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

Author: Hondo

  • A Really Bad Idea

    A recent article in the National Journal says that it may soon be possible for Remotely Piloted Aircraft (AKA “drones”) to make independent decisions on whether to engage targets.  In short, soon it might be possible that they’ll be lethally-armed robots.  No humans involved.

    Technologically, this may be possible one day soon – at least under certain circumstances. It would indeed have the effect of removing a potential source of mission failure:  comm problems.  (No comm required means a greatly reduced chance that a comm failure could impact the mission.)  It might also lead to fewer members of our military being placed at risk.

    Still, IMO this would be a monumentally bad idea.  I hope we never opt to go down this particular path.  And that goes for both unmanned ground and unmanned sea systems, too.

    Why?  Read this (it’s not that long). I think you’ll understand why afterwards.

  • Tell Us Something We Didn’t Already Know, General

    The headline says it all, but the article is fairly short and worth reading:

    Current funding makes hollow force ‘inevitable,’ 3-star says

    No surprise, really.  Some of us are old enough to remember post-Vietnam and the Carter years.

    Looks like it’s gonna be, in the words of Yogi Berra, “Déjà vu all over again.”

  • Regarding the Former USSTRATCOM Deputy . . .

    By now, most have probably heard about the relief of VADM Tim Giardina.  Until yesterday, he was the Deputy Commander of USSTRATCOM.  He’d been suspended from duty, but not formally relieved, since 3 Sep.  It was announced yesterday he’d been formally relieved from his position.

    What you might not have heard was the reason.  I didn’t know much about that – other than it was due to a “gambling investigation” – until today.

    It seems the reports that this was due to a “gambling investigation” are indeed true.  Giardina apparently went to a casino in Council Bluffs, IA, and did some gambling.

    No issue with going to a casino; where Giardina went, casino gambling is legal.  And it’s not prohibited by the UCMJ.

    Except . . . it seems there might have been a bit of an issue with what went on at the casino.

    Giardina is alleged to have used $1,500 worth of counterfeit chips while gambling at that casino.  Seriously.

    Iowa authorities have decided not to prosecute Giardina.  The prosecutor apparently feels that – given Giardina’s exemplary service record to date and the relatively small amount (in dollar terms) of the alleged crime – it wouldn’t be worth the effort.  He feels that because of those factors Giardina would likely not get any serious punishment in state court if convicted.

    However, NCIS is continuing to examine the allegations; Giardina may end up facing charges under the UCMJ.  If the allegations turn out to be true I personally hope he does.

    In the interim, Giardina is being reassigned to the Navy staff, with duties not specified.  As a consequence of the reassignment he’s also reverted to his previous 2-star rank.

    As I said:  the matter is still under investigation.  Nothing’s yet been proven, and Giardina’s currently facing no charges.

    But if the allegations are true, all I can say is:  geez, Admiral.  For freaking $1,500?

  • New “Bennies” Under the ACA

    Well, it seems we’re still learning how bad taxpayers got shafted new things about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) nearly 2 1/2 years after It passed.  I guess we really did have to “pass it to see what’s in it”.

    Here’s yet another bit of “good news” for Federal taxpayers contained therein.

    It seems that the ACA makes able-bodied males with incomes under the poverty level eligible for Federal healthcare assistance.  Specifically, it makes them eligible for Medicaid.

    Under the ACA, it also seems that’s true even if they’re incarcerated in a local or county jail, or in a state prison.  So states participating in Medicaid just got a major “freebie” – and the US taxpayer gets stuck with the bill.

    Now, the US taxpayer will be picking up a chunk of the costs for prisoner healthcare in state/county/local jails.  Previously that was a state/local responsibility previously – which it should be.

    Welcome to Bizzaro World, folks.

  • Four More Come Home

    DPMO has announced the identification of  three US MIAs from Korea and one US MIA from Southeast Asia.

