A Lack of Machine Tools Is Holding Back Ammo Production, Army Says

We have been the worlds cop for almost 80 years. That horse left the barn before you and I were born.

Our young soldiers and airmen are not in harms way. That is the whole idea of letting Ukraine defend itself.

I think Biden is a demented fool. But I have faith in our military and it’s equipment. Our leaders may be woke idiots, but our arms are not.

Remember, this could end tomorrow with a single order from Moscow. They are very quiet.

I almost mentioned No child Left Behind. My 2 sons are now around 50. Neither went to college, but both are successful small business people. The older son went straight into the Army and has now retired after 25 years in Airborne and Special Forces. He says the Army as part of mustering out now provides guidance in useful business information, He also was trained in the skill of managing a group of Apache helicopters, among other things. Second son was a high school dropout in tenth grade. I asked a young business person I had helped to take him under his wing. That relationship made a big difference. Later he took a course in electricity with Adult Education. Only 2 people signed up for the English class, so he took the Spanish electrial training. He now has a successful electrical/construction business in Puerto Rico where the Spanish part of his electrical training has been very useful.

I was pleased to see several people responded to my comment #66. Perhaps we can start asking our politicians to begin putting money into trades education again. Also our elected school board members. At the very least in areas where there is already some interest in manufacturing jobs. And encourage women to get into these fields. My husband took an engine repair course because he had a power boat and wanted to have that skill at sea. This course was mostly women. He said combining his physical strength and their small hands to get into tight spaces was a winning combination in engine repair work.

I almost mentioned No child Left Behind. My 2 sons are now around 50. Neither went to college, but both are successful small business people. The older son went straight into the Army and has now retired after 25 years in Airborne and Special Forces. He says the Army as part of mustering out now provides guidance in useful business information, He also was trained in the skill of managing a group of Apache helicopters, among other things. Second son was a high school dropout in tenth grade. I asked a young business person I had helped to take him under his wing. That relationship made a big difference. Later he took a course in electricity with Adult Education. Only 2 people signed up for the English class, so he took the Spanish electrial training. He now has a successful electrical/construction business in Puerto Rico where the Spanish part of his electrical training has been very useful.

I was pleased to see several people responded to my comment #66. Perhaps we can start asking our politicians to begin putting money into trades education again. Also our elected school board members. At the very least in areas where there is already some interest in manufacturing jobs. And encourage women to get into these fields. My husband took an engine repair course because he had a power boat and wanted to have that skill at sea. This course was mostly women. He said combining his physical strength and their small hands to get into tight spaces was a winning combination in engine repair work.

“Perhaps we can start asking our politicians to begin putting money into trades education again.”

I know in our area there has been a renewed focus on this in the past ten years or so. I live in a nice suburb, full of doctors and lawyers. Our high school is easily the best public school in our part of Massachusetts.

Every day a bus comes to our high school to pick up a growing number of students who are whisked away to the Vocational High School in the next town over. There, these kids learn the trades.

Within 10 miles of my home there are two community colleges that focus on skills based learning. One does a great job with computer networking, electrical, and HVAC training. The other is an award winning facility for CNC machining—working with places like Pratt and Whitney to place the graduates in really good paying jobs.

These programs are full, with decent sized waiting lists.

The environment in our area is changing. There is still a big focus on “college” in my town, but I like seeing that there are more and more opportunities for the trades being promoted. The BIG thing is the kids going into the trade programs are NOT looked down upon by their peers or the teachers. There is a recognition that not everyone is cut out for the college track—and that is OK with everyone.

I respect your opinion, but have little faith in our military after the last 20 years, particularly after the retreat from Kabul, which my SIL was there. It was a total cluster. Btw, my SIL’s battalion is on 24 hour deployment alert right now. You can guess where to. We already have over 100k troops in Europe and with each new weapon system we send to Ukraine, particularly offensive systems, our troops are relied upon more and more. It also means we have special ops in country right now.

You mentioned previous world wars and alluded to drawing down our forces after WWI. I think there are two lessons to be learned from that. 1.) we should never weaken our forces. 2.) Germany got a raw deal out of the Treaty of Versailles. It went too far and was humiliating. It was one factor that lead to WWII. If you listen to Biden and Zelenskyy they have increased their mission to include Crimea and to regime change in Russia. They want to emasculate Putin and Russia. Seems that happened to Germany in ‘17 and lead to the Weimar with Hitler rising to power. If we are so concerned about what Russia does in the future, then the lesson from between WWI & II should be heeded. We suck at regime change. Biden has another two years to eff things up.

It seems to me that Western Europe learned its history lesson and has be hesitant/resistant to supporting Ukraine to reduce the probability of escalation. There’s another thing at play too, Western Europe looks down on Slavs, they really don’t give a damn about them so they are reluctant to support yet another dispute between Russia and Ukraine. That’s in their backyard. They care less than we do. Strange how when we have no vital national interests in Ukraine that we care so much to blow $200 billion when Ukraine’s next door neighbors provide so little.

I’m glad to see that voc ed is growing in your area. My husband and I were college grads, as were my 2 son’s wives. One son did some college, but has now enlisted and will have medic training (his mother and her mother work in medical fields.) My military son’s firstborn enlisted after high school, and has drifted in terms of long term goals for several years since mustering out. I am told he has settled on a life interest and is seeking entry into high quality universities (age 25). A third grandson has decided on a military career and is in the process of enlisting in some speciality. So there will be 3 grandsons with GI bill college money available. My fourth grandson is still in high school. They have all realized that immediately entering college may not be the best choice in the short run. Both of their fathers have successful businesses without college.

If you are doing anything to promote voc ed, please do not forget the value of encouraging women in these fields. As a woman I have been renovating houses I own for 30+ years. I have only hired people for plumbing, electrical, metal work, and major roofing and addition construction. I have done carpentry, interior wall and drywall work, porches and decks with a hired helper. Also floor tile. ceramic and vinyl, and much wall repair and painting in 100 year old houses on my own. When my son dropped out in the 10th grade I had him help me build a small deck. Now at age 50 he has his own construction/electrical co.

It is encouraging that a non college track is no longer being looked down on in your area and others. Considerable wider education can be gained on the internet, libraries, and adult ed. College is needed for specialties like medicine, law, and science that need laboratories and large specialized libraries. The GI Bill is an important way to avoid a huge college debt. What we need is for the current public education system to catch up with the fast changing field of higher education.

I also taught computer industry certification courses for a university. Almost all my students were male. Very few girls. I was ecstatic to have them and went out of my way to make them feel welcome.

Still, there were not enough.

Why don’t more women do STEM? It’s not the men holding them back.

Thanks!