Dirty Little Secrets

Fearlessly taking aim at the seemingly impressive facade of modern military power, Dirty Little Secrets is an unusual, entertaining, and thought-provoking look at the myths, mysteries, arcana, and boondoggles unknown to the rest of us. Did you know that There are an estimated 40 million AK47 assault rifles in the world? (Page 25) The United States Air Force estimates that collisions between aircraft and birds, about two thousand a year, cost $100 million annually-and about twenty injured or dead airmen? (Page 136) As the ultimate defense against electronic warfare, the Swiss Army maintains twenty thousand carrier pigeons for combat service? (Page 243) The space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 crippled the U.S. intelligence satellite network between 1986 and 1990 and would have left the U.S. military almost blind in the event of a major conflict? (Page 245) Most helicopters on combat ships cannot be used more than twenty to forty hours a month? (Page 179) For over twenty years, the U.S. Navy has been successfully using sea lions, dolphins, and whales to guard its ships from enemy divers? (Page 195) In addition to recounting everything from the merely trivial to the truly terrible, the authors help readers to look at the big picture, reminding us that ignorance is not bliss where the military is concerned.