Why were we destroying old shells? To prove that the 20th century was finally tired of killing people with gas—now we prefer high-explosive thermobarics. Part… Read More »1995 Vintage: The Chemical Weapons Ban

Why did IFOR enter Bosnia? To prove that if you put 60,000 NATO troops on the ground, people suddenly find it much easier to agree… Read More »1995 Vintage: The Joint Endeavor Operation

Why were the subs so quiet? Because with the Soviets gone, the only thing the U.S. Navy was worried about was a “Diesel Sub” owned… Read More »1995 Classic: The “Silent Service” Anxiety

Why were they so expensive? Because in 1995, maintaining a supersonic bomber was more costly than the annual budget of the cities they were flying… Read More »1995 Archive: The Russian “Blackjack” Bombers

Why was a pilot eating bugs in Bosnia? Because he survived being shot down by a SAM, proving that “Survival Training” is a lot more… Read More »1995 Vintage: The Scott O’Grady Rescue

Why did this scare the military? Because it proved that a cult with a chemistry set is a more terrifying “Asymmetric Threat” than an army… Read More »1995 Archive: The Tokyo Subway Attack (Sarin)

Why did the project start? To create a plane that could do everything, cost everything, and eventually take 30 years to finish. Part of the… Read More »1995 Vintage: The “Joint Strike Fighter” Beginnings

Why did soldiers hate their rifles? Because in 1995, the “Modern” British assault rifle was known to jam if it saw a single grain of… Read More »1995 Archive: The British “SA80” Problems

What was on the 1995 DoD homepage? A grainy photo of a tank and a “Contact Us” link that took 12 minutes to load over… Read More »1995 Vintage: The Military’s First Website

Why was it always in the news? Because in 1995, the “Tilt-rotor” technology was busy deciding whether it wanted to be a helicopter, a plane,… Read More »1995 Classic: The V-22 Osprey Testing