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| Dusk, 21 February 2020 |
During all that time things at work have been mighty slow, as a matter of fact, things have been slow since the end of December. Defense contracting has a certain ebb and flow, right now we're in the ebb part of the cycle. New contracts are coming in, some older contracts have throttled back as once again the Navy tries to do "more with less." I hear that a lot of bucks have been taken from the Sea Service in order to build a wall somewhere.
One thing is for sure, the wall will no doubt be more effective than the LCS*, at least one hopes.
As noted a while back, you may find yourselves on short rations, post wise, from time to time in the now and the immediate future. Not missing posts, mind you, but shorter posts, fewer calories as it were. I too am trying to do more with less, though in my case it be time that's lacking, not money.
Anyhoo, I made some more headers, no doubt I've missed (or forgotten) a reader suggestion here and there. Feel free to beat me about the head and shoulders for that, I can take it.
First off, here's that Ardennes header modified according to juvat's specifications, I think it works. (Again, click to embiggen.)
The Knox Expedition, the colonials hauling cannon from Fort Ticonderoga all the way to Boston. Under the command of Henry Knox, a former bookseller.
Encounter at Lexington Green, April 1775.
The Battle of Bunker Hill.
The death of American General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 1777.
German infantry advance near the beginning of the Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914.
German infantry being routed by Cossacks during the Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914.
British infantry clash with the Germans outside Mons, Belgium - August 1914.
French lancers advancing towards the front during the Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914.
More French cavalry during the Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914.
U.S. Marines advance on Belleau Wood, France, June 1918.
That'll do for now methinks. I am tired and I hear my rack calling.
Or maybe it's one of the cats...
* Yes, that's on the Acronym Page, I just can't bear to spell it out. It's the Voldemort of ships, that which shall not be named...
Hey now, the return of The Missus Herself calls for a toast, orange juice at this hour, safe from one of the lands of quarantine. Lexington Green is a favorite, nice selection of headers to add to the pool Sarge.
ReplyDeleteComing off the mid-watch a wee dram of Triple- sec in the O.J. would be allowed. Old Guns.
DeleteNylon12 - It's good to have her home, that's for sure.
DeleteOld Guns - It's the civilized thing to do!
DeleteYou just reminded me - I really need to clean house this morning! Or at least get all my stuff off the floor and neaten up the place. My mom used to say one should have company over at least once a month as a way to ensure housekeeping was kept under control. Returning spouses up the alert level over and above that.
ReplyDeleteNice headers - Belleau Wood is an appropriate addition, since Uncle Sam's Misguided Children suffered more casualties at that battle than they had in their preceding existence to that point.
The ability to enjoy our wekend is brought to you by our Armed Forces, past and present. Thanks to all!
Roger all Tom!
DeleteI sure wish they had colour film when Knox was bringing the canon over. But black and white will have to do.
ReplyDeleteAs to the wall, when the President got Mexico to hold them, I noticed that the traffic in these parts changed quite a bit. We had a lot fewer Guatemalans and other central American folks walking around and shopping in the store with brand new EBT cards. I felt for them, they were nearly 2 feet shorter than the average around here. They stayed in little groups like a covey of quail. I'm not sure what they'd been told, but being in a land of giants must've been intimidating.
You can't build that wall too high or to big, in my mind. It's like any other area denial device. It funnels people to where you want them. It's just a way to manage inbound, that's all. And if you are climbing over, it's obvious that you regard yourself as special and need "special" attention.
Glad that civilization has returned to the manse. God Himself said it's not good for man to be alone...
With no borders, a nation isn't a nation.
DeleteI'd say the same thing I would say when looking under the hood of a sixties and seventies muscle car. "Nice headers."
ReplyDeleteMy wife has never left me alone for an extended time, but in retirement she has begun doing a single day a week of volunteer work. I strongly believe that is her get away from me day.
I wrote up my header thoughts and sent them via gmail.
It's important to have time for yourself. Three weeks was a tad much in my estimation.
DeleteSome good suggestions in your email. I'll let the production folks know. 😉
Looks, to me, like The Missus got out of Dodge just in time to miss the rain ...what little there is... in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley (DAMHIK)
ReplyDeleteI mentioned that to her, she said her time out there was marked by lots of green (unusual) and lots of fog due to all of the rain they'd had earlier.
DeleteThe orchards were blossoming too!
The painting that most says "Henry Knox is a Badass Dude" is the one by Tom Lovell titled "The Noble Train of Artillery." Unfortunately it doth not lendeth itfelf to a wide header. Still the one that evokes Knox the Man with The Plan!!! Fat Dude makes Good!
ReplyDeleteNo more perfect example of a citizen soldier, self-taught in the art of artillery, going from comfortable bookseller to, well, badass Commander of Artillery to Washington himself.
He was always my favorite. Even when I was skinny.
Glad your immediate family is healthy and reconnected. Hope things go well for future planning.
As to the Wall and LCS, maybe they can squish some LCSs and use them as sections of the wall.
That is a great painting, too tall and not wide enough for a header, believe me, I tried.
DeleteKnox has always been a hero of mine.
LCS as part of the Wall? Damned thing might rust right through.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/37/c8/91/37c891672b974da72120e33bb0f07b59.jpg I think I found a pic that gives best impression of chaotinc night battle off the Guadalcanal... but could not find better resolution
ReplyDeletemuch has been done talking about heroic stand of tin cans at Leyte but at Guadalcanal USN destroyers heroically charged the biggest game in town, and got slapped badly with 14 inch shells for their trouble...
DeletePaweł #1 - Great painting, that night battle off the 'Canal deserves its own header.
DeletePaweł #2 - The tin cans always seem to be where the fight is thickest.
Deletedefinitely better header for anything related to littoral combat than LCS :P
DeleteTrue!
Deletealso never forget final signal of admiral Callaghan:
ReplyDelete“We want the big ones! Get the big ones first!”
just before 14 inch shell slammed into bridge of USS San Francisco, killing almost all present...
Never forget.
DeleteIt's kinda of our motto, innit.
Thanks for reminding me of Guadalcanal, the land and sea battles in that area were hard fought.
(Don McCollor)...Little Laffey (DD-459) took on a big one. She almost collided with the Hiei, then too close for the battleship guns to depress, raked the superstructure with every weapon from 5-inch to machine guns...wounded the Japanese admiral and killed his chief of staff...She went down from a destroyer torpedo fighting two battleships...
ReplyDeleteTough ships, tougher men.
DeleteHaving sown the wind, I'm presently reaping the whirlwind of more with less. The gale will subside, but not today. I have time to read a couple of blogs and make a comment or two so it can't be as bad as I imply.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Destroyers at Guadalcanal, Jarvis (DD-393) is a haunting example. She'd been "torpedoed" in what may have been an early Kamikaze attack on August 7 while defending the landing effort. Following hasty repairs at Tulagi she headed for major repairs in Australia the next night and blundered into Mikawa's cruisers and was torpedoed again during the Battle of Savo Island. Over the next few hours she was sighted by USS Blue and by a U.S. carrier search plane. Then she disappeared, and her fate was unknown until post-war study of Japanese naval records revealed that she'd been the sole target of a 30+ aircraft strike package and sunk with all hands. Robb White wrote a very fine "what if" novel about the lost ship called Silent Ship, Silent Sea; well worth the read imo.
Definitely a story worth looking into!
Delete