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I'll be on Tammy Bruce's radio program at 4:30 Pacific. Topic: MilBlogs and Memorial Day.
...Remember the Hilton.
Marc Grossmanm, Hilton's Senior VP, Corporate Affairs explains why they kicked out the wounded Iraq vets:
...the proprietors of Fran O'Brien's had not paid their rent for four months. This is on top of numerous health an safety violations present in the restaurant that were in clear violation of the lease.Health and safety claims debunked here.
Remember the Hilton all summer long too.
Damn those bloggers and their stupid... facts!
Russ Vaughn has a new poem for your attention. As always, he shows the way that a good poem can make clear what a thousand-word essay can only confuse.
We need more poets around here.
Amidst the hubub and chaos here some of you may have missed this, and that would be a shame.
Thanks, John.
So the big question regarding Jesse MacBeth's military service has been answered. And with that answer, another lesson learned.
Much has been made lately regarding the "lowered standards" for military recruits. But as Jesse's story makes obvious, a recruit is guaranteed nothing but a chance to "make it" at a basic training program. Many don't - for various reasons. That weeding out is one function of the program. In fact, a certain percentage are expected to fail, and those numbers are built in to the recruiting goals.
One could argue that such folks could be identified prior to their enlistment. While that is the reason for standards, such is not always the case. The best recruit "on paper" may prove unable to adapt to the military life. The least likely candidate may thrive. That we now allow people with tattoos, or more speeding tickets, or poor academic records a chance to prove themselves should not lower our opinions of those who succeed.
By the way, on completion of basic (or boot, or what have you) the new recruit moves on to advanced individual training (or technical school, or whatever) where the weeding process begins anew, and failure quotas are again part of the equation.
All this is why even the lowest ranking, brand new and newly trained GIs – officer and enlisted - are quite proud to wear the uniform, with correctness many would think obsessive. They've earned it - they've done something not everyone can do (though most, like Jesse, imagine they could).
And they can spot the Jesse MacBeth's of this world from a mile away.
Francis Marion is interested in having a MilBlog social on the West Coast this summer. If you're interested, let him know.
The Times of London:
THE coach of the Iraqi national tennis team and two of his players were shot dead in Baghdad, apparently for wearing shorts, in a district where Islamic radicals have started to enforce brutal, Taleban-style law.Stark evidence that the task is not complete.Hussein Ahmed Rashid was shot at close range with two of his players, Nasser Ali Hatem and Wissam Adel Auda, in the al-Saidiyah neighbourhood, a national Olympic Committee official said.
One of the players, wearing shorts, had left the car to drop off some items at a laundry. When he returned to the vehicle, gunmen in a grey saloon car swerved and blocked the players’ car, witnesses said.
Three men in civilian clothes surrounded the car and ordered the passengers to get out. When they refused, one of the men produced a revolver and shot the players. The coach sat helplessly in the back while the assailants dragged out the players’ bodies and dumped them in the road. Then one of the assailants cocked a handgun and shot the coach in the head.
The dead men were wearing green sports jerseys emblazoned with the word “Iraq”. One of the shirts bore an Olympics patch.
There are those who will say that in the wake of the Haditha story we should abandon Iraq to such as these...
Wynton, thanks for posting that.
For those who may have missed it, listen to the audio excerpt Wynton linked below.
(I've now endorsed comments from Rush Limbaugh and Oliver Willis today. Fair and balanced? You bet.)
My city is swarming with members of Rolling Thunder. I spoke to some of them last night, and ran into more of them this morning. These guys are awesome. And many of them are big. And imposing. And intimidating to their enemies. One FReeper suggested it wasn't a good idea to pull any stunts when Rolling Thunder is out in full force. She's right. If I were Fred Phelps, I would reconsider my plans for Monday.
Instapinch has a round-up of final F-14 Tomcat stuff - you know, last combat flight, last cruise, last squadron and a sunset party. Strangely absent are celebrations of the last compressor stall and adverse yaw departure. Perhaps they've already had those. Worth a look, for those who like that sort of thing.
