Ah, the "they do it toooo" cry again. Except I get the feeling that wife-beating is considered a bad thing in the US military, no matter what rate it actually happens at. The Taliban have no such reservations against it.

The word "fun" was over the top, IMO.

"Satisfying", on the other hand...

This is news to me about a problem with OUR troops and domestic violence. Of course I was only in for 20 years.... I always got the feeling we were living in a glass house. Everybody knew everything about everybody. You couldn't so much as bounce a check or your commander would know.

I can't say it was fun. But, I remember quite distinctly a fierce exultation when the forward air controller reported back the bomb damage assessment in terms of estimated enemy KIA after striking the ansar al-islam bubbas in extreme NE Iraq. My navigator yelling "GET SOME" as we returned a little american made death and destruction on some sorely deserving folks. I also remember somebody on the radio screaming at us that we would be fired upon if we crossed into Iran, I thought, "Wait your turn, little man".....

If anything, I believe the good General understated things.

The "slapping women around" should have been replaced with "executing women in the middle of the sports stadium while forcing their small children and family members to watch."

Yeah, nice guys those Taliban..wouldn't want to insult them or anything.

Call me crazy, but it helps me sleep at night knowing people like this General enjoy their work.

Hey,

Thought I would "stick this in here" for you to look at. It struck a nerve with me as I was there and couldn't finish the Mission.

Rough men

There's a character trait that's decided by fate
Comes (sadly) to many, far too faint, far too late.

They won't face the aggressor,
stand up to his ire
They have not the will to fight
his fire with fire.

So they bend over backwards
to see all sides as fair,
Till they're faced with dragon
breath fire in their hair.

Like our brethren in France,
who'd know better than we,
Yet seem never to learn,
seem doomed never to see.

Yes, it seems there are some
who're determined by fate,
To possess not the courage,
to step up to the plate,
Who shrink from all threat
because nothing's worth war.

But how can they know lest
they've been there before?
Thank God some have courage,
the will, yes, the grace,
To stand for the shirkers,
stand strong in their place.

Thank God we have stalwarts
who'll stand for us all,
Who will rise to the challenge
at their nation's call.

The faint-hearted, who fear,
whose reaction is flight,
Have no comprehension of those
who will fight.

To hide their own trepidation
they attempt to demean
The rough men, who defend them,
as barbaric, obscene.

Yet these rough men stand ready,
hard weapons to hand,
To put placaters behind them,
draw a line in the sand,
To preserve for the peaceniks
what they won't defend,
So their own unearned freedom
won't perish, won't end.

To appeasers, rough men
are coarse government tools.
To rough men, appeasers are
dumb delusional fools.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

http://jarheaddad.fotopages.com/

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Hey Papa Ray, how did you find that old site? The fotopage was just a place where Da Grunt could look at stuff and a way for us to stay semi-in touch on his last deployment. They could get internet access every couple of weeks without long lines. I didn't know anyone even knew of it's existence!

Now that's funny! :-)

As a grandma, I should probably be shocked by the General's comments. But I have to say, I agree. It would be 'satisfying'.

Wouldn't mind droppin the hammer on one of them varmints myself but some stuff is better left to the pro's. You go General!

Adapt, improvise, ..hell, I forget the rest,so go here to learn a little and admire what it is and means to be a United States Marine:

http://www.usmcpress.com/

Hey, JarHeadDad, Us recon guys have ways...your never safe if we are coming after you!

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

I don't know how domestic violence rates in the military compare to the civilian population, but I do know that the "glass houses" sentiment is right on. The *reported* rate may be higher simply because it's a whole lot easier to get ordered into counseling. And then, of course, is the informal corrective system. As I recall it was something like this, "If I find out you've beat her again I'm going to beat the sh*t out of you, and you know I can." I noticed domestic violence in the service but I never noticed *acceptance* of it.

With the Taliban it wasn't only accepted, it was institutionalized. There isn't a comparison.

I wonder what this lady would say about that?

"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!" - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945


Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Common Papa Ray, did Eleanor Roosevelt really say that?

Here's one site that lists the quote : http://strategypage.com/respect/articles/military_2004721.asp
Unfortunately, they don't note where/when she said it.

I've had the plesure of serving under Lt. Gen. Mattis and I would follow him anywhere.....just not to the Pentagon. I've read that Harrison Ford is going to be playing Mattis in some movie about Fallujah. Yeah right...that is one movie I will not see.

The Warlords are looking forward to the movie Jason. They want to see if the movie people get anything right. I'd like to be in that theater. Talk about hysterical! Just hope no civilians are trying to watch it with the Grunts. They would for sure have to get their money back!!

But then they thought Fahrenheit 911 was a comedy and were roaring at all the wrong places in the movie! Mikie "Cheeseburger" Moore would've been surprised. It definitely wasn't the reaction he was looking for when he interviewd a couple of Warlords and butchered their statements through magical editting! :-o

It's that perverse sense of humor thing! Now "That's Entertainment"! ;-)

I have known "Mad Dog" Mattis since I began to work for him in 2001. I have to say I have never met another Marine not to mention a C.O. that was held in such high regard by his troops. His troops are everything to him. He leads from the front lines and he ran the attack on Iraq like no other. I am totally behind everything that he said. He was talking to warriors about war. As any Marine that reads this knows, in boot camp they teach you about the great individual Marines of the past, I hope his name is added to the list. I also hope that the silent majority out there will stand behind him and let the left know that these men protect everything we have and everything we stand for. We ask them to do a job and then you try to crucify them when they say something you don’t like. He has done nothing wrong.

I forgot please send support for Gen. Mattis to sentry.quantico@usmc.mil

My note to the Herald:
Jeez! Lighten up! The audience was soldiers, was it not?
And he was talking about Afghanistan, not Iraq. And this:
" Frankly, it isn't as if the U.S. military doesn't have problems
with domestic violence and the abuse of women among the troops. "
What in the name of "God's Holy Trousers" (Google that one) is
this non sequiter doing there? Or is it one of those journalist
techniques like, "This comes as Dora Munson, once formerly married
to someone who was once an ex-soldier, visits the hospital for the
fourth time with black eyes...blah, blah,blah" Or maybe something
current: "This comes as Eason Jordan of CNN hunkers down in an
increasingly desperate attempt to backtrack on his slander.
Jordan, speaking at Davos, Switzerland, accused American soldiers,
without proof, of targeting journalists." See
http://www.billroggio.com/easongate/ Listen . Very. Carefully.
We. Need. Men. Like. Gen Mattis. He is in a long line of warriors
whose names are Washington, Morgan, Jones, Farragut, O'bannion,
Sherman, Grant, Lee, Jackson, Forrest, Roosesvelt, MacArthur,
Pershing, York, Halsey, Nimitz, Patton, Bradley, Puller, Ridgeway,
Smith, and many others. They've kept the First Amendment alive
these past 229 years. The only reason Gen. Mattis was
"counseled" to "choose his words more carefully" is the ridiculous
we-occupy-the-moral-high-ground moralistic prudery of the writer
of editorals like this silly bit of priggery. And your statement
"The punishment should have been tougher." This is astonishing!
Is a newspaper demanding someone be punished for speaking out?!
You need a physic! Come in out of the sun!

Mudville readers, God's Holy Trousers comes from the film The Man Who Would Be King, spoken by Sean Connery as an exclamation of astonishment and some incredulity. Thanks.

The chap who said that needs to see a psychiatrist. His words are live ammunition to be used by the armed opposition to be pumped into the bodies of our troops.

If you don't believe me, look at "Bring 'em on!"