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Frankly, the book seems far more objectionable to liberal sensibilities than those of conservatives from my perspective - it is a book that justifies xenocide and is on the Marine Corps reading list.

Slashdot Editors: Please refrain from placing direct links to Wikileaks in your articles (or at least please mark them with a follow on disclaimer) in consideration to members of our armed forces who are prohibited from visiting the website.

"Moving the vehicles is a hidden, really tragic problem."

Nice troll, but vehicles usually move by ship and are not crated, since crating would make them much more difficult to handle and serve no purpose. (IHMTTTSB- "I Has Many Trips To The Sand Box").

Most military gear isn't crated, but travels in either generic or purpose-built ISO containers. SOME of those have hardwood floors, but not of valuable mahogany. (/me lubs ISO containers, owns three as shop buildings, and worked out of many while deployed.)

I don't care about your feelings regarding casualties, but your are on a tech forum and shouldn't post misleading information regarding technology used to transport (anything).

https://www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/news/syscomnews.nsf/StoriesDisplay/7383A3E4E9F11DD1852573BE0051E8F1?OpenDocument

For ISO containers, just GIS "military ISO containers" for an overview.

But suddenly I say: and some people want this same government in charge of our military and now I'll be modded troll into oblivion.

Fixed that for ya. Oh wait, still a dumb thing to say...?

The government is a very large and diverse group of people. Some of those people do legitimately deserve to be criticized, but many, many, many of them do not. They do their jobs daily and with excellence, often for little compensation.

To infer that the government would be bad at managing health care because of a single instance of idiotic training materials is an example of woefully poor logic...

Then there are U.S. Government certificate authorities, too many of them. Try, for example, USMC Doctrine Division. The CA is "DOD CA-13". DoD alone has root CAs "CA-5", through "CA-18", and not all browsers know all of them.

For some reason, installing the DOD certificates package will only remove the waring from about half the sites. Additionally, DOD sites routinely do not update certificates when they expire. Drives me nuts.

There's so much certificate misuse. A typical mistake is getting a cert for, say, "*.slashdot.org", and then serving it for "slashdot.org". That will cause a reject. Then there are U.S. Government certificate authorities, too many of them. Try, for example, USMC Doctrine Division. The CA is "DOD CA-13". DoD alone has root CAs "CA-5", through "CA-18", and not all browsers know all of them.

This is a headache for SiteTruth, which uses certificates as a indication of web site validity and a source of business names and addresses. Only certs that are valid, using the Firefox cert file as authority, are accepted. There are more rejects than there should be.

This AC is unambiguously WRONG about DoD policy regarding affirmative action and equal opportunity.

I normally ignore these racist rants from ACs but since it has been modded up as informative by unsuspecting mods, I will respond in brief.

ALL branches of the military have policy and guidelines in place for recruiting, retainment and training of disadvantaged minorities. This is unequivocal FACT.

These policies and guidelines are open and fully available to the general public:

Army: http://www.aschq.army.mil/supportingdocs/p600_26.pdf
Navy: http://neds.nebt.daps.mil/Directives/5354d3.pdf
Air Force: http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/af/36/afpd36-D2/afpd36-D2.pdf
Marine Corps: http://www.29palms.usmc.mil/base/safety/eo/pdf/EO%20Terms%20and%20Definitions.pdf

Some of these are not the official policy/plans but are official documents that do refer to them. I'm not going to burn up the rest of my Saturday night looking wasting time responding to this AC but hope this is enough for those who might believe there is even a shred of truth to this AC's post.

The fact that so many who have served are not aware of the existence of these policies is a testament to the policies' effectiveness. This is one of the few policy level implementations that the military has done right. By the time promotion boards roll around, it is either transparent or nearly transparent to the board members.

I will remind those that care that the "Military" amicus brief filed by military leaders in 2003 during the Grutter vs. Bollinger (University of Michigan) was cited by the Supreme Court as being one of the strongest arguments in favor of affirmative action in higher education.

what security rating does it hold? C2? C3, B2, B3???

