Aka the Warthog. A ground attack plane, a jet powered version of the Russian WWII Sturmovic. It can fly low and slow, just what you need for tank plinking, has a honking big 30 mm Gatling gun, and lots of bombs and missiles. Nice straight wing, top speed around 400 mph. Twin engines so you can get home if one takes a hit. Came into service after Viet Nam, did a fantastic job in the first Gulf War. Best plane out there for ground attack. On the other hand, if you are flying an A10 and you get bounced by enemy jet fighters, you are in deep trouble.
The Air Force officer corps is pretty much all fighter pilots now that SAC has been disbanded. And fighter pilots want to fly fighters and do air to air combat. They like the white silk scarf fluttering in the slip stream and they all want to be the Red Baron. The idea of getting down into the ground fire and shooting up tanks has no appeal to fighter pilots.
This year Congress laid a heavy duty funding cut on all the armed services. It's actually a real cut, the services get less money than than they did last year. So, the Air Force looked around for things they could shut down or sell off, to keep the little money left them going into the F35 program. What to cut? How about that ugly old A10? None of us fighter pilots like it, if we get rid of it we can use the money saved to buy that hot F35 that we do like.
There has been some squawking from the Army and the Marine Corps, both of which like the A10. Nobody who saw A10s blowing Saddam Hussein's tanks away in the Gulf Wars is going to feel happy about doing without them.
The issue probably needs to be resolved in Congress, if Congress still has the ability to resolve anything.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Politics is getting mean up here.
It's Wednesday night, the North Grafton Republican Committee is meeting, in the downstairs of the Gold House, Littleton's best pizza place. Gary Lambert, running for the US House of Representatives, has stopped in to speak to us, do a little campaigning. Gary is an old New Hampshire political hand, served in the NH senate, served in the Marines for 35 years, a nice guy.
About this time a young brunette, with a heavy camera bag slips into the room. I've never seen her before. But Mike Gilman and Gary do know her, address her as Morgan. She is a democratic party tracker, assigned to follow Gary Lambert and film any gaffe's he might make. Morgan is working with or for Annie Kuster's campaign. We ask her to leave, which she does.
Discussion turns on how Morgan found us. Apparently Gary had posted something to his facebook page from his smart phone that evening, and Morgan turned up about an hour after the post.
Wow. Pretty big time stuff. Gary Lambert isn't even the Republican candidate yet, he has yet to win the primary. That the democrats have the money, or the dedicated people with time on their hands, to track a fairly low level guy like Gary Lambert, suggests a lot of outside money is coming into the state. It's also probably a waste of resources by the Democrats. Annie Kuster has done little to nothing in office and is probably toast in November.
About this time a young brunette, with a heavy camera bag slips into the room. I've never seen her before. But Mike Gilman and Gary do know her, address her as Morgan. She is a democratic party tracker, assigned to follow Gary Lambert and film any gaffe's he might make. Morgan is working with or for Annie Kuster's campaign. We ask her to leave, which she does.
Discussion turns on how Morgan found us. Apparently Gary had posted something to his facebook page from his smart phone that evening, and Morgan turned up about an hour after the post.
Wow. Pretty big time stuff. Gary Lambert isn't even the Republican candidate yet, he has yet to win the primary. That the democrats have the money, or the dedicated people with time on their hands, to track a fairly low level guy like Gary Lambert, suggests a lot of outside money is coming into the state. It's also probably a waste of resources by the Democrats. Annie Kuster has done little to nothing in office and is probably toast in November.
A History of the English Speaking Peoples
Written by Winston Churchill. The first volume, The Birth of Britain, was started in 1939, seventy five years ago. Finally published in 1956. As most of you know, Winston Churchill had some other things to attend to between 1940 and 1945. I started to read it again yesterday.
The first volume starts with Caesar's invasion in 55 BC and goes up thru the Norman Conquest and the Plantagenet kings. Reading a history book this old, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Churchill's writing is pretty much up to date. I have read more modern histories of the period, specifically, Leslie Alcock's Arthur's Britain, and despite another thirty years of archaeology, the story stands pretty much the way Churchill wrote of it in 1939.
Partly of course, the few written records of the period, Caesar, Gildas, Bede, and Nennius, were well known to Churchill. The contributions of archaeology, although interesting, don't change the story much.
And Churchill writes well. This, probably the last book Churchill published, has his best writing. All writers of history always feel compelled to comment upon the history and the historical figures. Churchill's comments are the informed thought of an highly experienced man of affairs. He understands the need for economic growth, even during the Roman Empire. He knows of the need for effective military force to repel invasions and maintain civil order. He knows the importance of Christianity in history. He lovingly describes the growth of political institutions, especially Parliament, of which he was a member for better than fifty years. His viewpoint is balanced and insightful.
It's a good read. Check it out.
The first volume starts with Caesar's invasion in 55 BC and goes up thru the Norman Conquest and the Plantagenet kings. Reading a history book this old, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Churchill's writing is pretty much up to date. I have read more modern histories of the period, specifically, Leslie Alcock's Arthur's Britain, and despite another thirty years of archaeology, the story stands pretty much the way Churchill wrote of it in 1939.
Partly of course, the few written records of the period, Caesar, Gildas, Bede, and Nennius, were well known to Churchill. The contributions of archaeology, although interesting, don't change the story much.
And Churchill writes well. This, probably the last book Churchill published, has his best writing. All writers of history always feel compelled to comment upon the history and the historical figures. Churchill's comments are the informed thought of an highly experienced man of affairs. He understands the need for economic growth, even during the Roman Empire. He knows of the need for effective military force to repel invasions and maintain civil order. He knows the importance of Christianity in history. He lovingly describes the growth of political institutions, especially Parliament, of which he was a member for better than fifty years. His viewpoint is balanced and insightful.
