This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • Four Drum Soldiers Honored

    Four soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY, have been awarded the Air Medal with Valor Device.  They were honored for gallantry on 28 May 2013 in Afghanistan.

    On that date, the four landed during an attack to MEDEVAC a critically wounded US soldier, then took him to the US hospital at Bagram AB for treatment.  They also provided initial treatment to him en route.

    The wounded soldier survived.

    Those honored were CW4 Kenneth Brodhead, CW2 Melinda Walden, SSG Kristen Halsey and SGT Ryan Blomquist.  All were assigned to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.

    Well done, ladies and men.  Damn well done.

  • Why Professionals Take Weapons Accountability and Security Seriously

    Saw this in the comments on one of TSO’s articles and thought it was worth a mention.

    Provided without additional comment.  None really seems necessary to prove the point.  (smile)

  • YRGBSM!! (the “R” Stands for “Really”)

    I wish I were, and that this article of mine was fiction.  Sadly, I’m not – and it isn’t.

    DoD is buying “green fuels”.  We all knew that.  Hell, it’s one of this administration’s   obsessions    apparent means of political payback    wealth redistribution mechanisms    truly stupid ideas   pet projects.

    But this time, what DoD’s done IMO really takes the cake.  Let me assure you – you don’t want to know what DoD has been paying for “green” jet fuel.

    You probably need to know.  But you don’t want to know.

    The article documenting just how badly Uncle Sam is taking it in the . . . ear regarding some of this type of “green fuel” can be found here.  It’s so damn bad I’m intentionally omitting some of the details in this article.

    If you really want to get p!ssed, follow the link and read it.  If you have even two or more working brain cells and pay taxes I’m pretty sure you will be seriously angry after reading it.

    And yeah – one of the guys heavily invested in the firm getting top dollar is a big donor to the current Administration’s political party.

    Given what else is going on with the DoD budget these days, this is particularly galling to me.  But maybe that’s just me.

    Sheesh.  GMAFB.

     

    (Edited to add:  hat tip to the Drudge Report for the link.)

  • Gary Sinise Receives 2014 Eisenhower Award

    Somehow we missed this.

    Back in February, the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) selected Gary Sinise as the recipient of the 2014 Dwight D. Eisenhower Award.  He was selected to receive the award due to his “continued support of America’s service men and women”.

    The Eisenhower Award is a prestigious one.  it’s normally awarded to elected or appointed officials.

    Award to an entertainer is rare.  In fact, Sinise is precisely the second entertainer to receive it.  The other?  A guy named “Bob Hope”.

    The award was presented in a black-tie gala at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, on 11 April 2014.

    Mr. Sinise certainly is one of the “good guys”.  He’s a helluva deserving recipient.

    The official announcement of the award can be found here.  It’s worth taking a couple of minutes to read.

    NDIA certainly got this one right.  A belated congrats, Mr. Sinise.

     

    Postscript – NDIA isn’t the only organization to honor Sinise.  In 2012, he was named an Honorary CPO of the US Navy by then-MCPON Rick D. West. 

  • “IT Workers a Foreign Intelligence Target”: MI5

    Well, well – lookie here.  It seems as if MI5 is warning UK businesses that foreign intelligence services “are targeting IT workers at big businesses”.

    I can’t say I’m surprised.  And I’d be quite surprised if it wasn’t going on here, too.

    In fact, on reading that article the name of a certain bastard who used to be an IT worker comes to mind, even though there’s no evidence that he was “in the employ of a foreign power”.  I guess you can “color me ‘unconvinced’ ” about that.

    The Financial Times article is IMO worth reading if you have the time.

  • FBI Investigating “Cover Oregon”

    It’s about freaking time.   And for what it’s worth, so is the HHS Office of the Inspector General  – as well as the GAO and at least one Congressional committee.

    As most TAH readers probably remember, “Cover Oregon” was that “wonderful” healthcare insurance exchange developed by the state of Oregon.  It received $303M in Federal grants.

    By mid-December 2013 just under $160M had been spent to “develop” Cover Oregon’s website to allow online application for health insurance.  As of April 2014, that website had signed up precisely zero online applicants (approximately 200,000 did manage to sign up via a paper application processes).

    Oregon has since announced termination of that website, and that it will use that paragon of excellent function, HealthCare.gov, in the future as it’s healthcare exchange.  Those who signed up previously will have to reapply next year.

