Day 185 - Weekend Briefs

Shoe Update!
I woke up early, first to the telephone, then to Wayne's Instant Messenger brrrring! Describing women and children receiving over 500 pairs of shoes from Louisiana and Mississippi, Wayne said, "They were going nuts! One little girl tried to pick up a box bigger than she was to carry it on her head!"

Hopefully, we'll get some pictures soon.
Dog Tags to Cell Tags

The first record of soldiers using identification tags occurred in 1863, prior to the battle of Mine's Run in northern Virginia.

General Meade's troops wrote their names and unit designations on paper tags and pinned them to their clothing. After taking great care to mark all their personal belongings, other troops fashioned wooden identification tags out by boring a hole in one end to wear on a string around the neck.

By 1913, Army Regulations made ID tags mandatory. By 1917, all combat soldiers wore aluminum discs on chains around their necks. By World War II, the circular disc was replaced by the oblong shape familiar to us today, generally referred to as "dog tags." (more…)

In case of emergency, how will people know who to call for you, assuming you can’t do it for yourself?

Here’s a simple initiative conceived by a British paramedic, which is gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic. Cell users are instructed to put the acronym ICE – “in case of emergency”—before the names in their address book to be designated as next of kin. (For example, “ICE-Myron” or “ICE-Dad.”)

Other folks suggest taping one or two names and numbers to the back of your driver’s license in addition to your cell feature. (more...)

Weld it on or spray it on?

The Hattiesburg American reports today on the military’s “up-armor” program, adding steel plates to Humvees and five-ton trucks. As manufacturers speeded up production of vehicles with factory-installed armor, Defense Department contract workers spent several weeks at Camp Shelby in March installing up-armor kits on 26 Humvees the 2nd Brigade Combat Team took to Iraq.

First Sergeant Chris Elliott of Petal admits 'although the up-armor Humvee is designed to increase the survivability of the occupants during an attack, it makes the vehicle heavier and more difficult to handle.'

We're still hoping the right person will consider the polyurea coating manufactured in Louisiana by ProSet, Inc.

Devil's Foyer

Skip the movie tonight to read blogger Michael Yon’s riveting account of Devil’s Foyer. Great pictures, too.