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Site contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com
September will be even more interesting than I thought. The Democrat Whip just validated The Salamander Postulate,
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Monday that a strongly positive report on progress on Iraq by Army Gen. David Petraeus likely would split Democrats in the House and impede his party's efforts to press for a timetable to end the war....of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. Clyburn said that would be "a real big problem for us."Always have to note that "us" means different things to different people. Always good to evaluate both yours and others "us" and "we."
I'm fed up with Congress and their bad attitude... and their unwillingness to listen to all sides and make a reasoned attempt at finishing what we started in Iraq.
I figure none of the "there's no points in it for me if we win" crowd will actually read these stories because they are long and take some concentration (although none of the words seem too big for elected officials to understand.) They won't read the multitude of stories in Uncle Jimbo's post because they are proof positive that all the efforts of our military -- including the recent "Surge" -- are working and that the Iraqis are helping and supporting our efforts.How pathetic is it that the Iraqis (finally) "get it" and people in our own Congress do not?? No, the anti-Bush (it's not about the war) Democrats and Republicans won't read these stories because they absolutely refute the "boondoggle" and the "we've lost" pronouncements of these politicians who don't know shite from shinola these days... It's so much about the "I me mine" factor and hasn't been about "we us ours" in way too long.
All of it with some "we're making progress and you should read these" at Some Soldier's Mom
Well, it may involve some sort of "skivvy waver", but no, it's not that kind of party, but one where the key player "... should be preferably bad tempered, and certainly dictatorial by nature."
As examined here.
UPDATE: Fixed the "skivvy waver" link. Oops.
That is a paraphrase from one of the enlightened staff guys at, ahem, The Columbia Journalism Review. Paul McLeary advertises how much he researches his subjects. Speaking of the Milblog reaction to the "Scott Thomas" affair;
How dare a college grad and engaged citizen volunteer to join the Army to fight for his country! (Which is something that most of the brave souls who inhabit the milblog community prefers to leave to others.)Should we send our C.V. to his @cjr.org email address or sump'n?... Naw, you know the phrase. If you wrestle with pigs.....
As for the other comments McLeary makes in his bit, perhaps he should have tried to exchange a few emails with 1SG Hatley.
H/t Baldilocks
UPDATE below the fold
The liberals say they support our troops,Which they’ve a funny way of showing;
Like publishing false atrocity scoops
Bout which they’ve no way of knowing.
They’ll gleefully publish unverified crap
From the dark mind of a wannabe writer,
Hoping they’ve set another antiwar trap
With crimes claimed by a liberal fighter.
The troops that liberals truly admire,
Aren’t the brave who fight uncomplaining,
But deserters who flee, avoiding the fire,
And the misfits can’t handle the training.
But liberals save their true veneration,
Like front page at the New York Times,
For soldiers willing to attack their own nation,
Trumpeting charges of brutal war crimes.
This pattern was set during my own war
By a traitorous, vainglorious politician,
A treasonous, poisonous, political whore,
Feeding future presidential ambition.
Liberals back then sucked up his schlock,
Proving to the world that they’re dupes,
Establishing a pattern now become stock,
For these America-hating Schlock troops.
Russ Vaughn
101st Airborne
Vietnam 65-66
"This one" being the best thing I've read so far about the whole Scott Thomas affair. Short, sweet and dead-on.
Actually, all she'd have to do is show up in Iraq wearing a set of those effing ridiculous "ABU"s to win hands down.
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Air Force Capt. Alysun Kossow is what you might call “fashion-challenged.”When not in uniform, you’ll likely find the Spangdahlem-based officer in ratty Converse tennis shoes instead of Prada heels. And if she does dress up, she breaks out her favorites: a pair of pink polka-dot heels.
Those who know her say her style of dress matches her personality: quirky, cute and comical.
The 27-year-old aircraft maintenance officer might just be the worst-dressed woman in America.
Kossow is one of 10 women selected as finalists for People magazine’s worst-to-best-dressed contest. Readers can vote on the publication’s Web site for the woman they think most needs some help in the fashion department.
Speaking of military uniforms unfit to wear in a desert environment, don't fret! The Air Force has a solution: cut the pockets off to make it cooler!
These are “OK if you want to carry some stuff,” Brady said. But when the pockets are empty, there are three layers of material in the top, making the uniform blouse hotter.Leaving you to suffer in 120-degree heat in just one layer of triple heavyweight fabric designed to hold a spiffy crease without ever being ironed. Believe me - feedback from deployed Airman is "Get me out of this piece of shit!"Feedback from deployed airmen indicated that the pockets are “not something people want or need,” he said.
The pockets “seemed like a good idea at the time, it turns out it wasn’t,” Brady said. “We’ll get rid of it.”
For airmen who already have been issued the uniform and don’t like the pockets, Brady recommended they do to the interior pocket what Athnos has done to hers: “cut it out if you don’t like it.”
Once again, sign me "Not just looking cool in my ACUs".
As reported here, the aircraft carrier museum ship USS Intrepid is available to be used as a contingency Emergency Operations Center for New York in the event of a disaster or attack.
As noted here, about 50% of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of a coast (and a larger percent within 50 miles of navigable waters).
After the Katrina experience, in which disaster relief from the sea played a major role, should we be looking at more contingency plans involving the use of disaster relief ships and floating command centers (like Intrepid )?
Shouldn't earthquake prone areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles and hurricane risk areas ((Miami) have designated emergency relief vessels (with supplies of food, water, shelter and communications gear on board) on stand by within a few hours sailing? Especially during known risk periods such as hurricane season. Or is the expense too great given the relatively low probability of very serious danger?
Of course, the same ships could be used to respond to terrorist attack scenarios...
The King is dead, Taliban just being Taliban, jirga-mania and Iranian meddling all found in this weeks installment of the News.
In light of the news, I have decided to add a panel to the 2008 MilBlog Conference titled, "Milbloggers Gone Wild," starring Scott Thomas.
Now, who to moderate that panel?
Oh wait, I have an idea...
Tried several times to go to TNR's the Plank and all I can get is the "The page cannot be displayed" error. HMMMM
Here's what Scott Thomas has to say:
My Diarist, "Shock Troops," and the two other pieces I wrote for the New Republic have stirred more controversy than I could ever have anticipated. They were written under a pseudonym, because I wanted to write honestly about my experiences, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, my pseudonym has caused confusion. And there seems to be one major way in which I can clarify the debate over my pieces: I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name.I am Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division.
My pieces were always intended to provide my discreet view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier's view of events in Iraq.
It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.
--Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp
I'm sure Greyhawk will have something to add. When he has time to pull away from the duties of war.
Greyhawk:
It's really sad to see someone claim they have ultimate moral authority to insult women and kill dogs without anyone questioning their character just because they've been to Iraq.
"Next: The persecution begins"
UPDATE: TNR's The Plank is back up
UPDATE: It's down again
Say "If you haven't clicked over lately, Greyhawk has been stirred from slumber and has a lot to say about recent attacks on American soldiers - by their fellow soldiers."
Scott Thomas? Well, via The Tank we now know who he is.
(Part one here.)
Think soldiers in the US Army aren't capable of bad behavior? Think again. Before jumping into any discussion of accusations of crimes leveled at US military members, one should probably keep the following headlines in mind:
Details Emerge in Alleged Army Rape, Killings
The U.S. military said last week that authorities were investigating allegations of a rape and killings in Mahmudiyah by soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 4th Infantry Division.
2 U.S. Soldiers Charged With Murder of an Iraqi
...in northern Iraq, two American soldiers were arrested in connection with the death of an Iraqi man in June. The military said the two have been charged with premeditated murder, and their battalion commander has been removed from his job.
US troops on Iraq murder charges The US military in Iraq has charged two of its soldiers with the murder of three Iraqis between April and June in the Iskandariya area, south of Baghdad.
3 U.S. Soldiers Charged With Murder The U.S. Army has charged three soldiers in connection with the murders of three Iraqi men who were in military custody in Iraq in early May, the military said Monday.A truly disheartening roundup. But read beyond the headlines and opening paragraphs, and buried in the text you'll invariably find another report on the behavior of US soldiers. In order, from the above stories:
But on June 23, three months after the incident, two soldiers of the 502nd came forward to say that soldiers of the unit were responsible, a U.S. military official said last week. The U.S. military began an investigation the next day, the official said.
Military officials said that investigators began probing the death, which took place June 23 near Kirkuk, 160 miles north of Baghdad, after they were alerted to suspicious circumstances by other soldiers from the unit.
Charges were brought after fellow soldiers alerted the authorities.
The investigation was requested by Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, commander of multinational forces in Iraq.This quote invariably included in military press releases on these topics is worth bearing in mind, too:Chiarelli's request and the decision to open the probe were announced Thursday in an e-mail from Baghdad. Chiarelli acted on the basis of suspicions raised by soldiers about the deaths.
The soldiers are presumed innocent unless until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offenseBut contrast the reports above with those included in anti-war veterans groups' claims of American atrocities:
But they nevertheless described such acts as common and said they often go unreported--and almost always go unpunished.Invariably these veterans claim they didn't report the various atrocities they now claim to have participated in or witnessed while they were on active duty because the military wouldn't do anything about them.
Oh, by the way, here's how the Abu Ghraib story first came to the attention of anyone who was paying attention:
The U.S. military's criminal investigation into potential abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at Abu Gharib prison in Iraq now includes reports from soldiers that military police took photographs showing soldiers hitting detainees, CNN has learned.Of course, no one was paying attention. Four months later Mary Mapes claimed the story as her own.Earlier, several Pentagon officials who declined to be identified by name confirmed to CNN that investigators were looking into the reports -- all coming from fellow soldiers -- of photographs showing male and female detainees with some of their clothing removed.
(Still more to follow...)
In about the way I expected.
On a night four years ago, five soldiers back from three months in Iraq went drinking at a Hooters restaurant and a topless bar near Fort Benning, Ga.Judge a movie by the friends it keeps.Before the night was over, one of them, Specialist Richard R. Davis, was dead of at least 33 stab wounds, his body doused with lighter fluid and burned. Two of the group would eventually be convicted of the murder, another pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and the last confessed to concealing the crime.
Now some in Hollywood want moviegoers to decide if the killing is emblematic of a war gone bad, part of a new and perhaps risky willingness in the entertainment business to push even the touchiest debates about post-9/11 security, Iraq and the troops’ status from the confines of documentaries into the realm of mainstream political drama.
On Sept. 14, Warner Independent Pictures expects to release “In the Valley of Elah,”Paul Haggis, whose “Crash” won the Academy Award for best picture in 2006. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as a retired veteran who defies Army bureaucrats and local officials in a search for his son’s killers. In one of the movie’s defining images, the American flag is flown upside down in the heartland, the signal of extreme distress. a drama inspired by the Davis murder, written and directed by
Other coming films also use the damaged Iraq veteran to raise questions about a continuing war. In “Grace Is Gone,” directed by James C. Strouse and due in October from the Weinstein Company, John Cusack and two daughters struggle with the loss of a wife and mother who is killed on duty. Kimberly Peirce’s “Stop-Loss,” set for release in March by Paramount, meanwhile, casts Ryan Phillippe as a veteran who defies an order that would send him back to Iraq.
...
