“Taking the PT109 ad-hoc 37MM gun as an example, that’s EXACTLY what a good Naval Officer does” – OldSalt

And Kennedy was not alone in making such modifications, which were done for good and pressing reasons and which would eventually be incorporated in PT boats during manufacture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PT_boat

The significance of the Kennedy story in the Obama context is the fact the we are still discussing it.
It was extensively documented and researched while the major players were still alive and could speak for themselves, and there is no “Mystery of PT109″ story to be told, but the “how damn dumb and slack” questions just keep on coming.
In contrast, Obama is happening now, and can speak for himself, if he chooses to do so, but already there is an “Obama, Man of Mystery” story, and nowhere near enough questions being asked.

ps Field mods were also common in the British Army in North Africa, with special units such as the LRDG fitting their
vehicles with aircraft machine guns acquired from the RAF and heavier weapons captured from the Italians. And I believe Lifeofthemind is mistaken about the Russians, who used field mods on IL2s and other aircraft.