Category Archives: US Army

Calendar: Army’s 250th birthday week-long celebration

Posted on by Leave a comment

I know some of you guys live around the Beltway, and others are journos of various stripes, so this announcement from the Army’s PAO is relevant:

Members of the media are invited to attend the Army’s 250th birthday week-long celebration from June 7-14, 2025. This year’s birthday theme, “This we’ll defend,” was first used as a battle cry by the Continental Army. Today, it reminds us that our Army’s purpose is clear: to fight and win the nation’s wars. We remain committed to honing our warfighting skills, enforcing standards and discipline, and living the values that have defined our Army for the past 250 years.

June 7

On June 7, a new exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Army called “Call to Arms: The Soldier and the Revolutionary War” will be open and free to the public. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be rare Revolutionary War artifacts from the original colonies, England, France, and Canada on display. Opening weekend activities from June 7 to 8 include special, family-friendly, Revolutionary War-themed events such as powder horn carving demonstrations, uniform and equipment displays, and story times. The Revolutionary War 250 special exhibit and companion educational programming are included in the museum’s free admission and will be offered through June 2027.

To learn more, please visit the website at www.thenmusa.org. Media interested in attending or would like more information, please reach out to the museum’s Director of Public Affairs, Susan Fazakerley, at usarmy.belvoir.hqda.mbx.publicaffairs-division@army.mil.

June 11

On June 11, the Twilight Tattoo hosted by Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, will start a pre-show at 6:30 p.m. and a show at 7 p.m. at Summerall Field at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia. The action-packed military experience will feature Soldiers from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington’s ceremonial units. It will also be livestreamed on @USArmy social media platforms. To learn more, please visit the website at https://jtfncr.mdw.army.mil/twilighttattoo/. Media interested in attending or would like more information, please reach out to usarmy.mcnair.mdw.mbx.mediadesk-omb@army.mil.

June 13

The Army birthday run (or walk) will start at 7 a.m. at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Media interested in broadcasting live at the start of the run, please reach out to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Director of Public Affairs Jason Shepherd, jason.shepherd8.civ@army.mil.

Army Day with the Washington Nationals will begin at 6:45 p.m. Army leaders and personnel will hold their annual Army-focused celebration as the Washington Nationals play the Miami Marlins. Media interested in attending or would like more information, please reach out to Nationals’ Director of Communications Erica George at erica.george@nationals.com.

June 14

The Army Birthday Wreath Laying at Arlington National Cemetery will take place at 8:15 a.m. Media interested in attending or would like more information, please reach out to usarmy.mcnair.mdw.mbx.mediadesk-omb@army.mil.

The Army Fitness event will be held at 9:30 a.m., and the Army Birthday Festival will begin at 11 a.m. at the National Mall, Washington, D.C. The festival will provide opportunities to interact with Soldiers, Army Astronauts, NFL representatives, es and Medal of Honor recipients, and to watch military demonstrations, explore equipment displays, participate in a cake cutting ceremony, and take part in a variety of activities at 6:30 p.m. the Army Birthday Parade will celebrate the Army’s history and will feature Army equipment, flyovers, and 6,600 Soldiers in uniforms from the past and the present. The parade’s best viewing area will be south of Constitution Avenue. The day will end with an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony, a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights, and a fireworks display.

Live music will be featured throughout the day.

To register to attend the free festival and parade, click here.

Members of the media who would like to attend should RSVP by 12 p.m., June 10. There will be a designated media riser for a limited number of credentialed outlets. Members of the media should click here to register.

To learn more about the Army’s 250th birthday, visit:

U.S. Army Celebrating 250 Years – https://www.army.mil/1775

DVIDS 250th Army Birthday – https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/ARMY250

U. S. Army Center of Military History – https://history.army.mil/Revwar250/

Army set to Close Almost Half of its Museums

Posted on by Leave a comment

I get it, the Army is looking to save money everywhere to do more important things like fund new weapon systems that will eventually turn into a boondogle and upgrade military housing to almost habitable levels, but this sucks.

Young Joes need to be able to go to their on-base museum and learn about their heritage and history, coming face to face with the heroes of the past.

Plus, in many cases, the base museum is the only place where new soldiers can take their visiting family members to “show” them what they do. I recently visited the Infantry Museum at Benning on a Sunday morning, and most of those touring the exhibits were young E-1/2/3s walking their parents around with pride. A sense of picking up the torch going back to 1775.

This is a mistake.

From the CMH:

In support of Army transformation and a focus on directing resources toward readiness and lethality, the Center of Military History has begun a consolidation and reduction of Army museums, a process that will continue through Fiscal Year 2029.

The Army Museum Enterprise (AME) will reduce from 41 museum activities at 29 locations to 12 field museums and four training support facilities at 12 locations.

In the current AME, a substantial maintenance backlog and insufficient staffing prevent our museums from reaching their fullest potential as educational and historical resources. These challenges also pose significant risk to our ability to care for the Army’s priceless artifact collection, which is one of the world’s largest.

The future Army Museum Enterprise is designed to best support Soldier training and public education within our available budget and professional staff. The consolidation plan ensures the widest possible access to the highest quality museums within available Army resources.

Specific closure dates and procedures have not been determined. CMH is committed to maintaining communications with affected local communities and commands, and to addressing stakeholder concerns.

As soon as a timeline of closures and consolidations of specific museums is set, we will provide the information.

Bases and facilities where the Army is proposing to keep museums open, according to a draft proposal obtained by Task & Purpose, are:

  • Fort Cavazos, Texas
  • Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
  • Fort Campbell, Kentucky
  • Fort Jackson, South Carolina
  • Fort Benning, Georgia
  • Fort Novosel, Alabama
  • Fort Sam Houston, Texas
  • Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Those set to be closed include museums on the following bases:

Shooting Stars over Italy

Posted on by Leave a comment

It happened 80 years ago this month.

Official period caption, June 1945: “Italy — Historic meeting at Vesuvius; crusty old jet looks down on bright new jets during the Lockheed P-80s’ visit to Italy.”

U.S. Army Air Force Photo Number 57638AC. Print received June 1945 from Publications Section, AC/AS Intelligence. Used in an issue of “Impact”, June 1945. Copied 12 June 1945. CONFIDENTIAL Classification cancelled by WD Circular #24, para. National Archives Identifier 204908286

Equipped with a General Electric I-40/J33 engine, the P-80 Shooting Star became the first U.S. aircraft to exceed 500 miles per hour in level flight, and was the best Allied jet fighter of WWII, albeit it only came into it at the very end. Note that the above aircraft lack the type’s iconic “tip tanks.”

Two of the aircraft shown in the above image have visible tail numbers: 44-83028 (MSN 080-1007) and 44-83029 (MSN 080-1008), denoting them as among the first 13 YP-80A test aircraft. They were from a group of just four aircraft that were rushed to Europe as part of Project Extraversion.

The Lockheed YP-80A Shooting Star, one of just two in Italy, had a nose packing six 50 cals. “Print received June 1945 from Publications Section, AC/AS Intelligence. Used in an issue of “IMPACT”, June 1945. Copied 12 June 1945. CONFIDENTIAL. Classification cancelled by WD Circular #24, Para. USAAF 57639AC”

Flown by Wright Field test personnel, they were the first “combat” Shooting Stars, assigned to the 1st Fighter Group at Lesina Airfield in December 1944, from where they reportedly were tasked with shooting down passing Luftwaffe Arado Ar 234 reconnaissance jet aircraft. Returned stateside after the war, 44-83028 became a drone while 44-83029 crashed on 2 August 1945 near Brandenburg, Kentucky, taking her pilot with her.

Two other early YP-80s had been sent to Britain at the same time, where one, 44-83026, killed test pilot Major Frederic Borsodi in a crash at RAF Burtonwood. The second YP-80A sent to England, 44-83027, was transferred to Rolls-Royce and fitted with a prototype Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene engine, then cracked up on 14 November 1945.

The first 20 or so production P-80As, starting with serial 44-84992, were shipped to the USAAF’s 31st FS (412th FG) (4th AF) at March Field and Muroc Field (now Edwards AFB), California, starting in mid-1945, replacing the troubled Bell P-59 Airacomet jet fighter.

Barrett Wins Army 30mm Precision Grenadier System Competition

Posted on by Leave a comment

Tennessee-based Barrett teamed up with Mars, Inc., and brought a radical new 30mm grenade launcher over the finish line in an Army competition.

It is planned that the new gun will eventually be fielded as part of the Army’s Precision Grenadier System program. The PGS requirement is for a soldier-portable, shoulder-fired, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, integrated system that can engage targets in defilade– such as behind a hill– as well as aerial drones at close range via programmable ammunition. Ultimately, this allows the user faster fire than a 40mm, and with more power and round capabilities than the 25mm.

First launched in 2023 as part of a xTechSoldier Lethality contest designed to rapidly fill the requirement, the PGS competition soon boiled down to two platforms: FN’s PGS-001 and the Barrett-Mars 30mm Support Rifle System, and, with the SRS announced last week as the winner.

Barrett and Mars Inc. recently put their xTech Precision Grenadier System prototype to the test in a live fire event. (Photo: Barrett) 
The Barrett-Mars 30mm Support Rifle System was recently picked for the Army’s PGS program. It uses the Vortex-made XM157 fire control system, which is also used by the Army’s planned 6.5mm Next Generation Squad Weapons, the M7 rifle, and the M250 machine gun. (Photo: Barrett) 
The ammo used by the PGS will include Programmable Air Bursting High Explosive (HE), Proximity Fuzed, and Point Detonating HE, as well as a Close Quarter Battle Round. (Photo: Guns.com)
The SRS is intended to be portable and used by a single soldier. (Photo: U.S. Army xTech Program)

We visited with Barrett and Mars at SHOT earlier this year and got the scoop on the big honking 30mm bloop gun.

Mars even had one set up at their booth in the basement that was mocked up as a Heavy Bolter from Warhammer.

Remember to remember today

Posted on by Leave a comment

80 years ago. Memorial Day 1945 – “After four months of fierce fighting on Luzon, these 11th Airborne Division ‘Angels’ attend a Memorial Day Service for their fallen brothers held in Batangas. Their faces say it all.”

Photo via the 11th Airborne Division Association – “Angels”

Activated on 25 February 1943, the 11th entered combat in the PTO on 25 May 1944 and suffered 2,431 casualties in 204 days of combat.

Muddy Rampage

Posted on by Leave a comment

It happened 80 years ago this week.

Official period caption: “Soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division walk past mud-clogged tanks parked by the side of the road on Okinawa. 26 May 1945.”

U.S. Signal Corps Photo SC 208600. U.S. National Archives

The “tanks” are actually one of the more rarely seen armored vehicles in American service in WWII, the M8 Scott, an early 75mm self-propelled howitzer.

Offically known as “Howitzer Motor Carriage M8,” it picked up the easier moniker in a ode to “Old Fuss n Feathers” himself, Gen.Winfield Scott– the War of 1812 vet who lead the Army during the war with Mexico and the first year of the Civil War who later passed away at West Point just shy of his 80th birthday.

The M8 HMC was an interesting stop-gap vehicle. It used the hull, engine, tracks, and guts of the M5 Stuart light tank. It then substituted the 37mm popgun and the Stuart’s tiny turret for a new open-topped turret armed with a 75mm L18 M2 or M3 howitzer—an artillery piece that was essentially just an M1 howitzer modified for use in a vehicle.

Some 1,778 Scotts were made by the Cadillac division of General Motors from September 1942 to January 1944, and they were very useful in hill fighting due to the high angle of their guns.

“Members of the 758th Light Tank Bn. (Colored) fire their 75mm howitzer in support of infantry movements on the Fifth Army front. 4 April, 1945.” SC 329839

SC 329839 758th Light Tank Bn M8 Scott April 1945 4 April, 1945

M8 Scott HMC 75 howitzer passing a knocked-out Panther

Note that this M8 HMC is named “Laxative.”

M8 troop E, 106th Cavalry Recon Group, Karlsbrunn 6 February 1945

Post-war, they were quickly withdrawn, replaced with 105mm SPGs, but they went on to serve with U.S. allies such as Mexico and the KMT Army in exile in Taiwan for another two decades. They saw particularly hard Cold War service in Vietnam, first by the French and then by the Cambodians and South Vietnamese who inherited them.

M8 Scott 75mm howitzer motor carrier, October 1950, Pingtung exercise, ROC Taiwan, KMT

May 8, 1952 – French Indochina. A 75mm M8 howitzer advances on the Lang Khe road. Ref.: TONK 52-122 R37. © Raymond Varoqui/ECPAD/Defense

Auto-Ordnance Shows off 250th Anniversary Army, Navy and Marine 1911s

Posted on by Leave a comment

With 1775 some 250 years in the rearview, Auto-Ordnance came to the recent NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta with a trio of special new USGI .45s.

This year, besides the semiquincentennial of the start of the Revolutionary War, the Army will celebrate its official 250th birthday on June 14, followed by the Navy on October 13 and the Marines on November 10. To honor the services, Auto-Ordnance has three 250th Armed Forces Anniversary 1911s on tap.

Based on the company’s standard 80-series Government format M1911A1, complete with a GI profile slide, fixed sights, and curved mainspring housing, each variant will sport a dedicated Cerakote livery applied by Texas-based Altered Arsenal.

In each variant, the left slide will carry a “250 years of Service, 1775 – 2025” crest surrounded by laurel leaf etching. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Each pistol will have custom styling on the top of the slides that emulates the “gig line” of the respective services’ dress uniform, complete with buttons and belt buckle.

The Army variant (1911BKOC15) carries an OD Green Cerakote finish with Silver, Black, and Gold accents. The phrase “May God have mercy on my enemies because I won’t” is a well-known quote attributed to General George S. Patton.

The Navy variant (1911BKOC16) has a White, Blue, Black, and Gold Cerakote finish. The quote, “I have not yet begun to fight!” is famously attributed to Captain John Paul Jones during the Battle of Flamborough Head in 1779.

The Marine variant (1911BKOC17) has a Blue, Black, Silver, Red, and Gold Cerakote finish. The phrase “Retreat, hell – we just got here” is a famous quote attributed to Captain Lloyd W. Williams of the 5th Marines during the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I.

These 250th Armed Forces Anniversary 1911s will ship soon with one standard 7-round magazine included and have an MSRP of $1,399.

Keep in mind that you can get an actual USGI surplus M1911A1 from the CMP for less than that. Of course, it won’t be pretty, but every old vet, even those in .45 ACP, deserves a home.

What’s a little armor between friends

Posted on by Leave a comment

Liezen, Styria, central Austria, May 1945. A Lend-Leased American-made M4A2(76)W VVSS Sherman in Russki livery (and with no muzzle brake) comes to the rescue of one of the Motherland’s T-34-85s.

LIFE Arnold E. Samuelson Photographer

Both tracks are from the Soviet 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, which had just “liberated” Vienna, some 140 miles to the East of Liezen, and was soon to be denoted as the “Vienna Order of Lenin Order of Kutuzov Mechanized Corps.”

This top image was apparently during a Victory Parade along with the U.S. 9th Armored “Phantom” Division, which they met at the demarcation line.

The 9th had just recently, in turn, liberated Zwodau and Falkenau an der Eger, both subcamps of the Flossenbürg concentration camp.

Old Ammo plants coming and going

Posted on by Leave a comment

Two interesting pieces of news concerning WWII-era War Department ammunition plants.

The old Milan Army Ammunition Plant (MLAAP) in Tennessee, established in 1941, is finally gone. It made everything from 40mm Bofors rounds to mortar and artillery projectiles over the years.

Employees at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant inspect 81mm mortar rounds produced at the plant in this photo from the 1960s. (Photo Credit: Joint Munitions Command Public Affairs)

Closed as part of BRAC in 2005, its remaining lines were shifted to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant by 2009, while most of its land was transferred to the Tennessee National Guard to become the Milan Volunteer Training Site.