In October, for example, New Line Cinema will release “Rendition,” in which Reese Witherspoon plays a woman whose Egyptian-born husband is snared by a runaway counterterrorism apparatus. Paul Greengrass, the director of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” in which the bad guys belong to a similar rogue unit, is adapting Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s book about the Green Zone in Baghdad, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” for Universal Pictures.
Brian De Palma’s “Redacted,” focusing on an Army squad that persecutes an Iraqi family, is to be released in December by Magnolia Pictures. And Sony Pictures is developing a film based on the story of Richard A. Clarke, the former national security official and Bush administration critic.
Despite some obvious fictionalization — the Fort Benning case did not involve the authority-challenging local detective and single mother played by Charlize Theron — the film hews closely enough to fact that Mr. Haggis is considering a dedication to Specialist Davis.
But whether the case truly speaks for returning veterans will not be easily settled, even with help from Warner Independent. The studio plans to supplement some of its promotional screenings with panel discussions of post-traumatic stress disorder, a factor raised in the movie.
“The issues are similar to what a lot of us are coping with,” said an approving Garett Reppenhagen, an Iraq veteran who saw “Valley of Elah” last week at one of the first such screenings in Washington. Mr. Reppenhagen, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, helped recruit viewers for the screening.
By contrast, Dennis Griffee, a wounded veteran who is national commander of the Iraq War Veterans Organization, said he turned down a request to become involved with the film after learning that Susan Sarandon, a vocal opponent of the war, had a prominent role.
“At the very least it is offensive,” Mr. Griffee said of what he sees as a widespread refusal to acknowledge the troops’ pride at achievements in Iraq. He added that virtually every member of his platoon wound up in college, not jail, on return.
Crossposted at CDR Salamander.
From Hotair comes news that "Loose Change" producer Korey Rowe was picked up on a deserter warrant. I came about THIS close to prosecuting him. Here's how desertions work:
Depending on where he deserted from, he would either return to his parent unit or to a Personnel Control Facility (PCF). My understanding is that he deserted from a FORSCOM unit at Ft. Campbell, accordingly, he was returned to Ft. Campbell.
Had he deserted from Hawaii or another OCONUS (outside continental US) station, then he'd have been returned to a PCF. Specifically, he'd have been returned to the PCF here at my installation. And the PCF falls under my jurisdiction. I like prosecuting deserters.
True, the Army doesn't prosecute most AWOL/desertions since most are trainees or very junior soldiers that leave early in their term. Those get administratively discharged in lieu of court-martial. But depending on the facts of each case, decisions are made accordingly.
The length of time is always an important factor. A 2 year desertion is well worth a court-martial and I'd have argued strongly for it had he come to our PCF, irrespective of his other activities.
Big Army may not prosecute em, but I do.
Some time ago I advised folks not to focus on whether Jamil Hussein was actually an Iraqi police officer and instead concentrate on the accuracy of his claims. I'll now suggest avoiding the argument as to whether "Scott Thomas" is or isn't a soldier. The exhumation of a graveyard has already been corroborated, that alone leads me to believe Thomas is indeed a soldier here.
Rowan Scarborough gives us another data point to the fact that the National Security Structure that is supposed to tie the Civilian and Military parts together is simply broke. If it did work – this wouldn’t need to happen.
More and more officials began attending the sessions. Even Vice President Dick Cheney came. "We took the results of our planning session immediately to people in the administration," said AEI analyst Thomas Donnelly, a surge planner. "It became sort of a magnet for movers and shakers in the White House." Donnelly said the AEI approach won out over plans from the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command. The two Army generals then in charge of Iraq had opposed a troop increase.People vote with their feet. More of the same is rarely a plan. Even if this outline is 75% correct - what does it say about the performance of the Senior Uniformed Leadership - and the Military wing of the National Security Structure?
Keane already had done some ground work. He won a private meeting with then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in September. The retired four-star bluntly told him that he would lose the war unless he changed tactics.Time to put the talk of adopting "Business Best Practices" to work and benchmark other more successful Military structures. Why wasn't the military able to give the civilians what they needed - and therefor they had to go shopping?
Methinks the last few years have shown us that there is a good chance the Goldwater-Nichols/JCS/Combatant Commander model we are using just may not be what a Global Empire should use. (NB: yes, I used the "E" word - that is the way we function; in a Post-Modern way. I'll take a better, more accurate phrase if you can create one in 4 or fewer syllables).
There are other models out there that might better optimize how the JCS and Combatant Commanders serve the nation. Are we looking?
Amendment 1 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The right to question government officials belongs to the people.
We'll just never sink reach journalistic standards. We're only out to tell positive stories and what's seen on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're so transparent (sigh). AND we were hand picked by the Pentagon...who knew?
Ken Silverstein at Harper's Magazine says this:
The Surrogates unit arranges regular conference calls during which senior Pentagon officials brief retired military officials, civilian defense and national security analysts, pundits, and bloggers. A few moderates are invited to take part, but the list of participants skews far, far to the right. The Pentagon essentially feeds participants the talking points, bullet points, and stories it wants told.
<...>
Before these bloggers start to complain that they’ve done nothing wrong, I’d like to ask how they would feel if a group of handpicked, administration-friendly liberal bloggers had done the same thing during the Clinton years. I believe they would have objected vociferously–and I would have agreed with them. No one, on any side, should let themselves be used to spread the administration’s gospel. At least not anyone who can pretend to journalistic standards.
Ken, I have some advice for you. READ MILBLOGS!
It is not the Pentagon trying to spread it's gospel, IT'S THE TROOPS IGNORED BY THE MSM, FIGHTING AND DYING TO GET THEIR VOICES HEARD!