This US Navy document from 1995 seems to indicate it was B1 capable then. I think that still applies.

You don't make the case for going to war when you are already in a war.

Very few presidents have gone out of their way to put American soldiers in harms way when the real threat to the US or our allies was difficult to ascertain at best, and those that have are villified in history despite whatever greatness they might have done otherwise.

I would argue that during a CIVIL war domestic spying is nearly unavoidable.

Then again, I ain't all that tough either. =)

https://www.mfp.usmc.mil/TeamApp/SJA/Topics/20051102113719/OPLAW%20HB%20Chapter%202,%20Law%20of%20War.pdf ... Expanding military small arms ammunition - that is, so called 'dum-dum'
projectiles, such as soft-nosed (exposed lead core) or hollow point projectiles - are prohibited by the 1899 Hague
Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets. Although the United States is not a party to this declaration, it has
followed it in conventional military operations through use of full-metal jacketed ammunition. The prohibition on
hollow point/soft nosed military projectiles does not prohibit full-metal jacketed projectiles that yaw or fragment, or
"open tip" rifle projectiles containing a tiny aperture to increase accuracy.
(2) Hollow point or soft point ammunition. Hollow point or soft-point ammunition contain
projectiles with either a hollow point or exposed lead core that flatten easily in the human body, often with skiving,
and are designed to expand dramatically upon impact at all ranges. This ammunition is prohibited for use in
international armed conflict against lawful enemy combatants by the 1899 Hague Declaration mentioned above.
There are situations, however, outside of international armed conflict, where use of this ammunition is lawful
because its use will significantly reduce collateral damage risk to innocent civilians and friendly force personnel,
protected property (hostage rescue, aircraft security), or materiel containing hazardous materials. Military law
enforcement personnel may be authorized to use this ammunition for law enforcement missions outside an active
theater of operations. Military units or personnel are not entitled to possess or use small arms ammunition not issued
to them or expressly authorized. Private acquisition of small arms ammunition for operational use is prohibited.
"Matchking" ammunition (or similar rifle projectiles by other manufacturers) - has an open tip, with a tiny aperture
not designed to cause expansion. The projectile is designed to enhance accuracy only, and does not function like a
hollow or soft point. It is lawful for use across the conflict spectrum, but may not be modified by soldiers (such as
through opening up the tiny aperture to increase the possibility of expansion).

"Each user will be assigned a login ID and password for the Windows NT system"

"The SIPRNET workstation may be used to download files from the SIPRNET. Anti-virus software has been installed and runs as a TSR program .. Any files downloaded to floppy or printed must be entered into the Automated Security Control Program (ASCP) by Document Control personnel"

Imagine if the military were not only not dependent on foreign oil, but could easily, cheaply, and quickly create their own bio d in the field?

40 gallons per acre of cultivated soybeans. 504 gallons to fill a single Abrams tank.

See any soybeans in this image?

Tank on the go

KFG

Microsoft does it. Going to https://licensing.microsoft.com/ in Firefox asks whether or not you want to trust the certificate.

The US military does it. Going to https://www.mol.usmc.mil/ in either IE or Firefox asks if you want to trust the cert.

I'm not sure about IIS, but openssl certainly has a mechanism for signing your own ssl certs, as do load balancers with ssl acceleration support. Commercial, "trusted" ssl certs seem to be useful primarily for preventing security warning popups.

From my own experience with Equifax (currently GeoTrust & soon to be Verisign thanks to acquisitions and consolidation) I know that it took them years to get their root certificate added into the Java keystore. Any application using a not-very-current version of the jdk will still generate errors when faced with GeoTrust certs. Buying certs from a smaller CA with less penetration into end-user keystores can be little or no better than signing certs yourself.

From my viewpoint, the only two viable options are paying top dollar for the certs that will work for most people or signing your own. Which option to go with is largely a budget issue.

-DaveU

In other news the Marine Corps http://www.usmc.mil/ is expected to sue http://www.marine-electronics.net/ Marine-Electronics for using the word "Marine" and logos that relate to water. The Marine corps had sated in an earlier suit that Marine Electronics was not allowed to enter the water.

