The miracle of the wounded warrior

Military–industrial complex apologist Daniel Goure, Ph.D. writes: The Army Is Suffering Post-September 11 Traumatic Stress Disorder

One of the great tragedies of the wars of the last decade is the number of people in uniform suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

He then goes on to whine that the contractors who tried to provide weapons that just didn't work weren't given enough money.

My response is: No sir. It is a miracle and a great blessing that we have so many wounder warriors suffering from these conditions who are still with us. In previous conflicts these would be random body parts for the Air Force morgue to misplace.

The United States military has made huge strides in battlefield care since the start of the American Civil War and the result is that we have soldiers who return for tour after tour of duty, long after they have suffered attacks that would have put them in misplaced graves a long time ago otherwise. Hopefully someday we will start to pay just a little bit of attention towards post-battlefield care.

The F-4 Phantom had a favorable exchange ratio

Is The F-35 Strike Fighter The Military Chevy Volt? - Investor's Business Daily, Feb 27, 2012.

As we learned in past conflicts, relying on one-size-fits-all aircraft can be perilous. Our reliance on the carrier-based F-4 Phantom during Vietnam is a case in point. An aircraft designed to hunt down Soviet bombers during the Cold War, it carried missiles but no guns and was ill-suited for dogfights against MiG fighters designed for a single role — that of air superiority.

What a horrible record, of journalistic malfeasance. The facts are that the F-4 Phantom had a favorable exchange ratio over every type of Soviet fighter during the Vietnam war. And this record got even better, once the United States armed forces started training their pilots to use the technological advantages of the F-4.

PBS Newshour does Final Countdown

The video for the PBS NewsHour for Jan 23rd, 2012 did not say "File Footage", which is really really odd, because they showed more than a half dozen F-14s parked on the deck of an aircraft carrier in motion.

Perhaps these were Iranian F-14s?

-HJC

How to identify stealth fighters

Intel Committee launches probe into security threats by China

Prototype of Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter jet that allegedly defeats U.S. defense technology. Much of the technology was stolen from United States.

If only the writer would have looked at the full size image, he would have seen "YF-23" and "U.S. AIR FORCE". The USAF isn't currently part of China. -HJC

Swift is not a LCS

U.S. Shifting Military Forces Closer to China The article isn't too bad, but it includes an image labeled "Littoral Combat Ship" and in this image there is exactly one ship. That ship is clearly marked "HSV 2". The HSV-2 Swift is not a LCS. The Navy used to have a factsheet that compared JHSV vs. LCS, but The Swift isn't a JHSV either. The JHSV design arose out of operations involving The Swift, so it is a lot closer to being a JHSV than it is to being a LCS. -HJC

You want more wanring time, not less.

Taiwan Hawkeye aircraft head for US upgrading

Analysts say all four E-2Ts will be upgraded to the Hawkeye 2000 configuration, further reducing warning time if the Chinese were to launch an air attack on the island.

If the upgrade does not increase the warning time, then why bother with it? -HJC

Pentagon rushes into the asbestos of tomorrow, today.

United States Department of Defense Taps Nanocomp Technologies as Nanomanufacturing Partner

The U.S. Dept. of Defense recognizes that CNT materials are vital to several of its next generation platforms and components, including lightweight body and vehicle armor with superior strength, improved structural components for satellites and aircraft, enhanced shielding on a broad array of military systems from electromagnetic interference (EMI) and directed energy, and lightweight cable and wiring. The Company's CTex(TM) CNT yarns and tapes, for example, can reduce the weight of aircraft wire and cable harnesses by as much as 50 percent, resulting in considerable operational cost savings, as well as provide other valuable attributes such as flame resistance and improved reliability.

Yet another super material promoted by the United States military. What could possibly go wrong?

Study Says Carbon Nanotubes as Dangerous as Asbestos

Oh yeah, that.

-HJC