Shore Leave

From National Defense February 2007 Defense Dept. lacks clearinghouse for military videogames, say analysts By Grace Jean As the military begins to rely more on the so-called “serious” games to ready its fighting forces, the vendors selling the high-tech virtual trainers are voicing frustration with the Defense Department’s cumbersome acquisition process. The government’s contracting cycle is so resource-intensive and lengthy that small game developers really have a hard time with it, especially if they don’t understand the acquisition process, said Brian Williams, research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses, which conducted a study for the P…

Here is my first 1/2400 micronaut, Bunker Hill (Tico) first in class with Mk41 VLS. Be gentle.

HarpoonPages invites you to vote for the 2006 Pooner and Lifetime Pooner. The big news is that this is the 10th Anniversary of the first Pooner vote (Tom Wenck won back in 1996 for his pfedit program). Thanks to yours truly, Don Gilman, Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, and Brad Leyte (Pooner 2005) the award this year includes adoration & thanks of the Harpoon community and more. The 2006 Pooner will receive a first edition hard cover copy of Red Storm Rising, in Very Good condition (if not fine but I'm no book dealer) signed not only by Tom Clancy, but Larry Bond as well! The 2006 Lifetime Pooner will receive a copy of Dangerous Ground signed by Larry Bond an…

Happy New Year from HarpGamer ! Hope you have a good one.

Has anyone here tried the mini rules Shipwreck. They are a "highly" abstracted set of modern naval rules.

Here a few pics of the French Navy missile tracking ship FS Monge which was in port here this week ...

Happy 231st Birthday Marines. And to all veterans, thank you.

Being election day in the USA I thought it was time to remind everyone that the annual vote for Pooner and Lifetime Pooner is approaching. Voting will begin December 1st. The big news is that this is the 10th Anniversary of the first Pooner vote (Tom Wenck won back in 1996 for his pfedit program). While the details are not in place yet, the 2006 winner will likely get some kind of physical reward and measure of thanks above and beyond the electronic award and thanks of the community. For more details and to view the past winners, visit http://www.harpoonpages.com/poonervote/pooner-Intro.php Please post this message on any forum/list/newsgroup where Harpoon p…

1st Mission of a 3 Day Skirmish Campaign in Iraq, 1991. Target: Communications Center in Northern Iraq. It appears to be lightly defended – intel has only uncovered a solitary 37mm AA Gun and SA-7. We can expect a minimal air threat. The distance involved cuts our weight capacity in half. It is a four aircraft strike, led by the veteran Snake (2x AIM-9, 1x Mk84), average Fox (2x AIM-9, 1x Mk84) and Lightning (2x AIM-9, 1x AGM-65), and green Big Red (2x AIM-9, 1x AGM-65). No Special Option used in this raid. Saving for bigger things to come. Snake and Big Red approach from the south, while Fox and Lightning approach from the west. Bad weather over…

In order to initiate and consolidate discussion on developments with regard to North Korea's drive to develop nuclear power/weaponry, I submit this article...here. Unrelated specifically to the article, footage of the UN Security Council meeting and US UN Ambassador John Bolton's comments on the behaviour of the representative of the north Korean government was extremely interesting. In the end, the UN Security Council unaminously voted to impose sanctions, find it here. It will be of interest to see how this develops as the People's Republic of China has already inserted doubt into the effectiveness of these sanctions. Also of note will be how North Korea's a…

I'll be watching. This series, going toward midnight each night, has been putting a cramp on my Harpooning. Go Mets!

This was just too funny not to share ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MMAoOPa0Pg

Howdy This is a "Pass down the line" from Uncle H. I'm looking for first hand accounts of professional use of Harpoon in the military (any military) over the years. The material will be referenced in an upcoming presentation at the Serious Games Conference in DC where I'll be speaking. Attribution and level of detail required by the source will be strictly honored. No SENSITIVE INFORMATION PLEASE. For those willing to share you can contact me via email (http://www.computerharpoon.com/contact). Thank you! Don "Uncle H" Gilman

here. Don't know how long it will be here. Need DirectX and apparently Quicktime. Here is the museums site in case there is further interest.

I'm looking for overhead vector or line art images of the LAV-25, LAV-AT, LAV-M, AAVP-7, and HUMMWV that can be used for a not for sale wargame project. Any leads that will not cost hundreds of dollars? Thanks

Bodene Aloysius Maidhof July 1991 - August 2006 3/4 Black Labrador Veteran of 2 tours with USMC (1991-1992, 2002) Born to a rural horse farmer, affectionately known in my household as the "Potato-Head Lady", in Folkstone NC. Small enough to be held in one hand. Despite his behavior at times, the proud recepient of a "Dog Obedience Certificate" In his younger years, renowned for his tenacious defense in one on one on "one-dog" basketball. Died peacefully this morning, August 28, 2006. A true friend who will be sorely missed. Rest easy Bo, I salute you.

This article was too good to miss posting here. From Chicago Sun-Times Policy on Iran nukes seems to be off-target April 16, 2006 BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Happy Easter. Happy Passover. But, if you're like the president of Iran and believe in the coming of the "Twelfth Imam," your happy holiday may be just around the corner, too. President Ahmadinejad, who is said to consider himself the designated deputy of the "hidden Imam," held a press conference this week -- against a backdrop of doves fluttering round an atom and accompanied by dancers in orange decontamination suits doing choreographed uranium-brandishing. It looked like that Bollywood finale …

Battle Along the Tziepov Major John F. Schmitt, USMCR – Marine Corps Gazette – April 1999. Adapted for TacOps v4. Original Scenario: here. My version of the map will be posted here. If you cannot read it due to size limitations and would like to see the map graphic shoot me an email. Notes: USMC Tanks – M60A1; Host Nation Tanks – Leopard 1A5; Host Nation APC – M113; USMC Arty – Arty Bn 10 ICM/27 HE/3 Smoke; USMC Air 10% chance. Opfor Tanks – T-72BMS+ATGM AT-11; Opfor APC – BTR-70; Opfor SAM – SA-7B; Unaided visibility 3500m, thermal 4,000. Arty and vehicular smoke defeats thermals General Plans: Blue – per the actual scenario, Alpha LAR movement to co…

Force Z A little background, from Wikipedia: "The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks against naval forces that were not protected by air cover and the resulting importance of including an aircraft carrier in any major fleet action ... What was then designated as Force G , consisting of the modern battleship Prince of Wales, the World War I era battlecruiser Repulse, and the four destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Express, HMS Encounter, and HMS Jupiter, arrived at Singapore on 2 December, 1941. They were then re-designated Force Z ..." Date: December 10, 1941 (evening) Locatio…

Tonnage Totals as of October 1, 1944 Brains: 405,965 CV32: 398,074 TonyE: 178,080 War Total: 982,119 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: September 4, 1939 (morning) Location: Mediterranean, somewhere northwest of Tunisia Weather: Sunny, clear, calm seas U-boats: 3 x VIIB (1939) Enemy force encountered: Very large British task force (including six battleships and numerous destroyer escorts) Results: CV32: Tonnage: 42,263, Renown: 1930 Sunk: 1 x Nelson BB, 1 x C class DD, 2 x Tribal DD, 1 x V&W DD TonyE: Tonnage: Nil, Renown: Nil Sunk: Nil Brains: Tonnage: Nil, Renown: Nil Sunk: Nil F…