(not only funny but, insightful too)

Nah, definitely not, unless you want to count this.

That's simply a lie. The Army has always had it in their weapons inventory as an incendiary to destroy enemy fortifications to expose their position or to kill them in it. See Army Field Manual 23-90 here (page 3-17):

Based upon use, the principal classifications of training and service ammunition for the M224 mortar are as follows:
... White phosphorus (WP)--Used as a screening, signaling, casualty-producing, or incendiary agent.

The official site for the USMC is usmc.mil , not *.gov. As for email addresses, the syntax i've seen is something like this:

doej @ unitname.usmc.mil

As for the rest of your post, it seems plausible, considering the years i've been around the Corps.

There is no private copyright here. The BBC is a unit of the British Government, and its musicians are thus Government employees. There's "crown copyright", but that's limited to certain types of materials.

In the US, you can download many performances by the United States Marine Band. There can be no copyright on those performances. Works by the U.S. Government are not subject to copyright protection Free, legal MP3 here!

If the RIAA doesn't like that, tough.

There is no private copyright here. The BBC is a unit of the British Government, and its musicians are thus Government employees. There's "crown copyright", but that's limited to certain types of materials.

In the US, you can download many performances by the United States Marine Band. There can be no copyright on those performances. Works by the U.S. Government are not subject to copyright protection Free, legal MP3 here!

If the RIAA doesn't like that, tough.

Don't worry, 13 weeks on Parris Island can turn even the slimiest civilian fatbody into a killing machine.

Huh, that's news to me, seeing as how shotguns have been used in every war since the 1700's. Including Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf.

Heck shotguns are issued out at my base every day for security.

Information about the marine's shotguns

How many does somone or a comany need to buy to "avoid" ambiguity. I mean every slashdot is taken except slashdot.name, and it kills me that slashdot.com gets any hits for the website slashdot.org. Slashdot used to not even redirect or give you a bozo message for accessing slashdot.com, it just threw the contents of slahdot.org at you.

What are the points of TLDs? I thought they were to avoid ambiguity, yet they promote it. Remember the whitehouse.com vs. whitehouse.gov thing? How about the current suprnova.org vs. suprnova.com and suprnova.net? The USPS can't figure out if they are a .gov or a .com. Same with the US Marines. Are they a .mil or a .com. Keep in mind that .com is supposed to be for commercial stuff. I guess the military is the biggest business in the US, but thats another post.

How many "normal" people know more than the .com domain?

I go on these rants from time to time, and I feel as though I'm in the vast minority of people that see no purpose of TLDs, but can anyone give one example of their utility? I have found one guy on the net that agrees with me and the /.er that pointed me out to that page, but otherwise they keep making more of them and making them longer and more silly.

Now, the only useful thing for TLDs is to separate countries. Why? Because countries have different languages and currencies. I get pissed when I do a google search for something and end up at a brittish site. I have nothing against the brits, but its stupid for me to look at buying a $10 trinket from there. Its not too common, but I've ended up at UK .com sites and was not happy. /rant

I did check it out though, and the term 'Semper Wi-Fi' was used previous to mean wireless Internet for Marines... by the Marine Corps itself. http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/B2C90 2831D9E2D8A85256E7D004BA4A5?opendocument

I see what you mean. According to this report, the fines are roughly equivalent to what you would see in the US, but the punishment may also include up to 3 years of hard labor. Ouch.

Recently, with the war and all, I've taken more of an interest in military affairs. Lo and behold, the military publishes a lot of magazines and periodicals internally, and many of them are available free online! I like them because they don't have the macho posturing of rags like Soldier of Fortune and other right-wing civillian magazines, and read like professionals writing for other professionals on how to do their job better. Think Wired vs. Linux Journal.

List of DoD magazines
Soldiers - Official army magazine, with full PDF archive.
Airman - Official air force magazine
Marine - Official USMC magazine
Approach - Navael aviaton safety magazine
Ground Warrior - Marine training safety magazine
Infantry magazine - Army infantry magazine, article archive at findarticles.com
Parameters - The U.S. War College's periodical

Soldiers, Airman, and Marine are sort of PR-related publications, so they aren't as interesting. Approach, Ground Warrior and Infantry are written as advice and information sources for their respective professions, so they have more technical detail. I like how they give a view of day-to-day operations in the military, especially training mishaps and other mistakes you don't hear about often. Parameters is a more scholarly magazine that gives a view into what the high-level officers are thinking and planning right now, plus some military history.

They're your tax dollars at work, may as well read them. Better to be an informed citizen than an entertained consumer, especially with the war in Iraq going on.

This sounds very much like Marine DOOM which was a WAD (mod) for DOOM II that the US Marine Corps Modeling and Simulation Management Office developed as a tactical training tool for four-man fire teams.

The mod is described as follows: "The game teaches concepts such as mutual fire team support, protection of the automatic rifleman, proper sequencing of an attack, ammunition discipline and succession of command."

I also remember watching an interview with a Marine officer who explained that playing the multiplayer game replicated the confusion and changes in situational awareness that soldiers experience in combat -- known as the fog of war -- as well as friendly fire and other important concepts.

Remember that Full Spectrum Warrior grew out of a combat simulation. Marine DOOM was a modification of a game that also served as a proof-of-concept training tool, which eventually led to the military version of FSW -- and was probably the precursor to it.

Unfortunately the site isn't online any longer, but thanks to Internet Archive, you can see the original Marine DOOM Homepage.

For more background you can also read "Doom Goes to War" by Rob Riddell which was the cover story in the Wired April 1997 issue.

Maybe we could forgo the technology that we don't need and have longer enlistments for infantry with more Special Forces type training, i.e. winning hearts and minds. Make it a lifestyle choice with more and better training, higher physical standards, better pay.
Go ahead and shoot me down but I'm going off of 8 years of Marine Corps Infantry.
Some of the new technology is great like the new ACOG 4x scope for the battle rifles. You can use them with both eyes open. My little brother is deploying to Iraq as a Marine Scout Sniper and bought his own (out of his pocket!) Eotech 552 scope. You can see from the link provided that it can be used even when half the lens is damaged.
In keeping in line with my comment about the rifle scopes/sights, the basic gear still needs to be revamped. Tear away chest harnesses are in high demand with most Marines choosign to buy them out of their own pockets rather than use the issue gear. The Marine Corps is still trying to deal with their mistake of using the MOLLE gear system. The MOLLE's plastic pack frame was breaking left and right in Afganistan and now the Marine Corps is replacing the pack with a new design.
So stop fantasizing about the choice of OS on pie in the sky dreams/future projects and get the grunts gear that works.

8 quad Tomahawk missile launchers
4 quad Harpoon launchers
3 triple 16"/50 gun turrets
6 dual 5"/38 gun turrets
4 Phalanx CIWS turrets

Public Law 104-106 requires the Navy to maintain the battleships Iowa and Wisconsin as reserve mobilization assets with the necessary logistics for both in active service, providing fire support for the Marine Corps. As the Marine Corps told Congress in 2000 and 2001, "Battleships can provide a significant fire support capability and maintaining them on the Naval Vessel Register ensures they are available in case of conflict."

Yep, the new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle for the Marine Corps uses some version of windows not sure which. I was crawling around in one the other day and saw the "3D pipe" screensaver on one of the displays.

If you get a chance watch some of the video clips of the 30mm gun testing.

Yep, the new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle for the Marine Corps uses some version of windows not sure which. I was crawling around in one the other day and saw the "3D pipe" screensaver on one of the displays.

If you get a chance watch some of the video clips of the 30mm gun testing.