Mr. Silverstein is a professional journalist, and is here mostly attempting to defend his guild. There is, Black Five readers well know, no weight to the charge that these Roundtables are about parroting Administration anything. For the one thing, we don't talk to Administration officials, but to career military men. The journalist is the one in error, by treating career servicemen as if they were political figures. The journalist is also in error by suggesting that it is a disservice to the public to let the public read the actual words of military officers, instead of our filtered narrative. We ask them questions, often questions that readers have asked us to ask them; then we post the transcript, and readers can judge for themselves.
"You're not a real journalist" is his way of saying "only professionals like me should be allowed to talk to high officials, not uncredentialed folks like you." This is about protecting the idea that "the press" has a special status or stature, and that mere bloggers or citizens do not deserve access to important people.
Our readers are quite capable of drawing their own conclusions, I wonder if Silverstein would trust his to do the same. One thing is for sure, reader's of Harper's would be well served by exposure to what this country's military officers have to say about the war--it isn't always positive, and, in fact, the calls typically include frank discussion of the significant challenges the military faces in Iraq. I'd suggest Silverstein interrupt his busy writing schedule to do just a little bit of reporting and join us for a call (anyone 'who needs such information' can contact me via email). He might be surprised to learn what actually goes on: bloggers putting hard questions to commanders in the field and writing up the answers without spin. Scandalous!
And if you're interested in reading the transcrpts of past or future Roundtables you can read them here in this "public Forum"
Just when I think I can't be surprised anymore, something comes along that surprises me. I must say that the line about me (and all you military families out there) being fat and whiney has done significant damage to my self-esteem. I see years of therapy in my future. I'll catch up with the rest of you folks in oh, say, 2015. I should be "fixed" by then. Good luck with that whole War on Terror thingy.
Oh, by the way, somedoby's being punished for all this. But guess who:
I contacted the only unit in our brigade that has Bradleys, 1-18 IN, and advised their XO of the situation, recommending that they talk to their Soldiers about Army values and the Warrior ethos, reminding them of the rules for blogging in uniform and also reminding them of integrity and telling the truth. The bottom line: If you put something out there you should be willing to put your name next to it and stand by it. That he and New Rpublic are insisting on anonymity is very telling here.Death by PowerPoint, and another reason not to blog.
So anyhow, some old guy up in the rfront started yakkin' on about integrity and shit, but me and my buddies was having a fart lighting contest in the back of the room and we didn't pay him no nevermind. Then we went out to do some rapin' and stuff.
Amid at the political posturing in Washington, John Burns of the AP figures out that the "strategy" in Iraq is shifting.
BAGHDAD (AP) - In a move that could portend a strategy change, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq said Sunday he has proposed reducing his troop levels and shifting next year to missions focused less on direct combat.Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon told The Associated Press that if current trends hold, he would like to begin this troop reduction and change in mission in Ninevah province, where he said Iraqi army forces already are operating nearly independently. He has proposed shifting the province to Iraqi government control as early as August.
300,000 war time miles. Eighteen battle stars. The first U.S. Navy capital* ship to enter Tokyo Bay at war's end.
And despite being in the thick of battle, unscathed and almost unknown.
She was The Unbeatable Ship.
*see comments
SSG Thul at Foreign and Domestic finds this waiting for him when he get's home.
Less than 12 hours since arriving home, and I find that I am forced to defend my honor, and that of every US soldier and Marine in Iraq, from what appears to me to be another fraud.
<...>
First, I never saw an instance of soldiers in Iraq digging anything, let alone the outlines for a combat outpost, or COP. First off, even small COP's are larger than any house in the US. The notion of US soldiers digging thru the hard pack in Iraq is silly-we have engineer units for that. And if the engineers aren't available, we would call KBR or even the local sheik before passing out e-tools.Second, even my least intelligent soldiers could identify, at a glance, the uniform of any female on base. Army ACU's, Army DCU's, Army mechanic's coveralls, Marine cammies, Marine flight suit, Marine mechanic's coveralls, it didn't matter. Natural curiosity was the main factor, but my guys desire to not say something stupid in front of a higher rank was a close second. The thought that these guys would poke fun at someone who could, for all they knew, be a US general, is patently absurd. And in black and white, military personnel carry weapons, while almost all of the civilians do not. Someone who he "saw every day" would be categorized quickly on this basis alone.
Third, while I don't doubt the black humor contained in the story, I do doubt that the US military would have someone obviously disfigured by an IED on a US base. My experience was that the coalition gets wounded troops out of country fast, not only for medical reasons, but for morale. Wounded troops make soldiers wonder and worry. A person disfigured as described in the article, if in theater, would be well known and described to all the troops so as to avoid the awkward situations that were described. I can easily hear the warning coming from my battalion CSM, thru my company 1SG, thru my PSG, down to me-there's a local Iraqi who is disfigured, don't you f***ing stare or you'll spend the day in the front leaning rest.
Fourth, while you and I might call them Bradley Fighting Vehicles, joes that drive them call them BFV's, or Brad's. Brad's are a light armored gun platform crossed with a infantry carrier. They do NOT take to cornering out buildings with ease. This more than anything was enough to make me disbelieve the story. A Brad could, in theory, take out a corner of a building and still continue, but there is plenty of stuff on the outside that will break. Like turn signals and headlights and mirrors. Any accident has to be accounted for. The Army always has to have someone to blame, even if only for paperwork purposes.
Stray dogs in Iraq are numerous, and I don't discount joes killing them on purpose. At Trebil, killing stray dogs with your rifle was almost a duty responsibility. But killing them by running over them with your Brad means washing the remains off, which is difficult since washpoints are hard to come by in Iraq. In 16 months, I had the privilege of washing my truck just once. Otherwise, the smell quickly becomes a problem.
Welcome home SSG Hul.l Thank you for your service.