    I’m sure they’ll enjoy working their way through the Federal website.  Or maybe they’ll submit a paper application to the Federal government instead – just like tens of thousands of those who tried to apply at HealthCare.gov ended up needing to do.  (smile)

    It also appears that the folks who were running Cover Oregon may have misled Federal authorities to get that $303M in Federal funding.  In such programs, funding is typically provided incrementally, with evidence of progress required to receive the next grant.  Multiple sources indicate that Cover Oregon presented an unduly “rosy” picture of progress to Federal authorities to continue receiving Federal grant funding.

    The Oregonian has a good article on “Cover Oregon” and why it’s being investigated.  IMO, it’s worth reading – again, if you don’t have blood pressure or anger management issues.

    Stay tuned.  This one could get interesting.

    That said, I’m pessimistic that anyone will be held accountable.  After all, the FBI is part of the same DoJ that gave us “Fast and Furious”.  No one has been held accountable there yet.

    That unlawful “escapade” got people killed.  Given that fact – and the fact that no one was held accountable – what’s $303M in tax money lost to fraud?

  • More About the Current Army Cutbacks

    Many have probably heard that the Army is cutting 10 Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) this year and next .  It’s doing this in order to reduce end-strength to 490,000 (active component) by the end of FY 2015.

    For those interested, here’s the list of which units have/are scheduled to inactivate.

    Already inactivated:

    • 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division (Fort Hood) – inactivated last October
    • 4th Stryker BCT, 2nd Infantry Division (JB Lewis-McChord) – inactivated in March
    • 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division (Fort Cambell) – inactivated in April

    Scheduled to be inactivated:

    • 4th BCT, 82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg) – to be inactivated in June
    • 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division (Fort Knox) – to be inactivated in July
    • 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain Division (Fort Drum) – to be inactivated this fall
    • 2nd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division (Fort Stewart) – to be inactivated during winter 2015
    • 2nd BCT, 4th Infantry Division (Fort Carson) – to be inactivated during winter 2015
    • 3rd BCT, 1st Armored Division (Fort Bliss) – to be inactivated during spring 2015
    • 4th BCT, 1st Infantry Division (Fort Riley) – to be inactivated during summer 2015

    The unit inactivations at Forts Knox, Carson, Bliss, and Riley will require a substantial number of soldiers to PCS.  The unit inactivations at Forts Drum and Stewart will not require very many PCS moves, as soldiers assigned to the inactivating BCTs at those locations will be reassigned to other units on their current installation.

    The current reductions are in conjunction with scheduled Army end-strength reductions.  They will reduce the Army’s overall end strength to 980,000 (450,000 Active/195,000 USAR/335,000 ARNG) by FY 2017.

    Additional unit inactivations may be forthcoming.  The Army is looking at potential options reducing the Army’s overall strength further after 2017, to a possible end-strength of 920,000 (420,000 Active/185,000 USAR/315,000 ARNG).

    The Army Times has a decent article giving more details.  It’s worth reading if you have the time and inclination.

    Yeah, we can give out free phones and pay for people’s groceries while they sit on their azz, eat Cheetos, and play X-Box.  And we can keep funding Social Security “disability” and unemployment, and giveaway “free” medical care subsidies.

    But we can’t figure out how to pay for an adequate defense.  And we don’t seem to be able to figure out that Social Security and Medicare  are about to go belly up – in about 20 years.

    Ain’t life wonderful?

  • Another “Fine Example” of Stimulating “Green Vehicle” Production

    Well, it looks like another “green vehicle” manufacturer is on the ropes.  After taking taxpayers for the proverbial “sleigh ride in July” for tens of millions, of course.

    Smith Electric Vehicles was touted as another “green” vehicle maker.  It was to specialize in large electric vehicles suitable for commercial use.  It originally announced plans to make over 500 such vehicles.

    In return for $1.4 million in tax credits from Missouri, Smith promised to create 200+ new jobs.  It’s hired 54 people to date.

    Smith owes large sums to various creditors.  The precise amount isn’t known, but since it includes a $30k+ debt to a Missouri university and six months’ back rent on 90,000 sq ft of space at the Kansas City airport, the total could easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    And it’s stopped production.

    Of course, since this was one of the Administration’s pet “green” projects – the POTUS touted it publicly in a speech at the Kansas City airport 4 years ago – it got some $30+ million in Federal stimulus funds.  Anyone surprised?

    The Washington Examiner has a good article on Smith, its troubles, and its past problems (which go far beyond what I’ve listed here).  It’s worth reading – providing you don’t have high blood pressure or anger management issues.

    Yeah, looks like that “green” stimulus program worked out just swimmingly here.  One could even be cynical and say it looks almost like a political payback or “make work” deal.  But that can’t possibly be the case.

    Still, what’s that old saying:  “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . . . . “