Thanks MajorDad- stay safe. You and the rest of the troops are in my prayers.
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Thanks MajorDad- stay safe. You and the rest of the troops are in my prayers.
No, I was referring to the field-level operations debriefing you were giving us. :icon_wink:Originally Posted by MajorDad
I've heard of the Osprey. Time did a scathing report on it, though. But you know Time.
I only have limited experience myself, but here is my $0.02: It really depends on what you need. There is a free program called GNUCash (www.gnucash.org) that is very powerful, but not as super slick and user-friendly as the Intuit products.
Basically, if you need to do payroll, I don't think there is anything easier to use than Quickbooks. The catch is you have to upgrade every year to stay up-to-date with the tax code.
If you don't need it for payroll (and you don't want to fool with the learning curve of a free open source program), then one of the Quicken products would be fine. They have a small business one that covers pretty much all the basics--AR/AP, invoices, etc. If you are just doing it for home, one of the lower end programs (and even MS Money) is sufficient.
Two major advantages to the Quicken packages are that 1) they tend to integrate better with online banking than Quickbooks and 2) it is easy to import and export data to and from other formats if you decide to change versions or even to switch to another program. (GNUCash also fits this bill and can download financial info from your bank website in a Quicken format, but the account setup is not quite as easy to use, and some people just aren't into free software, which generally tends to favor porting functionality from other programs over providing a slick interface.)
Hope this helps.
It helps tremendously. I got lucky, because under these parameters, Quicken is the product I should use, which is what I have. Dumb luck, I guess.
Now, I'm going to have to spend some time learning how to get the most out of it. What you did was give me comfort that I was learning the correct program.
Thanks.
MD
We are keeping you all in our prayers. Thanks for the updates and come back safe! We support all of you and I know many of us support what you are doing to keep the rest of us safe. Thank you for your commitment and service!!!
Chris
Good Luck Major Dad -
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family! Thanks for serving!
Give um hell Devil Dog! We pray for you and your brothers in arms safety every day. It's great to get the updates from someone that is on the ground there. Semper Fi!
Update....
First a caveat: I hope you all understand that I can't go into much detail because I'm not always sure what's common knowledge and what's not. I'm going to stay on the safe side all of the time!
Good news from the front. The bad guys are losing their leaders at an increasing rate. It's kind of like the old "snowball effect." We capture the #1 for example, and then #2 becomes the new #2. Which makes me wonder...WHO...DOES...NUMBA...TWO...WORK...FOR? WHO...DOES NUMBER TWO...WORK FOR? But I digress...
I see detainees come through here all the time. The peeps out in town are starting to get more courage to join the police. The bigger the police force, the more confident they get. The more confident they get, the more they are willing to take over policing their own country. It seems like it won't be much longer before it's time for us to step aside and let them take charge.
I really like some of the third country nationals that are out here. TCNs we call them. The ones from Uganda are awesome! They dress really nice and look sharp. I wear sunglasses so much that I forget that I'm wearing them sometimes. At one of the battle positions I visited, the TCNs were guarding the chow hall. They check IDs of everyone entering. I'm obviously a Marine, but when I got to them and showed them my ID, one of them stopped me and said something. I said, "Excuse me?" He said, "Shades." He wanted to see my eyes to compare them with my photograph. Nice!! I wasn't about to go through. He'd've kicked my a_ _! Too bad they aren't Marines! And I don't say that about many people.
Gotta go. Take care all, and thanks for the prayers and support!
MajorDad
Sounds like good news. Stay low and know that you are in all of our prayers.Update....
First a caveat: I hope you all understand that I can't go into much detail because I'm not always sure what's common knowledge and what's not. I'm going to stay on the safe side all of the time!
Good news from the front. The bad guys are losing their leaders at an increasing rate. It's kind of like the old "snowball effect." We capture the #1 for example, and then #2 becomes the new #2. Which makes me wonder...WHO...DOES...NUMBA...TWO...WORK...FOR? WHO...DOES NUMBER TWO...WORK FOR? But I digress...
I see detainees come through here all the time. The peeps out in town are starting to get more courage to join the police. The bigger the police force, the more confident they get. The more confident they get, the more they are willing to take over policing their own country. It seems like it won't be much longer before it's time for us to step aside and let them take charge.
