The Outpost: A Gripping Read Of Americans In Battle In Afghanistan

Just finished reading an account of the Battle of Combat Outpost Keating - The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper.

The book covers the founding of the Combat Outpost through its demolition and abandonment after the October 3, 2009 Battle of Kamdesh, when a force of 300 Taliban insurgents attacked the outpost of 60 Americans of Bravo Troop, 3d Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment and Two Latvians and a handful of Afghanistan National Army members that almost entirely either ran away or joined the insurgents. Outnumbered 5 to 1, the Americans and Latvians held and defeated the attack.

8 Americans were killed, 27 wounded and over 150 Taliban were killed. The surprise attack was repulsed even after the Taliban managed to overrun a portion of the outpost.

The book points out the folly of the location of the outpost, established to house a Provincial Reconstruction Team - on a mainly unusable road in a valley dominated by three mountains controlled by the insurgents. The book then points out the greater folly of leaving the outpost open after it was decided that the road was not unusable because of its bad condition, and the constant insurgent attacks made it unusable as a PRT base even as soldiers at the base were continually ambushed, wounded or killed. Multiple commanders of the outpost were killed, including one by an IED assassination. Conditions at the base were beyond difficult and the hardships the men faced were grave indeed.

Politics and dithering caused the lack of sufficient troops in Afghanistan for the mission of combatting the insurgents, which is quite fairly pointed out to be the fault of both Bush and then later Obama.

Politics and dithering then compounded to lead to the battle, as the troops of the outpost would have avoided being there at the time of the attack had the closing gone ahead as scheduled, but a series of delays in the closing of the base during the feud between Obama and McChrystal occurred, leaving it vulnerable to attack even after the decision to close it had been made and announced (including to the enemy) but no definitive timetable set due to the political issues.

Interestingly, the book, written in 2012, notes that Bowe Berghdahl walked away from the base he was stationed on in June 2009, after leaving an angry email to his parents, and the efforts to search for him diverted needed helicopters and other assets needed to have shut down the outpost, delaying its closure until after the attack on October 3, 2009.

The book is a gripping read that tells of the amazingly heroic acts of troops stationed at the outpost, including many who won Medals of Honor for their actions at the Base such as Sergeant First Class Jared Monti, killed while on a mission near the outpost and awarded the medal posthumously for his gallantry that day, and Sergeant Clinton Romesha, and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter who earned their Medals of Honor in the Battle of Kamdesh itself. Take the time to read their citations and reflect on their outstanding acts of selflessness and bravery beyond all expectation.

In addition, nine other soldiers earned the Silver Star in the pivotal battle, and eight Distinguished Flying Crosses were awarded to the pilots that bravely risked themselves to provide vital air support to help beat back the attack.

Vividly written and detailed, the book is highly recommended for its detailed look at Combat Outpost Keating and its narrative of events from its founding through the Battle of Kamdesh, and its telling of the valor of the troops there whose stories certainly deserve to be read and remembered.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's A Problem.

Old NFO had a video posted yesterday of a USMC Harrier pilot earning his flight pay.

Here's a video of another crew earning their pay and demonstrating what happens when the right engine of a Boeing 757 meets a bird on takeoff.

The calm professionalism of the crew, the tower, and rescue and how they worked the problem is impressive indeed. This sang-froid was no doubt helped by having British accents.

Very nicely done gentlemen.

A Time Of Calm - A Coin Of Probus

Peace was a rare commodity in the Roman World, so any cessation of hostilities foreign and domestic, however short-lived, was worth commemorating.

Obverse: IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG (Imperator, Caesar, Marcus Aurelius Probus, Pius Felix Augustus) Radiate, Draped Bust of Emperor Probus right.

Reverse: CLEMENTIA TEMP (Clementia Temporum - a time of peace and calm) The Emperor standing right, holding Scepter, receiving Winged Victory on Globe from Jupiter, standing left and also holding Scepter.

The B in the lower center is the Antioch Mint Officina mark, and the XXI in exergue is not a mint mark, but instead a value marking. It means the coin was made from a ratio of 20 parts bronze to 1 part silver, or 5% Silver.

This antoninianus is in practically uncirculated condition with full silvering, just as an inhabitant of the Imperium Romanum would have seen it when freshly minted. The portrait of the emperor is nice and crisp with excellent detail. Lovely condition for a coin that's over 1,700 years old.

