Soldier On! 2026

[Barry Rowland]

That's an incredible weapons system.  I'd definitely be happier on the backside of that!

I decided I would give a bonus  entry for Sub-Mission 1

MK-15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System or better known as CIWS
It is also sometimes known called R2D2. 

Since about 1980, the CIWS has been installed on almost all US Navy ships.  However, beyond just its presence in the US Navy, it has come to also be on Navy ships of 12-15 other countries and the US Army even has a land based version

 As the name indicates, CIWS was designed for short ranges as a last line of defense against inbound missiles, rockets, or aircraft.  It is a system that once properly set-up can detect a potential threat, evaluate against certain parameters, and engage automatically or with minimal human action.  Even after 50 years, CIWS has remained one of the best systems for what it was designed to do. 

However, as threats threats have changed, the systems has had some changes to expand its capabilities beyond what it was originally designed.  With some upgrades it can  be used against small fast boat attacks like has been seen in or near certain international straights.  A self-contained version has also been made so it can be used on land against rocket or mortar attacks.  That system is known as C-RAM or Centurion.

if interested you can find some videos on YouTube of the system in action.

[Barry Rowland]

Day 10: The combo tool.  Definitely easier to use on this platform compared to the 108mm    It works okay, but it's definitely not the standard Vic opener.

[WECSOG]

D+10

Sliced (if you can call it that) some Redneck Ribeye. Made a mess of it, not because of the combo edge but because of blade length. Stlll eats the same, though! Soldiers in the field always complain about something. Might as well give them something to complain about!   

[Tuisto]

D+10

Sliced (if you can call it that) some Redneck Ribeye. Made a mess of it, not because of the combo edge but because of blade length. Stlll eats the same, though! Soldiers in the field always complain about something. Might as well give them something to complain about!   

I've never heard this term before (I also don't think I'm entirely familiar with that meat). I actually didn't do much with the Soldier today, so here's a photo of it.

[gustophersmob]

Day 11:

[WECSOG]

I've never heard this term before (I also don't think I'm entirely familiar with that meat). I actually didn't do much with the Soldier today, so here's a photo of it.

In Soviet-era Russia they called it (or something very similar) Doctor Sausage.

[Tuisto]

In Soviet-era Russia they called it (or something very similar) Doctor Sausage.

Holy baloney, you're absolutely right — that's докторская (doktorskaja). The impossibility of it to find in my area made me think it just...didn't exist here! Could I ask where you managed to find that? There's an Eastern European store in Atlanta that's not too far of a drive for us where we can find some Eastern European products, but even they don't consistently carry докторская.

[WECSOG]

Holy baloney, you're absolutely right — that's докторская (doktorskaja). The impossibility of it to find in my area made me think it just...didn't exist here! Could I ask where you managed to find that? There's an Eastern European store in Atlanta that's not too far of a drive for us where we can find some Eastern European products, but even they don't consistently carry докторская.

This is actually chub bologna. A lot of stores don't carry it, but some of the smaller grocery stores do. I used to buy it at Piggly Wiggly, but the one near me hasn't had it lately. I discovered that walmart dot com has it for pickup only at some stores. As in, you can't just walk in and buy it but you can order it online for same-day pickup. Some stores don't have it at all, even for pickup. But then, I was in a Walmart I don't usually visit a few days ago and they actually had out for purchase.

Regardless, for me the easiest way is to buy it online and pick it up. It's cheaper that way than where I had been buying it, too.

[Tuisto]

The videos do look bad if you are not familar with the system and how works.

What makes it look so bad is because it is all connected the CIWS gun moves  when the tracking antenna moves to follow the aircraft.  However, in reality the aircraft wouldn’t have ever been in any danger because its movement wouldn’t have met engagement criteria.

If I were to speculate the videos look like the ship was conducting a periodic check to make sure the CIWS was working properly.  Part of this check is having the system track evaluate then drop a contact.  During it there would be someone (most likely the person recording) watching for proper movement and keeping others away for safety.  That would explain why some was right there ready to record.

I must've missed this somehow! I very much appreciate the explanation — it really does make it a bit less terrifying when one actually understands a thing better.

