First thing.

So I was cruising around the internet today, and I came across an article about the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Joint Chiefs. It seems he gave quite a public speech- he talked about smashing entrenching tools into the skulls of recalcitrant ISIS fighters. You need to look at this- I’m not making it up. Here’s the link to his FB page with the quote.

And I thought I was the only guy with a thing about E-tools- a simple folding shovel can be very bad news, trust me. For a graphic primer in how one is used, you need read no further than “All’s Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen Nichts Neues).” The entrenching shovel can be used like a knife, a club, or an axe. Versatile.

Besides smashing skulls, they are also quite handy for any number of mundane field chores. Really, they are an indispensable, time-honored implement.

Nice to see that one of the Army’s senior enlisted soldiers gives recognition to the humble  mini-shovel. I don’t know if I would have mentioned it like that in a public speech, though. I think he even gave it a Twitter handle.

Second thing.

It seems that researchers have found thick sheets of ice on Mars. Check out the article here. Super cool- as we all know, water is as essential to life as entrenching tools, uh, I mean oxygen. For any future missions to Mars, it’s a no-brainer that water will be one of the key resources needed there.

This discovery is pretty exciting- ice sheets 100 meters thick. Plenty of water, all it needs is heated and distilled.

The pieces keep falling together to make this Mars thing a go. I do wonder if the explorers will have entrenching tools along.

They better. Those things can be used for everything.