We use to do the same kind of exercises in the post Vietnam era Army. Before they changed the PT test to running 2 miles, sit-ups, and push-ups, we used to do the horizontal ladder, the run-dodge-&-jump, inverted crawl, timed run in combat boots, etc. Then of course they didn't like that PT test, so they made it simpler and easier. Most of us thought they made it easier because there were more women entering the Army, and they couldn't do some of the exercises like the horizontal ladder. But women are also in combat zones and they need to know how to survive. The U.S. has only been in combat for the past 8 years, so I guess the military finally learned something. But they don't seem to be learning too much, cause they're taking away their bayonets, but teaching them with pugil sticks and emphasizing hand to hand combat - "They have to understand hand-to-hand combat, to use something other than their weapon, a piece of wood, a knife, anything they can pick up,". WTF? Maybe we need to have an attached bayonet on each M4/M16, kind of like the SKS, so that soldiers can always have it available and can deploy it rapidly while not having to carry a POS bayonet like the current Army issued one.

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FORT JACKSON, S.C. – At 5 a.m. on the Army's largest training base, soldiers grunt through the kinds of stretches, body twists and bent-leg raises that might be seen in an "ab blaster" class at a suburban gym.

Adapting to battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army is revamping its basic training regimen for the first time in three decades by nixing five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and honing core muscles.

Can Intel Agencies Kill Americans? Apparently our government doesn't consider itself to be subject to the 5th Amendment, which states in part "No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;". Now maybe these are some scumbags, but they're still U.S. citizens and deserve their day in court. And who's to say that you're not going to be next? As a veteran, I swore to support and defend the Constitution, didn't the rest of our government employees make the same oath?

According to Newsweek,

The director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, shocked Washington last week when he told a congressional committee that U.S. spy agencies have the authority to assassinate American citizens abroad who are believed to be involved in terrorism. But he suggested that intel officials would have to follow special rules to do so: "If … we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that," he told the House intelligence committee.

These officials say that, a few days after 9/11, George W. Bush signed a classified "intelligence finding" authorizing the assassination of suspected terrorists. By this order, which continues under Barack Obama, officials within the CIA and Pentagon can launch lethal strikes on suspected foreign terrorists without seeking permission from higher-ups. But, say the officials, strikes specifically targeting Americans must first be approved by a secret committee made up of senior intel officials and members of the president's cabinet (it's not known which ones).

Very interesting account of how our national policy on Oil and the US Dollar has impacted US politics and wars for the past 40 years, and how it will effect our future.

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Black and Gold: Oil and the US Dollar

A dozen national leaders will sit in a room in Libya sometime in 2012 and essentially decide whether the U.S. continues as a country.

The men are the leaders of the oil producing nations, and the meeting the next Opec conference. More radical members are pushing to have the cartel move away from trading in the U.S. dollar. It would devastate the U.S., while rewarding the oil states.

Forget for moment peak oil, party politics, the credit crisis, terrorism or even nuclear rogue states – these are all secondary to the new Cold War. This time around it’s economic warfare, played out on the business pages.

According to the petrodollar warfare hypothesis, Continental Europe and the United States have been embroiled in a bitter fight since the 1995 introduction of the euro – which can explain the Iraq invasion and demonization of Iran; the underlying themes can be traced back to successive U.S. administrations’ refusal to acknowledge peak oil, climate change or renewable energy sources. Complicating things for the future is the involvement of Russia and China.

I've found this really good deal on the military rucksack: MOLLE II Standard Pack, Desert Camo. I am not selling these, nor am I affiliated with the company that does, but this looks like a really good deal at less than $50 each.

http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/01001.html

This is an assembled MOLLE II Standard Pack, including a Gen-IV Frame, Shoulder Straps, Waistbelt, Rucksack, and Sleep System Carrier, assembled according to the official MOLLE II Care and Use Manual. All parts are made by Specialty Defense Systems, Inc, except for the frame, which is made by Downeast Inc, and all parts are GENUINE Military Issue. Brand new condition, individual parts come to us still sealed in bags. Non-plastic items are constructed of 1000 Denier Cordura and nylon threading, which is mold and mildew resistant and water-repellant. All plastic is ITW Fastex GhillieTex Infrared Reduction polymer. We are selling these at an amazingly low price compared to other vendors, but don't be fooled, these are genuine military surplus and in prime condition.

This plaque thanked the all members of both ACR's for helping keep West Germany free.

A Thai military association for those who fought in the secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War. At one time the Thai's had around 20 batailions fighting along side the Hmong and he Royal Laotian counter parts and suffered over 1,700 KIA in a war that offically didn't exist

New AR-15 assault rifles for the department $1,500.00 each.

Training time $100.00 per officer.

Picture on front page of the local paper with the female officer standing in full view, not using any cover, and with the magazine in backwards......PRICELESS!

I found this on thesurvivalistblog.net - check it out, it's a good blog!