| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1) the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2) in the public domain, with free use granted for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email.
Original content copyright © 2006 by the respective authors. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed.
Site contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com
As a service to those that believe all the dfficulties the US is suffering in South West Asia started the day GWB got elected I have posted excerpts of a Secret(now declassified) Presidential Directive - NSC-63 dated January 15th, 1981 signed by none other than Jimmy Carter here.
Never be casual when evaluating flood possibilities in your AOR... no matter how many qualifiers you use, it looks bad later.
CAMP PENDLETON, California (CNN) -- The government will not seek the death penalty against one of eight servicemen charged with the shooting death of an Iraqi civilian in April, a military prosecutor said Wednesday.
While doing the Lord's work off Algeria, the USS Boone (FFG-28) has coined, perhaps, a new moto for the Frigate Navy, "We'll take your drugs, then save your life."
Not as scary as some folk's moto, but that's ok.
...he also recently backed out of a planned appearance at a photo-op. Japanese-American war vets were a bit disappointed...
Beware if you go TDY--or this might happen to your office:
As far as I can determine, the only news sites reporting on Paul Smith Middle School are military news sites. Guess the MSM didn't get the memo.
But the NY Times did run an op-ed complaining about the lack of Medals of Honor given for Iraq and Afghanistan - because of Bush!!!
By Fred Burton
By Fred Burton
During the past month, since British authorities announced the disruption of a bomb plot involving airliners, there has been a worldwide increase in security awareness, airline security measures -- and fear among air passengers. At least 17 public incidents involving airline security have been reported in the United States and parts of Europe since Aug. 10. Most of these were innocuous, but many resulted in airliners making emergency landings off their scheduled routes, sometimes escorted by fighter aircraft.
The spate of incidents -- each of which rings up significant financial costs to the airline company and governments involved and causes inconvenience and delays for travelers -- is a reminder that terrorism, philosophically, is not confined to the goal of filling body bags or destroying buildings. At a deeper level, it is about psychology and the "propaganda of the deed." And as far as al Qaeda is concerned, it is also about economic warfare: Osama bin Laden personally has stated that one of the group's strategic objectives is to "bleed America to the point of bankruptcy."
To say that the governments and industries targeted by terrorism face difficult choices is a gross understatement. The problem lies in the fact that decision-makers not only must protect the public against specific groups using known tactics (in al Qaeda's case, bombs and liquid explosives) but also must protect themselves in the face of public opinion and potential political blowback. Officials naturally want to be perceived as doing everything possible to prevent future acts of violence; therefore, every threat -- no matter how seemingly ridiculous -- is treated seriously. Overreaction becomes mandatory. Politicians and executives cannot afford to be perceived as doing nothing.
This powerful mandate on the defensive side is met, asymmetrically, on the offensive side by a force whose only requirements are to survive, issue threats and, occasionally, strike -- chiefly as a means of perpetuating its credibility.
The Impact to Air Travel
Following the thwarted U.K. airlines plot, security measures in Britain, the United States and elsewhere were tightened. These new regulations have included a ban on liquids and electronic items in the passenger compartment, more stringent baggage checks and tighter scrutiny of prospective passengers.
These new security measures already have had a financial impact on the airline industry. On Aug. 25, Irish discount airline Ryanair filed the lawsuit it had previously threatened against the British Department for Transport. The lawsuit represents an effort to change the new restrictions the department placed on carry-on items following the disruption of the airline plot. Ryanair officials have publicly called the new restrictions "nonsensical and ineffective" and have called for "a return to common sense" regarding airline security. The company claims it has lost 3.3 million pounds (nearly $5.9 million) in earnings as a result of the new measures.
At Politics Central, Richard Fernandez, more widely know as Wretchard of The Belmont Club, warns those in the West who would still look for courage in the face “the horde of Basiji:”
What Deity, race or tribe might we still raise against the horde of Basiji?As Fernandez suggests, we will need to find a “sustaining faith.”My own guess is that neither Israel nor the West at large can long resist radical Islam without some sustaining faith of its own, a faith it will not find unless it makes up its mind to look for it. Men will fight on for as long as there is something left to fight for and not otherwise. Despair comes when we are finally convinced that even our hopes are futile. Winston Smith’s final question in 1984’s Room 101 after having despaired of the existence of God was to ask after the possibility of freedom: the existence of the Brotherhood, the only resistance to Big Brother.