Compared to the prior coin that has had significantly more wear over time with the silver wash worn away and with it showing the bronze underneath.

In the throes of the high inflation that gripped the Roman world at the time, millions of these coins were minted to keep up with the demand for money. Many have survived in everything from miserable to excellent condition and all stages in between, and are easily obtainable for a starting collector of Roman coins.

Detroit News' Dale Hansen Falls For Mother Jones' Anti-Gun Debunked Study

Dale Hansen, the Detroit News' reliably leftist columnist, falls for another lefty fraud that reinforces leftists' preconceptions about gun control:

The Detroit News: Better an unarmed survivor than a dead hero

He accepts without question Mother Jone's already debunked study that alleges a "good guy with a gun has never stopped a massacre".

Um, no, even the Weekly Standard points out this Mother Jones study is bunkum.

Is it True Armed Civilians Have Never Stopped a Mass Shooting?

Of course Mother Jones cooks the books right off the bat - 4 people have to be dead before any good guy can stop it to count as a good guy stopping a mass shooting according to their methodology. So, if you prevent any deaths from happening, or stop the bad guy after only 1 to 3, it doesn't count.

Think about the inanity of that qualifier.

Hansen of course could have found this out in 5 seconds or less using teh Google, but he has an agenda to push, not facts.

He then ends his idiotorial with another bald faced lie, this time of his own making:

You don’t have to support a repeal of the 2nd Amendment to recognize that in most states you are required to present more information to vote or own a car than you need to purchase a gun.

Wait a minute, I thought even the idea of showing ID before voting was verboten to Hansen and those like him. Clearly, Hansen has never heard of things like Form 4473, NICS checks and the like, nor the fact that you can indeed privately buy a car from someone without any id at all, and that you can register to vote with nothing more than a copy of a utility bill - by mail.

Just a few less lies and untruths next time Mr. Hansen, ok?

Bankrupt Detroit To Give Union Member Employees Raises

The city is not even out of bankruptcy yet, and the contract they've negotiated gives a 5% pay raise on July 1, 2014, a 2.5% bonus in 2015 and then 2.5% increases in 2016, 17and 18.

The Detroit Free Press: Unions, city of Detroit ink 5-year contracts with 4 annual pay raises

In return for the rather impressive raises given the fact that Detroit is after all, bankrupt, the AFSCME will support the "grand bargain" bailout of Detroit.

Wow. Detroiters truly have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

Walking After Midnight Never Leads To Anything Good In Detroit

The Detroit Free Press: 4 men shot - 2 fatally - while walking down street in Detroit, police say

Four men were shot and two of them died after they were fired upon while walking down a street after midnight this morning on Detroit’s west side, police said.

Of course, those shot and with the people who were shot didn't call police, drove themselves to a hospital, and claimed to not know where the shots came from:

The survivors told police they heard gunshots and felt pain, and they didn’t know where the shots were coming from, Moreno said.

The classic heard gunshots, felt pain line.

Any takers on the bet that they really had no idea what happened?

I'm So Glad The UN Has Managed To Solve All The World's Problems.

They must have, as they've taken time out of their busy diplomatic schedule to lambaste Detroit for daring to shut off water to scofflaws in the city that aren't paying.

Oh, half of all the water department accounts in Detroit are delinquent. That along with the extensive history of corruption in squandering and diveritng the funds form the half and the suburbs that do pay is why the water department is in such bad shape.

The Detroit News: UN says Detroit water cutoffs may violate human rights

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, free water (or to be truthful, water paid for by others) is a human right.

Funnily enough, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights doesn't list free water as a human right.

Curiously, the Detroit News did not quote the part from the news release where ther UN further beclowned itself by claiming that “If these water disconnections disproportionately affect African Americans they may be discriminatory, in violation of treaties the US has ratified,” Farha added.

Hard to see how it could be disproportionate, since the city is majority African American, and it will be African Americans doing the shut offs for non-payment by the freeloaders, and one can expect the shut-offs to be likewise proportional.

Just glad to see the UN Human Rights Council Is focusing on the real important human rights violations of the day, even if they only exist in the vile prog's and Tranzis fevered imaginations.

