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The Solomons Campaign: WATCHTOWER — Why Guadalcanal?

Next Friday, 7 August, is the 67th anniversary of the amphibious assault on Guadalcanal – the first halting offensive steps in the Pacific war. This week once again, UltimaRatioRegis joins the project with a look into the background of WATCHTOWER, setting the stage for next week’s post. The following week – Savo Island. – SJS…

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CVN Naming – Enough With the Politics Already

It’s time to return some sanity to the way ships are named.  Why?  Because the silliness is upon us once again: 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 83 Expressing the sense of Congress that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Navy, either the aircraft carrier designated as CVN-79 or the aircraft carrier designated as…

Fleet Forces Command Joins the Blogging ‘Verse

Frequent visitors to the USNI blog and others in the Navy blogging ‘verse (take your bow Maggie, high priestess of the Navy blogsphere) know VADM Harvey’s straight-up engagement on a number of fronts in the comments sections.  With his assumption of command at Fleet Forces Command comes a new blog (and add’l star…) – the…

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Back to the Future: LRO Images Apollo 11’s Landing Site

Apropos that on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the landing on the Moon, the latest US visitor and (hopefully) precursor to our return via the Constellation program, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the location in Mare Tranquilis that was the site of Apollo 11’s landing (click on image to enlarge): Note the object…

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Flightdeck Friday: Apollo 11 Forty Years Later

20 July 1969 102:42:08 Duke: Roger. Copy. (Pause) Eagle, Houston. You’re Go for landing. Over. 102:42:13 Armstrong (on-board): Okay. 3000 at 70. 102:42:17 Aldrin: Roger. Understand. Go for landing. 3000 feet. 102:42:19 Duke: Copy. 102:42:19 Aldrin: Program Alarm. (Pause) 1201 102:42:24 Armstrong: 1201. (Pause) (On-board) Okay, 2000 at 50. 102:42:25 Duke: Roger. 1201 alarm. (Pause)…