielding.

Read more:

Just look at that beautiful piece of tactical hardware!

On January 4, 2006, the USS Ronald Reagan departed San Diego, CA, on her maiden deployment to conduct naval operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

From Battle Fleet:

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the ninth and penultimate Nimitz-class supercarrier, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for former President Ronald Reagan.

Very few ships of the United States Navy have been named for a person who was alive at the time of the christening; the list includes Carl Vinson (CVN-70), Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), John C. Stennis (CVN-74), Bob Hope (T-AKR-300), Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Nitze (DDG-94), Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), and George H. W. Bush (CVN-77).

Today, we honor the men and women who died in the attacks on Hawaii late in 1941. In the photograph below, the Officers and Crew line the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, as they salute the war memorial at the resting place of the USS Arizona.

More than ever, we must honor our Veterans and those who serve today in the best military in the world. God Bless them in this holiday season and always.

A friend sent this in an email the other day about the fastest airplane ever and a Blackbird Pilot’s account of events . . .

One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic, of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied.

A Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply.

To our surprise, a Navy F-18 came over the radio, with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was.

‘Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,’ ATC responded.

The situation was too ripe.

I heard the click of the RSO’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, he startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace.

In a cool, professional voice, the air traffic controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.’

Priceless!