MetaFilter posts tagged with usarmy

A contract with US Gov.

Artw — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:29:09 -0800

The usual summary of comic book artist Will Eisner’s career follows the formula that he drew the Spirit all through the 1940s except for the war years and a bunch of ‘graphic novels’ from 1978 till the end of his life in 2005. There’s a long missing period between 1951 and 1978 during which he packaged and adapted cartoon art to commercial purposes, which has not been readily available for our scrutiny or pleasure. It is sometimes summarily dismissed as being of little interest. - Artist Eddie Campbell reappraises Will Eisner's missing years.

"Democracy Now!"

notmtwain — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:00:45 -0800

Democracy Now! Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now!" has been featured in many Metafilter posts over the years but I didn't find any direct links to the main site recently. Daily video webcasts are available and the program is also heard on many Pacifica stations. Today's reports :

Lawless World: Bush Considered Flying US Spy Planes Painted With UN Colors Over Iraq In 2003 to Provoke War. Interview with the author of "Lawless World", Philippe Sands, detailing Bush-Blair meeting committing to Iraq war in January 2003.
Former UK Soldier Urges Others to Refuse To Fight in Iraq.USA Today is reporting at least 8,000 men and women have now deserted the U.S. military since the United States invaded Iraq three years ago.

US Army gives advice on picking a partner

badlydubbedboy — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 05:37:03 -0800

US Army Teaches Troops How to Pick a Spouse "Army chaplains are trying to teach troops how to pick the right spouse, through a program called "How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk. ... It teaches the lovestruck to pace themselves with a R.A.M. chart — the Relationship Attachment Model — which basically says don't let your sexual involvement exceed your level of commitment or level of knowledge about the other person."

I can't decide if this is common sense or takes all the fun out of love. If, indeed, there is any fun in it. Details on the programme can also be found at www.nojerks.com

US Army counterinsurgency

wilful — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 17:51:58 -0800

Writing in the most recent Military Review, British Army Brigadier Nigel Aylwin-Foster very politely points out some observed cultural difficulties inherent in the US Army, such as rigid heirarchies, "institutional racism" and destructive aggression.

Citizens Support Where Pentagon Fails

ScottMorris — Tue, 10 May 2005 17:17:36 -0800

Marines recall faulty body armor. In yet another blow to the struggle to supply soldiers with adequate armor, 5,277 defective vests were recalled today from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In response to the armor shortages, new Oklahoma legislation would create "Patriot Plates," a $35 license plate of which $20 would go to supply body armor for Oklahoma soldiers. Soldiers have been lacking this armor for months now. According to an April GAO report: (PDF)

Because of the shortages, many individuals bought body armor with personal funds. The Congressional Budget Office estimated (1) that as many as 10,000 personnel purchased vests, (2) as many as 20,000 purchased plates with personal funds, and (3) the total cost to reimburse them would be $16 million in 2005. (P. 78)

Another continuing problem is a lack of adequately armored HMMWVs. "Current HMMWVs are protected only by canvas tops and have no additional armor protection." (P. 122) In this case, for protection from ambushes and roadside bombs, an add-on armor kit is required. However, "as of September 2004, the Army supplied 8,771 of the 13,872 Add-on Armor kits required by CENTCOM but still needed 5,101 additional kits to meet all requirements." (P. 121) Attacks on vehicles have accounted for as many as 40 percent of the 1,037 deaths attributed to hostile action.

But at least we can sleep soundly knowing that manufacturers are seeing record profits from all of this.

Fighting Tthe Covenant from Baqubah

Bag Man — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 11:14:05 -0800

Gaming in Iraq by US troops. Soon after the battle for Fallujah ended in November, U.S. Marines brought their Xbox consoles, Gameboys and laptops forward and started fighting the Covenant hordes in "Halo," Mario and Luigi's worst enemies and those irksome roommates from "The Sims." Of course such actives during war are nothing new. Iraqies have also gotten in on the action too.

Fine Print: Contract is Void if US Military Say So

fenriq — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 12:28:52 -0800

Soldiers Challenge Enlistment Extensions
You sign a contract for a specific period of service, when that service is up you're supposed to be done but that doesn't happen if its a contract with the US government. Soldiers are now suing to try and get out of their extended duties.

Yes, there is the Pentagon's "Stop Loss" program but "The lawsuit contends the policy [stop loss] is a breach of the service contract because it extends the length of service without a soldier's consent. It also alleges the contracts were misleading because they make no reference to the policy, said Staughton Lynd, an attorney for the soldiers."

US Army to Rebid Halliburton Contracts

fenriq — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 10:44:29 -0800

US Army to Rebid Halliburton Contracts
Looks like Halliburton's about to lose its sweetheart deal as the US Army looks to rebidthe contracts.
"Pentagon auditors last month "strongly" urged the Army to withhold paying 15 percent of Halliburton's bills in Iraq, saying the company had not provided enough details to support at least $1.82 billion out of $4.3 billion of logistical work."
Insert inappropriate snide political comment here.

The Scandal's Growing Stain

Postroad — Sun, 09 May 2004 11:12:36 -0800

The Scandal's Growing Stain Time Magazine: "Abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq shock the world and roil the Bush Administration. the inside story of what went wrong—and who's to blame"

A real head-turner

Holden — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 09:14:31 -0800

The Exorcist Experience: U.S. soldier pops The Exorcist into his portable DVD player and discovers that he's right there, where the opening scenes were filmed. Now the Army (and movie director William Friedkin) plan to back an Exorcist-themed tourist attraction. Admission will be $2 or $5 with a kabob lunch.

Arrogance of Power

mapalm — Sat, 20 Sep 2003 11:25:10 -0800

US soldier kills rare tiger in Iraq zoo
...during a drunken night of revelry involving - you guessed it - feeding the animals. Geez, this occupation gets better every day.

US Army Used Reporters for Own Ends in Iraq War

fenriq — Mon, 08 Sep 2003 13:51:49 -0800

U.S. Army Used Media Cover in Iraq for Own Ends which sounds like a big old bowl of yellow journalism but isn't really, at least I don't think so. It was more to refute the Iraqi Minister of Lies talking about the whooping the Iraqi war machine was delivering to the coalition forces.

The main issue that the reporters had was that they were only getting the one side of the story and not the Iraqi perspective.

But it raises some questions about the supposed objectivity of the media. Is this a proper use of them? To help achieve military goals? Or to try to avoid more unnecessary deaths?

Hello Son of Star Wars - Goodbye Low Earth Orbit

y2karl — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 19:58:18 -0800

Weaponizing Space
The Case Against
Four Myths about Space Power - From Parameters, US Army War College Quarterly
Star wars could make space unusable

Today's most buried headline

jackspace — Mon, 19 May 2003 09:28:33 -0800

This week's most buried headline could be a real stinker this week for the Pentagon. Apparently over $1 trillion are missing as well as "dozens of tanks, missiles and planes."

Jules is a thief.

insomnia_lj — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 11:56:41 -0800

Jules is a thief. The fact that "all the embedded reporters were doing it" does not make it right. Presumably the US soldiers who were overseeing the embedded reporters knew of this kind of cultural theft -- more than likely, many were a party to it themselves. I'm sending him an email to remind him of that fact, and I will also contact his bosses, urging disciplinary action.

The Army Is Dumb

adrober — Wed, 13 Nov 2002 13:47:47 -0800

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Matter If You Are Fluent In Arabic, Despite Our Serious Need For That.... This story hits very close to home. This is a friend from college (Emory) who was just thrown out of the army when they discovered he had a boyfriend. Particularly ridiculous is the fact that he had just achieved fluency in Arabic and would have been (among other gay soldiers) extremely useful to the cause at present. Apparently, heterosexual couples discovered coupled in their rooms at the same inspection were given 10 days restriction and extra duty.

Aikido — Thu, 14 Mar 2002 14:12:46 -0800

The US army selects MIT for $50 million superhuman exoskeleton project. Includes nanomaterials, invisibility, superhuman strength, protection from ballistics, and a built in kit for autonomous treatment. Will this be the soldier of the future?

Darke — Thu, 25 Oct 2001 17:42:43 -0800

Army to develop video games. According to an Yahoo article, a venture funded by the US Army is developing videos games for the home market. "The U.S. Army will provide funding, but its Training & Doctrine Command bureau will also be involved in game development, ICT said. The games will allow players to control entire groups of soldiers, ICT said, with CS-12 allowing the player to take the role of a company commander and C-Force putting the player in the role of squad leader." I kinda get an "Ender's Game" sort of feel from this.

thirteen — Thu, 18 Oct 2001 00:10:11 -0800

Amazing! If I live to be 1000, I will never be able to properly underestimate the stupidity of human beings. Many of the enlisted personnel who are now seeking honorable discharges argue they didn't sign up to defend America; they just wanted to learn a trade or earn money for college. I'd let them go if they pay back the money spent of training and salary.

Steven Den Beste — Fri, 12 Jan 2001 09:04:48 -0800

The difference between intelligence and wisdom. How can someone that smart do something so foolish? (Borland Interbase has a hard-coded backdoor account name politically and password correct in it. Word has gotten out. It's used by such small organizations as Nokia, MCI, Boeing, and the US Army.) Here's the CERT advisory on this blunder.