Special Operations: Legacy of the Master Street Fighter
 
May 6, 2024: Continued fighting in Ukraine and Middle East, plus the worldwide persistence of Islamic terrorism and urban violence, has revived interest in William Fairbairn, the developer of close combat methods used by police and the military, especially special operations or commando type troops.

Fairbairn died in 1960, having developed close combat fighting methods and taught them to soldiers and police personnel starting in the 1920s, continuing through World War II and for over a decade after the war. Fairbairn specialized in what he called gutter fighting, a ruthless, no holds barred form of combat referred to as The Fairbairn Method, which were developed in Shanghai, China, during the 1930’s when Fairbairn was an officer of its Chinese police force.


Ezoic
Fairbairn also developed various forms of hand-to-hand combat as well as innovations like the Kill House and bullet-proof transparent shields for police, the commando knife, and pop-up targets. Fairbairn trained allied commandos during World War II and these special operations were so feared by the Germans that Hitler ordered that any who were captured were to be immediately executed. The Germans believed, with some justification, that these commandos could be dangerous even when handcuffed or otherwise restrained. Authors of espionage and special operations publications found, and still find Fairbairn’s books excellent sources of material and details of close combat.

 https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsf/articles/202405060656.aspx

Boeing Woes Also Infecting Military Aviation
By AFP Staff
May 9, 2024
Views: 1720

Public Domain
The failures at Boeing, by design in our opinion, have reached military aviation. The following memo from Boeing to the U.S. Army is being circulated.


Shoe writes, "In light of all the news about Boeing, defective parts, and whistleblowers dying, someone sent me this memo sent from Boeing to the Army, and it’s shocking. The Army just had another Apache crash two days ago on Fort Riley. We don’t know the cause of the crash, but we do know there have been AT LEAST two catastrophic tail rotor failures over the last two years. This memo says from 2019 to 2024 there have been defective tail rotor blades coming from the manufacturer. Over 4000 of them. These blades have been in use and installed fleet wide and are not reaching their expected service life of approximately 6600 hours. Many not even close to that at all. The Army and Boeing have been good about keeping this all hush hush. Are these crashes due to tail rotor blade failures? One was a 64E at Rucker in June 2022, the other was a 64D at Bliss November 2023. 3 of the 4 crew members were able to walk away, while the 4th will not fly again due to back issues. Because no one died, it’s easier to keep these incidents on the down low. In a perfect world, the whole fleet would be grounded until this was sorted out, but that’s never going to happen."

https://armedforces.press/boeing-woes-also-infecting-military-aviation/

A couple of stories from a family member who works with a hospice organization (not a hospice in-patient facility):

* A hospice patient living in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) was given written permission by their doctor to have "one or two beers" a day, as they desired. The SNF asked the hospice organization to clarify what "a beer" is. While this was probably given the attitude of the hospice people was, "(S)He's dying. Who cares how many ounces 'a beer' is?"

* One of the requirements for hospice care (Medicare, and probably private insurance) is a good-faith diagnosis by the patient's PCP that the patient has less than 6 months of life remaining. Many patient at this family member's hospice die within 2 weeks; most die within the 6 months, but a few live longer, a few of those live for a year or more, and a few of those go off hospice, because their condition improved.

That's the question a PCP and hospice attending physician have to discern/balance - is the patient really in the process of dying, and if they are, how much does it matter if they get intoxicated (by whatever)?

The Legendary USMC Sniper Who Hit 16 Enemy Combatants in 30 Seconds on a Pitch-Black Night
By Damian Lucjan,

2024-03-04
In the realm of military achievements, certain service members earn accolades, garnering public admiration and commendations, with some even becoming the focal points of books or films. Chuck Mawhinney opted for a less conventional path. Serving as a sniper in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, he crafted an extraordinary career for himself, deliberately concealing it from his family, friends and even his wife.

Mawhinney's narrative remained shrouded in secrecy until it was brought to light by another individual, prompting him to not only confirm the account, but inadvertently reshape public perceptions regarding snipers.

Chuck Mawhinney was a skilled shooter
 
Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney, born in 1949 in Lakeview, Oregon, spent his formative years honing his hunting prowess alongside his Marine father, inheriting invaluable skills that would profoundly influence his future. Electing to pursue a career as a sniper , he completed high school in 1967 and enlisted in the US Marine Corps. In a departure from convention, he brokered a distinctive arrangement: deferring his training until after the conclusion of deer hunting season.

Upon graduating from the Scout Sniper School at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in April 1968, Mawhinney swiftly found himself deployed to Vietnam .

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3356022687091-the-legendary-usmc-sniper-who-hit-16-enemy-combatants-in-30-seconds-on-a-pitch-black-night?_f=app_share&s=i0&pd=0I26643b&lang=en_US&send_time=1715279564&trans_data=%7B%22platform%22%3A0%2C%22cv%22%3A%2224.19.0.27%22%2C%22languages%22%3A%22en%22%7D

Will they be programmed to wipe the *sses of troops after they take a dump?  That might be too much brain work for people who depend on drones so heavily.