It's a good read. Check it out.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Money for Milfoil prevention
Op ed in the Onion Leader today. Milfoil is a lake weed, grows rapidly and can choke a lake to the point where you cannot swim in it, canoe in it, or fish in it. They described it as "invasive species" which is evil. The writer was pleading for more state money for Milfoil control.
Trouble is, the control measures amount to hiring divers to go down and pull up the weed by hand. Ow. My aching back. That sounds worse than pulling up dandelions by hand, only under water. And divers don't come cheap. I can see why the anti Milfoil crusaders are begging for more funding. There ain't enough money in the entire state of New Hampshire to pull up lakeweed by hand from underwater.
Somebody has to find an animal that eats Milfoil, or a herbicide, or a disease that attacks it, or something practical. Until then, forget it.
Trouble is, the control measures amount to hiring divers to go down and pull up the weed by hand. Ow. My aching back. That sounds worse than pulling up dandelions by hand, only under water. And divers don't come cheap. I can see why the anti Milfoil crusaders are begging for more funding. There ain't enough money in the entire state of New Hampshire to pull up lakeweed by hand from underwater.
Somebody has to find an animal that eats Milfoil, or a herbicide, or a disease that attacks it, or something practical. Until then, forget it.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Bills and Blegs
I still pay my bills by check, largely 'cause I don't really trust electronic payment. Witness the Target data breach disaster. So the mail comes in, and the bills and the blegs (letters begging money) pile up on my desk. Once a month I haul out the check book and pay them.
This month, I paid 9 bills and still had a huge stack of envelopes to open. So I counted.
Twenty one blegs total. Most aggressive blegger, the Republican party. with seven. Followed by the Tea Party and the NRA with 3 each. My old colleges, my old high school, Scott Brown, John McCain, and four local charities came in with one each.
To a certain extent I ask for this, I have in fact contributed to each of them in the past, so it's natural for them to come back to the well. Not that I give all that much, $35 is about my utmost. But I was surprised to find more blegs than bills.
This month, I paid 9 bills and still had a huge stack of envelopes to open. So I counted.
Twenty one blegs total. Most aggressive blegger, the Republican party. with seven. Followed by the Tea Party and the NRA with 3 each. My old colleges, my old high school, Scott Brown, John McCain, and four local charities came in with one each.
To a certain extent I ask for this, I have in fact contributed to each of them in the past, so it's natural for them to come back to the well. Not that I give all that much, $35 is about my utmost. But I was surprised to find more blegs than bills.
Monday, May 12, 2014
$20 Billion for new presidential helicopters?
Marine One is getting a little old. There was a program to replace it about 10 years ago, but terrible cost overruns led to program cancellation. The replacement was going to have electronic systems good enough to conduct a nuclear war from on board the chopper. And they kept on gold plating it until the project sank.
Well, they are at it again. The new program will get a new design from Sikorsky in Connecticut. For $20 billion overall, we get 23 gold plated presidential helicopters, That's nearly $1 billion per aircraft. That's totally rediculous.
All we need for a presidential chopper is one of what ever the service is flying. Give it a nice new paint job and maybe a couple of cushy seats in back. Take the aircraft from an operational squadron, something that has been flown long enough to get a good feeling about it. No fancy electronics. If the president just has to communicate in flight let him use his cell phone. And we don't need 23 of them, two, a primary and a backup is plenty.
$20 billion for special design, special build gold plated choppers, when the country is as broke as it is, just doesn't make sense.
Well, they are at it again. The new program will get a new design from Sikorsky in Connecticut. For $20 billion overall, we get 23 gold plated presidential helicopters, That's nearly $1 billion per aircraft. That's totally rediculous.
All we need for a presidential chopper is one of what ever the service is flying. Give it a nice new paint job and maybe a couple of cushy seats in back. Take the aircraft from an operational squadron, something that has been flown long enough to get a good feeling about it. No fancy electronics. If the president just has to communicate in flight let him use his cell phone. And we don't need 23 of them, two, a primary and a backup is plenty.
$20 billion for special design, special build gold plated choppers, when the country is as broke as it is, just doesn't make sense.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Gumshoes and REMF's won't help.
The TV news is playing up the dispatch of a dozen American "experts" to Nigeria to "help" recover the kidnapped Nigerian girls. Sorry O, that won't help. Makes you look wimpy on TV.
What's needed is about a hundred good soldiers, and the helicopters to lift them. And a location. The location the girls are held at. The choppers land the troops just out of gun shot of the location, the troops move in and shoot anyone who fails to put their hands up in the air. Choppers provide fire support as needed. Then fly the girls out to safety. Repeat as necessary until all the girls are freed.
So why don't we do this? Do we secretly support Boko Haram? Lack of guts? Too many REMF's and not enough soldiers? Multiculturalism?
You don't know what REMF means? Old service acronym for Rear Echelon M_____ F_____.
What's needed is about a hundred good soldiers, and the helicopters to lift them. And a location. The location the girls are held at. The choppers land the troops just out of gun shot of the location, the troops move in and shoot anyone who fails to put their hands up in the air. Choppers provide fire support as needed. Then fly the girls out to safety. Repeat as necessary until all the girls are freed.
So why don't we do this? Do we secretly support Boko Haram? Lack of guts? Too many REMF's and not enough soldiers? Multiculturalism?
You don't know what REMF means? Old service acronym for Rear Echelon M_____ F_____.
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