Breaking News Thread

[Flynbyu]

Send a  cruiser. They are lightning fast. 30+ knots.

Armament: MK41 vertical launching system Standard Missile (MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) Missile; Tomahawk Cruise Missile; Six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple mounts); Two MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight guns; Two Phalanx close-in-weapons systems.
Aircraft: Two SH-60 Seahawk (LAMPS III).

CG60 The USS Normandy



A Destroyer would work too. 30+ knots, and a lot more firepower.

Armament: Standard Missile (SM-2MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) missiles; Tomahawk®; six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts); Close In Weapon System (CIWS), 5" MK 45 Gun, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) (DDG 79 AF)
Aircraft: Two LAMPS MK III MH-60 B/R helicopters with Penguin/Hellfire missiles and MK 46/MK 50 torpedoes.


DDG69 The USS Milius


~Brian

[Colorado700R]

spent time on CG 67 (USS Shiloh), they're quick........until they're escorting an Aircraft carrier, then there dog slow in comparison  :grin_nod:

[Flynbyu]

Carriers are awesome. I think it's awesome to see one at a full speed turn. Saw the documentary on the USS Reagan on National Geographic. Freaking sick!

~Brian

[Colorado700R]

we went to battle short off of Hawii during an exercise to rescue a fishing trawler, we were just lining up for a massive aerial picture of the Lincoln and the Nimitz (I think, been awhile) battle groups. 

Anyway, so flight quarters are secured for the pic, so all the ships hit battle short (100%) power.  The roost from the shilohs 77,000 shaft HP was higher than the 5" gun turrets on the aft Deck    Then I watched in Awe as the Lincoln pulled away like we were standing still 

[Flynbyu]

Bad ass.

That would have been awesome to see!!!

~Brian

[Colorado700R]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/07/stolen.plane.pilot/index.html

[Krandall]

 

Badass Aaron!

[Flynbyu]

I'm suprised they didn't knock him out of the sky.

He was allowed to fly 700 miles!!!

~Brian

[Colorado700R]

I'm suprised they didn't knock him out of the sky.

He was allowed to fly 700 miles!!!

~Brian

I have a feeling they didn't becuase they contacted the school from where it was stolen, and were relatively sure that there wasn't any addtional explosives, etc. onboard when the douche took off.  And he was probably smart enough to avoid major cities enough to keep him alive.

[Flynbyu]

I wouldn't want to be stuck in a Cessna for 7 hours. That would suck!

~Brian

[Peelz]

I was  just going to post that story Aaron. Watching it on CNN this morning. Nuts!

[Colorado700R]

They Lived The Game

Marines' harrowing experiences inform an upcoming video game invoking an Iraq battle.

By Alex Pham

Wars throughout the ages have inspired great literature and film. The one in Iraq even has generated rap songs. But now there's going to be a video game based on the November 2004 battle in the Iraqi city of Fallouja that features some of the Marines who fought there.

The idea for the game, called Six Days in Fallujah, came from troops who returned with video, photos and diaries of their experiences. The battle resulted in the deaths of 38 U.S. troops and an estimated 1,200 insurgents.

Today's warriors are more likely to pick up a game controller than a paperback, so it was no surprise that the Marines turned to Atomic Games, a company in Raleigh, N.C., that makes combat simulation software for the military.

"Video games can communicate the intensity and the gravity of war to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be watching the History Channel or reading about this in the classroom," said Mike Ergo, who was in a Marine infantry battalion during the battle in Fallouja and is a consultant on the game.

Six Days in Fallujah, scheduled for release next year by El Segundo-based publisher Konami Digital Entertainment, is grounded in the harrowing experiences of three dozen Marines from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. As far as video game idioms go, it's a traditional third-person shooter that puts players in the combat boots of U.S. soldiers.

At first blush, the game looks like others in its genre, including Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. What separates Six Days in Fallujah, however, is the game's primary objective.

"Our goal is to give people that insight, of what it's like to be a Marine during that event, what it's like to be a civilian in the city and what it's like to be an insurgent," said Atomic Games President Peter Tamte. "For us, the challenge was how do you present the horrors of war in a game that is also entertaining."

A game about war that is both fun and realistic is an oxymoron, "because war is not fun," said Celia Pearce, professor of digital media and director of the Experimental Game Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "That's why many shooters have cartoon hyper-violence that's just physically impossible. It's exaggerated for the sake of entertainment."

Tamte and Juan Benito, the game's creative director, say they're trying to broaden the scope of what's considered entertaining in a shooting game.

The title offers narratives from more than a dozen Marines, many of whom are featured in documentary-style video interviews interspersed with the game's action.

Players also will find the game fun for the same reason boys love to play with miniature soldiers, Benito said.

"It's about having a challenge, then formulating a plan to overcome that challenge," said Benito.

This is where games and movies part ways as entertainment media, Tamte said. "The basic difference between a movie and a game is that the player can make choices in a game," he said.

One of the most difficult choices facing soldiers in Iraq today is telling civilians from insurgents. These choices are often made under fire, in a split-second.

"Our opportunity for giving people insight goes up dramatically when we can present people with the dilemmas and the choices that faced these soldiers," Tamte said.

[Colorado700R]

Actor Kal Penn joining the Obama administration

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Actor and longtime Obama supporter Kal Penn is joining the Obama administration, the White House confirmed to CNN Tuesday.

The actor will be part of the White House Office of Public Liaison, which is run by Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Penn will be primarily involved in dealing with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and the arts community.

Penn told EW.com that the new position comes after some soul-searching.


There was "'something aching in me to do something completely different and take a break from the acting thing for a while'" Penn said he told the executive producers of the TV series "House" when he explained his decision to get involved with politics full-time.

The actor also said his interest in politics has deep roots. "I've been thinking about [moving into politics] for a while. I love what I do as an actor. I couldn't love it more. . . . .probably from the time I was a kid, I really enjoyed that balance between the arts and public service."

"It's probably because of the value system my grandparents instilled in me. They marched with Gandhi in the Indian independence movement, and that was always in the back of my head. So the past couple of years I thought about it a little more."

But Penn also is leaving the door open to returning to acting at some later point. "Who's to say where any path leads? I still have a passion for it. But for the time being, I won't be acting," Penn told EW.com

Penn endorsed Obama's White House bid in late 2007, and was a frequent campaign surrogate on the trail last year.





In related news, Penn will be assuming his new postion after a stop off at the local WhiteCastle 

[Flynbyu]

^^^No freakin' way^^^



~Brian

[Peelz]

WTF WHite Castle! 


I just read that the kid who stole the plane was trying to off himself. Was hoping the US Military Jets would take him out.  WUSS!    Do it yourself.


How embarrassing to have that fail.