Virginia Class Attack Submarine & Co.

I  wanted to share this picture because of the two “extra” features (creatures)? pictured; [bottom right]–then I found  her stats–an added bonus. Click image for HrR

MANUFACTURER

General Dynamics Electric Boat Division and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. – Newport News Shipbuilding.

SERVICE

USN

ARMAMENT

Tomahawk missiles, twelve VLS tubes, MK48 ADCAP torpedoes, four torpedo tubes

ISIS Overruns Marines’ Mock Iraqi Training Village

#DuffleBlog

NSFW

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms was placed on a state of high alert last night, after forces of the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria overran a mock Iraqi training village located in the center of the base.

First Images of Lincoln: 147th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

The first photo discovered of Lincoln at Gettysburg

In 1952, the chief of the Still Photo section at the National Archives, Josephine Cobb, discovered a glass plate negative taken by Mathew Brady of the speaker’s stand at Gettysburg on the day of its dedication as a National Cemetery. Edward Everett would speak from that stand later in the afternoon for two straight hours. Moments later, a tall, gaunt Abraham Lincoln would stand up and deliver a ten sentence speech in two minutes. It was the Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln delivered his famous speech 147 years ago today. (Nov. 19) His speech is revered as one of the greatest in American history, yet until Josephine Cobb looked closer at that Mathew Brady photo in 1952, it was thought that no photo existed of the Great Emancipator at Gettysburg on the day he delivered that address.

Based off the placement of people, the slight elevation of a few in the center left field of the photograph, and where the crowd was looking, Cobb bet that Lincoln would be in the photo. Photo enlargement later proved her theory true, making this the first–and possibly only–photograph of Lincoln at Gettysburg.*

Cobb estimated that the photo was taken around noontime, before Edward Everett arrived, and about three hours before Lincoln delivered his famous address. Below is the original, uncropped photo.

The original uncropped photo of the speakers stand at Gettysburg (Records of the Chief Signal Officer, 111-B-4975)

*It’s possible that three other photos all taken around the same time might also show Lincoln leaving Gettysburg on horseback. Some impressive sleuth work by historians comparing the photos to written accounts of the activities at Gettysburg that day indicate that they are very likely photos of Lincoln (albeit a pretty blurry Lincoln). You can view them at the Library of Congress website.

Source: National Archives

 

Image of the Day: 19 November 2014

Nimitz Carrier Strike Group – Sailors “Man the rails” on board the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as the ship gets underway. More than 5,000 Sailors from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group departed San Diego Jan. 24 on a surge deployment in support of U.S. military operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW) Christopher D. Blachly.  2008

World War II Airmen remember captivity — POW series Pt. 3

hover over image for caption

by Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
442nd Fighter Wing public affairs

11/28/2007 – WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — Part III:  Airmen recount forced march, liberation.

Note: This is the conclusion of a three-part series about Airmen in World War II who were captured by the German military. There’s one more post though. It’s a tribute to these brave men. Rest easy warriors. 

How Three Veterans Uncovered the Iraq War’s Biggest Untold Story

John Ismay was in the business of tracking explosives and bombs in surge-era Iraq. His first week there introduced him to an open secret: Coalition forces routinely found chemical weapons, and within a month, a soldier in his unit suffered a mustard blister on his leg the size of his hand.