Some People Really Do Prefer To Sit And Curse The Darkness

So yesterday, Governor Snyder signed bills into law that both enhanced firearm record privacy and fixed the stupid law that prevented youths from handling pistols unless their parents were present.

Incremental improvements that we talked about here before.

Of course the usual suspect who we've run into before over at Right MI, while conflating multiple issues and drawing false conclusions in a manner that would make an ADD-addled squirrel jealous, thinks this is somehow a bad thing, and that people in favor of it are apparently in his words Booberus Michiganderus.

Well, ok then.

So, are you going to sit there and curse the darkness, hoping for nirvana and badmouthing all the accomplishments made by the efforts of others (that he will no doubt take advantage of) and insulting them while doing so? After all, that's the easy way.

Or are you going to work to improve firearms rights in Michigan (or your state) and the US by doing you know, actual work like contacting your legislators to support pro-gun legislation, contributing to pro-gun candidates and organizations (cough NRA-ILA, and other effective groups, cough)?

What The Heck Did I Just See?

Over at Of Arms and The Law, Mr. David Hardy has a link to what may be the latest head-scratcher video to come out of the Middle East:

L.A. Gangbangers head to Syria

Click the link to see a crazy mash-up of LA-style gun handling skills and gang-banger color commentary on display in Syria of all places.

Yes, really.

If anything, the typical gang-banger's gun-handling skills have gotten even worse as they've picked up Arab insurgent techniques, including the renowned Over-the-head In-sh'Allah shooting technique to incorporate into their mad skillz as they shoot in between swear words.

Still No Confirmation That The Elusive Griffon Shipwreck Has Been Found

The Detroit News: Explorer says Griffin shipwreck may be found in Lake Michigan

There's still no confirmation that the debris he has found in lake Michigan is La Salle's long-lost ship the Griffon or not.

The Great Lakes seems reluctant to give up the location of their longest-missing European shipwreck.

It's Stupid Criminal Monday

Stupid Criminal #1 Michelle Morales-Gonzales, serves as a warning that you should never, ever pretend to be a Fed, and then she went beyond just pretending that:

The Detroit Free Press: Fake agent strip-searched boy, forced family to give urine samples, feds say

A wild and bizarre impersonation tale is unfolding in federal court, where a northern Michigan woman is accused of pretending to be a federal agent, searching people’s homes for suspected drug use, detaining residents for hours and forcing them to give urine samples in 7-Eleven cups for drug testing.

She also ordered strip searches, the government says, alleging she once forced a 16-year-old boy to strip down to his underwear so she could check for needle track marks.

My bet, serious mental problems or just a bad case of wannabee-fed-itis.

This stupidity may result in up to a three-year sentence for impersonating a Fed and making false arrests and searches.

Remember folks, don't be a wannabee.

Stupid Criminal #2, Emma Czornobaj, Our next and even more stupid criminal, caused death over ducks.

Yes, ducks.

The Detroit Free Press: Woman who stopped for ducks faces life in prison

A Canadian woman parked her car on a Montreal-area highway in 2010 to help a group of ducklings; almost four years to the day later, Emma Czornobaj was on Friday found guilty of causing the deaths of a motorcyclist and his passenger daughter who smashed into her car.

She parked her car in the left lane of a highway!

She stopped for the purpose of getting out and ushering ducks across a highway. Instead of letting Darwin take its course on the avian world, she caused the death of two people who crashed into her stopped vehicle that was freakin' parked in the fast lane of a highway.

I'm not sure how we're going to top that act of criminal stupidity, but I'm sure an even more stupid criminal will come along. After all, if you read the comments in the Freep article, you'll see a multitude of people defending this idiot, so there's a healthy population of stupid out there from which our next criminal may arise.

Quiet Sunday Stuff

The day started with Abby taking me for a bicycle ride immediately after my wake-up cup of coffee.

She's come a long way in a short while, from stopping at getting off the bike at any steep hill to now gleefully tearing down them at speed. She's also getting better going uphill as well, as she just learned what bikes down the hill must bike back up the hill.

We rode around for a few miles, stopped to get some chocolate and assorted sundries and headed back home after about an hour ride. This being my first time on a bike in a couple years, that was just about right.

Then Jett got a visit from his best friend Rocky and they proceeded to tear it up, including their favorite game of stick-of-war.