J.D. Johannes has our back, giving a heads up to the FOB Falcon PAO, who debunks :
Per COL Boylan's request, I have prepared the following:1. There was no mass grave found during the construction of any of our coalition outposts in the Rashid District at any time. Such a discovery would have prompted an investigation and close attention paid at levels higher than ours to making sure that the victims were properly interred and attempts would have been made to determine their identities. It is difficult to fathom that a unit's leadership would condone Soldiers disrespecting the remains of anyone in the fashion described.
2. Due to the threat of IEDs, our combat vehicles are driven professionally and in control at all times. To be driving erratically so as to hit dogs or other things would be to put the entire vehicle's crew at risk and would be gross dereliction of duty by the noncommissioned officer or officer in charge of the vehicle. Drivers aren't allowed to simply free-wheel their vehicles however they see fit, and they are *not* allowed to be moved anywhere with out a vehicle commander present to supervise the movement. Therefore- claims of vehicles leaving the roadways to hit animals are highly dubious, given the very real threat of IEDs and normal standards of conduct.
3. As for the alleged woman with severe burn scars, we have nobody matching that description here at FOB Falcon. As Soldiers, we practice the value of Respect: "Treat people as you want to be treated." If the blogger and his friends can't live the Army value of respect, I have little doubt that someone around them who does would have made an on-the-spot correction. The Falcon dining facility is not a spacious one. Anyone being rude, loud or raucous calls immediate attention to himself. It is hard to fathom that anyone would be able to get away with such callous behavior without somebody intervening and stopping it from happening.
Time to put 'em on the table, TNR.
Michael Totten arrives in Baghdad:
We dismounted the plane and I stepped into harsh blazing sunshine.Yup.You know how it feels when you get into a black car in the afternoon with the windows rolled up in July? It’s an inferno outside, but inside the car it’s even hotter? That’s how Iraq feels in the shade. Sunlight burns like a blowtorch. If you don’t wear a helmet or soft cap the sun will cook your brain. First you get headaches. Then you end up in the hospital.
The funny thing is, you eventually get used to it. Heat remains a threat, and you're never comfortable outside, but you drink lots of water and become accustomed to the extreme. You become "climatized" to temperatures in the one hundred-teens - and higher. It's still hot - believe me - but you can deal with it. I once had a month-long stay in a tent city in Egypt. It was August, and we had no air conditioning back then. But we got used to 110 degree heat, and shivered when night time temperatures plunged into the 70's.
Point being, if you haven't caught on yet, that after a couple weeks you get used to it - the body is amazing that way.
Back to Michael:
After having spent several days Baghdad’s Green Zone and Red Zone, I still haven’t heard or seen any explosions. It’s a peculiar war. It is almost a not-war. Last July’s war in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon was hundreds of times more violent and terrifying than this one. Explosions on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border were constant when I was there.You get used to that, too, but it sucks worse than the heat.You’d think explosions and gunfire define Iraq if you look at this country from far away on the news. They do not. The media is a total distortion machine.
But stick around long enough, and you'll find the war. Or it will find you.
Oh, and by the way, if you're a blogger headed to Iraq and would appreciate a better welcome then the one Michael received, contact me before you depart, I'll see what I can do. (I can't lower the heat, but otherwise...)
July 21: Soccer fans wave the Iraqi flag in central Baghdad, Iraq, after Iraq defeated Vietnam 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, in Bangkok, Thailand.
FoxNews PhotoEssay HERE. and the ESPN story HERE
So if you were out doing weekend sports stuff and you're whining about "how hard this is"... quityerbellyaching...
GO IRAQ GO!
Shouldn't someone be doing more to protect the information of our military personnel?
Possible Tricare Data Compromise
Personal information of certain uniformed service members, family members and others was placed at risk for potential compromise while being processed by SAIC (NYSE: SAI) under several health care data contracts for military service customers, the company said today.SAIC remedied the security lapses upon learning of them and began working with the customers to mitigate any potential impact. Forensic analysis has not yielded any evidence that any personal information was actually compromised; however, the possibility cannot be ruled out. SAIC is notifying approximately 580,000 households, some with more than one affected person.
"Our focus is on offering services and support to those who may be affected by the potential compromise of their information," according to Arnold Punaro, Executive Vice President, the company official leading the support effort.The company has responded to this situation in a comprehensive way by taking the following actions:
-- conducted a detailed forensic analysis of the server and data, which included assistance from some of the company's and the government's top experts in computer security;
-- launched an internal investigation using outside counsel to determine exactly how this security failure occurred and placed a number of employees on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation;
-- established a company-wide task force to ensure that the company responsibly addresses any adverse impact on the company's customers and any affected individuals;
-- initiated a systematic, company-wide assessment to assure that such lapses do not exist elsewhere in the company and determine whether any changes in policy, methods, tools and monitoring are needed to make sure that such a lapse does not recur.
More (FAQ, Q&A, Press Release, etc.) HERE
President Bush met with troop support organizations and military family members today. He was in very good company.
Our very own Becky Davis, President of Military Families Voice of Victory was present. You may remember that Becky was on the family panel at the MilBlog Conference.
Also present was Sgt. Mark Seavey, the same Mark Seavey who eloquently took Murtha and Moran to task at a town hall meeting:
And, our old friend Eric Egland was part of today's meeting.
A lot of talented folks flanked President Bush today.
ok, we're going to set the rules for a neighborhood protection association between competing factions. Here are the rules everyone is asked to agree to live by:
1) Protect your community...
2) Accept peaceful Catholics, Muslims, Protestants and others.
3) Protect only in your neighborhood...
4) Take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution...
5) Register with local government security forces
6) Wear a standard uniform and markings
7) Receive hiring preference for Police and Army....
There's also an Oath you'd have to take to be an accepted member of the local neighborhood watch...