A key point of modern tactical doctrine is to act faster than the opposition can react. Special operations types talk about the "period of vulnerability", which begins when the defender notices an attack and ends when the attacker achieves relative superiority. Most attacks fail during the period of vulnerability. So modern tactical doctrine says that it's worth huge amounts of effort and money to cut that time down. This is why special ops people rehearse and train to a level that seems unreasonable. It's not to make them good, athough it does. It's to make them fast, so they get through those first seconds and minutes at the beginning of an attack before the defenders can react.

That's exactly what we saw with this worm. The attack was launched in a way that rendered the usual strategies of anti-virus companies ineffective. Anti-virus companies, (and Microsoft), have known response and patching cycle times. The creators of this worm got inside that cycle time, by building both a fast-propagating worm and by starting it from multiple points.

Military doctrine gives us some insights on what to expect next. This worm invoved a campaign, a series of battles fought to achieve a goal. One attack acquired machines to be used as bases in a later attack. That's standard doctrine. Other relevant military concepts include mutual support, feints, and diversions. We are starting to see worms and viruses that support each other, so that if one is removed, another attack lets it back in. We may see feints and diversions, where a big noisy attack is launched to divert attention from something more subtle.

Another doctrinal concept is that of combined arms. So far, virus writers generally haven't utilized other hacking techniques, like dumpster diving, social engineering, or wiretapping. That may change.

We may well see an attack that wipes out most of the Internet-connected Windows machines in the world in a single day.

Team Terramax is a collaboration between Oshkosh Truck and Ohio State University based on the MTVR, a six-wheeled, 425 HP, seven-ton truck.

I had the privilege of test-driving an MTVR on the obstacle course at their factory in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This truck, fully loaded, could take on hills steeper than feel comfortable taking on in an ATV. We forded streams, climbed over barricades, and did steep side grades, all without breaking a sweat. I've got no doubt that this vehicle is up to the Grand Challenge, if the guys at OSU have their technology in order...

I, too wish our British comrades well but must agree with the poster. The problem seems to be that once they get something right, they hold onto the design. I offer two examples.

One only needs to look at how long the MG and the Austin Healy remained unmodified to determine that the Brits are averse to changes.

A British company that I mercifully don't remember placed a bid on the US Marines request for proposal for the Light Armored Vehicle.The specification for turret speed of turning was very demanding in that it had to be very fast to get on target quickly but also capable of very, very slow movement to aim properly. The British company used an electric turret motor. They provided a detailed explanation of why the turret speed could never meet both the high and the low speeds at the same time. While the source selection committee agreed with the Brits, they also rejected the design. The whole rest of the world (including the Brazilians and the Eastern Europeans) had long ago switched to hydraulic motors that could easily meet and exceed the turret speed specifications.

Hopefully, older technology will be sufficient for this present trip.

• Intratech KG9 Full Auto Machine Gun $2669
  "You've seen the "TEC's" in the movies and on TV, now here's a chance to own one at an affordable price. This KG9 is a registered receiver conversion. It comes with the front K grip for added controlability. Its (sic) definately (sic) a handful of fun!"
• Groundbreaking for new machine gun plant in Georgia. " Columbus businesswoman Terry Hadden tries out the MP5SD, a sound suppressed submachine gun". Click here to buy.
• For those times when you need more firepower, try the Starstreak Hypervelocity Missile.
• Your posse can't get its act together? Here's how the Marines do it. The "Warfighting" series is a good read.
• Unsure what to do with all this firepower? Read Parameters, the journal of the Army War College, where generals talk shop.

Sign your name, tough guy. I can kill a man in 7 seconds.

If you really value job stability there's a few groups out there that will take you.

Cue rant . . .

Actually it's the 20mm component of the former Objective Individual Combat Weapon program, part of the Small Arms Master Plan, now dubbed XM29. Essentially this weapon combines a variation on the G36C for underbody (almost a submachinegun) with an overslung semi-automatic 20mm explosive round (grenade, really) that can be set to burst at a given range by pointing at the object to burst upon, then increasing the range up a meter or down a meter.

There are some problems with this when compared to the M16A2 / M203 40mm underslung grenade launcher combination currently in use (or increasingly the less successful M4/M203 combo).