They took a water break with each of them lapping from the biowl at the same time with no problems, and then went right back to it.

Then after a good long playtime including rapid laps around the house, they both laid down panting happily beside each other until it was time for Rocky to head home.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

Not So Semper FIDES - A Coin Of Probus

Obverse: IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG. (Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Augustus) Large bust of the Emperor in armor facing right and wearing a double diadem.

Reverse: FIDES MILITVM. (The loyalty of the Armies) III in exerge. Personification of Fides standing facing right, holding a legionary standard in each hand.

Mint mark is III for the Lugdunum mint in Gaul, today known as Lyon. The III indicates the third officinae produced this coin.

The loyalty of the armies was of paramount concern to a Roman emperor, especially in the third century when they were keenly aware of how often emperors were overthrown my their own legions. After all, Probus had just led his army to overthrow the prior emperor Florian in 276 just three months after Florian had been elevated to the purple.

Since much of the monies minted in this period was for legionary pay, propagandizing the military virtues of the emperor, his victories against enemies of Rome, and appealing to the loyalty of the armies as in this coin were very necessary endeavors.

Unfortunately, in 282 AD, the loyalty of the armies to Probus ran out and he was murdered by his own soldiers in Sirmium.

This is an interesting reverse variation because most of the cataloged coins of the Fides Militvm series have Fides facing left, not right.

To Colorado Governor - Apology Not Accepted

Fox News: Colorado governor tries to apologize for gun control measures, blames staff, then curses

Proving the adage that a politician only sees the light when you show 'em the heat, Colorado Governor Hickenlooper is trying to "apologize" for his signing of the onerous, ineffective and downright unconstitutional anti-gun legislation into law.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s awkward attempt to patch things up with his state’s sheriffs over his support of controversial gun control legislation isn’t going as planned.

The governor, a Democrat, offered a series of unusual explanations during a meeting he held last Friday with a group of Colorado sheriffs for why he signed legislation that restricts the sale of ammunition magazines of more than 15 rounds.

First, Hickenlooper blamed his staff for not anticipating the opposition on gun control. He then apologized for his staff’s inability to effectively communicate and promised to do better in the future. ...

Hickenlooper also said he felt pressure to sign the bill into law because a member of his staff “made a commitment.”

“To be honest, no one in our office thought it would get through the legislature,” he said. “There were several Democrats who said without question they weren’t going to vote for it.”

The measure passed the Democrat-controlled legislature. No Republicans voted for it.

Last year, Hickenlooper spoke in favor of gun-control measures that called for background checks for all firearm sales as well as transfers.

Could it be the recall of a couple anti-gun Colorado senators and an upcoming election have anything to do with this faux apology?

Throwing your staff under the bus for your failings is always a class act by a politician and implies he can't even control his own staff, and given Hickenlooper's record of being in favor of these bills his apology rings hollow.

If you want your apology accepted Governor, you can state that your signing of the bill was wrong and that you'll sign a repeal of the law and that you want that repeal bill on your desk post-haste. Until you do that, it's quite clear that you're not really apologizing at all.

Hoist, Meet Petard.

It seems like the push for action and airstrikes in Iraq is running into a bit of an intelligence problem:

The Detroit News: CIA facing gaps in Iraq as it hunts for militants.

The CIA and other spy agencies are scrambling to close intelligence gaps as they seek ways to support possible military or covert action against the leaders of the al-Qaida-inspired militant group that has seized parts of Iraq and threatens Baghdad’s government.

The lack of clear intelligence appears to have shifted President Barack Obama’s immediate focus away from airstrikes in Iraq because officials said there are few obvious targets. However, officials said no final decisions had been made and suggested Obama ultimately could approve strikes if strong targets do become available.

Hmm, now why could this be?

Obama’s decision-making on airstrikes has been complicated by intelligence gaps that resulted from the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq in late 2011, which left the country largely off-limits to American operatives. Intelligence agencies are now trying to close gaps and identify possible targets that include insurgent encampments, training camps, weapons caches and other stationary supplies, according to U.S. officials.

So in the rush to declare victory and leave, Obama deliberately failed to obtain a Status of Forces Agreement to keep troops in place and ripped up the very intelligence networks he needs now to act intelligently to provide air strikes requested by the Iraqi government.

Well, at least now we know what could possibly go wrong with that.

