BryanG

My 7-month old granddaughter, Lilia. I - of course - picked out her outfit! http://

I'm not sure what armor series this was.  Once cut with the plasma torch, I used a belt sander to shape, hone and polish the metal.   The Chief (Motor Pool OIC) told us that we likely couldn't have these sharpened by professional knife sharpeners, as the metal would likely destroy their equipment.  Advised us to speak with the pro to let them know where the metal came from, lest they damage their tools.

I appreciate the kind words!  I'll do a write-up on it for my grandkids.    My initials are stamped on one side of the knife and "OIF" on the other.    Wanted something to pass on.  I have my father's Bronze Star from Vietnam, my grandfather's fire chief's badge, my opa's (German grandfather) Iron Crosses from both World Wars.  Adding my own contribution to the mix!

OK, I know that this isn't a firearm. However, I noted a few others posting items they're proud of. This is one of mine! While in Iraq in '06 our Motor Pool OIC brought his knife-making equipment (he forges and makes his own). He taught some of how to make knives when we had some free time. My blade has been cut (with a plasma torch) from a piece of HMWWV armor (off an old vehicle). smoothed and shaped by me. The handle is a piece of wood from a door frame out of one of Saddam's palaces (Radwaniah Palace, southern end of BIAP). Start to finish:

My wife and daughter put on "New Moon" vampire movie ... Hence, I'm online snooping around and finding other things to amuse myself.

adamoxtwo - You need to watch your money and not spend it on junk like this. Simply lay your firearms under your bed mattress ... Generally local criminal masterminds fail to crack into this fortress of solitude. Instead, take your coworkers out to a very nice lunch. Pizza at the Blackhorse would be sufficient.

Shot at (Desert Storm, Somalia, Iraq). Exciting. However, back when I was a teenaged Reservist (before Active Duty career), I was drinking with a buddy and we were emptying the powder out of blank 7.62 (M60) rounds. Don't ask me why. We were drinking I said. My buddy was in college ROTC at that time (he later enlisted in Active Duty) and stated that he had lugged these belted blank rounds on their little field training exercises, but had never fired any. Didn't even know what they sounded like. Those immortal (dumb-ass) words escaped my mouth: "Check this out!" I took a blank round in a pair of pliers and struck the end with a wrench. "POW!!" My ears were ringing loudly, and my hand stung like a son of a bitch. Shrapnel and powder burn. Found what remained of the exploded round about 15 feet away. Emergency room tech commented that it almost looked like a shrapnel wound when he cleaned it up (I had told him I was goofing around and slipped in some gravel). Have carried a nifty little scar on my left hand and knuckle for the last 28 years as a reminder of what a dumb-ass I was!

My wife and I call it the "Scooby Doo" building!

I love lamp.

Saw that most of our state's Congressional Representatives opposed this weekend's health care takeover vote: Cooper (D) - "Yes" vote Cohen (D) - "Yes" vote Davis (D) - "No" Gordon (D) - "No" Tanner (D) - "No" Blackburn ® - "No" Duncan ® - "No" Roe ® - "No" Wamp ® - "No" I've already written Copper to let him know that I was extremely disappointed in his vote, and that I would work to support his opposition in the next election.

I read in another site that one rifle was a 5.56 with barrel shorter than 16" and the other was an automatic Swedish K.

This does provide justification - to my wife - for the money I spend on ammo each month!

I go out there a few times a year. Very nice range complex, and helpful RSOs.

I caught one or two episodes last year and liked what I saw. Last week, I picked up season 1 at Walmart, and my wife and I spent the weekend watching it (she got hooked). Enjoyed season 2 open ...

Just read the news myself ... What is up with him?

Can't help but notice that the "cap & trade" scheme calls for 'credits' to low-income folks ... Sounds like another way of Democrats trying to maintain their voting base. "Vote with us, and we'll make sure you get free goodies ... courtesy of someone else." Also - this, as with proposed health care legislation, won't apply to the politicians and media elite who push it. They're all wealthy ... These laws are all good for us "common folk," but won't have much of an effect on them. I just LOVE how they're all looking out for me!