    • PFC Norman P. Dufresne, G Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost on 30 July 1950 near Chinju, South Korea. He was accounted for on 19 September 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 19 October 2013 in Leominster, MA.
    • CPL Robert J. Tait, Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, US Army, was lost on 6 December 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. He was accounted for on 10 September 2013.   He was buried with full military honors on 5 October 2013 in Bar Harbor, ME.
    • CPL Harold A. Evans, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, US Army, was reported missing on 13 December 1950 while deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir near Sinhung-ri, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. He was accounted for on 26 September 2013. He will be buried with full military honors 12 October 2013 in Thief River Falls, MN.
    • Col. Francis J. McGouldrick, 8th Tactical Bomb Squadron, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, US Air Force, was lost on 13 December 1968 near Savannakhet Province, Laos.  He was accounted for on 6 September 2013.  Funeral date and location have not been announced.

    Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest now in peace.

    . . .

    Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

    If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

    If you’re still skeptical, consider this:  CPLs Tait’s and Evan’s remains were among those in 208 boxes of mixed remains returned to US control by North Korea between 1991 and 1994.   mTDNA was among the techniques used to obtain positive identification of their remains.

    Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

  • I Hate to Repeat Myself . . .

    . . . but I will.  From just over a year ago.

    A year ago, just short of 9 million individuals were receiving Social Security disability compensation.  Five months ago, that number was up to around 11 million.

    The number just keeps on climbing.  At the end of August, per the Social Security Administration the number of individuals receiving Social Security disability payments was just over 14 million.

    The program also appears rife with fraud.  It looks like about half of all newly approved claims actually are bogus under Federal law – just like a year ago.  (Federal law regarding Social Security Disability compensation requires that the individual be unable to perform work of any type to be eligible for payment.)  It appears the same could easily be true of about half of all such Social Security disability claims, period.

    It’s now costing Uncle Sam more to pay Social Security Disability benefits than it does to run the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and the Labor Department – combined.  The annual outlay for Social Security Disability payments is now approximately $135 billion.

    Apparently CBS has now finally figured out the above.  So it’s not just the conservative part of the blogosphere that’s noticing the issue any more.

    Yes, some people are so physically or mentally “messed up” that they legitimately rate Social Security disability payments.  But IMO, a huge fraction of the recipients appear to be using the program as nothing more than an undeserved, alternate form of permanent unemployment compensation.  Further, in many cases it seems they’re being aided and abetted in what appears to be blatant fraud by compliant Social Security officials – and by lawyers who in some cases end up getting paid literally millions by the Social Security Administration.

    The Social Security Disability “Insurance” Fund is in absolutely horrible financial shape.  As you might expect, it’s in far worse shape than the rest of Social Security.

    For the Social Security disability program, the proverbial “well” runs dry in 3 years, give or take; some sources estimate the fund will be exhausted in as little as 18 months.  So I’m guessing we can look forward to another push to raise Social Security taxes yet again some time in the next 3 years.

  • Now, This Is a REALLY Good Idea . . . .

    Have I got a deal for you.  How about we buy a bunch of stuff, then immediately put it in “mothballs” instead of use it?  Good deal, right?

    Uncle Sam and DoD certainly would never do that with a bunch of new airplanes – right?

    Think again.  As in to the tune of over $565 million.

    I understand that at some point terminating a contract just doesn’t make economic sense.  But couldn’t we have figured this out before we ordered 21 of these?

  • Instant Karma – The Good Kind

    Matt Zajac is a Mechanical Engineering student at New Mexico State University.  He’s also not your your typical college student.  He’s an Iraq War vet – and a double amputee.  He was injured in an explosion in Iraq.

    Recently, he was announced as the winner of a $2,000 by-name drawing lottery at the NMSU-San Diego State college football game (28 September).  NMSU apparently holds such a drawing at each of its home games to encourage student attendance.

    There was one small problem:  Zajac couldn’t collect.

    Rules for the drawing stipulate the winner must be present to win.  However, Zajac was at his grandmother’s house that day, taking care of her.  And he refused to attempt to collect via fraud:  he was honest with NMSU officials about the fact that he wasn’t at the game.

    NMSU officials commended Zajac for his service (and, presumably, for his honesty as well).  However, they felt they could not make an exception in Zajac’s case.  Rules are, after all, rules.

    In most cases, that would have been the end of it – no cash, but honor and honesty intact.  Except . . . some things just seem to transcend athletic rivalries when good people are involved.

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