#U.S. military

[usarmytrooper]

[stone-cold-groove]

Vought-Sikorsky VS-44 and Vought F4U Corsairs.

[the-amazing-boop]

This is the first I'm hearing of this today so I'm waiting for news outlets to confirm his death so I'm still looking for more information.

Regardless, Aaron Bushnell, thank you for your sacrifice. Self immolation is the most severe form of protest. I'm sorry it came to this.

First, the man in Congo, now this. Every single day, I feel ill.

Edit: several reports confirm Aaron has passed. I don't know if I'll stop crying before I go to bed. I may need day to take a break and sit with this. We haven't seen this much self immolation protests documented so forwardly since Vietnam.

[usnatarchives]

The WAVES of Change: Women's Valiant Service in World War II 🌊

When the tides of World War II swelled, an unprecedented wave of women stepped forward to serve their country, becoming an integral part of the U.S. Navy through the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) program. This initiative not only marked a pivotal moment in military history but also set the stage for the transformation of women's roles in the armed forces and society at large. The WAVES program, initiated in 1942, was a beacon of change, showcasing the strength, skill, and patriotism of American women during a time of global turmoil.

The inception of WAVES was a response to the urgent need for additional military personnel during World War II. With many American men deployed overseas, the United States faced a shortage of skilled workers to support naval operations on the home front. The WAVES program was spearheaded by figures such as Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee, the first woman commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Under her leadership, WAVES members were trained in various specialties, including communications, intelligence, supply, medicine, and logistics, proving that women could perform with as much competence and dedication as their male counterparts.

The impact of the WAVES program extended far beyond the war effort. Throughout their service, WAVES members faced and overcame significant societal and institutional challenges. At the time, the idea of women serving in the military was met with skepticism and resistance; however, the exemplary service of the WAVES shattered stereotypes and demonstrated the invaluable contributions women could make in traditionally male-dominated fields. Their work during the war not only contributed significantly to the Allies' victory but also laid the groundwork for the integration of women into the regular armed forces.

The legacy of the WAVES program is a testament to the courage and determination of the women who served. Their contributions went largely unrecognized for many years, but the program's impact on military and gender norms has been profound. The WAVES paved the way for future generations of women in the military, demonstrating that service and sacrifice know no gender. Today, women serve in all branches of the U.S. military, in roles ranging from combat positions to high-ranking officers, thanks in no small part to the trail blazed by the WAVES.

The WAVES program was more than just a wartime necessity; it was a watershed moment in the history of women's rights and military service. The women of WAVES not only supported the United States during a critical period but also propelled forward the conversation about gender equality in the armed forces and beyond. Their legacy is a reminder of the strength and resilience of women who rise to the challenge, breaking barriers and making waves in pursuit of a better world.

Read more: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/11/06/historic-staff-spotlight-eunice-whyte-navy-veteran-of-both-world-wars/

[militarymenrbomb]

[deadpresidents]

"Everyone was calling everyone. I was honored to call one of the family members of the 9/11 victims; I called the House Homeland Security Committee and [Secretary of Homeland Security] Janet Napolitano. While I was in the Situation Room, I overheard one of the White House operations, saying [on the phone], 'Oh, I'm so sorry -- I didn't know you didn't work for President Clinton anymore. Do you know where I can reach him?' President Obama was calling his predecessors, George W. Bush and President Clinton. The operator is trying to find President Clinton. I looked at him and I said, 'Hold on one minute.' And I stepped back into the main room, [Secretary of State] Hillary [Clinton] was there, and I said, 'Madam Secretary, I'm really sorry to bother you, but do you have your husband's phone number?'

-- Mike Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, on the immediate aftermath of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. President Obama was trying to get in touch with his immediate predecessors to notify them about the successful special forces operation and bin Laden's death, but there was some trouble finding contact information for former President Bill Clinton until Leiter realized he could simply ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the former President's phone number.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Sorry to ask, but can I have some more context on how the third amendment (roughly: citizens can't be forced to provide quarter to soldiers) relates to American bloated military and disproportionate influence on international wars? (as mentioned in the tags on the 'yeerks lose earth and lose the war' post)

Oh yeah, so! The 3rd Amendment, also called the Quartering Act, says the U.S. government can't quarter (house) military members in private homes. That's the literal text of the Constitution, and (unlike the 1st) it's rarely broken or disputed.

HOWEVER. There's a legal argument that the amendment means the U.S. shouldn't keep an active military in peacetime, and/or that it shouldn't force civilians to devote civilian resources to maintaining the military. Since we're in a country that thinks it's okay to have children go hungry and schools beg for money from cereal companies, while also spending billions of USD to build mostly- or completely-obsolete tanks and grenades, there's an argument that we're in violation of the spirit of the 3rd Amendment. Not a legal scholar, but that's my best understanding of the issue.

[eugenedebs1920]

So I’ve been researching voter suppression and was planning on writing a whole, overly long, data driven, boring diatribe (still might) when I ran in to this. Rep. Takano lays it out better than I could.

Here is House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Ranking Member Mark Takano addressing Republican Committee members when voting to subpoena the VA for documents regarding registering veterans to vote.

9/10/2024

“Good Morning and thank you. Prior to our January 11 vote to authorize a subpoena regarding documents in the Committee’s investigation into sexual harassment at VA, this Committee had not voted to issue a subpoena since 2016. 

 When I held the gavel during the last two years of the Trump Administration, this Committee did not issue a single subpoena. There were plenty of occasions we could have issued subpoenas for the sake of performance over real oversight, but we chose to put veterans over politics.  

We relied on the independence of the Inspector General to thoroughly identify and investigate wrongdoing, and we chose not to interfere with ongoing investigations to score press and media hits. 

Yet now, the Republican Majority this Congress has threatened to subpoena VA on at least a dozen occasions for its supposed failure to comply with the Majority’s impossible requests. This severely cheapens this Committee’s oversight authority.  

We have been through this exercise several times before under the current Majority, and the script is highly predictable.  

The Chairman makes a vague, onerous, and overly burdensome document request of VA with a purposely unmeetable deadline. VA produces documents in response to the request.  

The Majority doesn’t like the answer they receive, screams that VA failed to meet their unmeetable deadline and then threatens to, or in this case goes through with, issuing a subpoena to compel VA to produce documents they don’t have, are already trying to produce, or have already produced.  

The question we must ask is why we see such temper tantrums from our current Majority?  It is not out of an earnest desire to acquire information and hold VA accountable for its failings. No, clearly it is not. Rather, this subpoena resolution, and frankly the hearing that will follow, is a red herring meant to distract veterans from the truth: that this Republican majority has absolutely nothing to show for its time in charge other than chaos, dysfunction, and paranoia.  

I hope the veterans who are watching see this subpoena for what it is, an anti-democratic and purely political effort to stoke conspiracy theories and ultimately suppress efforts to help veterans and their caregivers vote. Why does the Majority want to suppress the votes of veterans and caregivers? We should want all veterans and caregivers to be able to vote. With how much control elected officials wield over veterans’ health care and benefits, the stakes are enormously high for veteran voters, and their voices should be heard. It is dumbfounding to me that my colleagues would take issue with veterans exercising their right to vote, a right they served and fought for and sometimes died to protect.  

The Heritage Foundation, the same organization responsible for Project 2025, is using the Republican-led committees across Congress to suppress voter access.  

They have literally published a public-facing memorandum outlining strategies to frustrate efforts to encourage Americans to exercise their fundamental right to vote.  

But what makes this subpoena particularly weird and confusing, is that its underlying premise is that VA should not promote veterans’ access to voting, though it has been VA policy to do so since the Bush Administration. This policy was most recently renewed during the Trump Administration.  

Even weirder, the law underpinning this policy and President Biden’s Executive Order has been in place for thirty years. The National Voter Registration Act explicitly allows states to request that federal agencies or non-governmental agencies accept the designation as a voter registration agency.  

Pursuant to this law, VA is partnering with the state of Michigan to be a voter registration agency, but VA has considered partnerships with Kentucky, Georgia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Nevada to help veterans access the polls.  

Yet the Majority is insistent that VA’s efforts constitute electioneering or some sort of partisan political effort to affect voting in swing states and districts. How is registering veterans to vote, no matter where they are, inherently partisan or political?  

Through the partnership with Michigan, VA is providing voter registration assistance to veterans in very limited circumstances when processing a change of address or during a Public Contact Team appointment. VA employees were given training by state officials, which included a review of prohibited partisan political conduct while assisting veterans with registration as required by law.  

If my colleagues are so concerned with states and agencies following the letter of the National Voter Registration Act, why aren’t they spending their time repealing it?  Instead, my colleagues are attacking VA for helping veterans register to vote. They are making a mockery of the Committee’s subpoena authority to the most anti-democratic end I have ever witnessed on this Committee. And I am frankly appalled that they have decided to go to these lengths to serve their political aims. This is not Congressional oversight. This is voter suppression.  

In the hundreds of documents VA has already produced for the Majority, there is nothing to indicate that VA has violated the law in any way. The only thing I am concerned about in terms of VA’s actions here is why they are not doing more to register veterans to vote.  

Later this week Congress is voting on the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections.  The Majority has no credible evidence that foreign citizens are voting in federal elections; in fact, this is already an illegal practice.  

But this Majority has proven that it will never be deterred by facts or evidence, so it is no surprise they are going to plow forward with this bill. I am opposed to it and will be voting no. But what’s shocking is that in their rush to block people from voting, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have decided that blocking veterans from voting is just as important as blocking undocumented immigrants.  This subpoena is a gross and obvious effort to stifle veteran voter registration. This is voter suppression.  

But again, it is also a red herring, a distraction from the Majority’s inability to lead, their inability to govern, and their inability to accomplish anything meaningful for veterans.  

I certainly do not have veterans banging on my door demanding to know why VA is helping veterans register to vote. However, I do have service members stationed overseas contacting my office saying that they need better access to voting – an issue I am working on. I also have veterans and their providers asking me what our plans are to ensure VA has the resources it needs to continue delivering health care and benefits to those who have earned them. So, I must ask who does this Majority serve – veterans or Project 2025?  

I also must ask, to what end is this exercise? I have yet to see my Majority colleagues produce any legislation that actually addresses the issues we’ve spent countless hours of Committee time considering in hearings to help improve VA.  

All I have seen is wasted time on deeply flawed bills that have no outlook for becoming law because they are Project 2025 pipe dreams that will do nothing to actually improve VA or help veterans.  

Mr. Chairman, using the subpoena authority of the Committee to investigate conspiracy theories is beneath us and should never be considered.  

The Committee must hold itself to the highest possible standard, because abuse of the subpoena for political gain – especially when it implicates fundamental constitutional rights – is a very real risk.  

 By fear mongering and stoking conspiracies that VA is doing something nefarious by registering veterans to vote, my colleagues are showing how little they trust veterans to actually exercise their right to vote. But I will say to veterans: I know how smart you are, and that you will see through the Majority’s partisan efforts.  

And I know how powerful you are as a voting bloc… I have seen it and felt it.  

It is important for everyone to participate in the electoral process, including veterans.  And I encourage my colleagues to vote NO on this subpoena resolution. With that, yield back.”

There’s one party in America that encourages the vote. There’s one who does all they can to suppress it. What side do you want to be on?

[fake-destiel-news]

Source

[usarmytrooper]

The original photo of this was pretty bad, but this guy was worth the effort to “recover” him.

[gwydionmisha]

Republicans are lying when they say they care about the military and national defense. 

[stone-cold-groove]

The Convair B-58 Hustler with a General Electric J93 engine pod mounted for testing at Edwards Air Force Base.

[littlebirdyrobin]

-Nuseirat Massacre, 8 June 2024

the U.S. government is fucking DESPICABLE - it is literally organized crime - they’re all war criminals. every. single. one. i am ASHAMED and disgusted to be an american.

fuck amerikkka, fuck israhell.

this grief is born of love. may my rage fuel me to action. may the earth people continue to wake up. may the empires fall.

fire is catching

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN -

🔻🔻🔻

[historyofguns]

The article from The Armory Life, written by Will Dabbs, MD, explores the historical significance and enduring legacy of the M2 .50-caliber machine gun, commonly known as "Ma Deuce." Originating in World War I, the gun was developed at the behest of American General John J. Pershing to counter German observation balloons and aircraft. Designed by John Moses Browning, with ammunition developed by Winchester, the M2 has been in service since 1921 and remains a staple in military arsenals worldwide. The weapon is praised for its robustness, versatility, and reliability, capable of being mounted on various platforms, including vehicles, ships, and aircraft. Though more than a century old, advancements like the M2A1 model have upgraded its features, ensuring the Browning-designed machine gun continues to be an integral part of military operations today.