House pushed through Al Gore's "Cap and Trade" scheme. This will tax the hell out of us, and raise prices at the gas pump, when heating or cooling your homes, and will raise prices on most manufactured goods. While Democrats claim that it will create "green" jobs, they make NO mention of the jobs which will be lost .... Shipped overseas to countries without these self-imposed restrictions. H R 2454 (Roll # 477) American Clean Energy and Security Act On Passage 6/26/2009 – 111th Congress, 1st Session Result: Passed GOP DEM IND Total Yeas 8 211 0 219 Noes 168 44 0 212 Pres 0 0 0 0 NV 2 1 0 3 Here are how our Tennessee representatives voted this day: (find how all state's representatives voted at the following site: House Passes Job Killing Cap and Trade Bill | Bucks Right ) AGAINST Cap & Trade: Blackburn (R, TN-07) Davis (D, TN-4) Duncan (R, TN-02) Roe (R, TN-01) Tanner (D, TN) Wamp (R, TN-03) Please take a moment and thank them for standing up for we Tenneseans. These are the Tennessee representatives who voted IN FAVOR of Cap & Trade: Cohen (D, TN-9) Washington D.C. 1005 Longworth House Office Building Washington DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-3265 Fax: (202)225-5663 Cooper (D, TN-5) Washington D.C. Office 1536 Longworth HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-4311 Fax: 202-226-1035 Gordon (D, TN-6) Washington Office 2306 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4231 Fax: (202) 225-6887 PLEASE - Take a moment and let them know how you feel about these representatives looking after PARTY IDEOLOGY, rather than what's in the best interests of the Tennesseans they are supposed to represent. Next week, this bill goes to the Senate, where there is more of a chance for Republicans to step up and filibuster. CONTACT our state representatives! Senator Lamar Alexander United States Senator - Lamar Alexander - Contact Us Office of Senator Alexander SD-455 / Washington, DC 20510 Voice: (202) 224-4944 Fax: (202) 228-3398 Senator Bob Corker .: United States Senator Bob Corker, Tennessee :: Contact Information :. United States Senate Dirksen Senate Office Building SD-185 Washington, DC 20510 Main: 202-224-3344 Fax: 202-228-0566 I sent email to Senator Corker and his response leads me to believe that he's sitting on the fence. WRITE ... CALL ... FAX

Not sure if this is what canadienmike was speaking of: From Alexander Tyler. No, he wasn't writing about the United States. This quote is well over one hundred years old. Tyler was writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic. "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage." Apperently there is some debate over whether or not he made this quote ... I don't really care, because I think its a good quote. Also accurate ... Particularly the portion where how things change when the population realize that they can spend other people's money on themselves.

I bought my wife a '66 Mustang convertable for our 10th anniversary. Beautiful car, with the original 289 engine, and in damned good shape. A friend recommended that I have the engine rebuilt, as it had sat for many years in a garage in Georgia. We put it into my garage, then he was deployed to Iraq ... Then I was deployed to Iraq. My son in law started to take the engine apart ... then he was deployed to Iraq. Mustang's been in the garage with the engine scattered around the place. For the last 8 years. My wife isn't very happy about it. Could use recommendations on someone in the Clarksville area to rebuild the motor and transmission at a decent price.

Got lucky at Clarksville Walmart (Ft Campbell Blvd) last week ... Went in early morning before work and was stunned to see 9 100-round boxes of 380! I bought my limit (6). That evening one of my co-workers snapped up the last two boxes of 380 at his Wakmart (Sango - southern Clarksville) for me. Was a great end to the week!

Message I sent: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am deeply concerned over reports over efforts by some in the Nashville area to circumvent Tennessee House Bill 962, which allows those with firearms permits to legally enter restaurants which happen to be serving alcohol. As a long-time Tennessee resident, a retied Solder, and a frequent visitor to Nashville, I was pleased to learn that "we the people" were heard by our elected representatives, who helped grant th right of responsible firearms owners to carry in restaurants. I regularly bring my family to shop in Nashville, and have always been uneasy having to leave my firearm in my car in order to enter a restaurant to dine. The fact is that some in the media have been sensationalizing this issue, and claiming that it will somehow place our citizens in danger. This new law simply allows me to enjoy a meal with my family after shopping, without leaving my weapon in the parking lot, where it is far more likely to end up in the wrong hands. I urge each of you not to fall victim to alarmist views on this issue. Nashville will NOT become the late nineteenth century caricature of the old 'wild west,' as some alarmists have attempted to portray. Please rest assured that we Tennesseans, as well as out of state visitors to Nashville, who have voluntarily undergone police background checks and firearms training to obtain our firearms carry permits will abide by the law. In the end, visitors to Nashville will see that Tennesseans are responsible and law-abiding, and that we enjoy the constitutional rights our nation was founded on. Respectfully, Bryan G First Sergeant (Retired)

I lucked into 600 rounds of .380 at Walmart this morning.

