NavyEEL

Probably you should keep it pretty far at the end of that list - you never know  I think the oldest ever skydiver was about 99 years of age.......don't want to leave it that late. The ticker might not be up for it by then From a local dropzone... 97 and still adventurous! http://www.skydivetheranch.com/video_page/beatrice.wmv

It Depends on the dropzone... usually about $15-20 per lift at civilian dropzones. First timers can do a "tandem jump" where you're attached to an instructor who deploys the parachute and lands you safely. In order to do it on your own you have to undergo either a Static Line Transition or AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) course, both of which cost time and money. If you're just looking to experience some freefall at 125+ mph, then definitely go tandem.

I do it every day! There's really no other feeling like it in the world and I highly recommend everyone to try it at least once, if not twice because you won't really remember much from your first jump (your adrenaline is usually going so much from fear, like mine was). It's an awesome experience and once you've done it, you won't look at the sky the same way!

Good article--I agree.

I do not believe there is ANY excuse for this. Â As if the job ahead of us isn't hard enough, it is amazing that just a few soldiers can set us back so far. Â If only they knew the ramifications of their actions, maybe they would have reacted differently? Â People really do need to think before they act. Â

I recently had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Kenneth Pollack. Â For those of you who don't know, he is a former CIA analyst and a master on Middle Eastern policies and affairs. Â He covered 5,000 years of Iraq's history, then discussed with us the current US-Iraq situation. Â After hearing him speak and answer some questions, I must say he certainly knows his stuff! I looked him up online to see if I could find any interesting articles he had written. Â I found one that, although a couple months old, is still a very good article. Â It kinda sums up the Iraq situation as a whole, and I highly recommend taking a look at it. Â Grab a drink because it's rather long, but definitely worth the read! http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/01/pollack.htm

Just thought I would throw this out here for anyone interested... I'm meeting tonight with a Platoon Leader who just returned from Fallujah. If anybody has questions they want me to ask, let me know and I will try to get some of them answered. He has limited time though, so I can't make any promises--but I'll do what I can!

Whatever you say Avon. If you think you need to make fun of the death of my dad, go ahead. No surprise. You mean in the same way that you belittle the deaths of coalition (particularly American) soldiers?

http://www.logitech.com/index.c....ID=5032 I highly recommend the Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick. Seeing as how I have very limited space here in the barracks, I opted to buy a cordless joystick so I could just shove it in my drawer when I wasn't using it. Like you, I was a bit worried that a cordless one would not be as responsive as one directly connected to the computer. So I bought the Logitech joystick, and have loved it ever since. With the exception of force feedback, it has every feature you would want from a joystick. It has a POV hat, throttle slider, and a rotational axis for rudder control. It is very lightweight, has a well-designed ergonomic shape, and has a conveniently designed rubber bottom that keeps it from moving on your desk while you are playing. It is also fully programmable, and has a profile selector (as do most joysticks nowadays, but still a nice feature). It's listed on Logitech for $69, but I was able to get mine in the store for about $50 (from Circuit City I believe... or maybe Best Buy?) Anyway, I highly recommend this joystick and you should check it out if a lightweight wireless joystick is what you are looking for.

Love the maroon beret... he must be from an airborne unit! Â Remove image tags when quoting pictures please.

can someone please post a mirror? ofp.gamezone.cz never works for me... thanks!

Where did you get that awesome UH-1?

I dunno, I like to consider everyone who selflessly serves (and gives their life for) their nation as a hero. Â Does it mean he was a Medal of Honor winner? Â No, but he is still a hero--just of a different kind. Yes, Pat Tillman's death is receiving publicity simply because he was a famous football player who gave up money and fame to serve his country. Â But is that so bad? Â It allows the rest of the nation to see that some things are more important than money. Â It gives them a public figure who made a sacrifice, and other people can look up to him and his example. Â (As opposed to the professional athletes who just whine about not getting paid enough). And Balschoiw... I don't even know what to say to your comments you constantly make in reference to soldiers dying. Â Yes, it's already apparent that you do not care about troops getting killed in combat--you have made that clear on SEVERAL occasions. Â So please, I'd appreciate it if you would just save your breath because comments like that add nothing to the discussion. Â Thanks.

That's definitely what I would call selfless service... I wish more professional athletes would look at his example. Not necessarily joining the military, but you know what I mean.

I suppose it wasn't enough that he visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Hospital?

I don't quite see how that justifies the stoning of British soldiers...

In history today, our class reenacted the Cuban Missile Crisis with another class. Each of us were assigned a role (I was Internal Security Advisor), and we played it out in real-time, using ambassadors, spies, etc to communicate with the other side. Myself and my other "comrades" were the Soviets and, despite losing 85% of our weapons and troops in Cuba due to airstrikes, we ended up "winning" so to speak by seizing Berlin, keeping Cuba, and avoiding Nuclear War. Ahh, what a fun day

Those were top Turret or Cupola hits, the Abrams (M1A2) can take a direct hit from a Hellfire and keep moving, even though seriously damaged. I seriously doubt an RPG-7 can destroy an Abrams unless it hits top of the tank. I agree with you on the Armor bit though. Armor can only Deter harm not stop it completely. You can't hide behind something forever. Armor is there to save the people on the inside, the ones who matter. Now, you don't nessecarily want to lose a few hundred thousand or more dollars of technology either, so that increases the priority. Â Sorry, but there is no tank in existence today that can survive a hellfire missile. I don't mean to prove you wrong or anything, but I must stand up for the main weapon of my beloved (AH-64 Apache).

It said it landed "within inches"... many people can't even throw darts (consistently) with that kind of accuracy, so a bomb landing just inches short of a truck seems pretty accurate to me.

Actually it served a very powerful purpose when shown in the Western press. Â Despite the refusal of the US press to show the video of the bodies, many Americans saw the video and pictures of the mobs mutilating the bodies through the Internet. Â In addition it was heavily talked about in the media here in the US. Â The result was a sense of shock amongst Americans much as what happened in Somalia when mobs there mutilated American corpses. Â Chris G. aka-Miles Teg<GD> My mistake, I guess I should have stated that more clearly. When I said the mutilation of bodies served no purpose, I was speaking in reference to its direct tactical purpose, not the political effects it would have on the coalition forces. Sorry for the confusion--next time I will be more descriptive.

I hear they even provide realistic "force feedback" in the tanks...

lol wtf is that? it looks sweet! i wouldn't mind carrying one of those around in the field

Memory cards will probably be in service soon as well, so that soldiers may preserve their own customized controller profile.

The use of bombs or cluster munitions is in no way parallel to the mutilation of bodies. Difference being? Once the people are dead, we don't come in and mutilate their corpses just for the hell of it. Regardless of our opinion of them, we try to at least show a little respect for the dead. What purpose did mutilating the bodies have, other than to quench the mob's anger and hatred?

heh a funny quote I heard about flamethrowers, can't remember it exactly but basically it was like: The invention of the flamethrower came about as a result of someone, somewhere, at some point in time saying "You know, I want to set that group of people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to do it myself."