bigjarofwasps

Gotcha, so basically there along the same lines of battle honours....

Cheers Guys, So basically if she`d been a person she`d have won 6 Bronze Stars?

Thought this picture of her rather poignant.....

Above from this webpage.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wisconsin_(BB-64) Have a read of the Gulf War service, its mad to think that this ship fought the Japs in WW2, the Koreans & the Iraqi`s during her service!!

Hi Guys, Was surfing the net when I found this.... USS Wisconsin (BB-64) ("Wisky" or "WisKy") is an Iowa-class battleship, the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 7 December 1943. During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated 1 August 1986 and modernized as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and participated in the 1991 Gulf War. Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, and a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the 1991 Gulf War, and currently functions as a museum ship operated by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum at Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and is currently awaiting donation for permanent use as a museum ship. Can anyone tell me what the criteria is for a Battle Star & or a Unit Commendation?

Thats really is interesting. I know any time spent on tour counts towards your bounty & that the MATTS (old ITD`s) you do prior to deploying also counts towards your bounty.. Gordon.

Graham, One of the guys, in my squadron has served 35 years in the TA!!!!!!! I think he`s the longest serving guy in the Regiment. Re the double time thing, yes I`d heard of that, but I don`t think its used any more is it? I wonder where this idea came from in the first place? Any ideas? Gordon.

Yes the above two are the ones, these guys were wearing. I must admit to the untrained eye it looked like this guys were old campaigners when the golden jubilee was added. I`m not dissing them in any way, if I had two LSGCs and was allowed to wear them together I would.

I put my money were my mouth is (pardon the pun), and checked up on this advice, and am pleased to say, that it panned out, its obvious the difference between a clad and a solid silver coin... Phew, didn`t want to be giving out duff gen did I!!!!

Paul if you mean the 1 oz type, yes I totally agree naff with a capital N!!!! There more along the lines of bullion as apposed to a coin. If they`d made them just like a quarter except bigger, they`d be a cracking thing to collect!! I can only assume that there made by someone like the Franklin mint as apposed to the US mint?

Bit of useless information here, I joined the TA about 18 months or so ago. We recently had new colours given to us, by the Queen. It was during this parade that I noticed several of the old & bolds of the Regiment had two TA LSGC medals, I`m curious to know how this could happen, and not a bar be issued instead. Can anyone shine any light on this for me?

Two Wisconsin soldiers were killed and a third was injured by shrapnel when a roadside bomb exploded as they drove past in Iraq. Killed were Michael Wendling, 20, of Mayville, and Andy Wallace 25, of Oshkosh, who were members of Fond du Lac-based Charlie Co. of the Wisconsin National Guard 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry. Injured in the explosion was a high school friend of Wendling - Jeremy Roskopf, who suffered shrapnel wounds in his legs. Roskopf and Wendling signed up for the National Guard together while they were still in high school. Families were notified Monday. Wendling's father, Randy, was at work at Michaels Corp. when two military members showed up to tell him of his son's death. Wendling, who was a student on the Dean's List at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee when his unit was activated, frequently kept in touch with his family via e-mail and talked about what it was like to drive the large, heavy Humvees in Kuwait and Iraq. "He said they don't go very fast but he seemed pretty excited about what he was doing," Randy Wendling said in a phone interview this morning. Wallace taught physical education at Cook Elementary School in Oshkosh and at Oshkosh North High School, where he was an assistant wrestling coach and part-time physical education teacher for cognitively disabled students. Staff members at Cook gasped in shock after being notified of Wallace's death at a Monday meeting called by the principal. "He was a kind, wonderful, positive man," said third-grade teacher Tracy Zangl. "He wanted students to be healthy in every sense of the word, physically, mentally and in attitude." The U.S. Department of Defense had not confirmed the deaths Tuesday. The 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry is based in Appleton and spent a couple of months training at Camp Shelby, Miss. The unit moved to Kuwait in mid-August and has been based in northern Kuwait to provide security to convoys traveling from Kuwait into Iraq, said Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan. Wendling's father said the roadside bomb hit his son's Humvee near Basra. Wendling was the driver, Roskopf was the gunner who stands up in the middle of the vehicle and Wallace was the team leader who normally sits in the front passenger seat. Randy Wendling said he saw his son shortly before the unit deployed in August. He spent his home leave going to Brewers games, visiting with family and friends and golfing. Wendling was a member of Mayville High School's golf team. Randy Wendling said his son was upbeat about going to Iraq and enjoyed serving in the Wisconsin National Guard. In his e-mails, Wendling sent photos and wrote about missions and what the countryside looked like. "He talked about where they were based and what it was like, what they were going to be doing, how hot it was there," said Randy Wendling. Wallace was described as "an exceptional teacher and an outstanding young man" by Oshkosh North Principal Jim Hoffman. Wallace maintained contact through e-mails with his Oshkosh North colleagues, and he recently requested athletic jerseys and copies of the school's newspaper, The North Star, Hoffman said. Wallace's wife, Angie, is a child-care provider for a number of staff members in the district who were notified that they should pick up their children early on Monday once the news of his death spread, said Superintendent Ronald Heilmann. The superintendent said Wallace made an impact on many students during his short career and that his death sent "ripples" throughout the district.

