Gaza Pier

 

oops

Do you remember the Gaza pier which the US built with your money to deliver humanitarian aid to genocidal jihad Hamas supporters? Sure you do, we all do, and now look at it, floundering and sinking on a beach. But hey, it only cost several hundred millions. I like the inimitable Armchair Warlord's analysis:

Do you know what's actually the most outrageous part of the whole Gaza pier operation?  In a week they'd only delivered a thousand tons of cargo with it!

That's equivalent to ONE load that ONE of the Army LSVs on site could have simply delivered over the beach.

During my previous career I found that on many occasions doing things the "hard way" was actually the easiest way to get something accomplished, because we weren't spinning our wheels and wasting time and effort trying to figure out some "easy" way to do it.  In this case simply delivering humanitarian aid over the beach via landing craft would have been far easier and far less complicated than building and delivering this Rube Goldberg-esque pier through the surf.  I suspect this option was in fact chosen because it could deliver cargo without American service members having to physically walk around on the beach, thus satisfying Biden's "no boots on the ground" directive via the threadbare technicality that the American boots are actually on a floating pier a hundred meters offshore.

 

And there you have it. What a waste of $320MN virtue-signalling cash. But hey, interest on the national debt's only about $1TN every hundred days, so what's a few million? 

Cheers,

LSP

Boots On The Ground

 

A rambunctious young soldier walked through the door, "Hi Dad, what's up?" I took a pause from selling AI inventory (What?? Yes, it's true) and said, "Here, look at this," and showed off the new CZ 20, "Let's go for a shoot." Smiles all 'round. But first things first, clean up those dusty old boots.

That's right, a pair of Ariat Heritage which have been  all over the shop, from Africa to Canada and in between. Good boots, but here's the thing, if you don't look after 'em they fall apart, not unlike guns, when you think about it. So I gave the things a good going over with mink oil. This helps waterproof the leather and keeps it supple. It's not even hard to do, just put some mink oil magic on your mink oil brush and give the boots a sturdy scrub.

Well done, boots ready to go, you're ready to go, pre-mission objective accomplished, but then disaster struck. That's right, the climate changed. It does that, you see, and it did it again today, with thunder starting to rumble like opening salvos in the battle of Kursk, followed by rain which spat against the wooden walls of this old house.

We watched the storm from the shelter of the front porch, "I guess we're not going shooting, eh?" No, we weren't, so we talked Army.

Now, all the world knows that the US Army has a grievous recruitment problem, to the tune of a 40k+ shortfall. Not good, especially when our beloved rulers are baying for moar war. Solution? My eldest told me, "What they're doing is getting all these new E5s to become recruiters. Doesn't matter if they're unfit or whatever, make Sergeant and off you go. That's what I was told."

"Huh," I replied, staring out at a tumultuous Texan sky, "That's no good," and the kid agreed. "Did you know recruiters have the highest suicide level rate in the Army?" I didn't, and he continued, "But here's the thing, if I turn down Recruiter I can put in a Drill Packet."

"Now that, old chap, makes a lot of sense in your case, you'd be good at it," and he would, his face fits. Not only that, it's a two year thing and he'd have time to finish off a degree and then move on to OCS. That's his plan, and it's a good plan. But back to the recruitment crisis.

"You know, Dad, I was talking with our First Sergeant and he told me, 'How are we going to fix recruitment, by taking on a lot of recruiters or by paying our soldiers more than three bucks an hour?' Yeah, and I said hey, you're preaching to the converted."

Like really. Maybe, just maybe, we'd get more recruits if we actually paid our soldiers more than junior burger flippers, to say nothing of all the risible rainbow garbage and the fact that patriots, young men and women who want to serve their country, aren't too keen on signing up to fight for the Demented Old Crook and associates. The very people who actively hate them and everything they stand for.

We talked about all this, there on the porch as the rain crashed down, and have rescheduled our shoot till after the boy gets back from a mission in California. I look forward to that. Semper.

Your Old Friend,

LSP

Boot Review: Ariat Brown Bombers

I'm not a boot technologist, unlike some of my friends, but I do like Ariat Brown Bombers (Heritage Crepe Sole). They're a sturdy pair of boots and I'm on my second pair in 8 years. Why a second pair? Because I gave the first ones away to a needy cause and liked them, so I bought a duplicate set.

They're good boots for riding, with a sole that grips the stirrup, while it still has Ariat's proprietary Duratread, and a heel that's designed to accept spurs. The boots also feature special "ATS technology" that "includes a forked shank, Gel cushioned forefoot & heel strike zone," and "a moisture wicking sock liner." 

I'm not quite sure what all that means, but the Bombers seem to give good enough support. They're sturdy, too, with a double stitched welt and good leather. I also like the saddle vamp and feel it gives extra protection; perhaps it does.

I've worn the Bombers riding, hunting, fishing, walking around London's East End, visiting the flock, at the range and, well, just about everywhere. So what's the verdict?

The Ariat Brown Bomber Heritage Crepe Sole is a good all 'round boot. It's not a fancy pants, Ivy League hotshot boot but it doesn't pretend to be, it's more of a working boot than a Highland Park cocktail hour boot. 

How much do they cost? Around $160. Will they fall apart? Mine haven't. Are they waterproof? If you put a lot of mink oil on them, yes. What do you think of Ariat's ATS technology? If I knew what it was I'd tell you. Would you recommend them to a friend? Sure, if they liked crepe soled, working, cowboy boots with a saddle vamp and a roper toe. Are they tactical? I'd have thought that was obvious. Are they liturgical? Not especially.

Go ahead and get some Ariat Brown Bombers, if you're in the market for a working cowboy boot. I've had over three years use out of this pair and look forward to many more.

Boots on the ground,

LSP