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Viewing 1 - 9 out of 15 Blogs.
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 I just want to bring back the memory of all of those US Air Force servicemen who lost their lives during the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996.
The AL-Khobar Towers is a housing complex which was built by the Saudi government in the city of Al-Khobar Saudi Arabia. The complex was built to house bedouins (desert nomads) who live in the deserts of that country. The bedouins did not want to be put in public housing because they are highly independant. The complex stood empty and was initially used to house us as we returned from the deserts after the completion of Operation Desert Storm. It was very obvious to me that the majority of the Saudi population certainly had no love for us and did not want us there in their country. I can't say that I blame them because I certainly would not want to see any foriegn Army occupying this country. Some tried to be civil but many were openly hostile to our presence. In 1996 the complex was being used to house various military personnel from different nations. The bombing was an attempt by Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (Party of God in the Hijaz) to get foriegn military forces to leave the country. The attack which killed 19 US servicemen and 1 Saudi was carried out by loading a fuel tanker with explosives, parking it outside of building #131, and blowing it up. The terrorists initially tried to enter the compound but had to park the vehicle outside when they were denied access. US security personnel had noticed suspicious activities outside of the compound on several occassions but the US was denied permission by the Saudi government to conduct any actions outside of the compound. On the night of the bombing Air Force Staff Sergeant Alfredo Guerrero saw the activity. He immediately alerted his superiors, and started to evacuate the building. His actions were credited with saving dozens of lives. It is believed that Osama bin Laden had some part in the planning and conduct of the attack. The purpose of a Custom Air Force Ring is one way to commemorate service personnel for their acts of valor. It is also another way to commemorate the service that they have given for this country.
Tags: Bedouins Custom Air Force Ring Khobar Towers Khobar Towers Bombing Oper
 Now grasshopper you may ask me what in the world is an AH-1Z Viper? Well hopefully I have some information that some of you may not have yet, which will make you have to listen to me for a minute or two. Let the military ring man enjoy his small moment of glory. The AH-1Z Viper is the latest rendition of the helicopter which came into action during the Vietnam war which was known as the AH-1 Cobra. The Army developed the Cobra which turned out to do much justice in that environment. So naturally it began to go through evolutions of improvement which brings us to where we are today. The single most obvious difference is that the Viper or Zulu Cobra is a twin engine chopper. the reason for this is that the Marine Corps wanted to use the Cobra but they wanted the twin engine design to make it more reliable during seaborne operations. This Attack Helicopter has not been fielded yet but it will replace the Super Cobra which is in use now. I have never seen this aircraft personally so I can't tell you what looked most impressive to me. When I compare the two I think that the biggest improvements are the avionics, improvements in the cockpit display, and the way that it can can be configured for battle. Some improved features are a 4 blade rotor system which is also improved in design. The other thing that jumped out at me was the digital cockpit which has (check this out) electro optical sensors in an integrated weapons platform. What I think this means is that all the pilot has to do to aim at a target is to look at it. The range and accuracy of its weapons systems has also been greatly improved. The Viper can also engage targets during the day or night. The range of the Viper is 370 nautical miles. It can be configured with a variety of weapons. The way it is configured will depend on the tactical situation but it can be armed with 70mm Hydra 70 rockets, up to 2 AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missiles, and up to 16 AGM-114 Hellfire air to surface missiles. Don't forget to add the M197 Gatling Gun which it is also armed with. There you have it, one bad mamma jamma.
Tags: AH-Z Vipermilitary RingAh-1 Cobra
 The M777 howitzer is the newest addition to the Army's field artillery arsenal. This howitzer is lightyears ahead of anything that we had in my day and it will definitely increase the effectiveness of Field Artillery in combat.
There are several advantages to this system the first of which is versatility. This howitzer is lighter than the M198 which it replaces, it is more stabil during firing because it has 5 contact points with the ground rather than the 3 that the M198 has. This decreases displacement when it is fired thus improving accuracy. This cannon is also called the Non Line of Sight Cannon. One of the greatest advantages of this weapon system is that it only requires a 2 man crew. This is definitely a plus, but as a former soldier I ask the question "What happens when something breaks down?" Which I'm sure has already been addressed by the Army. I was watching a documentary on this howitzer last night and the one thing that really impressed me was that this howitzer can fire multiple rounds at different trajectories so that they will all hit the ground at the same time. This in itself is amazing. This means that 1 M777 can do the same work as an entire battery of M109 howitzers in my day. Nows thats deep. I have seen this done by well trained mortar crews but keep in mind that the mortar has a much faster rate of fire than a howitzer. Also I have never seen a mortar crew do this with more than 2 rounds. The last thing that I will mention today is that this howitzer can fire a rocket propelled projectile which is GPS guided which will definitely add to its 25 mile range. I think that there should be a new side panel created for the custom artillery rings that we produce.
Tags: M777 HowitzerM198
 The purpose of this post is to explain the difference in the types of artillery that the military uses.
First of all there are Guns. Guns are chacterized by their longer tubes and the flat trajectory of their rounds when fired. An example of guns are those used on Navy Battleships. Guns have long tubes and a higher velpcity when fired. Guns are direct fire weapons. They have to aim directly at the target that they are shooting at. Even if they can't see the target they can adjust their aimpoint higher but they must have a direct line of sight to the target. Howitzers are the next type of artillery. They are indirect firing systems in that they aim at a man made object rather than the actual target that they are shooting at. Howitzers have shorter tubes and less muzzle velocity. They can be used as direct fire weapons, but are not quite as effective as guns when used this way. The round fired from a howitzer is lobbed at the target. One great advantage of this is that the howitzer can hit targets which are hidden behind a natural object such as a hill or mountain whereas a gun can't. The angle of fire gives the howitzer greater range. Last but definitely not least is mortars. Mortars have very short tubes and fire their rounds at angles greater than 45 degrees. The round is dropped into the tube of the mortar where the firing pin located in the tube ignites the explosive charge and propels the round. Mortars can be fired much faster than artillery but are limited in range. One big advantage is that they can engage targets in deep defilade, for example right next to the back side of a hill or mountain. Which no other form of artillery may be able to engage. There you have it you can see my artillery heritage. Every person who has served in the Armed Forces can tell you the story of their service. Many of us have taken the time to create a custom military ring to do so.
Tags: Gfunshowitzersmortarscustom Military Ring
 Gather round young warriors and let me tell you a story that many of you may not have heard. The Doolittle Raid is named in honor of LTC James "Jimmy" Doolittle who planned it and was responsible for its conduct.
This was a WW11 event whose purpose was more political than military. It was meant to injure the morale of the Japanese people by showing them that they were vulnerable to direct attack. At the same time it was to boost US morale by retaliating for the Japanese attack on the US mainland at Pearl Harbor. I think a lot of it was just plain old hurt pride also. Anyway the pilots and crewmen who volunteered to participate in the raid knew that their chances for survival were slim, and some of them were killed. The plan was to use B-25 bombers to bomb the Japanese homeland and to land in China. Well as all of you who have been affiliated with the military know things never go according to plan. The bombers had to launch early due to the fact that their carrier was spotted by a Japanese trawler which did in fact turn out to be a spy ship. So now the aircraft which could barely hold enough fuel for the initial mission had to be launched from farther off of the Japanese coast. The bombers had to be stripped of all heavy armanent to be able to fly off of the carrier (USS Hornet) in the first place. Most of them ended up in Japan because they couldn't make it to China, and 1 ended up in Russia. I don't know if this operation achieved it's goals. There had to be some effect on Japanese and American morale but was it worth the lives of the crewmen who were lost and captured. I'm not trying to speculate here one way or the other but those brave crewmen do need to be remembered which is one of the purposes of this blog. Another way of remembering past hstoric events is thru the use of a custom pilot's ring. The story of these airmen should not be forgotten by any means. We ought to remember the sacrifices of all who have served i the US Armed Forces.