First of all, the 'normal' rifle portion (the G36C) sports a barrel so ridiculously short that the rounds do not exhibit the fragmentation behavior desired. A 10" barrel is insufficient for accelerating a 5.56x45mm round to the point where it can be truly effective in outdoor combat. The M16 family used a 16" barrel for a good reason - there's a full 75~100m/s muzzle velocity advantage over the 11" Colt Commando. Many sections of the Armed Forces have refused to or have been extremely reluctant to adopt the 14" barreled M4 for this same reason. Size does matter here, because longer barrels mean the bullet is in a sealed chamber being accelerated by explosive gases for a longer period of time and 10" is simply not enough.

Beyond this, there are many questions regarding the utility of the 20mm explosive round component itself. Everything from fears regarding any failure of the electronics system to, again, lethality. The single-shot breach loading M203 40mm grenade launchers currently in use provide an effective fatality radius of approximately 5m, and will wound most individuals within 15 meters of impact. The 20mm grenade, however, is the minimum size of projectile which can carry a useful explosive load and is loaded with circuitry to boot. The fatality radius is 1~2m with a 5m wounding radius. On the other hand it is far more accurate than the M203, but US soldiers are nothing if not well trained.

Current plans are for 45,000 units at a cost of $10,000 each (several times the cost of an M16/M203 combo) by 2009, and the general idea currently is to outfit active squads with one such weapon each.

The SAMP also includes a potential replacement for the Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher (uses special high-power 40mm grenades) called the Objective Crew Served Weapon that utilizes 25mm grenades. This one may show significant merit as the possibility of an infantry-portable automatic grenade launcher is simply too good to pass up.

--Ryv

Cue rant . . .

Actually it's the 20mm component of the former Objective Individual Combat Weapon program, part of the Small Arms Master Plan, now dubbed XM29. Essentially this weapon combines a variation on the G36C for underbody (almost a submachinegun) with an overslung semi-automatic 20mm explosive round (grenade, really) that can be set to burst at a given range by pointing at the object to burst upon, then increasing the range up a meter or down a meter.

There are some problems with this when compared to the M16A2 / M203 40mm underslung grenade launcher combination currently in use (or increasingly the less successful M4/M203 combo).

First of all, the 'normal' rifle portion (the G36C) sports a barrel so ridiculously short that the rounds do not exhibit the fragmentation behavior desired. A 10" barrel is insufficient for accelerating a 5.56x45mm round to the point where it can be truly effective in outdoor combat. The M16 family used a 16" barrel for a good reason - there's a full 75~100m/s muzzle velocity advantage over the 11" Colt Commando. Many sections of the Armed Forces have refused to or have been extremely reluctant to adopt the 14" barreled M4 for this same reason. Size does matter here, because longer barrels mean the bullet is in a sealed chamber being accelerated by explosive gases for a longer period of time and 10" is simply not enough.

Beyond this, there are many questions regarding the utility of the 20mm explosive round component itself. Everything from fears regarding any failure of the electronics system to, again, lethality. The single-shot breach loading M203 40mm grenade launchers currently in use provide an effective fatality radius of approximately 5m, and will wound most individuals within 15 meters of impact. The 20mm grenade, however, is the minimum size of projectile which can carry a useful explosive load and is loaded with circuitry to boot. The fatality radius is 1~2m with a 5m wounding radius. On the other hand it is far more accurate than the M203, but US soldiers are nothing if not well trained.

Current plans are for 45,000 units at a cost of $10,000 each (several times the cost of an M16/M203 combo) by 2009, and the general idea currently is to outfit active squads with one such weapon each.

The SAMP also includes a potential replacement for the Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher (uses special high-power 40mm grenades) called the Objective Crew Served Weapon that utilizes 25mm grenades. This one may show significant merit as the possibility of an infantry-portable automatic grenade launcher is simply too good to pass up.

--Ryv

The Army will be rolling out these computers just like N. M. C. I.. The OS of choice will undoubtedly be Windows 2000 SP1 just as it is in N.M.C.I. Also, Office Pro 2000 SR-1a is standard on all machines amongst a host of other apps. Visio is a part of the standard suite of apps. The contract is being fulfilled by EDS. The $950.00 price tag is not across the board. That is just the baseline. Premiums will be paid for faster machines, laptops, and Science & Technology seats.

The transition has been rough so far as users have found that they cannot abandon their legacy seats in every case. Thus, you see a lot of dual-desktop situations. I hope the Army takes into account the lessons learned from the Navy and Marine Corps' efforts.

For a full listing of what Marines are encouraged to read, take a look at:

The Marine Corps Professional Reading Program

When I was in the Marine Corps, I had a commanding officer make us turn in one page "book reports" every six months to prove that we'd been reading books on the list.

After I did my report on Ender's Game (with the help of Xandar01), he (the CO) sent out a message saying that sci-fi books couldn't be used.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.(June 30, 2003) -- Marines from infantry units...

Wow, this really is technology of the future!

The Army has some weird ideas. From COO to the MOLLE replacement that the Marine Corps is fielding since the Molle gear is worthless. Seriously, combat gear that you need a video and a book to put together? The M-16 works. We should keep the M-16 and save our money for training and maybe even better benefits for servicemen.

The fact is that the military is well-educated and businesses love us former military types. Pieces of shit like you get pushed aside as the hiring manager wants someone who can think for themselves and WHO THEY CAN COUNT ON, not some slacker who is full of himself, bathes every week, and wanders in to work on occasion.

I loved applying for jobs knowing that I had the advantage and watched as the degreed losers like you got to continue their job search while I got a letter offering me more money than I really wanted- all because of four letters on my resume. I'll see if you are smart enough to figure them out.

Also, please tell me just how you know that the "best and brightest" avoided military service? Care to back up that assertion with facts?

Me and my fellow ex-military peers have and will continue to leave pukes like you whining behind us as we advance up the ladder while you console yourself with the idea that you are better than someone because you are too chickenshit to defend your freedoms.

See this document on the honorable way to server your contry

M1911 Marine MEU (SOC)?

I can see the attraction.

With a light.
Ho-ly moly.
Clean and mean.

That last one has the interesting quote of a quote, "In the February 1999 American Rifleman, the author of "America's 9mm's", James P. Cowgill states, "One reason for the change to a 9mm service pistol was the increasing number of women in the military. They have statistically smaller hands and were often issued revolvers as opposed to the larger M1911A1".

The USMC's site for it.

Linux is not just being considered, it's being used as a realistic, cost effective solution. See this presentation on what the Marine Corps now uses to manage its warehouse inventories. It's a bit old, but still very relevant as the system is being deployed here in Okinawa next month.

Not to nitpick (well...OK. It's a nitpick) the SAW M249 ( Squad Automatic Weapon )is classed as a machine gun and is 5.56mm. And, yes, they are great fun to fire standing with one against your shoulder, like I did as SF support.

For some information about this, see here, here and here.

Also, it's not just "several million dollars" . . . it's nearly $7 billion.

I suppose this is where I'm supposed to be apologetic for my desire to live and distrust of nations that have shown time and time and time again that they aren't really very nice people.

But, I'm not sorry. In fact, I'm quite happy about this. Let's say we find a small pox lab in Iraq. We know they have it. They know we know. What's to stop them from using it?

A 50-megaton nuke pointed at Baghdad, that's what.

For fuck's sake wake up and smell the truth. The world is not , has never been, nor probably ever will be a nice place. Peace is purchased with superior firepower.

NEVER forget that.

Knunov

B.S. in Comp. Sci from UNC@Chapel Hill - Oracle DBA, Novell CNE, and UNIX/Linux/BSD administrator/user/enthusiast. I was also a Captain in the U.S.M.C., MOS - Infantry - Force Recon, 1st Battalion.

So, unlike the vocal majority of computer geeks here, this geek actually has a clue about warfare.

You know where we all can get free food, rent and tuition?

And you also get paid for it, too!!!