For everyone else, there's always this.
Chris Michel, president of Military.com, on taking back Memorial Day:
This morning I opened the paper and a series of circulars spilled onto my lap – bright, colored pages with bold fonts and frenetic language: “Now through Memorial Day only!” and “A Don’t Miss Memorial Day Sales Event!” As I took a deep breath and gathered up the pages that had spilled to the floor, at once it struck me: We owe more than commerce to those who sacrificed the balance of their lives for their country. It's time to take back Memorial Day.
Read the whole thing.
McQ:
Perhaps this will finally put this sad chapter to bed once and for all. I, through some old connections, have managed to come up with the unaltered DD214 of Jesse MacBeth. This isn't a joke or some funny little photoshop gig. It is the actual, real DD214 of one Jesse Adam Macbeth. The other he has posted has portions which have been crudely forged.That would be here.
And what a "something" it was.
A soldier said he gave his Purple Heart to a 13-year-old student who won a contest for writing letters to American troops out of gratitude."It's important what these children do for us in sending these letters," Staff Sgt. Phillip Trackey said after giving away the medal he received for injuries in Iraq. "The letters mean so much to us. So I thought this was a big way of giving something back to them."
Full story here.
SMASH, I don't think anyone is going to disagree on the importance of enforcing the UCMJ. Here's to a fair trial.
Following last night's interview on the Michael Reagan Radio Show, things are really starting to heat up.
To wit: yesterday Rush gave an on-air endorsement of Home of the Brave. To listen, click HERE.
Also, Cal Thomas, plugs Home of the Brave in his upcoming Memorial Day column. Appearing in over 600 newspapers nationwide, Cal is America's most read syndicated columnist. For an early edition sneak peek of Cal's Memorial Day column, click HERE.
Tons of stuff happening next week; I'll keep everyone posted.
The President's West Point Commencement Address today was interesting on several levels. All two term presidents attempt to shape how they hope to be remembered in history. Today's speech seemed to "telegraph" the direction President Bush and his inner circle may be headed in answering the all-important "legacy in history" question.
Judge for yourself:
Text of the President's remarks HERE.
Here's the full chapter on Marine Sergeant Raphael Peralta from Cap Weinberger and Wynton Hall's outstanding book Home of the Brave.
An immigrant from Mexico, Peralta served his new country with unmatched dedication. He exemplifies the core values that define the United States Marines.
This morning I'm going to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to help the Scouts plant a flag on each of the 85,000 graves for Memorial Day.
Read about my experience last year.
One of the aspects of the Abu Ghraib narrative I always found most repulsive was the concept that the humiliation of the naked pyramid was a fate worse than death for Muslims. We were sold that bill of goods early on by a media attempting to prove that significant high-level research and planning must have preceded the guard's photo session - they being much too stupid to have conceived of such an advanced method of torture themselves. (Reality: Some of the accused were actually home-spun porn aficionados from way back.)
I'm going out on a limb here, but I predict that over the next several weeks the media will determine that murder is actually worse than the naked pyramid, but I could be wrong.
Michelle Malkin tells the Jesse MacBeth story in the Washington Times.
But for the record: Bubblehead broke the MacBeth story here, hours before it's appearance elsewhere in the blogosphere.
I find myself in full agreement with this quote:
We must not cover up this incident, those responsible must be punished and we must make it clear to the world that this behavior is the exception to the admirable work our Marines and the rest of the Armed Services do.Who said it? Lefty blogger Oliver Willis.
He was responding to this story in the Washington Post, which is exceptionally damning to the accused. The story - unlike others on the topic, does say ivestigations have not been completed, "An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service into the killings and a separate military probe into an alleged coverup are slated to end in the next few weeks." So I'll continue to compartmentalize my moral outrage and my respect for the rule of law - as the truth comes out I've no doubt I'll be able to merge the two.
But no one can deny the insurgency in Iraq has been handed a huge victory.
