Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2026
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Movies in History. Platoon Leader
I keep finding out that there are Vietnam War movies I've never seen. That's probably because a lot of them aren't that good and are therefore obscure. Still, with a movie as bad as The Green Berets being well known, you'd think you'd have heard of them all.
This one was on cable, and I'd never heard of it, so I watched it.
It's pretty bad.
Filmed in 1988, it's apparently based on an actual memoir, but it sort of comes across as an effort to film something like Platoon, but where all the Americans are admirable and on a much smaller budget.
The basic plot follows a young officer as he tried to gain the trust of his men, a theme that's been filmed a zillion times. In this instance, the young lieutenant is assigned to an impossibly badly designed very tiny defense position out in the bush, whose only purpose is to guard a nearby village.
From the outpost, he leads patrols. He's always steadfast. Three career NCOs help him, the distrusting long time sergeant, the sympathetic Christian African American sergeant, and the battle hardened corporal. Back somewhere is his commanding officer, a rather old and crusty major. Officers occasionally pop in to check on the post. Pretty much 100% of the characters are cartoons. Eventually there's a climatic battle. . . like Platoon.
In terms of material details, the film isn't horrible, but like Platoon it features a CAR 15 in the hands of an NCO. Platoon seems to have created the myth that this was common. The same NCO carriers a very large frame revolver, which actually isn't impossible. All of the enemy combatants seem to be NVA regulars for some reason, although they're indicated to be VC regulars, which doesn't make any sense.
Not really worth watching.
Sunday, April 26, 2026
CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 127th Edition. The Dipshit Edition. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus decides the a General officer of the U.S. Army is too "woke" to be the President of UW.
Typical member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus . . in their relaxed clothing, not their Confederate dress uniforms. Ready to spear any thinking that might arise in an educational system.
What a bunch of flaming dipshits. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus decides that the new UW President is too "woke" to serve in that role:
Who is UW's New President?
UW's newest leader criticized for bringing woke academics to West Point
I'll admit, I criticized this choice as well, but not for this reason.
But then I would not have guessed that there would be some people who would try to include in the GOP platform that Wyoming is a "Christian State".
Seriously, this hillbilly dipshitery has got to stop.
Last edition:
CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 126th Edition. The “Go to church. Find Jesus. Why is everyone so horny around here?”
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Friday, April 12, 1946. Chips.
Chips, who had started off his life as a family pet and who went on to be the most decorated American war dog of the Second World War, died. He served in the Algerian-Moroccan, Tunisian, Sicilian, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns and won the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and Purple Heart prior to the military ruling that only human beings could receive such awards.
He was returned to his owners, where he later died, after the war.
Last edition:
Thursday, April 11, 1946. Nostra culpa.
Friday, April 10, 2026
Monday, April 10, 1876. The Army enlists Curly, Denver celebrates with beer.
Colonel John Gibbon enlisted 23 Crow men at Crow Agency (then located on Mission Creek, present day Livingston, MT) to serve as scouts for his Montana Column moving east along the Yellowstone River.
These included the famous Crow Scout Curly (Ashishishe).
He passed away of May 22, 1923.
Married twice, he had one daughter. He has a large number of descendants.
Early Colorado brewers celebrated the centennial with a commemorative bock beer
This week in 1876: The Denver Brewing Company markets its ‘peculiar and superior beverage’ to local saloons
Last edition:
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Tuesday, April 9, 1946. The Bomb, the accused, and pregnant Fräuleins.
The Rocky Mountain News reported on expenses associated with The Bomb.
The tragic story of Viola Elliot was back on the front page. She first appeared there on February 8, 1946, when she gave birth while a prisoner due to the homicide in issue.
As we noted then:
The impacts of the war in addition to the bomb were a story several pages in.
Peacetime conscription had not been a thing prior to 1940 and there remained a lot of opposition to it. Indeed, it would go away for a time.
The plight of pregnant German girls in Munich, made so by American GIs, was seemingly without a solution and without sympathy. By this point the Occupation Authorities were allowing for fraternization, but the U.S. Army was not approving enlisted marriages. The young women seemingly expected help from the Army.
Munich had been Hitler's adopted town, we'd note, which is interesting in context here as the women in question would have become pregnant by American GIs very soon after the end of the war.
Last edition:
Thursday, April 4, 1946. Hirohito lucks out.
Labels: 1940s, 1946, Far Eastern Commission, Hirohito, Marilyn Monroe, Playboy, Standards, War Crimes, Women
Monday, April 6, 2026
Lex Anteinternet: New UW President chosen.
Lex Anteinternet: New UW President chosen.: Today In Wyoming's History: April 2 : 2026 Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, currently the dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Aca...
I posted this the other day.
As noted, I don't feel good about this choice.
What's more, I"m not really sure why I don't feel good about this choice. I just don't.
Part of it is that I'm tired of guys who leave the state, spend 30 years doing something for the Federal Government, and then coming back in when they're darn near retired or retired. But there was very little chance that we were going to get a local for UW President and indeed, for the most part, few locals would be qualified.
Except here, one actually was. The fellow who finished second works for US already and is in agriculture.
For that reason, he seems a better fit to me.
Added to that, right now I'm not trusting military figures too much. We're in an illegal war and it part of the way we got into one is that we have a military that's way too large. That made sense during the Cold War, but it doesn't now. In my view its time to go back to the original military establishment system for the US, which would mean that we'd have very little in the form of a standing Army and a Navy that had to rely on reservists I don't think we need West Point anymore at all.
And I fear that this fellow might have been brought in because of the Freedom Caucus's shots at UW. Where does a serviceman fit in, in that fight.
I dunno.
An article about the topic:
University of Wyoming campus sizes up its next leader, but lack of online access raises questions
I know more than a few guys who were career servicemen and I considered it, so I'm probably just paranoid right now. And its not like I wrote to the Trustees either.
By the way, this is them:
To learn more about each Trustee, including their background, professional experience, and term details, please click on their name. This will take you to a dedicated page with a full biography and additional content about their role on the board. Chairman, Elected May 2024
Appointed 2017; Term expires 2029
District 2, Laramie, WY
Vice Chairman, Elected 2024
Appointed 2015; Term expires 2027
District 4, Sheridan, WY
Treasurer, Elected May 2024
Appointed 2018; Term expires 2029
District 2, Rock Springs, WY
Secretary, Elected May 2024
Appointed 2019; Term expires 2031
District 5, Cody, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2017; Term expires 2029
District 4, Gillette, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2025; Term expires 2031
At-Large, Worland, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2019; Term expires 2031
District 6, Newcastle, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2021; Term expires 2027
District 3, Jackson, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2023; Term expires 2029
District 1, Wheatland, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2015; Term expires 2027
District 1, Cheyenne, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2025; Term expires 2027
At-Large, Pinedale, WY
Trustee
Appointed 2025; Term expires 2031
District 7, Casper, WY
RoseMarie LondonExecutive Director & Deputy Secretary, UW Board of Trustees
Laramie, WY
Saturday, April 4, 2026
New UW President chosen.
Today In Wyoming's History: April 2: 2026 Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, currently the dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, was offered a contract by a vote of the UW Board of Trustees. He accepted.
He beat out finalist Kelly Crane, who has served as dean of the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources since 2024. Crane served UW Extension as an area educator and range specialist from 1994-2002. He was the principal consultant for Frontier Natural Resource Consulting until 2008, when he accepted the position of assistant professor/range extension specialist at the University of Idaho, which he held from 2008-2011. He came back to UW in 2011 as associate director for UW Extension. In 2019, he was appointed associate dean and director of UW Extension.
Reeves was a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He went on to get a law degree from William and Mary in 2003 and is admitted to the Virginia bar. He's been serving as the Dean of the Military Academy. He's originally from Sweetwater County, but obviously hasn't lived there for 30 years.
Hmmm. . .
I think they made the wrong choice.
Anyhow, a news story sets out his early priorities.
Incoming University Of Wyoming President Wants To Build Bridges, Dissolve Drama
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