M1Buck

The weekend of the Farnborough airshow? I'm in England this weekend to see the planes and an old friend that I've missed for 20+ years. I won't be back until Tuesday.

This may be trolling for fire a bit, but it seems to me that the German/Soviet pact to split eastern Europe was more of an attempt to regain the land lost after WWI than it was portrayed by the WW2 victors as a war of aggression. What do you all think?

I was in Erlangen, 91-91 (A/1-35). I loved it, but I was on a short tour. I'm going to love my new stomping ground.

OK, I'm cancelling the planning effort here at Fort Benning. I found out yesterday that I'm being transferred to Germany within the next 30 days for my job. Banchee, we will have to meet up. I will be just outside Nurnburg.

US citizenship should not be an issue to witness the gunnery, but it will limit some activities. We did this before at Fort Knox when I was at school there and it was quite successful even for the non-US folks. The time frame is based upon the gunnery schedule at Range Control. I don't have any influence over that. Other dates just don't have big guns shoot then. The Infantry museum is the only one up and running. Unless someone can poop out 50 million to build the museum, don't plan on it anytime soon.

By special request for Fort Benning in September, there are a few "big gun" ranges that will be going on. I am planning for September 12-16. That will provide some opportunity to see M1A1's and maybe some Stryker gunnery. I will also see if we can get some PAO assistance to get on the gunnery and driver's simulators as well as a special walk-through at the Infantry museum. The best way to get to Benning is to fly into Atlanta and take the shuttle bus down to Columbus. Groome Transportation has a bus coming in every hour during the day. I would recommend Double-tree for a place to stay, not only is it located near my place, but the rooms are nice and the bar downstairs is good, too. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be at benning, maybe a month, maybe a year. I've have job prospects in Tampa, NYC and Germany. I'm just waiting for an offer now and will take the first that rolls around. That being said, in federal hiring, I might not get a damn thing.

I don't know. I've seen some 25mm make holes like this. I've also heard the RPG-29 have not been in theatre dispite claims to the contrary.

I don't know if I've seen this anywhere, the only technology that I've seen lacking is the political will to completely and utterly destroy the adversary. Honestly, these wars are not securing the peace that we tell the ordinary citizens that they are supposed to be doing. When you go to war, you've got to give it ALL YOU GOT! Wipe out everything, man/woman/children/culture---don't leave a stray freaking dog! Throwing away national treasure (in lives and money) in small amounts over long periods of time is just as wasteful as one big chunk. The benefit of spending once is that it's over quickly and sets a example for future adversaries--don't f*$k w/ us.

Gentlemen, The infantry museum is very much underway and from what I've been told (never been there) it is very nice. Been very busy trying to complete the construction projects to permit tank training here at Fort Benning and we are nearing completion. There are many events here at Benning that would be of interest, to include a quarterly "HOTEX" fire power demonstration and a "best tank crew" competition that the Chief of Armor has proposed-similar to the USMC Tiger Shoot that was the fiasco of the Fort Knox I&I. I had originally proposed a NYC I&I in order to encourage our spouses and family members to come and enjoy. When I moved down here to Benning, I could no longer take an active role in planning a NYC I&I. Transport to Benning is not as bad as one would envision. Most international folks can get direct flights to Atlanta. I would recommend that destination for ALL folks flying in. There is a bus service (Groom Transportation) that has a shuttle bus that runs every hour to Columbus for $25-30US. It is much cheaper and faster to take the shuttle bus that to try to make the cross terminal sprint to the puddle jumper flight to Columbus. Once here in Columbus, there are many hotels to stay at and would recommend we pool resources to rent a van or two to get us back and forth. I will look into this some more and get back to you all!

Looks like you all had a wonderful time with plenty of activities and sights to see. My Dad and I truely wish we could have made it this year and we look forward to next year's adventure.

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that I cannot make the trip this year. Finances and in particular, the passing of my Mom have left me wanting. Please have a great time and post plenty of pics!

There just numbers and yeah, he's tied up. It's probably just so he doesn't go anywhere.

After living in Egypt for a year, the people are starving for freedom and true democracy. They currently live in a repressive military dictatorship and the corruption is outrageous. For Egyptians to recognize their true potential, they need a government that is freely elected (if they like us or not) and as free from the corruption that plagues the majority of the 3rd world. I also think they know that despite their historical issues with Israel, Israel is the 800lb economic gorilla that can be more of a help than an enemy. They are very industrious and energetic and with the right assistance, can be again a valuable ally.

Gosh, here it is two weeks after Geoff's passing and I just found out. I'm totally crushed. RIP my friend.

1- I recommend the latter dates. 2- Try to keep things as local as possible. As anyone can tell you, the traveling with a large party can become more of a problem than it's worth. 3- Don't bite off more than you can chew. The days will be impacted by jet-lag for those of us on the other side of the pond. I will let my wife know about this so that we can prepare time/finances/etc to ensure we can make this happen.