Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Cool Stuff: Russian Working Dogs Equipped With Cellphones And Cameras
Monday, April 11, 2011
History: The 8 Civilian Recipients Of the Medal Of Honor And The Purge Of 1917
In the past I have talked about William ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody and his Medal of Honor. It is significant, because he was awarded this medal for heroism, as a civilian contractor. What is not talked about though, are the other 7 civilians that were the recipients of this medal, to include the only female recipient Dr. Mary Walker.
Mary’s medal is the reason why Buffalo Bill and the other civilians were able to retain their Medal’s of Honor after the Purge of 1917. This purge was an effort to thin out the ranks of the MoH and make it a purely military honor. It was also designed to take away medals from individuals that did not receive the medal for heroism. Basically, they wanted to make the medal more exclusive.
But what is interesting here is that all of these civilian medal recipients mentioned below were purged from the list back in 1917, not because of a lack of heroism, but because they were not military. But then along came Mary….. As soon as it was determined that Mary and company could not wear the medal any more, of course that caused a backlash. Mary would purposely wear the medal out of defiance of the ruling, all the way up until her death.
What happened after her death is that her family fought for the medal to be restored, and for sixty years this battle continued. In 1977, these efforts caught the attention of President Carter and he restored her medal posthumously. It is that event that that led to the other 7 civilians having their MoH restored. So that is a big thanks to Dr. Walker and President Carter. Although I am sure he did not intend for his actions to legitimize the heroic acts of contractors during times of war, and I think he was thinking more in terms of women’s equality. lol
The other interesting part of this history are the civilians who were working for the navy that received the MoH. They were boat pilots it sounds like, and this was during the Civil War. They were not privateers, but they were still working as civilians and were awarded the medal for heroism. Although there is not much on this history, so I really cannot add much there.
Finally, the guys I really like on this list, were the scouts. These folks were crucial to the Army mission during the years of brutal warfare in the wild west. There were other famous scouts from that time period like Frederick Russell Burnham, but it is these four scouts below that were recognized by the government for their heroism in battle.
I often wonder if congress would ever consider including civilians once again for the MoH? In this current war, there are numerous acts of gallantry and sacrifice that were performed by contractors, and yet their act goes unnoticed? Contractor use in this war far surpasses the use of contractors in US history, with over 2500 plus killed and thousands wounded. Yet there has been very little recognition of the heroes in this group (250,000 plus contractors serve in the war zones). Of course there have been a handful of Defense of Freedom Medals given out, but that is it.
Of course some would say that contractors get their reward in the from of monetary payment. But so does the US military, and so does all of it’s partners. What I am talking about are recognizing an individual’s sacrifice and efforts during times of war, despite if they are military or civilian. I celebrate our military heroes, and I would like to celebrate our civilian heroes as well. But no one knows about those civilian heroes, because they have not been recognized for their efforts.-Matt
Restoration of 6 Awards Previously Purged From TheRoll Of Honor
From Home of Heroes website.
There was no intent on the part of the 5 retired generals that reviewed all prior awards of the Medal of Honor, to single out any individual or group of individuals from whom to revoke our Nation’s highest award. Certainly the case of the 27th Maine precipitated the review, and as a former commander of the Medal of Honor Legion, General Miles presumably agreed with the Legion’s opposition to the inappropriate awards to that unit. Even so, however, the five generals approached their daunting task with reverence for the award as well as a sensibility to those who had already received the award. (more…)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Funny Stuff: Aircraft Carrier For Sale!
Wow! Now this would be a fine addition to anyone’s pirate fighting armada. lol I am surprised there isn’t a disclosure that says ‘aircraft sold separately’. –Matt
Vessel ARK ROYAL R07
DESCRIPTION: Vessel ARK ROYAL R07 Light Aircraft CarrierCompleted: 1981
Current Displacement: 19,000 tonnes
Estimated Metal Weight: 10,000 tonnes, 95% steel
Length: 210m,
Draught: 5.8m,
Beam: 36m
Location: HM Naval Base Portsmouth
Date and time for viewings: ?8am Tuesday 3rd May ?8am Wednesday 4th May ??Requests for viewing MUST be submitted in writing no later than Wednesday 27th April together with a brief outline of your intentions regarding the vessel to the following: ?Noelle Gardner email: desdsa-bd1a@mod.uk (01869 256346)?Janet Kynman email: desdsa-mst1a2@mod.uk (01869 256017) ??Tender Closure: Monday 13th June 2011 at 10 am??NOTE: ?All Tender Documents to be sent to: ?Emma Harris MCIPS – Commercial Manager Special Projects,?Building H9 Room 7, H Site?DSA Bicester?DE&S Arncott?Bicester?OXON, OX25 1LP?Tel: 01869 256014??All Tender documentation will be found under Additional Specifications.
Product ID: ARK001
Manufacturer:
Availability:
In stock
Our Price: N/A
Buy the product here.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Disaster Response: Global Rescue–The Small Company With A Personal Touch
In 1985, a French doctor and businessman co-founded the first travel-assistance company, AEA International, specializing in risk mitigation and pre-trip advice for European and Australian corporations operating in Asia. The firm, which is based in London, Philadelphia, and Singapore, changed its name to International S.O.S. in 1998. As global tourism boomed, ISOS expanded into a force that grossed $850 million and handled 1.2 million cases in 2009. (By contrast, Global Rescue handled about 300 cases that year. The company, which is private, declined to reveal revenue.) Travel assistance and crisis response are now a global industry worth billions, and there are no fewer than eight American companies offering those services.
Great article and I really liked the comparisons between this company and the larger ones like ISOS. All of these companies have been busy this year and last, and they have really shown their necessity in these very dangerous times.
The article also brings up a similar theme in business, that you see in war. That when it comes to competition between companies, the underdog companies compete with the larger ones by going after that behemoth’s weakness. That would be the personal touch. They also copy what works in the bigger companies, and find that one little difference in operations or technology that makes them just a little bit better than the bigger companies.
Global Rescue does not handle the same amount of business as the bigger guys, but what they do offer is a more personal service that is appealing to those that want that kind of thing. It is a small company taking advantage of their size and filling a niche within their market. You can have the homemade deluxe burger made by Marge at the local restaurant, or you can pay less for that burger at a major chain like McDonalds. I would also add that this company probably does a better job at customer service and satisfaction? Who knows, and we will see how their service evolves as they get bigger and more popular?
Although I am curious about their cost, versus the other company’s costs? Obviously their clientele are the type that want the personal touch of some former Navy SEAL and his team coming directly to their rescue and saying, ‘we are here to get you out’. Cool stuff and hopefully someone from the company can chime in. –Matt
Global Rescue Website here.
Hero Complex
A brash new company is revolutionizing crisis response by sending ex-military to rescue adventurers. So why all the enemies?
April 2011
By Devon O’NeilGlobal Rescue CEO Dan Richards (Photo by Michael Lewis)
“WHAT’S THE LATEST on the lion bite in Zimbabwe?”
Ted Muhlner’s commanding voice fills the room, a spacious seventh-floor office in Boston’s financial district decorated with ten flatscreen TVs and little else. The place looks like a stockbroker’s warren, but it’s not. The 37-year-old Muhlner, a former Navy SEAL with an M.B.A. from Harvard, is senior director of operations for Global Rescue, a seven-year-old company that assists adventure travelers and corporate employees who find themselves in dicey situations far from home. At the moment, surrounded by four paramedics and two ex–military personnel, Muhlner is conducting a 20-minute briefing on the day’s workload, a checklist of ongoing operations around the world.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Kaizen: The Launch Of A New Feral Jundi Blog Theme And Blog Features
Finally I can get back to the business of blogging. First off, let me tell the story here about what exactly happened. Google Adsense shut down my publisher’s account last week because I had a link somewhere on the blog that they did not agree with. News to me, and yet the owner of that link decided to file a DMCA which Google takes seriously, and they shut down my subscription. Hence why I do not have Google Adsense on the blog right now.
So the process here is that you send Google a letter explaining that you have removed the link with the hopes that somewhere in the Google machine, someone with some commonsense will actually reinstate my account. I have brought Google a lot of business for their advertisers to say the least, and it is Google’s loss.
In the ad spaces now are Chitika, which is a competitor of Google. Although they are not on the same scale as Google, and the quality of ads and type of ads are not the same. I intend to get back my account with Google Adsense, but until then, I will use Chitika or whatever else comes my way.
Now for the ‘Ad Center’ to the right. This is a cool new feature of the blog that I would like to promote. It rotates all of those affiliates and ads, has plenty of space, and it looks sharp. If you want to advertise on the blog here that is where I will put your graphic and link to your product/service (for $60 dollars a month of course).
If you want to do some affiliate marketing, that is where I will stick you as well (which does not cost $60 dollars a month, but is purely a profit sharing/promotional mechanism between the two parties). Jake Allen’s Security Contracting eBook and Bill Beaver’s Dangerzone and Oil Jobs ads are both affiliates, and both work through Plimus. I highly recommend using Plimus as a way to set up an affiliate marketing plan for your product or service because it works. It benefits the author and the the folks willing to promote it (like good ol’ Feral Jundi).
Now on to the new features of the blog that I am pretty excited about. First of all the blog is much more SEO friendly than the older blog, and I hope to get higher search ranking because of it. It is a Thesis based theme called ‘Arclite’ (I think that is a great theme for a military themed blog like mine-lol) and it is totally modified using modern WordPress plugins. That means I can insert functionality at the press of button, as opposed to inserting code all the time.
The comments section is powered by Intense Debate. I like this set up because it allows folks to use their Facebook account to login here and make comments. Or you can still comment the older way by entering your name and email–whichever works for you. I was also able to convert all the older comments into this new comments system.
You can also click on the ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ rating system for posts just to the right of the comment. So if you like what someone has said, definitely voice your opinion by clicking that. Although I still maintain total control of all posts–meaning everything stays civil and profanity free. Also, Akismet is still my primary safety system watching my back when it comes to filtering out spam.
The other features I am excited about is the Facebook like buttons and Twitter/Linkedin buttons. Please…. pretty please, if you ‘like’ a post here, click that button. It is such a simple thing to do to show your appreciation for a post and it takes a fraction of a second to do. If you do not have Facebook, Twitter, or a Linkedin account, disregard. (although I still recommend opening accounts so you can participate in that realm of social media–FJ is very active on Facebook)
The other features are self explanatory. I still have all the same categories and links, and nothing has changed there. You can still translate the page via Google Translate. You can still donate to the cause. The Close Protection PSD Jobs and Secure Aspects Job Board widgets are in the ‘Jobs For Security Contractors’ block. The social media block at the top right hand corner still has my RSS feed/email subscription, Facebook, Twitter, Scribd accounts, etc.
One cool detail that I have added to the blog is a print and PDF file creation button. When you bring up the full post, and you see that button on the bottom of the post, just hit that and you can have formatted print screen or you can download the item as a PDF file. Hell, you can even send it as an email to someone. In other words, it is a really handy feature to record and keep in your records, any information that you liked on FJ.
Now onto the artistic side of the blog. That header image and logo is extremely easy to change out. Meaning, I am all about changing that stuff from time to time to keep the blog visually interesting. I like the flames and the big bold white ‘Feral Jundi’, but all of that can change with the click of a button. In the future you might see some interesting custom logo and background imagery that will compliment the blog’s theme.
In true Kaizen fashion, the blog will continue to be improved upon and I am always open to feedback. I think Miyamoto Musashi, Col. John Boyd, Sun Tzu, Buffalo Bill Cody, Frederick Russell Burnham and General George Washington* would all approve. –Matt
*My new Facebook Profile avatar is General George Washington in a Marine uniform. lol