[Sos24]

Day 11
It was a beautiful day out and took ful advantage out walking.  Glamor shot of Combat Knife.  Even a sunny day of 50 still couldn’t thaw all the ice.

[IMR4198]

Day 12

    Yestiddy was catch-up day.  Hauled a bunch of garbage to the dump, then washed half a truckload of dirty clothes at a coin laundry.  Some boob brought a huge dog in the laundro tied with a rope big enough for a cow.  That nasty thing started howling and kept it up for quite some time.  The dog's owner was a rustic who arrived in a Polaris 4X4.  Kolpin scoped rifle case wired behind the cab.  (Not deer season here)  Also a Stihl chainsaw and other stuff.  Guy must have lived in a tent somewhere.   Four-wheeler had a tag on it.  Probably stole it off another vehicle.  Nobody drives on a four lane with these things. 
   Some other doofus flooded the place by leaving the door partially jammed open on a washer.  He whined and complained and almost got in a fight with the owner.  Crazy is contagious.  And widespread. 
    I don't think I have bought un-sliced bologna in a while.  Last I saw here was the smaller diameter tube.  I looked at some SPAM the other day and got sticker shock.  Sliced packaged bologna is everywhere.  Sometimes I buy a little when I feel my additive and preservative levels falling.
    I did think to take a photo inside.  I should have set the focus on the gals in the background, instead of the GAK. 
Best wishes.  G
 
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[Rostovsky]

Holy baloney, you're absolutely right — that's докторская (doktorskaja).

Absolutely right. It was an official brand and deviation from the original recipe was not allowed. This brand exists and is still popular today.

[IMR4198]

   I wonder what sort of meat is used in Russia for it?  Over here they use......aaaahh?........well..... I'm not really sure.  Best wishes.  G
 

[Rostovsky]

a recipe from 1938, when this brand was created. Based on 1 kg of finished products:
Beef – 150 gr.
Lean pork - 600 g
Pork fat – 250 gr.
Water – 100 ml.
Nitrite salt (0.4% - 0.6%) – 9-10 g.
Table salt – 9-10 gr.
Sugar - 1 gram.
Cardamom – 0.3 grams (some take 0.5 grams).
I'm in the middle of my work day, and you're here with your sausage. I can't work, I'm thinking about sausage.

[BPRoberts]

Who says the internet is all brainless slop? Maybe I'll tell my wife to call Doctor Sausage for me.

D+10

Fighting a cold. The Soldier was easier than the flaky pull tab.

[IMR4198]

   Pan fry a nice thick slice of Doctor Sausage (original recipe) and plop it on two slices of bread that have been browned in butter.  Good slice of cheddar.  A tiny smear of mustard.  Ahhhh.  Lunch.  Maybe a pickle.  G
 

[WECSOG]

D+11

I had a beat up old dog crate that needed to go away. But I wanted to keep the steel grate door, and didn't want to dismantle the crate to remove it. So I used the Soldier's prybar to pop it out.
BTW my new-to-me GAK has marks indicating use as a prybar. I can imagine a German quartiermeister using it to open crates, perhaps containing MREs.

[WECSOG]

What I have read about the origins of doctor sausage is that during the 1920s and '30s (and perhaps beyond; I don't know) a lot of Russians were on a subsistence diet and didn't have access to meat products. Some people became malnourished almost to the point of death. If that person could get in to see the doctor, he would prescribe some of this sausage. I guess with that note or prescription, the sausage would be made available to the patient.
For that reason, it came to be known as doctor sausage.

BTW I read about this and compared it with bologna before Boris even had a YT channel. I did enjoy his videos about it, though.

[Farmer X]

Day 11 (catching up)

Sub-Mission 1: equipment report

Between the Insufficient Storage error and having to complete a pre-employment task, I'm forced to post kinda quickly. But I will say that CIWS is popularly AKA "Cheez-Whiz" or "Captain, It Won't Shoot!" Now, on to my equipment report...

In the late 1930s or early 1940s, the U.S. Army had a wish list for a new type of vehicle. The requirements were so challenging that only three manufacturers submitted prototypes for testing. Once the Army realized that some of their demands (particularly the weight limit) were impractical, a standardized production version was approved and produced in very large numbers.

What we now know as the Jeep did it all. It was used on reconnaissance missions. A fair few injured soldiers were evacuated in a Jeep. Light supplies could be delivered in a Jeep. Trailers were attached to the back of them for transporting additional cargo or light artillery. Machine guns and cannons could be mounted in the rear passenger/cargo area. Some were even fitted with special wire cutter bars on the front. General and future United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower regarded the Jeep as one of the five pieces of equipment most vital to Allied success.

After world War II, the Jeep entered the civilian market, primarily as a work vehicle. They were fitted with plows, welders, trenchers, post-hole diggers, and many other implements. By the 1980s, things had changed on both markets. The Jeep was phased out of the Army and replaced by the HMMWV (High-Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee). The civilian market shifted to "fun" vehicles, and the Jeep name lives on in that capacity today.

I don't have a Jeep that I can drive around in, but I do have a few scale models. This Corgi FC-150 represents a model that was in limited military use.

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Day 12

In keeping with the Corgi theme, here's a Mini with a new set of tires. Y'awl should be seeing much bigger tires as the challenge progresses.

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[Barry Rowland]

Actually, the original plant where the first Jeeps were made burned down not too long ago.  It was located in Butler, PA and was the Bantam Car Co. facility.  They didn't have the capacity to manufacture the Jeeps in the numbers needed.  After winning the contest, they sold the plans to Willy's.

Day 11 (catching up)

Sub-Mission 1: equipment report

Between the Insufficient Storage error and having to complete a pre-employment task, I'm forced to post kinda quickly. But I will say that CIWS is popularly AKA "Cheez-Whiz" or "Captain, It Won't Shoot!" Now, on to my equipment report...

In the late 1930s or early 1940s, the U.S. Army had a wish list for a new type of vehicle. The requirements were so challenging that only three manufacturers submitted prototypes for testing. Once the Army realized that some of their demands (particularly the weight limit) were impractical, a standardized production version was approved and produced in very large numbers.

What we now know as the Jeep did it all. It was used on reconnaissance missions. A fair few injured soldiers were evacuated in a Jeep. Light supplies could be delivered in a Jeep. Trailers were attached to the back of them for transporting additional cargo or light artillery. Machine guns and cannons could be mounted in the rear passenger/cargo area. Some were even fitted with special wire cutter bars on the front. General and future United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower regarded the Jeep as one of the five pieces of equipment most vital to Allied success.

After world War II, the Jeep entered the civilian market, primarily as a work vehicle. They were fitted with plows, welders, trenchers, post-hole diggers, and many other implements. By the 1980s, things had changed on both markets. The Jeep was phased out of the Army and replaced by the HMMWV (High-Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee). The civilian market shifted to "fun" vehicles, and the Jeep name lives on in that capacity today.

I don't have a Jeep that I can drive around in, but I do have a few scale models. This Corgi FC-150 represents a model that was in limited military use.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

Day 12

In keeping with the Corgi theme, here's a Mini with a new set of tires. Y'awl should be seeing much bigger tires as the challenge progresses.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]

[Barry Rowland]

Dan, I have a friend that actually had one of the pickups like in your picture! No cap, but it was fairly rusted out the last I saw it.  There used to be a few of the surplus Jeeps around when I was a kid.  One was painted orange and used as a plane tug at an airport my Dad worked at.  It had a plywood too 
+1 on the Insufficient Storage message.  This is the first I've been able to log on today too 

Day 11 (catching up)

Sub-Mission 1: equipment report

Between the Insufficient Storage error and having to complete a pre-employment task, I'm forced to post kinda quickly. But I will say that CIWS is popularly AKA "Cheez-Whiz" or "Captain, It Won't Shoot!" Now, on to my equipment report...

In the late 1930s or early 1940s, the U.S. Army had a wish list for a new type of vehicle. The requirements were so challenging that only three manufacturers submitted prototypes for testing. Once the Army realized that some of their demands (particularly the weight limit) were impractical, a standardized production version was approved and produced in very large numbers.