I really like some of the third country nationals that are out here. TCNs we call them. The ones from Uganda are awesome! They dress really nice and look sharp. I wear sunglasses so much that I forget that I'm wearing them sometimes. At one of the battle positions I visited, the TCNs were guarding the chow hall. They check IDs of everyone entering. I'm obviously a Marine, but when I got to them and showed them my ID, one of them stopped me and said something. I said, "Excuse me?" He said, "Shades." He wanted to see my eyes to compare them with my photograph. Nice!! I wasn't about to go through. He'd've kicked my a_ _! Too bad they aren't Marines! And I don't say that about many people.
Gotta go. Take care all, and thanks for the prayers and support!
MajorDad
Thank's for the updates MD!!! Thanks for all you do for us.Update....
First a caveat: I hope you all understand that I can't go into much detail because I'm not always sure what's common knowledge and what's not. I'm going to stay on the safe side all of the time!
Good news from the front. The bad guys are losing their leaders at an increasing rate. It's kind of like the old "snowball effect." We capture the #1 for example, and then #2 becomes the new #2. Which makes me wonder...WHO...DOES...NUMBA...TWO...WORK...FOR? WHO...DOES NUMBER TWO...WORK FOR? But I digress...
I see detainees come through here all the time. The peeps out in town are starting to get more courage to join the police. The bigger the police force, the more confident they get. The more confident they get, the more they are willing to take over policing their own country. It seems like it won't be much longer before it's time for us to step aside and let them take charge.
I really like some of the third country nationals that are out here. TCNs we call them. The ones from Uganda are awesome! They dress really nice and look sharp. I wear sunglasses so much that I forget that I'm wearing them sometimes. At one of the battle positions I visited, the TCNs were guarding the chow hall. They check IDs of everyone entering. I'm obviously a Marine, but when I got to them and showed them my ID, one of them stopped me and said something. I said, "Excuse me?" He said, "Shades." He wanted to see my eyes to compare them with my photograph. Nice!! I wasn't about to go through. He'd've kicked my a_ _! Too bad they aren't Marines! And I don't say that about many people.
Gotta go. Take care all, and thanks for the prayers and support!
MajorDad
Okay, you guys wanted me to talk about something the press won't tell you. Well, here's one for ya. Please read the following Time/CNN Magazine article concerning the V-22 Osprey. This is the airplane I mentioned a few times already.
First, look at the cover. It shows the V-22 on the front. Notice the shadow on the ground. It is a crucifix - like it is the Grim Reaper or something.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601071008,00.html
Now read the article.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1665835,00.html
Let me let you in on a couple of things:
1. This is a cargo helicopter. NOT AN ASSAULT AIRCRAFT! None...not one of our cargo helicopters has a front mounted machine gun. Not the CH-46. Not the CH-53. And not the UH-1. The only helicopter that we have with a front mounted machine gun is the AH-1 Cobra. AH stands for Assault Helicopter. CH stands for Cargo Helicopter.
2. Ammunition – As far as I know, there’s nothing that says you can’t use .50 caliber ammunition on humans, although I was told that a long time ago. Basically, we are taught to use proportional force. In other words, use armor piercing rounds on armored vehicles and 7.62 mm ammo on humans. The jack-axx’x called it .30-06 hunting ammo. Let me tell you something. Our Marines love the 240G machine gun and it happens to fire 7.62 mm ammo. If you find 7.62 mm ammo shocking, then you’ll really faint when you hear this: Our M-16’s and M-4’s – Well, they fire 5.56 mm ammo. Uh…Well, that’s about the same size as the .22 rifle you used as a kid to hunt rabbits. The difference? The M-16 propels the round at 52,000 feet per second (as you were 2,600 fps, thanks salty). I’ve seen a guys head blow apart when he got hit with one. So what do you want in a “hot LZ?” I want 7.62 mm because I’m most likely going to be shooting at people and the fact that I can carry more rounds and fire more rounds per second than the .50 cal machine gun.