MLAAP was formally deactivated as a federal installation on 10 April and its colors cased.

Brig. Gen. Ronnie Anderson Jr. (right), the Joint Munitions Command’s commander, Tom Nowell, the Milan Army Ammunition Plant’s commander’s representative, and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Reaves, JMC command sergeant major, secure the plant’s flag as the “casing of the colors” is executed bringing the ceremony to a close and formally deactivating the installation. (Photo Credit: Joint Munitions Command Public Affairs)

Meanwhile, in the Sooner State this week, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that a major ammo maker will create 350 new jobs.

CBC Global Ammunition, which owns the brands Magtech and MEN, among others, and made something like 2 billion cartridges last year in Brazil and Germany, is opening a plant on 550 acres of the former Oklahoma Ordnance Works, which was used by the Army for munitions production during World War II.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the $300 million plant is expected in late 2025.

Magtech has been popular on the U.S. market for 20-30 years and is finally going to be made in America.

USMCR Tankers get the Green Weenie, again

Posted on by Leave a comment

Back in 2020, the Marine Commandant elected to dispose of the Corps’ four tank battalions, three active and one reserve, some dating back to 1941. That meant divesting the service of all of its heavy tracks (M1 Abrams and recovery vehicles). While most of the active duty tankers switched their MOS to other specialties, often to motor T or LAV units, those in the reserve were painted into more of a corner, with MCR units few and far between.

This led to at least 39 reservists switching branches, moving from the MCR to the Idaho National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, which also has armories in Montana, Nevada, and Oregon.

The Marine Corps Reserve’s Company C, 4th Tank Battalion, deactivates at Idaho National Guard Base Gowen Field, Aug. 14, 2020. More than three dozen of the former Marines enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard on Sept. 13, 2020. THOMAS ALVAREZ/U.S. ARMY

The 116th, one of just five armored brigade combat teams in the Guard and one of just 16 in the Army as a whole, has often taken its armor abroad, fighting in Iraq twice (OIF III, New Dawn), then sent battalions to Southwest Asia from 2021 to 2023 and trained recently in both Poland and Morocco.

Abrams Tanks from A Company, 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, Idaho Army National Guard, conduct exercises on the Orchard Combat Training Center in the final exercise before deploying in support of Operation Spartan Shield. Photo by Thomas Alvarez/IANG

An M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank crew assigned to the Army National Guard’s 3-116th Combined Arms Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, conducts live-fire operations June 10, 2023, in the Tan Tan Training Area as part of African Lion 2023. Eighteen nations and approximately 8,000 personnel are participating in African Lion 2023, U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual combined, joint exercise is occurring in Ghana, Morocco, and Tunisia from May 13 to June 18, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jeffrey Brenchley)

Well, fast forward a bit, and the 116th, which has been an armored regiment since 1949, is losing its armor. Trading them in for (not kidding here) GM pickup trucks.

From the Army: 

The U.S. Army announced today that the Idaho Army National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team is among the first of the U.S. Army’s armored BCTs selected to transform to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team as part of the Army Transformation Initiative.

ATI is a strategic modernization effort by the U.S. Army designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities in response to emerging global threats by adapting fighting formations and integrating new technologies to prepare units and Soldiers to fight on the modern battlefield.

The transition will see the unit exchange its Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles for Infantry Squad Vehicles as the Army becomes more mobile and lethal to focus on future threats.

The Idaho Army National Guard’s 116th is among three other armored BCTs across the National Guard selected to convert. The 30th ABCT (North Carolina) and the 278th ABCT (Tennessee) will also undergo this transformation into a lighter, more agile fighting force.

For reference, the M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) is a slightly upgraded Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 light pickup truck, with zero armor.

The Green Weenie sometimes strikes twice.

The 5,000-pound GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle was uniquely engineered to fulfill military requirements and designed to provide rapid ground mobility. The expeditionary ISV is light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for air transportability.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »