I'm in a military frame of mind again. I had a number of things occur this week that got me headed in that direction.

A reader (I actually have one!!!) expressed an interest in military history. I was in the military and happen to be a history buff as well. Can't get any better than that.

Then my father brought over a CD of photos and films which my brother took in Iraq (more on that later). Last night I watched two C-130s fly over the house, and then tonight when I should have been doing better things I got hooked into a TV show (the kids left the TV on after I chased them to bed) about the efforts to rescue the captured members of the 507th Maintenance Company.

The C-130 flyover wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There's an Air National Guard wing maybe 20 or 30 miles from here and flyovers by C-130s and A-10s used to be frequent. They're much less frequent since the war--in fact I haven't seen an A-10 in several years--but just seeing them isn't remarkable. But these 130s had more lights than I can ever recall seeing. Not enough to be some sort of weird UN C-130 variant like the "black helicopters" (if you actually believe in that stuff), but they were very impressive. 130s have a unique sound, between the roar of the propellers and the whine of the turbo engines, and they have always really impressed me. Combine that with the extra set of lights on the wings and it was a neat display.

C-103s were our primary jump platform when I was in the Army. I've jumped a lot of other aircraft, but it's the sound and sight of a C-130 that always gets my blood pumping.

Yes, my brother is in Iraq. He was an engineer officer and took a buyout some years ago when the Army was downsizing. Thing is, any time the military gives you a payoff to resign your commission, they retain a hook in you. With all of the problems with roadside mines, IEDs and all of that sort of thing, the Army finds itself most in need of engineers. So much so that an overweight 41-year old former engineer captain becomes fair play.

I have his CD and there are just no really compelling images on it to post. Lots of photos of....damned if I know. And lots of videos taken over the hood of a Humvee. They seem to be hauling down the road, but it's too dark to see much. Just a sensation that they are driving quickly.