One of the local talk show hosts had a little dust up with the Harry Potter book people. He had purchased, with his own money, a case of the most current book. He had them and a week ago Friday, said he’d have a lottery to send the books out, which would be expressed out on Friday, using overnight/Saturday delivery methods, so the books would be in the people’s hands after the selling, which began at midnight. He had passed this through his legal department and had gotten it OKed.

He announced this on his MJ Morning Show. He left after his show, but later got a call from the station management, who said the Harry Potter people had sent a local rep to confiscate the books, and…his managers had handed over his personal property, so as not to get over the breakers with the publisher in the legal realm.

Yep, he was a little incensed with this all. Anyhow, he did buy some books at midnight, then took them to the range and checked to see, when faced with various calibers, if Harry Potter lived of died in this edition.

I’m thinking 9mm from an H&K MP5 on full auto won this round…but watch the video and see what you think.

embedded by Embedded Video

More here on the story, including two more videos, mashups using “Scarface” and “Terminator 2” as backdrops and to set the mood…

Go if you can! The story of an incredible story well told in print and now an opportunity to hear the author discuss it live!

Want the book? Get it here. You can read the first chapter on line, too.

Note:  The NMHS website says the presentation is at 10:30 AM!

From Brad Peniston, the author:

The National Maritime Historical Society has invited me to talk about “No Higher Honor: Saving the Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf” tomorrow near their New York headquarters.

When: noon, Sat. July 28
Where: The Hendrick Hudson Free Library, 185 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, N.Y. 10548
— Phone: 914-739-5654
— Google map

The event is open to the public; please come! Brad

If anyone gets the, after action reports need to be published…on your blog, or I’ll gladly put them up here.

I picked this up on my “Dashboard” of WordPress, but it’s not specific to WP blogging, but some well thought out stuff on how to ramp up the quality of posts on blogs in general. Done by Lorelle VanFossen:

Oh, not to mention, the SlideShare site looks like you PowerPoint Rangers can spread your message way beyond that briefing to the DVs who pop by constantly….C’mon…go and post your work, you know you want to.

Update 7/27/2007: Great! SJS accuses me of encouraging the digital version of this heinous activity by this post:

Thanks, Shipmate, I was only trying to help….Maybe he should check out this slide show I found there before he protests so, coz even Hummers made it in the batch:

Just sayin’, ya know…

The History Channel’s “Dogfights” series is in a new season. Friday night, 9:00PM (Eastern). Tune up your recorders if you can’t sit down and watch it live. Tomorrow will be two heavy duty WWII fighters and their battles: The P-47 “Jug” and the FW-190.

Last week was a fascinating look, from the “other side” as well as ours, at the Kamikaze phenomena, including a detailed breakdown of the tribulations of the USS LAFFEY (DD-724) that suffered through 80 minutes of kamikaze attacks off Okinawa, taking 6 hits by aircraft and four bomb strikes. She took some of the 50 planes that hurtled themselves at her that one day in her RADAR picket station. She didn’t sink, and her crew saved her to fight all the way into the Cold War. She is now a museum ship at Patriot’s Point in Charleston, SC, alongside USS YORKTOWN (CV-10).

In addition to the Japanese suicide program, the show covered Sturmstaffel 1 of the Luftwaffe, which took volunteer pilots that trained to ram Allied bombers. The plan was to bail out and come back and fly more missions, if you could…but not to intentionally kill yourself on the first mission.

Anyhow, tune in for more detailed interviews and computer animations of the most incredible aerial battles documented!

While they have the reputation of “Fighting SEABEEs,” they most often are without their rifles in their hands, because they have to man a shovel or the controls of heavy construction equipment. News feed from U.S. Central Command:

U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Edward Miller

NMCB-133 drilling wells, building schools in the Horn of Africa

26 Jul 07
by MC1 Mary Popejoy
CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

The Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-ONE THIRTY THREE Detachment Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonier have been deployed to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa area of operation since Feb. 5 performing well drilling operations, school building projects and other quality of life projects throughout East Africa.

Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion ONE THIRTY THREE pour concrete into a concrete pad located inside the expansion area of Camp Lemonier May 15. The concrete pad project is just one of three projects the Seabees are responsible for on Camp Lemonier. The Seabees, more than 130 strong, are currently in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya providing each community with much-needed assistance to improve the quality of life in each area. Each project the Seabees have taken on aligns with the task force’s mission of preventing conflict, promoting regional stability and protecting coalition interests in order to prevail against extremism. This mission is accomplished by partnering with nations on humanitarian assistance, civic action programs such as school and medical clinic construction and water development projects.
[…]
For Builder 2nd Class Gabriel Kelly, it provides a lot of personal satisfaction being able to build structures in a country such as Africa.

“It is very rewarding to be able to use the skills I have and provide a better way of life for the people who use the facilities in the future,” he said.

According to BU1 (Seabee Combat Warfare) Michael Cadoret, project manager for Camp Lemonier, the end result of each project makes it completely worthwhile.

“The best part of any project is seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces and how happy they are to have a new and improved building for them to use,” he said. “Seeing the effect and impact our projects have on a community make the long hours completely worth it.”

Leaving the community with a good impression of the U.S. military is an important and critical part of every mission.
[…]

From the NMCB-133 Official Navy Website, the “Running Roos” are from the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, the home of the Atlantic Fleet Seabees. NMCB 133 is currently on its 2007 deployed to SWA, HOA, Belize, Sae Tome, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Rota. Commanding Officer: CDR Paul J. Odenthal, P.E., CEC, USN.Sounds like a busy bunch. BZ to NMCB-133 for the work they do around the world!

Subscribe to the CENTCOM RSS news feed here.

Current CENTCOM press releases are here.

Can’t find it on the web yet, but the news on radio about 30 minutes ago said the judge decided to award $8M to the 15 families of the USS COLE (DDG-67) casualties in their case against the government of Sudan.

Report said the request was $100M. I’m sure details will be around the MSM/net soon…

Update 7/26/2007: Here’s a story, but not from a “big” MSM outlet. Hmmm…

Corrections: 17 families, not 15 and the original demand was $105M

One day, open trackbacks will actually get some good reading links here. Until then, suffer from my story telling (that’s your cue to link in and get some distracting links to be clicked on…).

I can’t recall the transgression, maybe something like the Quarterdeck not rendering honors to a senior officer driving down the pier, but “we” did something wrong. I don’t recall the details of why my division (OI) was detailed to carry out the “punishment,” but needless to say, it happened.

It seemed that retied ADM Arleigh Burke, USN, was in town and would be spending the day at sea on a greyhound of the fleet. Those familiar with the Norfolk Operating Base (NOB) know the layout and the way to/from sea, and where the fat ships, vs the small, sleek combatants moor. So, on the appointed morning, I assembled my division of operations specialists (OSs) and electronic technicians (ETs) on the spacious flight deck aft (we were port side to, bow in) in two ranks, awaiting the transit to sea of some DD with ADM Burke aboard.

The ship came into view, and others ships south of us could be heard rendering honors on their topside announcing circuits, finally we came to attention, saluted and dropped the salute in accordance with the whistle signals over our speakers.

With ADM Burke safety beyond eye shot, as they headed north up the southern branch of the Elizabeth River towards the Hampton roads area and to sea, I executed a sharp about face in accordance with FM 22-5 and directed my men to face left in my well practiced command voice from just about a year before, having actually marched units around parade fields for three years. They did the left face fine, then I turned right and commanded “Forward, MARCH!” They got this right also.

Picture us now, about 20 sailors in two columns, having been centered on the centerline, now marching towards the starboard side of the flight deck. I watched the approach to the safety nets, gauging when to issue the next order, also from FM 22-5, to avoid an officer induced multiple man overboard situation while in port.