Para killed during Iraq mission A British soldier serving with the Parachute Regiment has been killed during an operation in central Iraq. The MoD said the soldier died on Wednesday during an operation "in support of ongoing coalition activity". It has been reported that he was on a special forces mission and was a member of the Special Air Service (SAS). The soldier has not been named, but next-of-kin have been informed. Forty-two soldiers have died in Iraq this year. Further details are expected on Saturday. The death brings to 169 the number of UK armed forces personnel or MoD civilians who have died in Iraq since the start of the campaign in March 2003.

Cheers Taz, I maybe talking out of turn here, but I feel that if this guy didn`t get the VC, then its unlikely that the two Poachers will either.

Thats very interesting! Have you got any further details?

I`m told..... "The reeded edges around the quarter you can see is all the same color of silver matching the reverse and obverse of the quarter. On the clad you can see the alloy, ( it may be copper ) in the reeded edges of the quarter. This is the simplest way to tell, but there are others." I`ll attempt to find out what the other ways are & get back to you. In the mean time, here are a few more links... http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_p...ction=factsheet http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_dollars/5...es_quarters.htm

As silver bullion, I suppose there okey, like collecting 1 oz bars, I would imagine. But as a coin, I think there a bit naff.....sorry.

Hi Guys, Came across these little beauties, whilst surfing the net, thought they minght be of interest? SILVER PROOF State Quarter Designer: William Cousins (added to John Flanagan) Composition: .900 Silver, .100 Copper Diameter: 24.3 mm Mint Marks Used: "S"-San Francisco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_State_Quarters http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/store...catLink=prod50Q

Don`t know I`m afraid, but if I may comment, what a well struck coin! Any idea where the church is? It looks very much like the one my wife & I got engaged in the grounds of. That one is in Bergan North Germany.

Cheers Rick, that about answered my question, and was very amusing to boot!

Rick, Was thinking about what you said, re using your silver peace dollars, to get threw college, in the 70`s. When did they cease to be legal tender then, or did you use them as a sort of silver bullion investment type thing? Gordon.

Hi Guys, Found this which I thought might be of interest. This guy was a British Marine attached to the US Marines. The article doesn`t mention it, but does anyone know if the US gave him a bravery medal as well? Would he of also be entitled to the US medal for Iraq? Anyway he`s the story.... Colour Sergeant Matthew Tomlinson receives the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in the Operational Honours List announced on 24 March 2006. Colour Sergeant Tomlinson was commanding a US Marine Corps assault force on the Euphrates River near Fallujah in November 2004 when they came under fire from a numerically superior and well-defended enemy position. His decision to turn his lead craft towards the attack created an element of surprise, which unhinged the enemy. He was first on the river bank and he engaged in close quarter battle, enabling his men to encircle the enemy. When it became clear the insurgents were reinforcing themselves, Colour Sergeant Tomlinson called for fire support on the enemy Rocket Propelled Grenade position and he planned and led a decisive assault on the key enemy position. On realising his force was running low on ammunition, Colour Sergeant Tomlinson executed a safe withdrawal to the river bank where he personally provided cover fire to ensure his men safely boarded the boats. He also marked his position so that air support could counter strike at the enemy force. The citation reads: "Colour Sergeant Tomlinson's sure, aggressive and decisive actions throughout saved the lives of many in his US Marine Corps patrol. He displayed courage, determination, and remarkable presence of mind throughout and his actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Royal Marines." Matthew Tomlinson ("Tommo") was born in Bridport on 6 December 1966 and grew up in Street, Somerset where he attended Crispin School. He joined the Royal Marines in June 1989 and trained as a landing craft specialist. The majority of his career to date has been spent as a small boat coxswain with operational tours in Northern Ireland, Zaire, the Congo, Sierra Leone and Hong Kong before the handover. He also served in Afghanistan on the operations against the Taliban. From 2003 to 2005 Colour Sergeant Tomlinson served on exchange with the United States Marine Corps, Small Boat Company at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During this time he deployed to Iraq to carry out operations on the Euphrates River around Fallujha. Colour Sergeant Tomlinson is now serving with 1 Assault Group Royal Marines where he does research, development and trials on new landing craft and boats. Married to Sharon they have 3 children, daughter Ellis and sons Harvey and Daniel-Brian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bre-X

First there is a gold mountain, then there is no mountain Start with the biggest deposit of gold ever reported, in the headwaters of the Busang River in the steaming jungle of Borneo. The Canadian company Bre-X Minerals Ltd. didn't know about that when it bought rights to the site in 1993. But after Bre-X hired a high-living geologist to map the ore body, the deposit, along with the fever dreams that accompany gold, grew to monster size—by March 1997 that geologist was talking about a 200-million-ounce resource. You do the math at, say US$500 per ounce. Bre-X prepared for big times ahead by building a gold-plated Web site, where you could generate your own Bre-X stock chart to follow its meteoric rise. It also had a chart showing the equally meteoric rise of the estimated gold resource: together, those two pages could infect anyone with gold fever. Bigger mineral companies took notice. Some made takeover offers. So did the Indonesian government, in the person of president Suharto and his powerful family. Bre-X owned more of this lode than seemed prudent for such a small, inexperienced foreign firm. Suharto suggested that Bre-X share its fortunate surplus with the people of Indonesia and with Barrick, a firm tied to Suharto's ambitious daughter Siti Rukmana. (Barrick's advisors, among them George H. W. Bush and ex-prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, also favored this scheme.) Bre-X responded by enlisting Suharto's son Sigit Hardjojudanto on its side. An impasse loomed. To end the contretemps, family friend Mohamad "Bob" Hasan stepped in to offer all sides a deal. The American firm Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (led by another old Suharto friend) would run the mine, Indonesian interests would share the wealth, Bre-X would keep 45 percent of the ownership, and Hasan for his pains would accept a share possibly worth, oh, a billion or so. Asked what he was paying for this stake, Hasan said, "There is no payment, no nothing. It is a very clean deal." (You may hear a voice saying "Forget it, Jake. It's Indonesia-town.") Trouble Arises The deal was announced on 17 February 1997. Freeport went to Borneo to start its own due-diligence drilling. Suharto was ready to sign a contract after this step, locking in Bre-X's land rights for 30 years and starting the flood of gold. But just four weeks later, Bre-X's geologist at Busang, Michael de Guzman, exited his helicopter (250 meters in the air at the time), an evident suicide. On March 26 Freeport reported that its due-diligence cores, drilled only a meter and a half from Bre-X's, showed "insignificant amounts of gold." The next day Bre-X stock lost almost all of its value. Freeport brought more rock samples to its American headquarters under armed guard. Bre-X commissioned a review of Freeport's drilling; the review recommended more drilling. Another review focusing on the chemical assays caused Bre-X to clam up completely on 1 April, and Suharto's signature was postponed. Bre-X blamed the Web. CEO David Walsh told a fawning Calgary Herald reporter that the meltdown began when scurrilous local rumors in Indonesia were "picked up by one of the ghost writers on the Internet on the chat page or whatever." Further reviews took the rest of April. Meanwhile, disquieting details began to arise. Industry journalists soon found evidence that the Busang ore samples had been "salted" with gold dust. Salting of the Earth On Friday 11 April, Northern Miner magazine put a "news flash" on its Web site laying out three lines of evidence that Bre-X had been duped. First, contrary to company statements, Busang core samples had been prepared for assay in the jungle, not in the testing lab. Videotape made by a visitor to the field site showed the humble machines common in assay labs—hammer mills, crushers, and sample splitters. Well-labeled sample bags clearly had finely crushed ore in them. Security was lax enough that samples could easily have been spiked with gold. Second, the local inhabitants had begun panning for gold in the Busang River, but in two years they never found any. Yet Bre-X claimed that gold was visible, a sign of unusually rich ore. And de Guzman's technical report, confusingly, called the gold submicroscopic, which is typical of hard-rock gold ore. Third, the assayer that tested the samples said the gold was predominantly in visible-sized grains. Also, the grains showed signs consistent with being typical river-panned gold dust, such as rounded outlines and rims depleted in silver. The assayer dodged the 64-billion-dollar question, saying that there were indeed ways for hard-rock gold grains to acquire rounded edges—but that argument was a fig leaf. The Curtain Falls Meanwhile a storm of securities lawsuits arose around Bre-X, which vigorously protested the whole unfortunate series of misunderstandings. But it was too late. The collapse of Bre-X cast a cloud over the gold mining industry that lasted into the next century. David Walsh decamped to the Bahamas, where he died of an aneurysm in 1998. Bre-X's chief geologist, John Felderhof, eventually went on trial in Canada but was acquitted of securities fraud in July 2007. Apparently in selling part of his stock holdings for $84 million in the months before the scandal hit he had not been criminal, just too stupid to catch the fraud.