Free Republic

"Soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have complained that the 9mm round is not powerful enough to be effective in combat. “The 9mm doesn’t score high with soldier feedback,” said Easlick, explaining that the Army, and the other services, want a round that will have better terminal effects — or cause more damage — when it hits enemy combatants. One of the major goals of the MHS effort is to adopt a pistol chambered for a more potent round than the current 9mm, weapons officials said. ..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZHhiOrxxco&feature=youtu.be Ron Schreck is a retired US Airways Captain and also a retired Lt Col who was F-4 pilot in Vietnam and later flew the F-16. The video is him taking off from Gold Hill Airpark, NC, where he lives. He built his RV-7 himself, named "Miss Izzy", and flies it frequently at airshows. Another video - of one of his airshows: From the Cockpit with Ron Schreck Another: EVV, Sunday Performance His team also does the flyby for all Carolina Panthers games.

Two-Hundred and Thirty-eight years ago today They signed their names and history was on its way To be forever set anew upon a pathway none yet "knew". And for the Founders of America fair -- So promising, so hopeful: a dream not yet dared -- Determined to give us Guiding Light, They turned to GOD to guide us right And when in prayer they bent their knee, To seek His wisdom, His guidance be The way to govern our land so fair They turned to Providence, Who is always there. And so a Tribute, to them and to thee For...

FULL TITLE: Were aliens the source of UFOs spotted above Norway in the 1950s? No, says the CIA: ‘That was us’ The CIA has claimed responsibility for various UFO sightings in the 1950s They say lights over Norway can be attributed to their U-2 aircraft The plane began flying in secret from 1955 and remains in operation today It is capable of flying up to 70,000 feet, meaning it was much higher than conventional planes in the 50s and 60s This meant that, when some pilots saw sunlight glint off the planes above them, they reported them as UFOs as...

 I Am an American!             I was born an American. Unlike my grandparents, I was born in the greatest nation in the history of the world. Being born here didn't make me a real American. That took time. I became an American, slowly and decisively over my entire life. I learned to be an American, through experiences, and knowledge, and witness. I remember moments in my life that brought me to the realization that being born here, in America, is one of the the greatest blessing I had been given. As a young boy, I watched as my...

Buried on page 40 of the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military power is a brief mention of the YJ-12, a recent addition to China’s portfolio of anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM). The report notes that, “The new missile provides an increased threat to naval assets, due to its long range and supersonic speeds.” True, but in an understated way. In fact, the YJ-12 is the most dangerous anti-ship missile China has produced thus far, posing an even greater risk to the U.S. Navy’s surface forces in the Western Pacific than the much-discussed DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. The arrival of...

Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic runner and war hero who survived 47 days at sea and three years in a Japanese POW camp after his plane crashed in the Pacific during World War II, died of pneumonia late Wednesday. He was 97. "After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives," Zamperini's family said in a statement, according to Deadline. "His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days." The Olean, N.Y., native's astonishing...

About 14 years ago a B-1 bomber was in here (Billings , MT) doing practice approaches and touch and goes. On one of the landings the pilot sets his brakes on fire. He taxis in, and the airport parks him on a taxiway and then puts cones around him until parts and mechanics can be brought in from Ellsworth AFB the next day. The next day is a Saturday, which doesn’t have much going on, so we get to laughing in the tower that maybe somebody should hang a For Sale sign on the plane. We convince one of our...

Happy Independence Day FReeper FRiends!!!I am posting this on Thursday so we can have some silliness before the Holiday weekend.  Today is the anniversary of the day America broke up with England  To celebrate, I found a little song someone wrote on Tumblr:Cuz if you liked it then you shouldn’t have put your rules on itIf you liked it then you shouldn’t have put that tax on itDon’t be mad once you see our freedom hitIf you liked it then you shouldn’t have badly governed itWo oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh, wo oh...

According to the Obama Administration’s newly released National Climate Assessment, climate change is already impacting communities in every corner of the country, with an increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events – storms, floods, and droughts – and rising sea levels destabilizing the everyday lives of Americans. Worse, the impacts of these changes are accelerating, and they are affecting communities around the world. The Pentagon’s most recent Quadrennial Defense Review warns that “climate change may increase the frequency, scale and complexity of future missions.” Some of the least stable states in the world will face changing weather patterns that...

This year I am so tempted to fly the Yellow, Green and Black Rattlesnake Flag instead of the Red White and Blue, or at the very least fly both and put the Rattle Snake below Old Glory. But I am still trying to decide on it.... In some ways I feel like raising the Red White and Blue is akin to pretending that nothing is wrong in this country and there are a lot of things that are going wrong right now. In some ways it makes me feel like I am surrending to the normalcy bias. I could always...

"Early Tank Ideas to Enormous Pre-WW1 Steam Tanks It all started in the 14th century. We have a record of a "pre-tank" machine,..... Interestingly, the idea of a turtle-like tank shape found its realization much later, in the 1930s, in this Venezuelan armored vehicle:.... .....;

Back in the Middle of June there were calls for a special prosecutor for the VA Scandal (or scandals). In the middle of June, there were calls for a Special Prosecutor for the VA Scandal by Congressmen John Barrow, Bill Cassidy, and Rick Allen. It seems serious crimes have been comitted by people work in the VA System. Whistleblowers have been retaliated against. One article on this is: Barrow, Allen call for special prosecutor Another is: VA SCANDAL: Cassidy Demands Special Prosecutor To Probe VA Abuse There are people that really need to be behind bars or executed over this...

The Navy has its first female four-star admiral. She is Michelle Janine Howard, promoted on Tuesday to the service’s highest rank. […] She will serve as the vice chief of naval operations, which makes her the No. 2 admiral in the Navy behind Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations. …

PORTOLA VALLEY (KPIX) — In the market for a tank, armored bridge carrier, amphibious jeep, or maybe a SCUD missile launcher, complete with attached missile? They can be yours, for a few thousand dollars or up to a few million dollars as the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation auctions off 200 military vehicles from the Littlefield collection, including historic vehicles and armaments from both sides of nearly every armed conflict in the last century.Spread across 460 acres in San Mateo County is late tank collector Jacques Littlefield’s estate, and half of these vintage war machines are heading to a museum. To...

One hundred years ago today a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie. The grand duke — the heir to the Austrian throne — was shot while traveling in what would today be called a motorcade. He was paying an official visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Princip’s action was the trigger for a four-year catastrophe that eventually became known as the Great War or the World War. Later events forced a renaming, and it became the First World War or World War One.Four and...

After recieving a bit of encouragement, I'm starting up a CWII ping-list. Pings will be toward stories that might be the spark, probably with an emphasis on big-government overreach.

On Jun. 7, 2014, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 (Reinforced), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), had to perform Vertical Landing on USS Bataan, after his AV-8B Harrier aircraft experienced a front landing gear malfunction.

The Internet is chock-full of the heartwarming reunions between soldiers and their beloved dogs. But a cat named Finn proves that felines can miss their owners just as much as their canine counterparts. In the adorable video, Finn, one very chatty Ragdoll, paces by the door and meows in anticipation. Finally the door opens and soldier Nick (only identified by his first name in the video) strides in to be enthusiastically greeted by Finn and Nick’s girlfriend, who is filming the reunion on her smartphone. Boo, the couple's Siamese cat, patiently awaits in the background. After Finn rubs on Nick’s...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is making amends to an 89-year-old World War II vet whose monthly veteran benefit check was slashed from $300 to $6 to recoup an overpayment he never knew about.