Well, except that the people sitting around discussing and negotiating these rules and the Oath are Coalition soldiers, Iraqi security and local insurgents... and Michael Yon as a witness.
Yon concludes,
And today in that meeting... and in that moment I knew that Iraq could make it.
Another fascinating and thought-provoking piece from Michael Yon
Must-see TV interview with Badger 6 from Iraq and Mrs. Badger 6 from home on their local TV station.
He says, "We have made such progress that instead of being a lost cause, al Anbar is talked about as the model for what Iraq could be." ... The progress Coulson sees goes hand in hand with the frustration he feels. He dislikes the political infighting, the all-nighter on Capitol Hill, and those he feels are making uninformed decisions.
I for one would like to know whether "Scott Thomas" and his buddies are the sick little pieces of shit described in The New Republic or simply figments of some other sick little piece of shit's imagination.
UPDATE: Black Five has some Updates on his post from those that have chimed in on this article
My suspicion is this was written by a Soldier in Iraq who wanted to see just how outrageous a story he could write and actually get it published. The problem is it will never be disproved and even if "Scott Thomas" comes forward and admits it to be a fabrication many will read it and it will form their impression of US Army Soldiers regardless of the veracity of the story.
UPDATE II: Bader 6, in Theater, says this story doesn't pass the smell test.
If someone as severely injured as described was there, she surely returned to Iraq of her own accord. Do we think someone, and particularly a woman with the mettle to just be in the world of an Army in combat, to have suffered such grievous wounds, and the return to theater to continue on would be run out of the Dining Facility by a bunch of snot nosed punks? Does that pass the smell test? To me it rings hollow.
UPDATE III: TF Boggs who recently has returned home from Iraq has this to say:
...For starters I believe the entire New Republic story to be a fake, no soldier would ever be able to get away with the things that the author says he did. Not even taking into consideration that most of what he said is basically impossible i.e. running over dogs in a Bradley (a Bradley cannot maneuver quick enough to run over a moving dog), a soldier wearing a human skull on his head (how exactly does a human skull fit like a hat?), and making fun of a woman scarred by an IED (a soldier who said something like that would get his ass kicked by anyone in the vicinity, including me).
...If the “soldier” who “told” TNR these stories is real, his stories are not. Sure there have been some unfortunate occurrences in Iraq but nothing like what the author of the article talks about. A story like this one will only do harm to the reputation of American soldiers abroad, and could quite possibly cause physical harm to them as well.
UPDATE IV: Dadmanly's thoughts:
And I’d add the following circumstantial evidence. Commenters note a similarity between some of what’s described here and events depicted in the (anti-war) movie Jarhead. I’d add that one of the New Republic’s other published story from this poseur describes dogs feeding on corpses. I just watched The War Tapes, in which one of the documentary’s subjects describes taking footage of such, and being told by his superiors to destroy the footage and try to prevent that kind of event in future. The soldier in question says, he’s not really bothered by that. That he figures the suicide bomber deserved no better, why not let the dog fill his belly.
UPDATE V: Eighty Deuce On The Loose in Iraq emails his thoughts:
After reading a few of the accounts, I find it simply disturbing; whether or not these stories are true. The thing is I do not think that what the author of these stories is saying is actually truthful. I find it shameful that this person would even discuss in a non-truthful, joking manner, the things he discusses, especially the story concerning the IED victim. I wonder if this guy has any idea of the negative repurcussions from his actions. I would imagine so if he submitted the stories to be published. Makes me wonder what his motives were to do such a thing.
In the end though, I cannot believe that these stories are truthful.
For 1, the IED story would NEVER happen. I dont care who you are or where you are at, if someone were to do something like that in a chowhall withone someone as injured from an IED as that, there would be either a) a sever ass whooping and/or b) actions taken against the individual from their or others chain of command. Theres no way that this would go on under the watch of everyone else in the chowhall.
The mass grave story is just flat out ridiculous. The story of finding such a thing, where a COP was being built, not saying anything about it, and then the actions of the private and the lack of action of EVERY other soldier. Again, although there may be soldiers that are so deprave, theres no way that all of them would stand by to all these actions.
Finally the Bradely story is another obsurd story. Driving eratic is one thing, but to be utterly destroying things in the wake would not be accepted. If that vechicles TC did nothing surely another would say something.
In the end I find it ridiculous that someone would feel the need to fabricate such a story, but I think there is some motive for this individual. Maybe they were left witha bad taste of the Army or something. Either way it is disgusting and dispicable. I wish such an individual would show up at my unit for just a day... I just hope
Americans believe in the greater good of the American soldiers.
UPDATE VI: Michael Yon emails his thoughts to Michael Goldfarb:
That story about American soldiers at FOB Falcon sounds like complete garbage. I spent time with them this year, and in fact keep them on the front page of my site. 1-4 CAV is an excellent unit. I emailed the commander, LTC James Crider, about the story.
Please put that horrible reporting into context of something accurate. I humbly submit this: Desires of the Human Heart, Part One
V/r
Michael Yon
Baqubah, Iraq
UPDATE VII: Ray Robinson from American Thinker has some interesting conclusions:
"Scott Thomas's" real name is Clifton Hicks
...The evidence that links these two identities is strong but not conclusive. Clifton Hicks was quoted in a Newsweek article, Probing a Bloodbath, which focused primarily on the "Haditha massacre". Of great interest is the name of the Newsweek reporters: Evan Thomas and Scott Johnson. Keep in mind that our TNR writer took the pseudonym "Scott Thomas". Is this a coincidence?
UPDATE VIII: The New Republic responds:
NOTE TO READERS:
Several conservative blogs have raised questions about the Diarist "Shock Troops," written by a soldier in Iraq using the pseudonym Scott Thomas. Whenever anybody levels serious accusations against a piece published in our magazine, we take those charges seriously. Indeed, we're in the process of investigating them. I've spoken extensively with the author of the piece and have communicated with other soldiers who witnessed the events described in the diarist. Thus far, these conversations have done nothing to undermine--and much to corroborate--the author's descriptions. I will let you know more after we complete our investigation.
--Franklin Foer
A couple of months ago, KCET’s Juan Devis, left a comment on my blog, he’s the producer of KCET/PBS Television’s New Media division of Southern California. He does a show called Web Stories “KCET’s multimedia webzine exploring the stories , culture, and attitudes of the people who live here”. This months project was on how new media technologies had changed how the war was being covered. The focus was on the local Southern California Milbloggers and the stories we had to tell.
On the war in Iraq, no one in the Senate is clearer than CAPT John McCain, USN (Ret.).
...we members of Congress, must face our responsibilities honestly and bravely. What is asked of us is so less onerous than what we have asked from our servicemen and women, but no less consequential. We need not risk our lives, nor our health, but only our political advantages so that General Petraeus has the time and resources he has asked for to follow up on his recent successes and help save Iraq and America from the catastrophe that would be an American defeat.That is not much to risk, Mr. President, compared to the sacrifices made by Americans fighting in Iraq or the terrible consequences of our defeat. For if we withdraw from Iraq, if we choose to lose there, there is no doubt in my mind, no doubt at all, that we will be back – in Iraq and elsewhere -- in many more desperate fights to protect our security and at an even greater cost in American lives and treasure.
Little is asked of us to help prevent this catastrophe, but so much depends on our willingness to do so, on the sincerity of our pledge to serve America’s interests before our own.
Actually I just graduated from ILE-CC. Intermediate Level Education - Common Core, more commonly known as "The reason a whole bunch of Guard and Reserve Officers will never make LTC". It takes a bit of a time committment to finish the course - if you go to a Reserve unit for instruction, you are away from your own unit for a long time, so that option is not very attractive. If you take it correspondence/web based, then it is like picking up a Masters degree on your own time (oh, and you have an 18 month time limit).
Man, am I glad I got that bad boy over with.
BTW - to all the submariners; thanks for the commentary on my choices of books on interwar sub development. I turned in a neat little paper on the subject and got some kind remarks from the grader.
Port Chicago, California, ripped by an explosion- 320 Americans killed, 400 injured.
15% of African American casualties in WWII suffered.
More here.
By now, readers of MILBLOGS should know about Vets for Freedom and their Call to Action for veterans of OEF and OIF, and other supporters of the US military.
Vets for Freedom has organized a rally to press against the Surge against the Surge. OIF and OEF Vets are strongly urged to join Vets for Freedom in Congressional visits and media appearances on Capital Hill on Tuesday, July 17th.
Not being able to make the trip due to work requirements, I contacted my local Fox affiliate, and proposed the following current events as the subject for an interview:
1. Congressional attempts to halt the surge and schedule a date certain for withdrawal;
2. Counter-insurgency operations ongoing in Baghdad and the belts around Baghdad, and the many significant successes resulting from those operations; and
3. The Vets for Freedom call for OIF and OEF Veterans to urge Congress to hold firm, support the “surge,” and allow GEN Petraeus and his military commanders time and room for success.
They said, come on in. I should sit for the live interview sometime shortly after 7:00 am, Tuesday, July 17th, on the Fox 23 News Daybreak Program.
(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)
On Sunday, the NYT published a story "As Loved Ones Fight On, War Doubts Arise" on families "turning against the war"... more tripe. Vets for Freedom brought this story to my attention and I wrote to the Editor at the NYT, pointing out that there are ten times as many family members of organizations that SUPPORT the mission in Iraq than those organizations mentioned and wondered why these organizations' members hadn't been quoted??
I draw to your attention:The story mentions a group called 'Iraq Veterans Against the War', which was started in 2004 and boasts 500 members, but it failed to mention Vets for Freedom, which was started in 2006 (two years later) and already has over 5,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans members who believe in the mission. (www.VetsforFreedom.org)
The story mentions a group called 'Military Families Speak Out', which was started in 2002 and boasts 3,500 member families, but it failed to mention Families United for our Troops and Their Mission, which was started in August 2005 and already has 37,000 members who believe in the mission. (http://www.familiesunitedmission.com)
The story mentions a group called 'Appeal for Redress' which was started in September, 2006 and boasts 2,000 members, but it failed to mention the Appeal for Courage, which was also started in 2006 and already has over 3,300 members who believe in the mission. (www.AppealforCourage.org)
In my letter to the Times and in the fax letter to my two US Senators (in addition to phone calls to each last Friday), I said,
Of course we families want our husbands, sons and daughters home -- but when the MILITARY says the mission is complete -- not when the politicians decide there are more points in defeat than in victory.We want to be sure that when Our Guys come home, they NEVER have to go back.
We support the troops AND their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Support the surge. Complete the Mission.
I encourage everyone to contact their Senators and share their feelings (politely) with their Senators. I'm not sure there will be an issue of greater importance in our lifetimes -- or the next. Participate in your government.
HERE is the Senate contact directory.
x-posted at Some Soldier's Mom
I meant to get this up on time, but better late than never.
Happy Birthday ArmyWifeToddlerMom!
Hope your Birthday was fantastic and that you had a little time to try all those wonderful recipes.
Tammi suggested we each share one of our favorite recipes as a birthday present, so here's mine, a favorite in the House of Greyhawks and gobbled up by many troops at Kleber.
Mrs Greyhawk's Vegetable Beef Soup for the TroopsMakes about 5 qts
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pound beef stew meat (prime rib meat works best)
1 /2 Tbls of oil for browning meat
1 large beef soup bone (bone w/ marrow)
46 ounces V8 juice
16 ounces of water
2 pounds frozen mixed vegetables or 5 cans of mixed vegetables (drained) -- [carrots, potatoes, celery, green beans, peas, corn, lima beans]
1 beef or vegetable bouillon cube
Add in Secret seasonings.(see below) ;-)DIRECTIONS:
Cut meat into bites size pieces, sear meat in oil until brown in a 6 quart stock pot.
Add V8 juice, water, vegetables, bay leaves, and bouillon cube. Bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat to low. Add in Secret seasonings. Cover and simmer for the very least 4 hours, longer is better, but no longer than 8 hours is necessary.
-- This can also be done in a large crock pot.SECRET SEASONINGS:
2 - 3 packets of Goya Sazon con Azafran This can easily be found in the ethnic food aisle of your grocery store.
2 tsp of sea salt
1tsp of pepper
2 tbs of sugar
3 bay leaves
1tsp of parsley,
1tsp of onion powder
1tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 tsp of marjoram
Cayenne pepper to taste for added spice.
1 tsp of Accent This is found in the Spices of your grocery store.AND THIS IS OPTIONAL:
Just before you serve the soup, stir in as much as 1/2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast for each quart of soup. Don't simmer the soup afterwards or you'll destroy the B vitamins, iron, and phosphorus. The yeast will thicken the broth slightly and will add a fullness to a hearty tasting soup. Troops need their vitamins. :-)
Serve with hard bread (french bread or german bread) or Ritz crackers....and beer of course
Nope, not me. I'm keeping a low profile these days.
Castle Argghhh! Denizen 1SG Keith is entered in the New York Institute of Photography photo contest.
Go take a look at 1SG Keith's efforts - photos he took while deployed to Afghanistan. If you like 'em, vote for 'em, and let's see if we can't get him into the finals for at least one category!
His three pics are Here, here, and here.
Go. Look. Vote if you like 'em. H/t, Fuzzybear Lioness for the reminder.
Now she drills for oil and gas in deep water. Her construction story may have inspired parts of an international treaty.
And once she had the central role in a bit of the Cold War drama, as explained here.
From SWJ
Brigadier General Kevin Bergner, spokesman for Multi-National Force – Iraq, comments: "Around here, folks like to read Small Wars Journal, Blackfive and The Mudville Gazette."Military blogs offer readers a front-row seat into the camaraderie, pride and challenges of those in uniform. No one can better represent the experiences of a soldier than soldiers themselves, and "milbloggers" deployed to the frontlines of the war on terror offer first-hand insights into their service and sacrifice.
Why does this matter? Because milbloggers uniquely reveal the human face of our forces, from a young trooper patrolling Baghdad neighborhoods to a doctor saving lives at a Combat Support Hospital. First-hand accounts are an important way to communicate the creativity, commitment, and the lighter moments of those who are placing their lives on the line. In the past decade, new technologies from satellite phones to Internet technology have changed the relationship between information and warfare. The military's former inclination to control information has been replaced by an appreciation of the risks, but more importantly the opportunities of cyberspace.
One example is when soldiers, of their own initiative, create and maintain personal blogs about their day-to-day experiences. Since blogs have the potential to reach a global audience, we have established clear guidance to ensure that blogging does not violate operational security, individual privacy, military policy or propriety. Our troops are fast learners, so while we have had a few breaches there have been many more positive experiences shared.
By no means do all military blogs paint a positive picture, nor should they. Each posting represents an individual's musings at a particular point in time. We are waging a historic fight against a ruthless enemy. It is also a campaign that historians will be able to learn more broadly about from anecdotes and insights in today's military blogs.
Glad to hear some are reading Milblogs. Now if we could get those in Congress to.
The “surge against the surge” in Washington politics reached a seeming high tide this week. As the rhetoric swells, Congressional surfer dudes (and even some Republicans) fixate on polls, presumed mandates, and each new breaker of partisan advantage.
War opponents bob up and down on the “wave,” and the media frames the action at the beachfront with an almost universal storyline of the surge against the surge, reflected in “increasing GOP resistance to the war.”
Please. The “presumed GOP” the media points to in their caricatures are the same fair-weather Republicans indistinguishable from the Democratic colleagues in bluer than blue state constituencies. No surprises at all with any of them. (Has Senator Specter supported his fellow Republicans on any substantive policy issue in the pas 4 years? Just asking.)
Two opinion pieces from Friday make strong and compelling arguments to urge the President and what Republican support remains for possible victory to hold firm.
Mario Loyola, writing at National Review Online, succinctly summarizes where we stand in Iraq:
Just weeks into the decisive counteroffensive of the war, we are breaking the back of enemy resistance across that central third of Iraq that was always the focus of the war. Thousands of insurgents have been captured and hundreds killed; the Shiite death-squads have been overawed, and have gone largely into hiding; the al Qaeda leadership is being annihilated before our eyes; and whole tribes — formerly bitter enemies of the Coalition — are coming over to our side wholesale, swelling the ranks of the Iraqi security forces. Anbar province, which just months ago was thought an unassailable base for al Qaeda, is fast becoming an unassailable pillar of the new Iraqi state.That surge, the new counterinsurgency strategy led by GEN Petraeus, is showing great progress in achieving security objectives and laying a real groundwork for the political salvation of the Iraqi experiment in Democracy.
(More excerpts from Loyola, and thoughts from Charles Krauthammer, over at Dadmanly.)
State Department Wages War On Wasps
(AP) WASHINGTON As if the insurgency in Iraq and the fight against terrorism wasn't enough, U.S. diplomats are now struggling with a new threat: menacing "killer" wasps that have infested areas around the State Department's headquarters.Large numbers of the fearsome looking insects, which can grow to about two inches, are congregating in the vicinity of State's Harry S. