A Balanced Budget Amendment

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Here is an excellent piece from the CATO Institute on why the US needs a Balanced Budget Amendment.   It includes this awesome graphic illustrating the way our national debt has grown over the last thirty-years.   After looking at that can anyone doubt that America as a nation needs to quit borrowing money and spending it like a drunk sailor on Liberty?  The issue with America, specifically our government, is that they have gotten addicted to spending money we don’t have.   I have said for years that if I ran my personal accounts like the government does theirs I would be in jail for fraud.   It is … More after the Jump…

More Research Needed On Veterans Health Issues

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More Research Needed On Veterans Health Issues By: Doug Karr, USN Veteran Operations Desert Storm & Desert Shield The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are nearly 25 million veterans currently living in the United States. Nearly $60 billion is spent on federal programs for veterans, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is in addition to funding from individual states. Despite such efforts, there are still many health issues facing veterans today. A recent report released by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee shows that many veterans are facing disability and mental health issues. The report states an urgent need for services to deal with such conditions as … More after the Jump…

Military Uniforms

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As I was getting ready for work this morning I started thinking about military uniforms and what their purpose is. I have heard all the typical reasons such as discipline, Esprit de Corps, identification, distinctiveness, economy, and of course, uniformity. The more I thought about it the more it hit me that the main reason for a uniform and also the most practical one to my mind is that of battlefield identification or simply being able to tell friend from foe. I think the discipline and Esprit parts of having a uniform are natural outgrowths but are not essential as elements. Uniforms have been around for literally thousands of years … More after the Jump…

The Preparedness of the First Crusade

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The First Crusade was arguably the most successful of the various numbered crusades; however, they were not particularly well equipped for a campaign in Asia Minor.   It is no surprise that they were not, as the climate in Anatolia is completely different from Europe.   What is amazing is the way in which the crusaders persevered in spite of the hardships they had to endure throughout the march across Asia Minor. The main crusader army seems to have had an appreciation for the difficulties involved in a march across Anatolia; no doubt; the counsel of the Byzantine emperor, Alexius I Comnenus (1081–1118) was helpful in their choice of march … More after the Jump…

Book Review: On Roman Military Matters by Vegetius

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This little tome by the Roman scholar Flavius Vegetius Renatus was written sometime in the 5th Century A.D. and is known by several titles, the original Latin title is De re Militari but is variously known as the Epitome of Military Science and On Roman Military Matters, the copy I have uses the latter title. This is one of the few works that survived from antiquity in continuous publication, if you will. It was used as a text on military operations throughout the Middle Ages and has survived to this day. Just about every king, noble, and military leader of the Middle Ages had a copy of this book and … More after the Jump…

A Great One from the WSJ

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The First Rule of Liberalism: Government failure always justifies more government. That is one of the best lines I have seen in a while. Thanks to the Best of the Web Team at the Wall Street Journal for coming up with it. It is just about as good as Reagan’s famous nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

Germany’s Current Strategic Position

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At the present time, Germany is in a strategic position unparalleled in its history.   The German state shares no borders with any potential enemies in the near future.   Historically Germany has had to contend with one or more enemies sharing contiguous borders with it and rarely has Germany been able to count on outside help in combating these enemies.   As a continental as opposed to maritime power this situation is unprecedented for Germany with her short coastline and long land borders.   Historically Germany has always shared a border with at least one enemy whether at peace with them or not. The list of historical enemies is … More after the Jump…

Last Shuttle Mission

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The last shuttle mission will go up on Friday July 8th. The Mission, STS-135 by Space Shuttle Atlantis will the 135th and final shuttle mission and mark the end of an era at NASA. What is really pathetic is the fact that their is no follow on manned orbiter for the US space program. We, the US, has ceded the lead in space to Russia and China and probably Japan. The president has decreed that henceforth the US will depend on other countries and private companies to put American Astronauts into orbit. That is just pathetic and I cannot understand the logic behind that decision. Everybody should have to observe … More after the Jump…

The American Way of War – My Opinion

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The American Way of War was introduced as a concept by Russell Weigley in his book of the same name during the early 1970’s.   Essentially the theory runs that America attempts to totally dominate her enemies in war thus ending the war.   The American method of achieving this during and since World War II has been through the judicious application of firepower; that is, overwhelming force directed against an enemy. American doctrine as it developed during and after World War II stresses the use of maximum force at the point of decision.   This is not much different from other nations doctrine, what makes it different is the … More after the Jump…

145th Anniversary of the Battle of Königgrätz

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Since I wrote my MA thesis on the Battle of Königgrätz I figured I would put up a post here noting that today is the 145th anniversary of the battle, which was fought on July 3rd. The battle was significant for many reasons but the most notable is that it marked the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire against the Prussians and thus signified the start of undisputed Prussian leadership of what would become modern Germany. After Königgrätz all the German states had no choice but to fall in line behind the Prussian Confederation and conform to Prussian practices. It was the culminating battle of the second of the Wars of German Unification … More after the Jump…

Was the Franco-Prussian War Modern?

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The Franco-Prussian war was a modern war although it was not the first of Europe’s modern wars.   The Franco-Prussian war was also not a total war because while it was intensive in manpower while it lasted, its limited duration did not force a radical reorganization of both countries economies in order for it to be waged. In order to determine whether the Franco-Prussian war was a modern war or not we must define what a modern war is.   Is it a war in which all the modern implements of war as well as the modern methods of raising armies are employed?  Is it a war in which all … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Stars at War

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The Stars at War is actually three books in one volume; Insurrection, Crusade, and In Death Ground. I first read these about 10 years ago and loved them then. I have since reread them several times and they are well worth it. The story is exciting and never goes where you think it will. It is space opera on a grand scale. Essentially what happens is that the human race has expanded to the stars through a series of warp points and they have discovered that not only is the universe not empty, it is not full of peace loving aliens singing kumbaya either.   In fact, the opposite is … More after the Jump…

Dazzle Camo

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A Mrs. Nora Holloway from the Military Gear Blog (Opennes Note:  The blog links to an an online store so it could be subtle spam)sent me an email a few days asking me to share an article she wrote concerning the history and possible future use of Dazzle Camoflage on military ships and vehicles.   She posits that perhaps there may be a resurgence in the use of dazzle camo based on recent research showing it is marginally effective in low-tech environments.   Dazzle Camo was used extensivley on ships in WWII but for some reason I highly doubt that it will make a comeback. Painting and repainting military vehicles … More after the Jump…

Roman Infantry Attacks

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I recently re-watched the movie Gladiator and was struck again by the lack of historical accuracy in films. This is the scene of which I am writing about. What strikes me about this scene is the way the Romans stood and received the charge of the Germans after marching forward of their fixed defenses. To the best of my knowledge and everything I have ever read, the Romans did not stand and receive a charge in open field battles and especially not when fighting from fixed or field fortifications. Instead, whether attacking or defending; when the enemy was within 20-30m the Legionnaires would throw their Pilums and charge or counter-charge … More after the Jump…

Interesting Article in Stars and Stripes

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I am probably going to get beat up for posting this but here goes anyway. There was an interesting story (attached to the post here) in last Tuesday’s edition of European Stars and Stripes.   It concerned the lack of black heroes in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Two of the experts they interview for the article are John Sibley Butler, a Vietnam vet and business professor and Tyrone Williams the COO of the non-profit Black Veterans for Social Justice, Inc.. First off, I question the premise of the article in the first place, it makes out that somehow black soldiers are being discriminated against in the … More after the Jump…

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