“Column Left, MARCH!” Well, the deck edge was close, and the command was apparently not well practiced. The two columns began to disintegrate, as the front men stopped, and the middle and rear ones kept coming, but allowing for the “stoppage.”

I gave up, and dismissed them. They easily found their way to the watertight door on the side of the helo hanger that led below to berthing.

So much for trying to march sailors.

As requested by VA Joe, I’m passing the word:

From Aug 5th thru the 20th, VA Joe is taking votes for military support organizations. The winning organization gets $1000 added to the coffers from VA Joe’s website….2nd, 3rd and 4th places get some bucks, too!

Get moving! VOTE HERE!

If you’re not a VA Joe member, sign up…it’s a free registration, and get on with helping support the troops and their families!

(and check out the site while you’re there for the other info that’s posted!)

About two weeks ago:

Stopped at the video store to return movies. There is a bench on the sidewalk, adjacent to the drop slot. The lady sitting on the bench asked “Letters from Iwo Jima?” No, sorry. “My husband is inside at the counter waiting to see if one comes up in there.”

Redundancy, and, willingness to help bag the war movie for the hubby. Good team, I’d say.

Almost 39 years ago (7/28/1968) in a land far away, a Navy Corpsman gave his life, so his Marine shipmates could live. IN doing so, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor:

Hospital Corpsman Third Class Wayne M. Caron, United States NavyFor conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 28 July 1968 while serving as Platoon Corpsman with Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division during combat operations against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam. While on a sweep through an open rice field in Quang Nam Province, Petty Officer Caron’s unit started receiving enemy small-arms fire. Upon seeing two Marine casualties fall, he immediately ran forward to render first aid, but found that they were dead. At this time, the platoon was taken under intense small-arms and automatic-weapons fire, sustaining additional casualties. As he moved to the aid of his wounded comrades, Petty Officer Caron was hit in the arm by enemy fire. Although knocked to the ground, he regained his feet and continued to the injured Marines. He rendered medical assistance to the first Marine he reached, who was grievously wounded, and undoubtedly was instrumental in saving the man’s life. Petty Officer Caron then ran toward the second wounded Marine, but was again hit by enemy fire, this time in the leg. Nonetheless, he crawled the remaining distance and provided medical aid for this severely wounded man. Petty Officer Caron started to make his way to yet another injured comrade, when he was again struck by enemy small-arms fire. Courageously and with unbelievable determination, Petty Officer Caron continued his attempt to reach the third Marine until he himself was killed by an enemy rocket round. His inspiring valor, steadfast determination, and selfless dedication in the face of extreme danger, sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

HM3 Caron was outstanding young men who enlisted while America was enganged in a conflict:

Wayne Maurice Caron was born on 2 November 1946 in Middleboro, Massachusetts. He graduated there with multiple honors from Memorial High School in June 1966. On 12 July of that year, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy in Boston, Massachusetts. He advanced to hospital apprentice on 23 September 1966, to hospitalman on 1 April 1967, and to hospital corpsman third class on 16 January 1968.

Hospital Corpsman Third Class Caron underwent recruit training at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, and was the Honorman of his company. He attended Naval Hospital Corps School, also in Great Lakes, and then received further training at Field Marine Service School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California. In July 1968, HM3 Caron joined 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, and served as a platoon hospital corpsman with the 2d Platoon, Company K in the Republic of Vietnam.

On Oct 1st, 1977, USS CARON (DD-970), was commissioned. CARON was in service 24 years, stationed out of Norfolk, VA. Most of her career was spent attached to DESRON TEN.USS CARON (DD-970) saw action in several major operations during her time at sea. She was at Grenada for Urgent Fury, providing Naval Gunfire Support. Present in the Gulf of Sidra, she sailed across Khadiffi’s “Line of Death” in 1986. In 1991, she fired Tomahawks in support of Operation Desert Storm.USS CARON was sunk off Puerto Rico 12/4/2002.