Your Captain Obvious Headline Of The Day

Gaze on past the defensive and petulant Obama headline of "I don't need permission" (otherwise known as: Don't try to stop me), and look down a bit and you'll find your Captain Obvious headline of the day:

No, really?

Yes, CNN's headline on the missing Flight 370 really is "Experts: Flight 370 is in a different spot."

Brilliant deduction there Sherlock. If it wasn't in the spot, it has to be in a different spot, right?

Sheesh, journalists today.

M1 Rail To Nowhere Looking For More Of Other People's Money

Light Rail is nirvana for the SWPL folks.

It's apparently such a draw that you can cancel it, but it keeps coming back again.

Even at 3 miles it's supposedly the little engine that could bring economic development to Detroit, just by existing and going up and down the three mile strip.

Even this crazy expensive light rail to nowhere is considered awesome. It's backers were all ready to go until they re crunched the numbers and realized they didn't get all the federal money up front they thought they would receive and were short $12 million out of the $173 million:

The Detroit News: Detroit's M-1 rail project in jeopardy without millions in new fed funding

The $173 million dollar, three mile light rail project on Woodward, down from the originally planned 8 miles of rail at $371 million just realized that they're short about $12 million in initial start costs and need it from the Feds to get the project started.

At $8,000 a foot, 57.6 Million per mile, it's costing about ten million more per mile to build the smaller system than the original 8 mile system. Expect the inevitable cost overruns to jack it up even more.

The Woodward Light rail project is looking like a case of the politician's syllogism:

We must do something mass transity to show what a cool place we are.
The M-1 Rail project is something mass transity (for all of 3 miles and an unknown amount of riders with millions of annual subsidies to be determined).
Therefore We must build it.

Another Detroit project that goes nowhere yet will be subsidized forever.

US Navy to Dive Houston

The wreck of the World War 2 heavy cruiser USS Houston that is.

Fox News: US Navy divers to visit wreck of USS Houston in Indonesia

A ship of the ABDA fleet in February 1942, she was sunk, along with HMAS Perty in the Battle of the Sunda Straight in a night action where she was outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed at night fighting.

696 men on the Huston were killed, and 368 survived to become prisoners of the Japanese and many of them died from maltreatment at their captor's hands.

Resting at 125 feet under water, the wreck is just inside the safe diving range for recreational divers, and as such the Navy is concerned that scavengers may be pillaging the wreck. The USS Houston is a war grave and should only be visited with the utmost respect, not for the scavenging of artifacts.

The U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch will provide a report of the survey completed by the divers.

Happy Birthday Jett!

Hard to believe, but Jett is now a one-year-old.

I remember first seeing him at the farm where he was born, and taking him home last August.

From a little fur-ball to a great pup, he's grown into an excellent family dog indeed.

Tonight he'll get a meaty dinner and then a frosty paws as a birthday treat.

Quick! The Emperor Probus Is Coming. Look Busy.

The Emperor Probus was quite a mobile emperor.

Obverse: IMP PROBVS AVG. (Imperator Probus Augustus). Emperor facing right in armor with double diadem.

Reverse: ADVENTVS AVG (The arrival of the Augustus). Emperor on horseback facing left, right hand raised in greeting, left hand holding a scepter, captive at the horse's front feet and RXZ in exerge.

The Mint Mark R(star)Z is for (R) Rome, Z is zeta or seventh officinae, the mint sub-office where the coin was minted, and the star is a control mark. The green flecks you see on the reverse is verdigris, the result of the underlying bronze being exposed to air for a long time, in this case about 1737 years.

The Adventus series of coins commemorate the visit of the emperor to the city designated in the mint mark of the coin. In this case, the coin was minted for his arrival to Rome in 277 AD.

Other cities featured in the Adventus series include Ticinum (Italy), Siscia (Croatia), Lugdunum (in Gaul), Serdica (now Sofia, Bulgaria), and Cyzicus (western Turkey), which indicates a fair bit of traveling for the Emperor.

Coins of Probus are very fun (and affordable) to collect. There's lots to choose from given the variety of types, legends and symbols that appear on his coins. There are 12 different obverse legends alone, and the emperor can be depicted in various types of armor, helmet and weapons, and that's just on the obverse of the coin. On the reverse are multiple types and lots of different mint marks and legends.