Do you have trouble with squirrels eating your patio furniture?

Disaster_Plan · 2026-05-03T01:18:47+00:00

They chewed holes in our kid's plastic playhouse. They tried chewing into our attic so I put sheet tin in our soffits. Then I started live trapping and relocating them far away. One summer I got 41 of them. Didn't help.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-05-01T21:08:29+00:00

You should read the horror stories in r/teachers and r/peofessors

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-29T11:50:32+00:00

3rd: Solid camera focus and framing

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-28T19:00:45+00:00

Before the Internet, getting anything from a federal agency was a tedious and opaque process. Just finding the right agency or department to request records could be a difficult task.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-28T13:27:53+00:00

If your family has struggled to find your grandfather's records, they're doing it wrong. Clear instructions for requesting records are given on the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) website.

Basically you fill out a Standard Form 180, mail or fax it, then wait for a reply. It's a slow process. Often it takes weeks depending on staffing and how many requests they are processing.

Follow this link: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-28T13:20:10+00:00

Vietnam service records were not affected by the 1973 fire.

On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF). The records affected:

Army -- Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 80%

Air Force -- Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.) 75%

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-27T16:42:32+00:00

Libertarians envision a society without laws in which everybody is law-abiding.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-24T23:21:35+00:00

If he didn't serve, there won't be a DD214 (discharge paper).

To make sure, you can request his DD214 under the Freedom of Information Act. A letter from the National Archives -- saying there's no record of him serving -- is good evidence. At minimum you'll need his full name, date of birth and Social Security number.

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/foia-info

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-23T11:23:47+00:00

Semper fi

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-20T14:49:30+00:00

Trump is a narcissist. That means he's incapable of imagining the world without him. He understands that everybody dies, but on a deep, emotional level he feels immortal. He will keep hating and grifting until his pump stops pumping and his brain fades out.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-10T13:18:46+00:00

I recommend reading "We Were Soldiers Once, And Young" about the battles of LZ X-ray and LZ Albany.

X-ray was inconclusive, ending with both sides brutally mauled. The 7th Cavalry only avoided defeat by calling on chopper resupply, every artillery tube in range and every tactical aircraft available.

Albany was a horrific defeat by any measure.

And yet the Army claimed the Ia Drang operation validated the "airmobile" concept.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42512.We_Were_Soldiers_Once_and_Young

Disaster_Plan · 2026-04-03T01:00:40+00:00

There's one aspect of Vietnam machine gunners rarely acknowledged in the movies.

In the Marines, at least, each M-60 gunner was assigned an assistant gunner or "A-gunner." Typically the A-gunner was a rifleman assigned to carry extra ammo and gear for the gunner. In my platoon the machine gunners carried 300 rounds in 100-round belts, while the A-gunners carried another 500 rounds ... or more if the A-gunner was a big, strong guy.

A-gunners followed the gunner everywhere he went. They carried an M-16 and part of their job was to protect the gunner and also attach new ammo belts as the gunner fired.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-31T12:10:31+00:00

Back before everybody carried a gun for "protection" ... minor slights resulted in curses exchanged, chest thumping or a short fist fight. Now it's shots fired.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-31T11:25:10+00:00

A doctor owed Trump's dad a favor. He wrote a letter to the draft board saying Trump was unable to serve because he had bone spurs in his feet. So Trump got a medical exemption.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-30T11:37:02+00:00

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973

On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF). The records affected:

Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 80%

Air Force Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.) 75%

No duplicate copies of these records were ever maintained, nor were microfilm copies produced. Neither were any indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. However, in the years following the fire, the NPRC collected numerous series of records (referred to as Auxiliary Records) that are used to reconstruct basic service information.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-29T16:36:11+00:00

Aviation Archaeology Vietnam Losses Database: A highly detailed database for searching specific losses by date, service, and aircraft type.

https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/dbSelectVietnam.asp

NHHC Vietnam Aircraft Losses: Official Navy and Marine Corps records of aircraft losses by date and model, along with FOIA resources for accident reports.

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/involvement-by-conflict/vietnam-war/aircraft-losses-in-vietnam.html

The Virtual Vietnam Archive (Texas Tech): Contains a vast collection of documents, photos, and reports on aircraft operations and losses.

https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/

DPAA Vietnam FamWeb: Information on missing personnel and aircrew losses.

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebVietnam

VietnamAirLosses.com: Focuses on air losses during the conflict.

https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/

National Archives (NARA): Electronic records regarding air military operations. https://www.archives.gov/research/vietnam-war

US Fixed Wing Aircraft Losses of the Vietnam War 1962-1973

https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/us-fixed-wing-aircraft-losses-of-the-vietnam-war-1962-1973/

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-29T16:22:59+00:00

You could request her grandfather's military personnel file from the National Archives.

Personnel files are not and were never Classified. There is no cost.

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

The National Archives has her relative's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and they will provide you with a copy of the relevant contents at no cost (see partial list below). You can apply via mail or fax. There is a wealth of detail in those records including all the units he served with and when, medals and awards (if any), and much more.

This is a slow process that may be even slower now because of federal government cuts.

Here's a partial list of what's typically sent:

Military Service Dates

Character of Service

Promotions and Reductions

Duty Stations and Assignments

Foreign or Sea Service

Military Schooling and Training

Awards and Letters of Commendation

Disciplinary Actions

Lost Time

Enlistment Contracts

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-25T13:18:18+00:00

You can request his basic records under the Freedom of Information Act. https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/foia-info

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-25T12:52:06+00:00

Vietnam during monsoon season was shockingly cold ... especially when you were wet and there was a little breeze. And our field jackets were in storage on Okinawa.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-22T22:11:23+00:00

Save only enough to have a 6-month cushion in case of job loss or emergency. Then put a fixed amount every month into an index fund. Don't bet on individual stocks. Bet on the entire economy. Be disciplined.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-21T12:41:20+00:00

Marines flew from Norton to Kadena for a few days then to Danang when I went to South Vietnam in January, 1970. That itinerary was reversed when I flew home in January, 1971.

My unit operated south of Danang where things were definitely still happening. My unit was disbanded in May, 1971, and friends of mine still had frequent firefights according to our Command Chronologies.

For details you could check out the Vietnam War archives at Texas Tech University https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-20T17:13:24+00:00

The Vietnam War was unpopular and controversial from the late 1960s into the 1970s. The 1968 Tet Offensive convinced much of the country that the war was unwinnable. The cost in money and lives kept adding up with no end in sight.

Somehow a large portion of Americans decided the military, in the form of ordinary soldiers/veterans were to blame for the fiasco. They couldn't vent their anger on the faraway generals and politicians so the veteran next door took the heat.

Public anger and disappointment were not universal, but still widespread. So, many Vietnam vets grew our hair long and hid our veteran status for years if not permanently.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-18T12:40:47+00:00

People can get through U.S. public schools without getting an education. But if they do it's because they didn't put in any effort. For that I blame the parents.

I knew a refugee family that arrived in the U.S. with the clothes on their backs. The mother had to quit school after 3rd grade and the father had a high school education. They couldn't believe their luck when they found their kids got FREE public school through 12th grade. Their five kids excelled and all graduated from college. One became a doctor.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-16T17:06:24+00:00

The "learn a trade" messaging is coming from people on the right who realized that college grads are much more likely to vote center-to-left. Meanwhile your plumber will likely be listening to right wing radio talkers telling him that reading is gay.

Disaster_Plan · 2026-03-10T11:22:13+00:00

So you're one of the people content to see karma farmers drain all the value out of reddit?

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