Raising an eyebrow at depictions of the military in popular culture
Why folks from different armies (often) get along. Holiday hiatus TBC Hi there and Happy Thursday. Today s post is going to be a short one because last week s holiday in the UK was inadvertently extended due to a medical emergency. Don t worry, the Director and family are all present and correct now, but [ ]
Hi there. I m leaving you without a post this week because I m on holiday with the family. In the meantime, I ll just leave you with this video which was sent to me a few days ago, and which encapsulates some of my recent posts about military equipment and procurement:
Unwrapping loose military terminology in everyday life. Ballistics: movie myths versus reality Holiday hiatus >> Hi there. This week I m going to dwell on a rather pedantic point which nonetheless is important because of what it says about our politics. I was listening to the Irish Times Inside Politics Podcast during the week and [ ]
A new Realism Report on real vs. movie ballistics. False economy: Part 2 TBC Hello and Happy Thursday all. This week I ve been busy collating my ballistics articles into a single Realism Report. I ll share the introduction to this long-form article below along with a link to the full piece. If you haven t [ ]
Where military spending really gets wasted. False economy: Part 1 TBC 2. What about the waste? .. Strategic autonomy Patronage Red tape of compliance, testing, etc. (+security clearances) I wrote in the last section about the surprisingly modest production facilities of some manufacturers of complex guided missiles. If there s such [ ]
Some harsh realities about doing war on the cheap. The truth about tricked-out weapons False economy: Part 2 >> Hi there. I hope you re all enjoying the summer. For my US-based readers, I hope you had a wonderful 250th Independence Day celebration, crazy heat aside. We hear a lot of sneering about the USA [ ]
Why military equipment personalisation is not like computer games. Modern myths about asymmetric war TBC Hello and Happy Thursday. This week s column is based on a reader s question from a few months back: How much are soldiers allowed to personalize their kit and weapons the way that modern FPS games emphasize (funded as [ ]
Unravelling the hype and misconceptions about modern military technology and tactics. The irreversible officer The truth about tricked-out weapons >> Hi there. The US-Iran deal-or-no-deal intrigue goes on. There are many aspects of this I could write about, but, like most of us, I m on tenterhooks seeing what happens (or doesn t happen) next. Also, [ ]
Why the military commissioned profession is like no other. Don t call me sir, I work for a living Modern myths about asymmetric war >> Hello and Happy Thursday. This week I m going to attempt to answer a question posed by one of my long-time readers. Like myself, he spent his first career, fifteen years [ ]
Military world-building for creators. Part 1a: The rank structures The Truth About Explosive Ordnance Disposal The irreversible officer >> Hi there. This week I m going to delve into a topic which might be old hat to many of you, so apologies in advance. I m going to talk about military rank structures as part of [ ]