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This is how the US Marines wish you a Merry Christmas, people. The Marines with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. So Star Warsy. They are firing Lightweight Howitzers during a night exercise. A beautiful shot of such a deadly weapon. [Flickr]
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Jesus, don’t be so thick.
It is funny because my friend was in the Army and did a couple tours or whatever you call them. He said the US are allowed to just fire rounds for a laugh and us British often ask to waste a round or two because we aren’t. Apparently we have to put in paper work every bullet we fire……
Lucky Americans lol.
Paperwork for every bullet? A tad exaggerated. This is an awesome photo nonetheless.
Oh look, raining death and destruction from the skies. How festive.
Mr. Jesus Diaz, I do believe that calling a picture of artillery firing “awesome” fully qualifies you as a sociopath to say the least. In the best scenario it makes you a reality-detached individual who is completely unaware of the consequences of the real use of the machinery you call “awesome”.
Those mariners may look “cool” and “badass” in training situation, but after going to Iraq or Afghanistan many of them come back to their families not half the men they used to be.
What planet are you on? This could well of been on a firing range, and even so, weapons like this have been around for centuries. Yes they cause damage, but then so does the instruments that our enemies use as well. This is awesome photo in every respect.
The guys know what they signed up for, they aren’t conscripts you fool, and from someone who knows people past and present that have served in the armed forces, every one of them is itching to get over there to fight and put their training to use. Stop being such a tool.
Just because these weapons have been around a while doesn’t make the destruction they cause any more justified. Yes the photograph looks visually impressive but the subject matter is still machines of death.
It also surprises me that you are unaware to the psychological effects of war, the fact is some people don’t fully realize what they are getting into. As for the people you know you say they are all “itching to get over there to fight” just think about that phrase for a moment, you are implying they can’t wait to kill more people, in most societies that would be enough to call someone a sociopath.
War may be a necessity of the human race but that doesn’t mean it should be accepted as “Awesome”.
I believe Aevolve said enough but about the “they aren’t conscripts you fool”.
They sure are not, but take the example of USA, where they send recruiters to the places with the highest rate of unemployment, making desperate 17/18 years old boys (who know shit about anything) all sort of seducing promisses about the “great” career they can have.
Nobody is forcing them to enlist but nobody is being honest to them. And then the are sent to somewhere in the middle east to fight “your enemies” who had never been a real threat to USA and UK, and told “we are freeing these people”. Some of them even might get contaminated by radiation from depleted uranium used by their own army.
Next time, do some homework before you call me a fool. Anywhere out of mainstream media you’ll find a very differente history.
Its called depleted for reason, its less radioactive then granite or concrete.
Apparently some depleted uranium used by USA comes from nuclear power plants waste*. So even if it is less radioactive, it is still something that would otherwise be “radioactive waste” and stored with a lot of security measures.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
I know my homework very well. By the way I am fully aware of the horrors of war, read many books on the shell shock victims of WW1 and the torments that it inflicts on people. But the thing is, that doesn’t really relate to this article. It is a great looking photo of a howitzer being fired, not the destruction it has caused.
Ok, when you put things this way I think we get close enough to agreeing so that we can move on.
Cheers!
Obviously you know nothing about the infantry soldiering. To them they fight the enemy to defend themselves and their friends. Politics don’t come into when in a firefight.
You do have valid point, US has the worst foreign policy and illegal war for crude oil but this pic has nothing to do with that. Artist finds beauty in imperfections.
Jesus jesus, what have you started.
I think everybody has said enough on the matter now. Apparently nobody here likes war and find howitzers look better on training pictures than shooting people on Afghanistan or Iraq.
I liked it.
Gizmodo can be such ugly pricks at times.
Really, male teenage internet culture reified.
Slow clap at your ‘awesome’ picture.
Looks epic, all cannons are firing synchronised! Must be a combat drill and not photoshopped I hope. Wish modern warfare 3 looked more like this instead, may be on PS4 one day
Sheesh, some people really look far too deeply into these things.
Yes, weapons can be bad, in the wrong hands(And I’m not saying that anyone has the ‘right hands’ as such). However, saying that a shot of some howitzers firing, in sync (Not an easy task) and with such clarity as well, is amazing, is fine. Calling said person a sociopath? Not so much. Weaponry and the machinery involved with war, is amazingly complex at times and has actually led to a fair few of the things we use in our day to day lives.
At the end of the day, this is a picture of technology and machinery that we have built. Yes, it can (and has been used) to kill people, but this picture in and of itself, is awesome. It takes work to get a picture this good (Photoshopped or not) and going around calling people Sociopaths for thinking it? Well, you’re going to calling a tonne of people Sociopaths, or ‘Reality detached individuals’ because they think that this picture, is in some way. Awesome.