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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1, based at Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek deployed March 8 after a year of intense training with Marine forces.Heh - so many Sailors here, but I had to find this one myself...The deployment marks the first for a riverine squadron since the Vietnam War.
More than 100 riverine Sailors deployed to the Middle East to integrate with Marines from the II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) to conduct maritime security operations (MSO) along rivers and other inland waterways: denying the use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack; a haven for insurgent activities; or the illegal transportation of weapons, people or material in Iraq.
well, at least he admits when he overstepped:
A Statement From Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff“Yesterday, during a wide ranging interview with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, I was asked if I think the current policy as codified in U.S. Code, generally referred to as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” should still hold.
“People have a wide range of opinions on this sensitive subject. The important thing to remember is that we have a policy in effect, and the Department of Defense has a statutory responsibility to implement that policy.
“I made two points in support of the policy during the interview. One, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” allows individuals to serve this nation; and two, it does not make a judgment about the morality of individual acts.
“In expressing my support for the current policy, I also offered some personal opinions about moral conduct.
“I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views.”
Because only then will he be able to try to reverse the ban on those who engage in homosexual conduct from serving in the military, despite calls from Nancy "Braniac" Pelosi:
I think the military should carefully consider changing the policy.
We need the most talented people, we need the language skills, we need patriotic Americans who exist across the board in our population. We don’t need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
Unfortunately for GEN Pace, his options are rather limited considering that the policy is merely enforcing federal law.
Oops.
Shadowy New Militia Appears in Falluja"Chosen Soldiers of God" Claim Mystical Powers
A shadowy new militia apparently emerged in Falluja over the weekend, Slogger sources report.
Residents awoke to discover flyers and banners around the city bearing the name of a new militia, the “Chosen Soldiers of God.”The flyers carry strange supernatural stories about the militia. One claims that the militia are actually angels who fought with Falluja’s Sunnis against American forces in 2004, its soldiers taking the shape of spiders, or the form of giant humans, residents report.
Andrew Stuttaford writes dismissively of the prohibition on adultery in the military (per the UCMJ) and that the military should not be in the business of prosecuting non-unit adultery where it has no bearing on combat competence or unit
cohesion.
But consider how effective a company commander is going to be engendering respect even obedience from his soldiers if he's a well-known philanderer? More specifically, what about the next time he tries to discipline a soldier and has to cite the Army Values (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage)?
"PVT Snuffy, you dishonored the Army when you did XX. You displayed a lack of honor, integrity, respect, and loyalty."
"Uhhh, sir? You're sleeping with half the female civilian employees on this post. So let's not talk about 'honor' and 'integrity.'"
And as for the claim that non-unit adultery doesn't have an effect on unit effectiveness--just wait until you're fielding the 37th call that week to the unit from an aggrieved spouse complaining about SGT Lothario and his proclivities. Now consider how much time that takes out of a commander's (and hence, a unit's) day.
As a practical matter, the military doesn't prosecute adultery all that often unless it occurs within a unit, or has a definite impact on a unit, or is part of larger criminal enterprise. We tend to handle such matters administratively, either via reprimands or non-judicial punishment (which can include reduction in rank).
Battlefield prowess matters and is always the primary concern. But what makes our forces exceptional is their discipline in even the most trying of circumstances. If they can't keep it in their pants after a night at the NCO Club, the simple fact is that they are less likely to be disciplined (or exercise good judgment) under more "stressful" situations.
...on a post I did at that other blog.
...another blogger keep her site going, but I'll still be posting here, too. War Machine still threatens the Daffodil Princesses, and us Enhanced Celtic/Native American Psychic Super Warriors know that sleep is for the weak.
H.D.S. Greenway, of WaPo and BoGlo fame - is at it again.
And so conquering foreign soldiers will be resisted in Iraq, as they have always been everywhere down the centuries. In early April 1775, the British governor of Boston sent John Howe out to gather intelligence in that hotbed of insurgency now called the western suburbs, but then the Anbar province of its time. Howe met an old man cleaning his rifle who looked too old to hunt game.Actually, I look quite fetching in red - but that isn't the point, is it?The old man said he expected foreign soldiers -- "a flock of redcoats" -- would be arriving soon, and he thought they would make good targets. Arrive they did, and with them the American revolution that in many states degenerated into civil war. The British soldiers were mostly of the same race and religion as the people they fought, but they were by then foreigners, and eight years later they were gone.
As I note in the side bar of my blog, I contributed to two anthologies of personal accounts of those who are all too familiar with the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the home front.
While it is difficult to pick any one of the fine writings that appear in these two books as a favorite, if asked, I would tell you that the one that moved me more than any other is the personal narrative of Lt. Colonel Michael R. Strobl and it appears in both of these collections. It is entitled, “Taking Chance” and relates the highly emotional experience of accompanying the body of Chance Phelps, a young Marine killed in Iraq, from Dover, Delaware to his final resting place in Wyoming. I first read this narrative at Blackfive in April 2004, and more than a year and a half later I sent a copy of it to my son while he waited to accompany the body of his friend Tommy to his home in Tucson.
Today, on the front page of my local paper, The Courier, I was enthralled by this story of Chance’s mother, Gretchen Mack, and her daughter who are walking the more than 1,500 miles from Twentynine Palms Marine Base -- where her son Chance trained -- to his final resting place in his home town in Wyoming. To Remember Chance. To Honor him… and all his brothers.
She and Orndoff make it a point that they are not marching to protest the war, but to support the troops.Mack expressed her disapproval of people who protest the war by demonstrating against soldiers and their families. She derided them as "cowards."
"The troops watch the news in Iraq, and see that sort of thing happening," she said. "How do you think that makes them feel?"
On her Web site [for the Chance Phelps Foundation], www.run4chance.com, the introductory message states, "The Chance Phelps Foundation, and its sponsored events, do not support any anti-war effort."
Mack said she supports the troops and the commander-in-chief.
You can sponsor this team by the mile (one cent/mile is just $15.74) or you can make a donation of any amount. All money they raise is donated to Fisher House and to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Go to the Chance Phelps Foundation page and read their blog and to read more about this remarkable young man and the remarkable effort by his mom and sister(s).
Since they are walking through my neck of the woods, I’m hoping to track down their route and buy the ladies lunch or dinner (and bring dog treats for their dogs!)
All I can say, Gretchen, is OORAH. Chance is looking down and he sure is one proud Marine.
And to Cindy and the cronies of Code Pink -- THIS is how we honor the fallen.
x-posted at Some Soldier's Mom
Fact: Woman 'Syncronize"
No point in having two woman unless you can deal with 2 woman having a bad day on the same day. Never mind 6 woman.
Me...I'm a coward...the Mrs is having a bad day...the lawn needs mowing. The 'Honey Do' list needs doing. If it's really bad...matching and folding socks. Why she doesn't just buy 2 dozen pair of black socks is beyong my ability to comprehend.
Anyone seen Idiocracy yet?
This might become a series.
TROLL HUNTING IS FUN. I don't often post about the trolls I slay, on the theory that doing so only brings them the attention they crave. But I'm going to make an exception in this case, because this one was particularly satisfying, and I want to share the "joy of the kill" with all my loyal readers.
Continue reading "Shredding a Sock Puppet"
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Original content copyright © 2006 by the respective authors