(Winston)”Does the Brotherhood exist?”
(O’Brien) “That, Winston, you will never know. If we choose to set you free when we have finished with you, and if you live to be ninety years old, still you will never learn whether the answer to that question is Yes or No. As long as you live it will be an unsolved riddle in your mind.”
That is the weakness of reason, Winston Smith’s weakness: to stop when there is no reason to continue. And that is the power of faith: to go on without the answers, but to go on.
A steely determination surely fortified that faith of the Basij that allowed Iran’s current President to drape the necks of children with dollar store trinkets, and march them off into minefields. Can we match our enemies in resolve, if not in sheer brutality?
We look into the face of pure evil, as we have before. What will we see this time? Where will be our resolve? From whence will come our hope of deliverance?
It will always be extremely hard to argue with those gentler souls among us, who would never rise to the challenge of the oppressor, or tyrant, or murderer. We can appreciate their natural reluctance in the face of threat. But we must not tolerate their interference in those actions necessitated to ensure our very survival.
I heard a couple of stories recently from a couple of our veterans. A Marine sniper, undergoing treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) describes having to take down a woman with an AK47 engaging his fellow Marines. Snipers, I am told, are taught not to look their targets in the eyes. He didn’t, but he couldn’t shoot between them, either. A well-aimed shot at one arm, hoping she would stay down, drop the weapon. She didn’t. A shot in the other arm, and then a leg, same reaction both times, up and threatening. Only then did the Marine place one in what he knows should have been his initial target, and she was taken out. All the while working against what he felt inside, “no women or children.”
Another Marine remembers the boy coming at them with a grenade. He knows the boy may have been forced, to protect his family, or promised some eternal reward, or even temporal approval or encouragement. Slam dunk, ROE-wise, and poof, he’s blown away.
They both have nightmares where loved ones take the place of the terminus of their torment. Another observes, “When you were in the fight, you did what you had to do, you saw it as a soldier, it was alright. Now, you remember it as a husband, a father, a civilian, and you war within yourself, against what you ‘know’ is right.”
The men and women of our military are among the finest our Nation can produce. They go to war, “with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,” to quote Lincoln’s Second Inaugural.
With such resolve, many have faced the threat. We have seen the carnage from many hard and brutal fights, not all of them, unfortunately, political. Some have seen first hand the worst havoc that humanity can wreak.
Every man and woman in the fight must find their own sources for inner and outer strength. We need as a society to come alongside, nurture, sustain, encourage, and comfort them in their afflictions on our behalf.
But we need to do something more, as well. We need to find that sustaining faith in our own foundations, our principles, and the bedrock faith in the great experiment in Democracy that is America, and take a stand. That the civilization we lead, the values and principles our very existence embodies, is worth whatever price, whatever cost, whatever sorrow there may be in fighting against those who would destroy us.
(Via Instapundit, Cross-posted at Dadmanly)
Paul R. Smith Middle School, Holiday, Florida.
HOLIDAY, Fla.(Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – What began last year as a suggestion by retired Maj. Gen. Fred Raymond came full circle last Friday during a dedication ceremony of the new Paul R. Smith Middle School in Holiday, Fla.More than 500 family, friends, Soldiers, veterans, legislators, county officials and students were present.
Good. Whether or not you understand why I say that right now - Read the whole thing here and you will understand.
Good.
If you're still confused... which I doubt, but I wanna link it anyway - Damn Good.
Has anyone started a war by drawing a map? Ralph Peters gives the Mid-East a Churchill....but if I was him I would be careful going on travel anytime soon. Kind of like briefing a bunch of Saudi officers about a training exercise in the Persian Gulf.......
Over at OPFOR, Major P shares a personal note from a fellow Marine officer currently on the Jordanian border, sharing some experiences with Iraqis there. It's an excellent read that you should make time for today. (Thanks for sharing, Major P.)
One of the few things I am confident of is that none of them see any correlation between what they’re doing (or allowing someone else to do) and the problems their country faces. I did my best to walk them through it step by step – You have to get water from the shepherds because your government can’t get you water… It can’t get it to you because it can’t afford to fix the water trucks it owns (and that you’ve broken) or dig wells...It’s the same reason they can’t get you food or gas for your patrol vehicles on anything approaching a regular basis…They can’t afford it because, 1) they have to spend a fortune cleaning up the messes the “dangerous criminals” (insurgents) keep making and 2) they have no income because the people that should be collecting taxes and customs duties – not to mention the people who are supposed to make sure things actually go through the proper ports of entry instead of across the border – aren’t doing their jobs. I got mostly blank stares, at least from those who hadn’t already gone back to watching Egyptian music videos on TV.
One fine January day in 2005, I was in the village of Mohammed Omarkhel, Kapisa Province, Afghanistan. We were dropping off some humanitarian assistance, using the local school staff to distribute it to the local populace. I was quite pleased with myself while taking the short clip. Two minutes after turning the camera off, we got bum-rushed by a whole crowd of people wanting to get theirs. My interpreter, the dapper gentleman you see in the video had to employ his formidable judo abilities to, uh, retrieve an NCO from a pile of people. I was busy using my rugby skills to tackle young men off the truck as they tried to make off with the contents. Took a few minutes (and a few swats with sticks by the school staff too) to get things under control. No injuries, but it was startling. I kept the clip to use as an example of how not to become complacent on an HA mission, heh heh. Watch my incorrect conclusion HERE.
In addition to USS Wahoo probably being found by the Russians, USS Grunion (SS 216) was likely found off Adak by a team led by the last CO's children last week as well. I discussed both of them over at my home submarine blog last week.
And while the boats won't be disturbed to retrieve them, I'd venture to say that LCDR Dudley "Mush" Morton's dolphins aboard the Wahoo would probably the most sacred "holy relic" the Submarine Force has. He taught submariners how to fight.
...affects outlook.
Yesterday at Castle Argghhh!, I pointed to a NYT article which features a former colleague of mine, BG Dana Pittard, which pretty much focused only on the negatives from the video press conference.
Today, I have up the Armed Forces Press Service press release covering the same conference. Both articles start with and cover the negative story - the refusal of Iraqi soldiers to deploy from their home region to Baghdad. But after that, they diverge greatly.
Come on over, take a look - and see which one you think actually provides more information to the reader. Castle Argghhh!, we post, you decide. Unless I'm feeling dictatorial.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Cpl. Joshua D. Milligan’s first words when he uncovered his largest weapons cache can’t be printed.
He used the word “holy,” but there was nothing religious about the second word.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 26, 2006) -- Sgt. William D. Dycus didn’t write the book on what it takes to be an amphibious assault vehicle commander. He completely rewrote it.
Dycus, a 21-year-old from Vidor, Texas, is redefining what it means to be a combat leader. His performance in combat was impressive enough to earn him a combat meritorious promotion to his present rank from Regimental Combat Team 5. He’s a Marine respected by his peers and admired by his Marines because of the cool, calm demeanor he displays even in the hottest of action.
Dycus is assigned to D Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, RCT-5.
I can't believe I beat Eagle1 or the Bubblehead Brotherhood to this one...
For those of you with a historical bent... they may have found the USS Wahoo.
[I guess I shoulda said... "In this space" since I seemed to have tweaked Chap's nose a bit... he didn't even leave comments open so I could genuflect properly!]
Aegis cruiser arrives in Japan as noted here.
With all the talk around success; in a macro sense the key is letting Iraq be run by Iraqis. This slide from CENTCOM last week tells the story better than 1,000 words. Methinks.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 28, 2006) -- To some people dedication is just a word in the dictionary. To others the word becomes a way of life.
For Bonifacio Vergara, a 76-year-old contractor working for the Naval Air Depot detachment in Al Asad, dedication means commitment and sacrifice.
Vergara, or "Pops" as his co-workers call him, has been working on aircraft for more than 50 years.
"'Pops' joined the U.S. Navy in the Philippines at Sangli Point on September 23, 1955," said Navy Cmdr. Donald F. Bailey, officer-in-charge, NADEP detachment in Al Asad and Al Taqaddum. "He was enlisted for 24 years, retiring as a petty officer first class on August 14, 1979."
"I joined the Navy so that I could have a better life," said Vergara, a resident of San Diego. "The Navy offered good work and good pay."
The soldier under oath promises to "protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic"Terrorstorm
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5948263607579389947Sgt Rock
The link takes one to a 9/11 conspiracy movie. The referring URL is a search of blogs with the words Soldier and Iraq.
So far it appears like normal Looney Left nonsense posting links to stuff meant to demoralize our soldiers until...
John, throw another Pole in the mix.
88% Polish
81% Free French!?!
75% British and Commonwealth
69% American
Bottom 3; Soviet Union, Germany, and Japan.
Are in town to protest a funeral today.
No pictures, I refuse to pollute OPFOR or Milblogs with their disgusting rhetoric. Military members have been instructed to "stay away from downtown and avoid interaction with the protestors." Fine with me, although my route home took me past the funeral site. No sign of the Westboro Baptist cult, kind of hard to see past the flag waving supporters and patriot guard riders who were occupying several square blocks.
Guess that means the good guys are doing their job.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office announced that 50 gunmen loyal to firebrand anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had been killed in clashes in the southern city of Diwaniyah with the Iraqi army, which lost 23 troops.Monday's fighting in Diwaniyah was some of the worst in recent months between the Iraqi army and Shiite militiamen loyal to al-Sadr. At least 10 civilians were killed before the cease-fire was reached.
"Life is back to normal, the shops are open and Iraqi police and soldiers are deployed everywhere in Diwaniyah," said police Lt. Raid Jabir, contacted by telephone.
Deadline approaching for filing body armor claimsARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – Soldiers have until Oct. 3 to file reimbursement claims for private purchases of such protective and safety equipment as body armor.
If you've been holding off - get off the dime.
Heh. I'm... Poland. Followed by the US and Finland. But I'm 94% Poland... and only 70% US and Finland. And definitely not Germany (44%), Japan (25%), or the Soviet Union (19%).
C'mon - y'know ya wanna do this...
A Navy JAG is being charged with sending information about Gitmo prisoners to someone "outside the government". From the linked article:
A Navy lawyer who was stationed at Guantanamo Bay has been charged with copying and sending secret information about detainees in U.S. custody to someone outside the government.Now, I don't know for sure that the person he sent the information to, and who subsequently ratted him out, was a journalist, but it would make sense. More broadly, this lesson could apply to everyone in D.C. who wants to release secrets to make a political point.
Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz could face more than 36 years in prison if convicted of three violations of military law. Diaz, now based in Jacksonville, Fla., is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing in October in Norfolk, said Beth Baker, a spokeswoman for the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region.
According to the eight specific counts against him, which the Navy released Monday, Diaz deliberately made "a print out of classified secret information connected with the national defense" between Dec. 20, 2004, and Feb. 28, 2005...
...Baker would not identify the person with whom Diaz is accused of sharing secret information. She said only that the recipient was a non government official whose identity likely would come out in testimony. The recipient of the document notified federal authorities, Baker said, and the Navy Criminal Investigative Service began an inquiry in February 2005.
US diesel subs? Going away?
Six words I never thought I'd say: I could use an actual submariner.
FALLON NAVAL AIR STATION, Nev. - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday he is deeply troubled by the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media" to influence Westerners."That's the thing that keeps me up at night," he said during a question-and-answer session with about 200 naval aviators and other Navy personnel at this flight training base for Navy and Marine pilots.
*****
"What bothers me the most is how clever the enemy is," he continued, launching an extensive broadside at Islamic extremist groups which he said are trying to undermine Western support for the war on terror.
"They are actively manipulating the media in this country" by, for example, falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
"They can lie with impunity," he said, while U.S. troops are held to a high standard of conduct.
Is it "manipulation" if one party is willing, even eager, to play along?
"You know, the thing here is that journalists can't be pawns in covering world stories. And more and more people are becoming aware that the journalists are there to do a job and they shouldn't be used or misused or whatever when they're covering these things. So maybe there's a growing awareness of that."
Those were the words of FOX News headman Roger Ailes in the aftermath of the release of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. While it would be nice if he were correct, that journalists can’t be pawns and that there is a “growing awareness” that they shouldn’t be used as such, I don’t think he’s right.
I don’t want this to sound insensitive, but it well may. But I think so long as those taken captive by jihadists fail to denounce, in the most forceful language imaginable, their kidnappers, then the utility of kidnapping Western journalists remains.
Sometimes, American comes to you....and when it does.....it kind of leaves you all fuzzy headed, bug-eyed, slack-jawed, and sweaty.
The FuzzyBearLIoness has noticed the same thing.
No doubt the ACLU would be offended by the gratuitious Christian imagery.
The loss of USS Mount Hood (AE-11) is the topic here.
I don't know why it took me so long to post this story, in light of all that is happening in southern Lebanon.
Standing on the Lebanon border.
Really demonstrates how patient Israel has been in dealing with the Hezbollah goon squad.
Groton native injured in Iraq Burns on half of body serious, not life-threatening; By Scott Waltman American News Writer BratlandA Groton native serving in the Army was severely burned Saturday in Afghanistan
The Fall, 2006 edition of Today's Officer magazine includes this article on milblogs. I was interviewed for this many weeks ago - but I think my prediction of a big chill effect on milbloggers is accurate. However, the Mrs has been a bit too busy these days to keep up with the latest new milblogs online, so perhaps there are several of which I'm not aware.
Article includes quotes from some others whose names will be familiar to readers here.
on his way to the waters off Lebanon... on 4 days notice...
If you want to read more, there are links at Some Soldier's Mom
Also words and a link to listen to the Navy Hymn... by the Navy Choir, of course!
To all on board the Wasp, safe journey, calm seas. Home soon.
Anyone having claims against or debts owed to the estate of Pfc. Andrew Small, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, may contact his summary court-martial officer, 1st Lt. Aaron Lang
Pfc. Andrew Small, 19, was a member of a platoon of the 10th Mountain Division facing enemy fire Friday and died from battle wounds received during a mission, according to a report from Gov. John Baldacci
The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred five detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Afghanistan. These detainees were all recommended for transfer due to multiple review processes conducted at Guantanamo Bay.
With today’s transfer, approximately 120 detainees remain at Guantanamo who the U.S. government has determined eligible for transfer or release through a comprehensive series of review processes. Departure of these remaining detainees approved for transfer or release is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations. The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary. The department expects that there will continue to be other transfers and releases of detainees.
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (Aug. 25, 2006) -- Editor’s note: Maj. Riordan is the executive officer for 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.
Marines are helping Iraqis take control of an infamous icon of their past.
Marines from “America’s Battalion,” 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, are helping Iraqi soldiers set up their newest forward operation base at Abu Ghraib Prison. Iraqi Army soldiers are moving into the facility permanently as they continue to grow and expand their independent areas of operation.
Official Statement of National Japanese American Citizens League (pdf) here
After careful consideration of Lt. Watada’s situation and stance on the war in Iraq, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) has concluded that its defined mission of protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans is not expressed broadly enough to include Lt. Watada’s circumstances. As a soldier who volunteered for the Army and who took an oath as an officer, Lt. Watada placed himself under military law and orders. As such, and in refusing to accept his orders for deployment, his case is not, per se, a civil rights case. We are not in a position to defend his position on the legality of the war in Iraq, nor are we in a position to judge his criticism of the war’s morality. That he defied a direct military order falls under the aegis of military law and beyond the reach of the JACL’s authority based on the organization’s mission statement.
Details at over at Castle Argghhh!.
Looks like the alleged individual has cheesed off some folks I respect.
The decision by a Hawai'i-born Army officer to disobey deployment orders to Iraq drew fire yesterday from some Japanese-American veterans on the Mainland, who said the action shamed them and other veterans like them.In their first public statement, the members of nine veterans groups in California and a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient expressed outrage at Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada's decision.