Update: Read this LA Times story too. One aspect of the nature of this crime - no one but the most deranged conspiracy theorist will believe this is "policy" or even common occurrence. The IVAW boys and their fellow travelers will get some airtime on this, and tell some more stories about unnamed units and unnamed "superiors" - the answer to which is simply to demand names and specific details. If they have real information on crimes of this nature it's criminal for them to participate in a cover-up.
At the Castle, we continue our look at the what Memorial Day really means inside the military community. Part 2 of 4.
Somewhere on this huge internet playground someone has to have noticed this already, but I'll be darned if I am fool enough to go looking for it, so...
There's one thing I can't figure out. It appears that Jesse took his actual DD-214 for discharge from boot camp, and added his own flair in boxes 11 and 13. The rest of the form appears legit.
Oh, the rest is legit, Johnny Boy. Like, say, Box 14. In his heated passion of adding 'Ranger qualified', 'Shot Up', 'Medal Laden' and the smattering of 'f*#& you' scratch befitting all heroes, Lady MacBeth forgot to clear out the text under "MILITARY EDUCATION" that reads (appropriately) "NONE // NOTHING FOLLOWS".
Now, I don't know how y'alls DD-214 reads, but I'm looking at mine wondering how I might be 'SEAL Qualified' if my DD-214 doesn't reflect at least some minor record of UDT and assorted related MILITARY EDUCATION in that annoying Box 14.
He can add all kinds of heroic things (with or without properly aligning a typewriter in forgery), but I s'pose he's just too stupid to master WhiteOut. This Memorial Day, among all of the other men & women I salute and honor, I will honor the Drill Instructors and Drill Sergeants who make sure the dumbest among us wash out in Boot Camp before they get handed a weapon and hurt someone who might actually be capable of duty-level responsibilities.
It reminds me of a story....
I never made it out to KAAOT, but those who did told me the place was a deathtrap.
Looks like that wasn't just a figure of speech. They're lucky nobody got killed, this time.
First IVAW kicks Jesse to the curb, but then they cleverly twist the issue around by questioning the timing of the video:
The timing of the widespread circulation of the MacBeth video interestingly coincides with the ongoing military investigation of the recent Marine massacre of two dozen civilians (including women and children) in Haditha, – what is being termed as an atrocity by one member of Congress (R). MacBeth’s false statements unfortunately have played into the hands of those who would deny that any atrocities whatsoever are occurring in Iraq.
They must have figured out that Pepperspray Productions is actually a MilBlogger front organization!
But seriously, I don't think anyone in this forum believes for a moment that MacBeth's false claims in any way negate the seriousness of the allegations that some Marines might have murdered innocent civilians in Haditha. If the investigation (which has not yet been completed) shows that the killings were deliberate and unjustified, those individuals responsible should (and will) be prosecuted for murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
If anyone here disagrees with what I wrote above, please speak up.
As reported here.
Won't somebody please be my "battle buddy"? First the Army, now IVAW:
Questions have been raised about Jesse MacBeth and his claims of service in Iraq. MacBeth came to Iraq Veterans Against the War in January 2006 asking for help, and the organization and its members extended itself to help him in various ways. Assisting veterans is one of the founding principles of IVAW and it is a mission that we take seriously. After looking into his recent claims, we have learned that Jesse is not what he represented himself to be. Accordingly, IVAW does not in any way endorse Jesse MacBeth or any of his accounts involving military service. He — and he alone — is responsible for them. IVAW was not aware of the creation of the video program featuring MacBeth, and did not authorize use of our logo in the program.Note the gutless weasels don't refute MacBeth, just say that "questions have been raised". Nor do they actually expel him from their ranks - they just don't "in any way endorse" him.
No veteran could fail to spot MacBeth as a phony - it took about 3 seconds. But IVAW couldn't do it until after he was outed by milbloggers.
Draw your own conclusions.
Update: Here's an IVAW video on YouTube featuring other members of that organization confessing to war crimes. None of the guys actually killed civilians, they just heard about others who did. That's why Jesse appealed so strongly to them - he not only said he'd actually seen crimes committed, he said he killed children himself. And the script that Jesse and these guys are following is that the standing orders were to shoot anything that moves after an IED attack. Their purpose is to establish that the Marines were acting under orders from "on high".
