Author Archive

Army “Green Round”; the “Rest of the Story”

Get ready.  I’m about to overturn what a lot of knowledgeable “gun people” think they know about the Army’s M855A1 “Green Round”.  There will be gnashing of teeth as angry keyboarding hammers out responses that will most likely ignore the facts I’m about to share. What’s prompted me to cause this upheaval in “common knowledge” …

Gentex Helmet Developments from Maneuver Conference 2016

Gentex is commonly known as a helmet company but they are much more than that.  Their specialty is actually producing solutions that go far beyond just the shell of a helmet and ballistic protection.  They are very concerned with creating solutions that make the soldier’s ability to complete the mission safer and more efficient.  Their …

Initial Insights from Maneuver Conference 2016

Ft Benning, the home to the Army’s Maneuver Center and the Army’s Infantry and Armor branches hosts a yearly conference called the Maneuver Conference.  The conference is an opportunity for vendors to showcase equipment the Army may be interested in as well as an event where the Army’s primary maneuver branches assess themselves, the Army …

Fifteen 911’s Later

Every five years our country makes a special effort to remember 911.  I understand.  We tend to make a bigger deal when an anniversary falls on a multiple of five.  That said, 911 falls in a very unique category and we don’t do it justice.  It is an event that has impacted our lives daily …

Big Day Today!

Six battalions of Infantry were called for by the continental congress this day 241 years ago.  The Infantry throughout our history has been the American who had to dig out our enemies at face to face distance.  Happy Birthday, US Army Infantry!   Today is the Army’s Birthday, an organization that has borne 80% of …

D-Day, S.L.A. Marshall, Little Known Stories

S.L.A Marshall is a very well-known military historian.  For decades his perspectives of combat were seminal and uncontested.  Even later while his statistical analysis has been questioned his anecdotes remain unchallenged, stirring examples of what battle is like.  The Atlantic ran some words from his personal notes where he documented the initial company by company …

Army Chief wants to select next pistol, sounds good but…

There’s been a rash of articles about Gen Mark Milley wanting authority to select the Army’s next pistol.  This isn’t new.  Gen Milley has been broaching the issue since October not even two months into his tour as the current U.S. Army chief of staff.  On the surface, the argument makes a lot of sense …

The OV10 Light CAS Aircraft Temporarily Reappears

Special Operations Command recently experimented using two OV10 light observation/utility aircraft in the close air support role in combat against ISIS.  This incident has made a small splash in various forums and a discussion of the Air Force obtaining prop engine type light aircraft to do CAS especially with the venerable A-10  being constantly offered …

BOTH SIDES OF THE CHOSIN Task Force Faith (Part 3) By Yankee Papa

“…Because Washington permitted soldiers to make and to act on decisions that were beyond the purview of the military, because it forced them to bring purely military thinking into matters that remained in essence political…in short because Washington still sometimes acted as if there could be a separation between war and politics, the United States, …

BOTH SIDES OF THE CHOSIN Task Force Faith (Part 2) By Yankee Papa

  “A sense of security is very often the beginning of disaster…” -Velleius Patercuslus- re Teutoburger Wald, 9 AD   “That’s impossible.  There aren’t two Chinese Communist divisions in the whole of North Korea…” -Major General Edward M. Almond- Noon, 11/28/50 when told of eight Chinese Divisions attacking X Corps at Chosin – – – …

Iran Seizes US Sailors. Unanswered Questions

The seizure of two US Navy riverine patrol boats January 12th has been widely reported.  For those not following or remembering details, two Navy Riverine Command Boats (RCB) were captured by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces near Farsi Island, a sensitive Iranian naval base.  One of the boats had engine trouble and somehow the GPS units …

Christmas Gift 1776, a cautionary tale…

During this joyous time of year military history appropriately takes a back seat to Christmas shopping, family and most importantly the reason for the season.  That said and wishing all of you the best holiday I’d like to shine a spotlight on a seminal event often forgotten in our military history, the largest, riskiest and …