greatsarcasmo: people keep asking us when we're going to add a girl to our two boys. I respond by saying that I'm scheduling my vasectomy after my next dental appointment....which is funnier if you know Navy Medicine. Nerd might get it.
In my opinion, SPA is quicker to transition from travel to firing and back again, a handy trait mind you. Also, a tracked SPA can cross obstacles more readily than a prime mover and towed howitzer. The blinkered types like to point to the M1A1s mobility as the reason to have SPA. I point out that a) what howitzer is built on the M1A? chassis, b) what USMC infantry carrier can keep pace (the AAV can't), c) doesn't the infantry have infantry-stuff to rather than 0-60 demonstrations, d) since when does an howitzer section need to cross obstacles that combat engineers haven't reduced and e) I spent a lot of time waiting on 1st Bn, 2d Marines to get its mechanized act together back in '03 so I'm personally not impressed.
I really enjoyed pointing most of that out to an Artillery Col last year. More evidence.
Color? That's tricky. Home station for some units (East Coast, not sure of Pacific units) is still woodland, some of the Maritime Pre-positioning Forces (MPF) is desert. Really, it adds to the gypsy caravan look we aspire towards.
Dan: I've found Cobra pilots, and Sergeants, to be good people to know. Generally, them and Harrier guys tend to have their crap in a low number of sacks. On the military gig, while patience is a virtue remember that patiently tilting at windmills is merely self-entertaining. Don't let others dictate your career, you've deeper potential than most folks.
Nearly 2100 local and both children are quiet. Yahtzee.