I don't have the facts. Having said that
Insurgency for Dummies, Chapter 1, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 -
Goad Government Forces into Overreacting, thereby reducing support for the Government.
If they were Fobbits, Fry them, otherwise, relieve the commanders and move on. If all the reports are true, some platoon,ended up doing what the terrorists were trying to get them to do. It sucks, it's wrong, it happens in every war.
Note to CONGRESS - when you vote for War, understand that some platoon, somewhere, at some point, is going to lose control. War is Gawd Awful messy.
Jesse is taking much abuse in the comments to his myspace blog rant... including this little piece of photoshop work...
JGA - Entry level status performance and conduct or entry level status performance - pregnancy
Boot camp washout or boot camp pregnancy. WHo knows, maybe Jesse is a Jessica
There's one thing I can't figure out. It appears that Jesse took his actual DD-214 for discharge from boot camp, and added his own flair in boxes 11 and 13. The rest of the form appears legit. So what's with the discharge code for pregnancy?
Wouldn't there be a real discharge code? Mental illness, self initiated elimination, etc? Is the JGA for pregnancy a typo?
A recent high-profile news story reveals that in spite of the popularity of the television program "JAG" and the movie "A Few Good Men", most Americans have little understanding of the military justice system. In the interest of providing the tip of the iceberg of knowledge, here's a brief primer.
Key documents defining the military justice system include the United States Constitution, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and the Manual for Courts Martial. If a crime has been committed (or suspected), an investigation is conducted under article 32 of the UCMJ. The purpose of that investigation (which usually includes a hearing, somewhat equivalent to a civilian grand jury investigation) is to determine the need for a court-martial (a military trial).
The Fifth Amendment constitutional right to grand jury indictment is expressly inapplicable to the Armed Forces. In its absence, Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Section 832 of Title 10, United States Code), requires a thorough and impartial investigation of charges and specifications before they may be referred to a general court-martial (the most serious level of courts-martial). However, the accused may waive the Article 32 investigation requirement. The purpose of this pretrial investigation is to inquire into the truth of the matter set forth in the charges, to consider the form of the charges, and to secure information to determine what disposition should be made of the case in the interest of justice and discipline. The investigation also serves as a means of pretrial discovery for the accused and defense counsel in that copies of the criminal investigation and witness statements are provided and witnesses who testify may be cross-examined.Most news accounts of the investigation of Marines for possible crimes in Iraq declare that the investigation is complete, but make no mention of details like the hearing (which may have been waived, but this seems unlikely) and give the erroneous impression that guilt has been determined. But the outcome of the investigation (even if it includes full confessions from all parties) can only be that there is or is not sufficient evidence to convene a court-martial and determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.
I'm not making any comments in this specific case. But I do mean to point out that from a legal perspective, guilt or innocence is yet to be determined. This can only be done in an actual trial. This may come as a shock to those who've been following some very high profile statements made on this case - which is why no one with any concern for the rule of law has made any such statements.
Hope you've found this helpful.
From the AirForce Times:
DoD disappointed by lack of funding billBy Gordon Lubold and Rick Maze
Times staff writersA Pentagon official says he is disappointed that members of Congress left town without passing a supplemental funding bill, but is hopeful one will be passed soon.
Eric Ruff, speaking at his first news conference after being named the Pentagon’s press secretary, said officials in the building just want to make sure the funding bill gets passed soon.
“We’re very disappointed by that and we endeavored to work very closely with the House and Senate,” Ruff said in his office. “Despite everybody’s best efforts, we just didn’t get a supplemental.”Supplemental funding bills have for the past several years helped pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and helped replace equipment losses due to those operations. The Defense Department will have to wait until June for money needed to continue operations in for the war on terrorism
Troops should not see any meaningful impact on operations or equipment as long as the bill is passed sometime soon, Ruff said..
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