Things that suck

COMCAST! Comcast service sucks, their customer service sucks, and their company sucks. For the past two weeks or so my Internet has been so slow that I would fail if I was in school right now. It is also very annoying when playing online video games. I think Call of Duty 4 is getting old but the moral of the story is Comcast sucks.

On the topic of things that suck. The United States' ability to compete with foreign information warfare. Every time a kid gets killed overseas it is an American's fault according to the local authorities (can you really say authorities yet?). The other day when the Pakistani army was firing on US forces on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan they got lit up. An air strike killed some 11-13 Pakistani army. Pakistan told their people that the United States attack was unprompted. I'm sure this is complete BS if you know what kind of approval you need for a 500 lbs bomb.

These unfortunate souls that live in caves and shanties have been kept uneducated by their own government, hate America because we suck at information warfare. They all go by the WIIFM theory. That's "what's in it for me!" If we can give these people the information we have and some sort of quality of life that will keep everything peaceful for a few minutes. Then they will screw it up again but we know that going in.

Here's another idea. Let's quit kissing Israel's rear and maybe the Muslim world won't hate us so much. If anybody knows why we support Israel's every move please let me know.  Anyway, we suck at information warfare and we will continue to suck at it until we start using our technology and help these people out.

Weekend Events

What an interesting weekend.  I ended up going to drill this weekend after all with my new unit. My first impression was pretty harsh but it got a little better as time went on. I took a surprise PT test and it went well considering I just got back from NTC and I'm just getting back into the whole workout routine. I finished first out of about 70 on the run which surprised me. All of the extra running I have been doing has paid off. More on the unit later.

Pat took the 4-wheeler to David for me at church even though I wasn't there. Maybe there is hope for it after all. I can't wait to see what happens after someone that knows what they are doing has a look at it.

The basement project has progressed. I just finished what I consider phase 2, the wiring, and yes it all works. Phase 3 is the step I dread most, drywall. We'll see how it turns out. I may check out some internet tutorials before I dive in.

I'm reading a really good book right now on Afghanistan. Michael Scheuer writes in a very straight forward fashion and he calls people out by name that have not done their job. He was a CIA guy for 20 years and actually holds people accountable. Hopefully this idea will spread.

Vanessa and I had a nice quiet dinner tonight in Cumming. It was great to sit together and talk. We have started doing a nightly devotional and it has been great for both of us.

Remington does it again

They're never first but they always end up with a high-quality product. Remington has introduced their version of the "black rifle." It's the new R-15. I would bet that someone is actually making it for them. Some of the cooler features include a flat-top design, free-float aluminum handguard, muzzel crown, low-profile gas block, single stage trigger, and several I probably can't think of right now. What I am most suprised about is the price; $1199 is somewhat competitive. I believe the only drawback is the current chamberings of the .204 Ruger and the .233 remington. I'm sure Remington has left themselves some room to grow with a similar design somewhere in the future with the .308 case family in mind.

On a different note the basement finishing project is doing very well. Framing is 100% complete and the wiring is half way done. I'll have some pictures posted soon of the progress. I'm very happy with the monster closet that was designed "on the fly." Now all I have left is the rest of the wiring, insulation, flooring, doors, and the ceiling.

6.8 SPC

I'm really excited about this semi-new round. It was created for Special Operations Command to replace the 5.56 because enemy forces are staying in the fight when hit with 5.56. It is essentially a .270 bullet with a .30 Newton case shortened and necked down. This makes a lot of sense because the .270 Winchester is probably the greatest deer round of all. Dad and I have often discussed the ability of the .270 Win to drop deer. I guess this was a low tech. discussion of terminal ballistics. It is probably my favorite cartridge to reload because it was my grandfather's favorite round and he left me an outstanding platform to fire it from.

When the 5.56 inadequacy problem surfaced in Mogadishu (not a big surprise to hunters) SOC was charged to created a rifle that could be fired from the M16/M4 platform. They literally needed it to fit on the 5.56 lower with the same magazine dimensions. They needed more knock-down power and better terminal ballistics. I think they did it right. It is amazing to see how ballistically similar the 6.8 SPC and the 5.56 as far as trajectory is concerned. It is the perfect mix between the shock factor of the 7.62 and the trajectory of the 5.56. I think I have to have one.

There are a few drawbacks. A special waffled magazine is needed for the 6.8 SPC. Also, 6.8 is not a NATO round which limits availability. Also, full accuracy potential cannot be achieved because the overall length of the case ends up being determined by the magazine length.

The 6.8 will never be the service round. I understand the idea behind the 5.56 which is to teach common men with no weapon experience to yield good results on the range and on the battlefield with minimal training. I'll simply be ready to justify the 6.8 SPC if anyone ever asks.

Below is the 6.8 SPC beside the 5.56 NATO (.223 Remington)

Training Material

While sorting through some training material that I aquired from my SF counterparts I found this picture in a briefing. I'm not sure why I love these values posters but they're hilarious. I can see Will York's face on this guy.

NTC Rotation

Well we're back from the beautiful Mojave Desert.  Luckily the 105 degree temperature when we got their slacked off. I'm going to kill the next person that says, "It's a dry heat out there." We had to weigh before we got on the plane and I weigh 240 lbs. with full gear less ruck sack and ammo. This means if it's above 50 degrees it is uncomfortable. Overall the rotation was great. It was fun working with special forces and learning a few things from them and them learning a few things from us. We got some good, realistic training and made contact with people we will see again on deployment. Nobody got hurt and no equipment was destroyed or lost. This is amazing considering the amount of time, the nature of the training, and being 2,502 miles away from home. Here is a pic of myself and some of 3rd Platoon (the best platoon).

In addition to the fun in the sun at NTC Dusty and Lauren Pinion found out that they are expecting. That is awesome. I think Vanessa and I (mostly Vanessa) helped them decided to have a baby before deployment. What a great day.

While out at NTC working with the SF teams I picked the brain of some of their snipers about reloading and weapons.  They were very excited to see a gun dork outside of their community.

My latest craze is from Central Missouri Machine Gun.