Tags: Doolittle Raidpearl HarborB-25 BombersUSS Hornetcustom Pilot's Ring
This is some more information from the military ring man that I thought you would find interesting. It's amazing to me when I consider just how advanced our technology has gotten we may not have the biggest military in the world, but there is no doubt that it is the best. Directed Energy weapons are weapons which use directed energy rather than projectiles to take out an enemy target. They don't necessarily kill but at a minimum they will incapicitate. They can distract or disorient the enemy long enough for the user to get him under control or they can be used to kill. Directed energy weapons use concentrated energy as the projectile rather than a physical object. Some directed energy sources are lasers, sound, or electrons. The military is currently using some directed energy weapons and experimenting with others. One directed energy weapon is the LRAD, or Long Range Acoustic Device. This device focuses sound into a concentrated beam and focuses it directly on the target. This hypersonic sound is many times louder than traditional sound waves and causes extreme discomfort. It is being used in Iraq and has other applications as well, such as on ships, where it is used to ward off pirate attacks. Another such weapon is called The Stun Strike. This weapon focuses a concentrated beam of static electricity which functions as a stun gun when it comes into contact with a human being. Laser Beams are also used to direct concentrated light energy onto a target. The Airborne Laser (ABL) is used primarily to take out ballistic missiles. It is quite large and must be transported by a 747. It uses several smaller beams to find and compute flight data for the missile before the larger laser knocks it out. The Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) is smaller and can be used by fighter pilots against smaller missiles, other aircraft, and ground equipment and personnel. Last is the Tactical High Energy Laser which is ground mounted and is used by ground units. This weapon is primarily used to protect friendly forces from rockets and missiles. There are other variations of these weapons such as the Particle Beam Weapon, but it seems that lasers will be the primary directed energy weapons of the near future.
 The withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq meant just that to the Iraqis, a total withdrawal. Iraqi forces have experienced some violence in the cities since US troops have withdrawn but it dosen't seem to be anything that they can't handle
They have banned our troops from their cities entirely except for supply convoys. They are not asking for much help at all when it comes to battling insurgents. I think that this is a wonderful sign. They seem to be showing pride in their new government and their ability to handle their problems which is just what we need in order for our soldiers to be able to come home soon. There seem to be indications that they may require a minimum amount of assistance with some intelligence gathering, but all else seems to be going well. Hopefully this crises will soon become a distant memory to all of us. We can choose to create a custom Operation Iraqi Freedom ring to remind us of the time spent in the defense and rebuilding of that country, and just having a keepsake of that time is much better than having to be involved in that conflict.
Tags: Custom Military Ringsoperation Iraqi Freedomoperation Enduring Freedom
 There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed three thousand people three meals a day; they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day; and they can carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships, how many does France have?" The moral of this story is that military personnel can do more than destroy stuff. Our modern military is multifaceted and the world should recognize that by now. Many military personnel and even those who are not on active duty will wear a military service ring to display their affiliation.
Tags: Engineersfrance
  In both the Army and the Marine Corps this is the highest enlisted rank. The Sergeant Major is the biggest, baddest, oldest, and ugliest, enlisted soldier in the Battalion. The Command Sergeant Major is the senior enlisted advisor to the Battalion level (or higher) commander. He or she represents all of the enlisted people in the unit. The top dog (enlisted) in the Army or the Marine Corps is called Command Sergeant Major of the Army (Marine Corps).
In my military experience the Command Sergeant Major was highly respected by both officers and enlisted soldiers and was treated with reverence even by high ranking officers. He is the example of wisdom and strength to all in the command. He had to rise above a multitude of others to attain the rank of Sergeant Major and he is the most experienced soldier in the unit. There are many companies that have designed Sergeant Majors Rings to commemorate this rank.
Tags: Sergeant Major
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