Military Ring Info

Cluster Bombs are munitions that release smaller bomblets when they are dropped. They can be either air dropped or delivered by artillery. We are more familiar with dual purpose cluster bombs because they are used more often.

A dual purpose cluster bomb scatters munitions while it is yet airborne over a wide area. They contain munitions which can destroy either vehicles or personnel. The “bomblet” normally is a shaped charge which explodes on contact with an enemy tank or vehicle. The shaped charge explodes downward to penetrate the armor of the vehicle. If it dosen’t land on a vehicle it has a spring loaded mechanism in the bottom which causes it to bounce up off of the ground. It then explodes when it is about chest high spreading deadly shrapnel over a wide area. Each bomb when dropped may contain hundreds of individual bomblets so you can see why this weapon is so effective.

One major problem with cluster bombs is that you will have a lot of unexploded bomblets laying around after the fact so you don’t want to use them over an area that you may have to send soldiers into later. You also don’t want to use them in an area where innocent people will be passing thru.

Cluster bombs can be configured to contain flame producing, chemical, and runway destroying bomblets. They can also contain chemical munitions, or propaganda leaflets.

You can thank me the custom air force ring, or custom military ring man for this tidbit of knowledge

The United States Strategic Command USSTRATCOM is one of the combat commands of the United States Department of Defense. It was created in 1992 with the purpose of replacing the Strategic Air Command (SAC).

When I looked at the laundry list of duties for STRATCOM I must say that I was overwhelmed. Each function is vitally important for our national defense and each one has no room for error. Here is a partial list; space operations, information operations, missile defense, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, global strike, strategic deterrence, and combating weapons of mass destruction.

The duties and responsibilities are so all encompassing that there is no way that we can cover them in this blog. Any person who has ever served in STRATCOM whether military or civilian can create his or her own service ring to tell the story of their service more adequately. The beauty of creating the service ring is that you can be very specific and tell a better story of your own experiences.

A Booby Trap is a device which can be used to trap or snare animals. In the military sense it is an object which is designed to maim, kill, and psychologically defeat the enemy. It can also be used to deny his access to a territory, and to make him combat ineffective. Some booby traps are designed to wound but not kill. The reason for this is that it takes several other soldiers to attend to 1 wounded soldier thus reducing the number of soldiers who can participate in the fight. 

It is believed that the name booby trap came from the practice of catching boobies which are sea birds. Bait would be placed to lure the bird to a noose which would be tightened when the bird stepped into it. The boobie trap usually works according to the same principle when used as a military weapon in that it takes advantage of human nature. Objects can be used which are colorful or in some other way attractive to the intended victim. When the victim moves or touches the object it will injure him or her in some way.

One trick that German soldiers would use to kill American military Officers would be to rig a picture to explode and then hang it crooked on a wall. When American soldiers took over the building the Officer by nature would not be able to resist straightening the picture. The picture would explode and deprive the unit of one of its senior leaders.

One advantage of the booby trap is that it is simple and inexpensive to construct and use. During the Vietnam war one of the Viet Cong favorites was to sharpen Pungi Sticks (bamboo sticks) and place them into the ground. They would cover the hole to hide the trap. It would always be placed in an area where the soldiers had to walk so if the victim did not have his guard up he might have a problem.

Boobie traps are more of a help to a small Army because it gives them an advantage. IED’s used in Operations Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom are examples of modern day boobie traps. I have not talked to any custom military ring customers yet who have had the displeasure of many boobie traps, but many of my Operation Iraqi Freedom military ring customers have come into contact with IED’s.

Although it is not the picture shown here the USS Lake Eerie was the Navy ship chosen to shoot down USA 193 or NROL-21 which was a US spy satellite launched in Dec 2006. The satellite malfunctioned shortly after liftoff and could never be brought back under control.

It was shot down 14 months after it was launched. The AEGIS Anti-Ballistic Missile System was modified and utilized to successfully shoot the satellite down.

 The problem with the entire process was that the missile was not designed to shoot down satellites. Neither was the Navy. The Navy crewmen were given a very short time to retrain to be able to shoot the satellite down. In addition the missile’s internal workings had to be modified in a very short period of time to accomplish this task along with the existing radar. The official reason given for having to shoot down the satellite was that it contained 1,000 pounds of highly toxic satellite fuel which was potentially harmful to people if not destroyed. The kicker to the whole ordeal was that not only did they have to shoot down the satellite, but they had to hit in in the fuel tank!! This is while it was tumbling through space!!!

This is a wonderful story to tell and a custom US Navy Ring would be a good vehicle to convey it to others.

How about another tidbit of information from the military ring man? Well you know that I’m going to give it right? So here it is…the military term for today is “Raid.” My definition of a raid is a surprise attack conducted for a specific purpose. A raid is normally conducted behind enemy lines and it is not usually done to gain control over a piece of terrain. Surprise is the key to a raid. You want to go in, do your thing, and get out before the enemy can react to you. You go in with as much firepower as you can bear, and then get out while the enemy is still in shock.

There are many purposes for conducting raids. Some of them are: to destroy or damage people, supplies or equipment; to capture people or equipment, to test the enemy’s reaction to the raid, to gather intelligence, or to free prisoners such as the Son Tay raid during the Vietnam War, and to demoralize or confuse the enemy.

Raids can be conducted by any branch of the military or can be a conbined operation of several branches working together.

One example that comes to mind of how a raid can be beneficial is when a raid destroys fuel and/or supplies which causes a larger attack force to not be able to function thus aiding the overall war effort.

The US State Department is  85% sure that Saad bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden’s sons has been killed this year in an attack by a  US drone firing Hellfire missiles. Although we can’t confirm the death with 100% accuracy I have been around long enough to know that if it is put out it is probably true. I know from my experience that we do not rush to make these kinds of statements unless we can pretty much back them up.

This death is not a result of Saad bin Laden being sought out by our military but is a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As far as we know he was not heavily involved in terrorist activities like his father so his death can be viewed as collateral damage.

This incident should give the average person an idea of the kind of work that our servicemen and women are putting in in Operation Enduring Freedom. I wish that there was something which could be done to let everybody get a feeling of the harsh conditions that our troops have to operate in in Afghanistan. Whenever one of our soldiers in Afghanistan purchases an Operation Enduring Freedom ring we try to send an encouraging e mail to boost his morale.

The US soldier who went missing in Afghanistan was shown on a videotape which was used by his captors for propaganda purposes. I saw the videotape and I will give you my account of it. If you would like to view it you can go to www.military.com and pull it up. It was obviously staged and showed the frightned soldier eating a meal. This was obviously a ploy to make them look like they are humane captors. I thought that he looks kind of thin although I don’t know what he weighed to begin with.

The soldier was identified by the Defense Department as being the one who is missing but they won’t release his name to the public which is a good thing. I think that this is the least that should be done out of respect to him and his family. I would like to give the family my heartfelt sympathy here. I hope and pray that everything turns out well and that he is released or rescued without harm. You have my sincere prayers and if there is anything that I can do to help you please let me know.   

The story that he tells on the videotape and the account given by the Defense Department vary widely. I beleive that his version was rehearsed and given to him to say on tape. He admits that he is frightened which is natural and he gives an appeal when prompted by his captors to ask citizens of this country to pressure the government to send our soldiers home.

I want to take time here to thank all of our servicemen and women for a job well done while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and anywhere else that you may be today.

Take it from the military ring man, stay safe and keep your head down. For the missing US soldier I hope that you come home soon.

The office of US Naval Intelligence was created in 1882 with the purpose of spying on the Navies of other countries. As time went on the duties were expanded to include the responsibility of protecting Navy personnel, censorship, and the ferreting out of spies and saboteurs.

This is a serious business and the people who are assigned these responsibilities take them seriously. The actions, inaction, and decisions of Navy Intelligence personnel have immediate and wide ranging consequencies on other Navy personnel. This is why we are taking the time to mention this office here. We don’t know a whole lot about what they do but I will bet you that if they weren’t on the job the whole world would know because they would get much more scrutiny.

If you or a friend or loved one works in Naval Intelligence or have ever done so, you can use the many options that we offer to create your own custom Naval Intelligence ring. You can call us at 912-877-4734 and we will be more than happy to assist you with any questions that you may have. 

If you knew anything about the Vietnam War you have more than likely heard of the Mekong Delta. This is the 15,000 square mile area on the southern tip of Vietnam where Ho Chi Mingh City (formally Saigon) is located. This area was the place of much action during the war and there were many US military units based there.

This area gets its name from the fact that the Mekong River branches out into many tributaries here before it finally empties into the sea.

This is also the area in Vietnam where most Navy personnel who were involved in the war saw action. The Navy used small fast patrol boats a lot in this area which interacted with Viet Cong guerillas.

This area holds many memories for Army, and Navy Vietnam Veterans alike. Some good and some not so good. You can create your custom Vietnam Veterans ring to tell the story of your involvement in the Vietnam war.