What we now know as the Jeep did it all. It was used on reconnaissance missions. A fair few injured soldiers were evacuated in a Jeep. Light supplies could be delivered in a Jeep. Trailers were attached to the back of them for transporting additional cargo or light artillery. Machine guns and cannons could be mounted in the rear passenger/cargo area. Some were even fitted with special wire cutter bars on the front. General and future United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower regarded the Jeep as one of the five pieces of equipment most vital to Allied success.

After world War II, the Jeep entered the civilian market, primarily as a work vehicle. They were fitted with plows, welders, trenchers, post-hole diggers, and many other implements. By the 1980s, things had changed on both markets. The Jeep was phased out of the Army and replaced by the HMMWV (High-Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee). The civilian market shifted to "fun" vehicles, and the Jeep name lives on in that capacity today.

I don't have a Jeep that I can drive around in, but I do have a few scale models. This Corgi FC-150 represents a model that was in limited military use.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

Day 12

In keeping with the Corgi theme, here's a Mini with a new set of tires. Y'awl should be seeing much bigger tires as the challenge progresses.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]

[BPRoberts]

D+11

Opening a memory card.

[Barry Rowland]

Day 11: Fun pic today.

[IMR4198]

    I can't be the only one here who has driven one of the WW2 Jeeps.  They were popular with the guys who hunted and fished where I grew up.  Go most anywhere in them, as long as you didn't want to run more than about 35 on the roads.  At that speed everything vibrated, whirred, and whined.  The old timers who owned these things died out and I don't know where the Jeeps went.  I had a CJ5 years later with a 304 V-8 and it was a little hot rod.   
     Same with the old VW Beetles.  Such a fun car to drive.  Well today has been 507 warnings all day long.  I did get my morning post in today.  Tried to refresh the page as a cure.  Worked one time and failed the rest.  Forest fire problems here.  A slow all-night rain helped with that.  Last I heard the fire was 90% contained.  So much dead wood and downed trees where I am.  The fuel load is enormous.  I have been waiting for a fire to just whoosh up the hill behind me.  Hopefully not over me. 
     Still feeding the vermin.  I need to find some batteries to get my camera back in action.  Maybe this weekend.  Best wishes.  G
 

[Tuisto]

    I can't be the only one here who has driven one of the WW2 Jeeps.  They were popular with the guys who hunted and fished where I grew up.  Go most anywhere in them, as long as you didn't want to run more than about 35 on the roads.  At that speed everything vibrated, whirred, and whined.  The old timers who owned these things died out and I don't know where the Jeeps went.  I had a CJ5 years later with a 304 V-8 and it was a little hot rod.   
     Same with the old VW Beetles.  Such a fun car to drive.  Well today has been 507 warnings all day long.  I did get my morning post in today.  Tried to refresh the page as a cure.  Worked one time and failed the rest.  Forest fire problems here.  A slow all-night rain helped with that.  Last I heard the fire was 90% contained.  So much dead wood and downed trees where I am.  The fuel load is enormous.  I have been waiting for a fire to just whoosh up the hill behind me.  Hopefully not over me. 
     Still feeding the vermin.  I need to find some batteries to get my camera back in action.  Maybe this weekend.  Best wishes.  G
 

That sounds scary; I hope you stay safe! I used the awl on the Soldier to make a score on a tablet of medication so I could split it in half. I tried to split it à la chisel using the cap lifter first, but that sent the tablet flying across the room and I had to jump on Kiwi before he ate if off the floor, the lunatic. Fortunately the awl worked a lot better. Someone in this thread mentioned that the awl on the 93mms is effectively a multi-tool unto itself and I definitely have to agree with that. Here's a photo of the Soldier with a Surefire that I've carried on and off since ~2012 — great light.

[gustophersmob]

Day 12:

Used the soldier to open up one of his kin. Got a pioneer when the price dropped to $22 on Amazon last week. 

[Barry Rowland]

I drove them both Gary.  My first car was a 66 Beetle, and we used to run the trails up here in an old flat fender.  It was fun!  A friend of mine has a 304 CJ5 and a 401.  I love the sound of those exhausts!

    I can't be the only one here who has driven one of the WW2 Jeeps.  They were popular with the guys who hunted and fished where I grew up.  Go most anywhere in them, as long as you didn't want to run more than about 35 on the roads.  At that speed everything vibrated, whirred, and whined.  The old timers who owned these things died out and I don't know where the Jeeps went.  I had a CJ5 years later with a 304 V-8 and it was a little hot rod.   
     Same with the old VW Beetles.  Such a fun car to drive.  Well today has been 507 warnings all day long.  I did get my morning post in today.  Tried to refresh the page as a cure.  Worked one time and failed the rest.  Forest fire problems here.  A slow all-night rain helped with that.  Last I heard the fire was 90% contained.  So much dead wood and downed trees where I am.  The fuel load is enormous.  I have been waiting for a fire to just whoosh up the hill behind me.  Hopefully not over me. 
     Still feeding the vermin.  I need to find some batteries to get my camera back in action.  Maybe this weekend.  Best wishes.  G
 

[WECSOG]

    I can't be the only one here who has driven one of the WW2 Jeeps.  They were popular with the guys who hunted and fished where I grew up.  Go most anywhere in them, as long as you didn't want to run more than about 35 on the roads.  At that speed everything vibrated, whirred, and whined.  The old timers who owned these things died out and I don't know where the Jeeps went.  I had a CJ5 years later with a 304 V-8 and it was a little hot rod.   
     Same with the old VW Beetles.  Such a fun car to drive.  Well today has been 507 warnings all day long.  I did get my morning post in today.  Tried to refresh the page as a cure.  Worked one time and failed the rest.  Forest fire problems here.  A slow all-night rain helped with that.  Last I heard the fire was 90% contained.  So much dead wood and downed trees where I am.  The fuel load is enormous.  I have been waiting for a fire to just whoosh up the hill behind me.  Hopefully not over me. 
     Still feeding the vermin.  I need to find some batteries to get my camera back in action.  Maybe this weekend.  Best wishes.  G
 

I currently own a Willys MB that I have had for over 20 years. Used to have a '75 CJ5 with the 304. And, back in the early '80s I had a '74 Bug.
Flat fender Willys jeeps, VW Beetles (the real ones), and Yamaha TW200s are three of my favorite vehicles of all time. Harley Sportsters, too.

Someone should do a writeup about military motorcycles. Harley built several different military motorcycles including the WWII WLA, a Sportster called the XLA, and the MT350 and MT500, which were based on modern single-cylinder enduro bikes. Kawasaki supplied the KLR-250 and later the KLR-650 (which a small company converted to diesel) to the US military. Several Latin American countries use the Suzuki DR-650 for military and police duty. And, Japan used to use the Honda XL250 for police and/or military duty. There are more too.

[Sos24]

Day 12
The house heat has not been working as well as normal, so I have been doing some troubleshooting .  While opening the cover to disconnect switch it popped off. The bottle opener was used as a pry tool to put it back on. 

As a consolation, for the realization that the fix is beyond my capabilities, I made some coffee.  The can opener worked to lift the lid, but still needed the pot gripper to actually lift the pot.

[IMR4198]

Day 13

      Nothing but 507 notices this morning.  Maybe I can get a post done.  Somehow I would have bet money that WECSOG would know all about Willys vehicles and probably own one.  I might have bet that Barry was in that club sometime in the past as well.  My old uncle liked the Willy wagons.  Puny little motor in a large bodied wagon.  Front and back seating with an area in the back which usually had a dog or two in it.  He had a 48 model, I think but updated to a 1950 since it came with a heater.  Anything past about 35mph felt like the thing was shaking itself apart.  The roar of road noise and pipsqueak motor combined to make shouting instructions to my old uncle a necessity.  He had to be one of the worst drivers I have ever seen.  Part of that may have been because his driving brain was remotely stored in his front seat passenger.  My aunt.  She screeched and screamed and held on for dear life when she traveled with him.  "Stinker, you're running out of the road!"  "Stinker, you missed the turn!"  Uncle Stinker drove until he was 94 and ran into the back of another car at a stop sign.  He would have tried to get his license renewed for another 6 years, but the judge made him turn them in.  "What are you going to do, Rob?  Drive until you are 100?"  That was the little speech before the turning in of the license. 
     I hear the birds singing this morning.  About 28F outside.  Maybe they are singing to loosen up something that was frozen last night.  Might as well post a photo.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Best wishes.  G
 
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