3. Inability to auto-rotate – Okay, it takes a computer to keep it stable. Do you like the Stealth Fighter? Hey, that thing won’t fly without computers. I hear ya, they can bail-out if they have to. But just like the Osprey, you don’t bail out of helicopters either. Sure, helicopters auto rotate. But since I joined the Corps nearly 20 years ago, there’s been dozens of people killed in helicopter crashes. If you look hard enough, there are some boot-leg copies of actual footage of helo crashes in the Marine Corps. The pilots I’ve talked to say they can go from helicopter mode to airplane mode in seconds and then glide enough to land. Yes, it’s going to leave a mark! It’s just a matter of what kind of mark you want? Concussions, loss of limbs, paralysis, etc from an Osprey crash or an “Atomic Ass Drop” from a helicopter which will paralyze you so bad you can’t get out of the burning hulk? Look, who wants to be in a crash of any kind?
4. Requirements being changed when it became apparent that autorotation couldn’t be achieved with the Osprey – I just came from Marine Corps Systems Command and am well versed on the requirements and acquisition processes. First of all, changing a requirement isn’t as simple as one guy lining it out of the requirements document when no one is looking. A requirement document goes through a rigorous process that takes months if not years to complete (push the ‘I believe’ button here). For a program this big, it has to go to a Joint Requirement Oversight Council (JROC) composed of representatives from each service who eventually have to brief the Secretary of Defense and all the Service Secretaries that the requirement is good. If ANY requirement is changed, the document has to go back through the process, albeit it doesn’t take as long. But the point is, it has to be agreed upon before being put into development, testing, and eventually production. Yes, there are trade-offs such as firepower for speed, auto-rotation for speed, maneuverability for size, etc. But again, they look at all that and agree to it. These guys/gals know the risks and they also know what is needed to stay the most powerful military in the world.
When these things first landed here, we all worried that it was unsafe. Hell, look at it! It just looks unsafe. But after a few weeks, everyone is excited to get a chance to ride on it. It cuts the flight times at least in half. They are more comfortable and they don’t make near the racket that the other helicopters do. They are usually right on top of us before we even hear them, and only after they go to helicopter mode.
Only time will tell how good this bird is. The Commandant is right. There will be crashes. So? Name one type of aircraft that has been in service for any length of time and has never crashed. You might find one, Rain Man, but it is the exception, not the rule.
Hope this helps you understand this awesome aircraft better.
MajorDad
Last edited by MajorDad; 10-29-2007 at 12:14 AM.
^ Thanks for the update. The Osprey is an awesome tactical aircraft and all the major military players will eventually have something like it since it provides speed and capacity.
The Green Berets in Viet-Nam used .50 caliber machine guns to defend their base camps. A couple of thousand of NVA would try to storm their camp but the .50 caliber weapons would stop them in their tracks. Not uncommon for one round to go through 2 or 3 of them.
It would be nice if the M-16 round travel at 52,000 fps but it only seems like it to the poor fellow who is shot by one. The actual speed of the round is about (if I remember correctly) 2600 fps. The round explodes when it hits anything which explains its stopping power as well as its limitation..
"All roads lead to Putin" -- Thomas Jefferson
Major Dad:
Keep me posted on the MV-22 ops over there. I'm a Bell Helicopter employee and spent many hours working flight test on Ship 23 and Ship 34 up in Amarillo a few years back ... not to mention a short deployment to Pax River. We're all glad to see them deployed and in the hands of the Marines! We know they'll do well!
Have you been able to get a ride in one yet? I hear it beats the socks off the Frog.
As always, you guys are always in our prayers!
Kirk
Yes, you are right. It is something like that. I don't know what I was thinking when I typed that.That's what happens when you post something in public. You have to triple check everything. The point, though, is that even a .22 fired fast enough will ruin someone's day.
I agree that the .50 cal rounds f's humans up. But both the weapon and rounds are a whole lot heavier, and it takes a lot more rounds to do the same job. When you are talking about flying machines, weight is a huge deal. It could mean the difference between 20 passengers and only 18 passengers.
Vietnam was a totally different war technologically speaking. You ought to see the toys we have now. We have unmanned "toys" killing people now. The Osprey is going to get better and better over the next 10 years. It wouldn't surprise me if they get a gun up front eventually. For now though, we had to get this bird out there to prove its value to the Marine Corps.
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