Robert M. Wada, a charter president of the Japanese American Korean War Veterans, said veterans are angry at what they view as an attempt by Watada to "make himself a martyr and a hero." He said Watada's actions disrespect a legacy of military service dating back to World War II.
"No Japanese-Americans did anything like that and that is why Japanese-Americans are so upset," Wada said by telephone yesterday from his office in Fullerton, Calif. "He is doing something that has never been done by Japanese-Americans."
...
Japanese-American veterans in Hawai'i have not issued a collective statement, but when asked yesterday, agreed with their Mainland colleagues.Ron Oba, the 82-year-old president of the 442nd Veteran's Club of Honolulu, was blunt.
"It is not for us to question why, but to do and die," he said. "That addresses the entire Watada case."
Oba said the veterans in the club haven't spoken much about Watada's case.
Oh, and there's this new magic association, the "Japanese-American Citizens League of Honolulu", supporting the lieutenant. Doesn't sound like any Japanese-American group I knew in Hono in 2000; looks like astroturfing to me.
Care packages for our four-legged troops.
LTC Keith recommends that Lieutenant Watada stand trial. Based on what I know just from press reports, that sounded like a slam-dunk. But I admit that Watada's lawyer just pisses me off.
"We always believed that when they went so far as to convene an Article 32 hearing that they had already made a decision to proceed," he said.
Well, yeah, funny how that works - but I assure you, Barrister, that when I convened an Art. 32, my recommendations weren't a given. The fact that you didn't have much of a rebuttal to the public statements of your client is not really grounds for backhanding LTC Keith, who gave you plenty of opportunities to show why there was no cause to proceed.
Bubba, unless the purpose of this trial from your perspective is to provide a martyr for the cause, your comments here show you don't understand the Courts Martial. And that must be driving Watada's Trial Defense Lawyer batty.
Mebbe Army Lawyer has a more informed view?
CAMP AR RAMADI, Iraq – At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, Coalition Forces were attacked from the Al Qadir Al Kilami mosque in Ramadi. The complex attack included small arms and machine gun fire, rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades, and an improvised explosive device attack.
I think the Mosque lost it's Geneva Convention priviledges...and what should we do about it?
using escalation of force procedures...finally fired several main gun rounds from M1 tanks into the mosque in order to defeat the attackers.
I'd love to stay, but I have to go read the News!
Meet Matt in Afghanistan.
What a stir.Over the past couple days, this blog has been temporarily offline at the request of my higher-ups in the forces. Agreeing with this request, I took the posts offline for the time being and talked with my mom.
"Mom," I said over MSN Messenger, "I've been asked to take my postings offline for a little while as (my higher-ups) deal with blogging in camp."
My mom didn't have to say anything, but knowing her my whole life, I knew she would be hurt that I wouldn't be allowed to post anything for the time being.
"I can have a blog though, mom," I said to her, "I just need to list it with the Army."
Heh. Like *we* haven't been here before. Mebbe the Canadian Army Higher-ups should call their Southron cousins.
Not that Damian Brooks hasn't been trying to get 'em energized.
To our syrup-swilling, plaid cap wearing, northron brothers blogging from the 'Stan or elsewhere, I offer up this advice.
The Milblogger ROE, courtesy Yankee Sailor.
It's good to see clueless leadership not attuned to the young soldier is *not* an exclusive to the middle of the continent...
We need to extend the hand of brother and sisterhood to our northern compatriots and include them in the next milblogger conference!
I met Jim Mayer almost two years ago at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Jim is known as "The Milkshake Man" because he delivers McDonald's milkshakes to our wound troops. Jim is also involved with the Friday night troop dinners that were once held at Fran O'Briens, but you'll remember that Hilton kicked Fran's, and our troops, to the curb.
Jim Mayer is a Vietnam veteran and double amputee. Just as Fran's wasn't about the steak, Jim's visits aren't about the milkshakes.
Retired Army Capt. Lonnie Moore benefited from that power. He lost his right leg above the knee in an incident near Ramadi, Iraq, and found himself on the receiving end of one of Mayer’s milkshakes. Two years after he met Mayer, Moore still looks to the Milkshake Man for mentoring and friendship.“It was much more about what Jim provided to me as a mentor and as a friend than it was the milkshake,” Moore said. “Jim told me that life as an amputee is not going to end my life and I’ll be as productive and I want to be.”
Moore added that Jim deserves the recognition he received. “I know he doesn’t publicly seek it, but he’s touched many, many lives,” he said.
The troop dinners continue. I'll have more information on the status of Fran's and the dinners soon. For now, keep boycotting Hilton properties.
Soldiers hate it. Commanders fear it. Nobody understands it. It is the Domestic Violence Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, more commonly known as the Lautenberg Amendment. (18 USC 922)
Under Lautenberg, it is unlawful for any person (including military) who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to receive, own, or possess any firearm or ammunition.
This poses an obvious problem as the military tends to use firearms and ammunition...a lot.
Well, on 7 June 2006, the Army Command Policy (AR 600-20, para 4-23) “clarified” the policy on Lautenberg Amendment. (My focus is on the Army policy--though I presume other services are largely similar)
Today’s international terrorism was conceived at the Lubyanka, the headquarters of the KGB, in the aftermath of the1967 Six-Day War in the Middle East. I witnessed its birth in my other life, as a Communist general. Israel humiliated Egypt and Syria, whose bellicose governments were being run by Soviet razvedka (Russian for “foreign intelligence”) advisers, whereupon the Kremlin decided to arm Israel’s enemy neighbors, the Palestinians, and draw them into a terrorist war against Israel.
Joe Katzman at Winds of Change links to a review Oliver Stone’s new movie World Trade Center, written by Rev. Paul W. McNellis at the Democracy Project.
Rev. McNellis’s review stands as an excellent essay on what constitutes courage, as applicable on September 10th, 2001, as it was on September 11th. The difference, McNellis poetically underscores in his piece, is that courage built in the day to day, remains constant at a moment of greatest danger, and fear:
We see people putting others first, on this, the worst day of their lives because they’ve been doing it every day of their lives. And if you spend your life as a husband and father putting those you love first, then when the crucial day comes chances are that as a policeman you’ll put the people in the North Tower first as well.
Courage as a virtue is increasingly misunderstood in our society, especially among the keyboard class. As our lives become more comfortable and protected, we forget who does the protecting.We in the military recognize this attitude of service, we’ve lived it, more or less, though always with less certainty of our own steadfastness and resilience, than what we see clearly in our fellow soldiers. “If you weren’t afraid, you’d be a moron,” one of my Master Sergeants often said.
Read the whole thing. Cross-posted at Dadmanly.
See a short clip of avalanche pre-emption in the Salang Valley, February 2005.
Well, in case the Iranians hadn't figured it out for themselves, some blabbermouths have revealed a success story in spotting weapons transfers to our Iranian friends:
In the closed world of spy satellite photo analysis, it's called "crate-ology": the science of identifying a weapon or some other key component by the size and shape of its box.I guess the process will now be moved indoors or under other cover because the idiots "not authorized to discuss the incident" couldn't keep their yaps shut and USA Today couldn't help itself in revealing the process.The technique came into play last month when a U.S. spy satellite, looking down on an Iranian air base, captured images of military crews loading what U.S. intelligence analysts concluded were eight C-802 Noor anti-ship cruise missiles on board a transport plane, according to intelligence officials.
The episode was detailed by one U.S. intelligence official who saw a report on the incident. It was confirmed by a U.S. official from a second intelligence agency and by a diplomat with a foreign government. They did not want their names used because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.
Cross posted.
Many warriors blogging in theater and in the states want to tell you like it is in their stories. However, they are bound to restrict their entries due to the “enemy” looking in as well. I had a couple of unique emails and comments in Iraq sent to my acnt from Iraqi’s…
Is the Navy the only service that still puts its enlisted members through the torture of advancement exams?
I know Sean Dustman personally. He's a bookworm. He reads more than most people would consider healthy. And even he is complaining about the sheer volume of material he is expected to "know" in order to pass his HM1 exam.
I needed a break so I decided to figure out how much we were actually studying, I'm a number type of guy and I'm good at laying down figures and stats. So I pulled up every piece of information that the bib said we should know about and added it all up. Five thou