.380 ammo sighted at 3 of the Clarksville area Wallmarts (I got my hands on 600 rounds this morning).

Bagged 600 rounds of .380 ammo this morning at Clarksville (Ft Campbell Blvd) Wallmart. As of 8:30 this mornng (Thursday 4 June) there were still 3 boxes on the shelf. A friend informed me a litle while ago that he had bought some .380 at the Walmart in Oak Grove KY (a couple miles north of the Clarksville Wallmart. Yesterday a co-worker said he had seen some .380 at the Sango (south Clarksville) Walmart ... I'm still a bit put off, because he didn't know at the time that I was looking for it. Would be nice if we start seeing a little more of this ammo out on the shelves. Keep your eyes open ...

People – CK1 does have a valid point that there are more important issues to be concerned with, besides buying up ammunition. After all, we are now led by an opportunistic socialist president, with a moron for vice president who’s only positive feature is the level of amusement he seems to provide whenever he opens his mouth … And let’s not forget third in the line of succession: Speaker of the House Pelosi, member of the house intelligence committee, but claims that the CIA lied to her, and is now in China pushing “Climate Change” (not that the Chinese give a **** about this made-up scam, nor would they be inclined to follow any environmental policies Pelosi would peddle). Obama came into office playing on his race, pure and simple. Charming and charismatic, he swept the masses off their feet with promises of a new, open and transparent government. He had on his side the American media, who even now report nothing of concern about him or his administration. After all, the media has too much vested into his success ... after beating his drum throughout the campaign. He didn't have to emphasize his race ... He had his staff, supporters and media do it for him. Funny how any opposition muttering his middle name (Hussein) was branded a racist. Funny how many people are scared of having that label pinned on them ... and how many liberals are quick to slap that label on anyone who dares speak against their man. The question of whether or not this country is ready for a black President is irrelevant. Of course it is - just not THIS President. He is a socialist, and an opportunist, who's played the people and the system his entire career to get where he is. Now that he's here, he's realizing that blaming his predesessor will only get him so far. And now we have this transparency ... Oh yeah, the White House has only posted a few of the actions online (as opposed to the promise that all would be posted online for the American people to review); and NO lobbyists in the administration ... Oh yeah, except for the ones that Obama made exceptions for. Lack of oversight? How about government control over the banks and auto industry, while the Secretary of the Treasury has expressed interest in taking control of other business - not under threat - that he deems critical. Oh, right, and he's going to go after tax cheats (with the exception of himself, and about half of the Obama administration appointees who were knocked out of play) CK1 is correct … The trashed U.S. reputation around the world is best served by a man who has kowtowed to every national leader he has met. His “Apology Tour” to Europe did wonders for repairing America’s reputation … His bow to the Saudi leader was a wonderful touch. No problem that Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela all mock us … Our world-wise leader will make it all right again. Come to think of it, I never really gave a **** what the world thought of us. Since when does France or Spain’s feelings towards America mean anything? Unlike the First Lady, I’ve always been proud of my country. Not just as an adult, but as a child as well. I grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each morning to the American flag, and love my country so much that I joined the military when I was able to at age 17. Rather than work about ammo, as CK1 points out, we could wait for that big tax break CK1 points out that Obama gave us all. Oh wait, many Americans DON’T pay taxes, and instead are being given money courtesy of those of us who work hard and earn. Those big Obama tax breaks will really come in handy! Oh wait … he wants Cap and Trade scheme in place, by which we’ll all be hit with increases in costs for heating and cooling our homes, higher prices at the fuel pump, and will pay even more for goods and services – courtesy of higher business costs resulting from the cap and trade scheme. Don’t worry about buying up the ammo at Wallyworld, as CK1 points out … be more concerned about buying up those commodities that may grow more scarce after Obama and his cohorts go after American businesses, and these businesses pack up and head overseas. CK1, engaging in dissent from the administration is very patriotic and American. Our Founding Fathers were the epitome of rightful political dissenters. Remember, while the rights of all Americans are indeed extended to us through the Bill of Rights, these rights may be lost if an apathetic society allows it. There are many liberals and others with self-serving interests who would gladly see some of our basic rights scaled back or eliminated. The others posted here are right … You drink too much Kool Aid. Or maybe you have little else more constructive to do than to try to get a rise out of other people. Perhaps you're sitting at your computer now, having a good snicker about "riling up all the redneck gun nuts." What the hell, you had enough of an effect on me to get me to commit the time to put these thoughts to paper (in a manner of speaking). But then again, misguided or not, you're entitled to your opinion.