Rusty has the scuttlebutt on tactics and tools in Iraq, some interesting tactical observations and reviews on firearms. (Teaser: the 9mm sidearm is not as popular as the .45. Can you believe it?)

Fun fact: Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.

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Over at Michael Yon's site.

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. . . is being used on the floor of the senate (link here at the magazine), and he'll be posting the text of Bruce Willis' speech soon. (I hope he got a picture, too!)

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. . . don't even bother with Jarhead. The people who put it together are so ignorant of military matters that none of them even own clothing in shades of green (or blue).

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The Soldiers' Angels fundraising effort to provide injured men and women with laptops continues; please give generously.

[Oh, gee. I guess that was the button for the Marine team. Well, there are Army, Navy, and Air Force teams. So there you go. We'll let the free market sort it out.]

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. . . a good book on tanks? I'd prefer an overview, but a WWII focus is fine.

Actually, same question on planes. I'd like to explore what gave us air superiority in the invasion on D-Day, but context/history is important.

Thanks! (I'm sorry: tanks!)

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Apparently, Jarhead is nearly as bad as a lot of us feared it would be. Very little verissimilitude for anyone who's ever served in the armed forces—much less a veteran of the first Gulf War such as Joyner. In the comments section, James is challenged to come up with military movies that are true to real-life experience in uniform. Naturally, Band of Brothers gets raves—but of course one of the reasons it's so successful is that it takes eight hours (or was it ten?) to tell its story. There's a lot of time to capture some of the varied experiences of the men in the 101st Airborne.

We need more people who have actually served writing stories about the military; as it is, what we're given is too far off the mark.

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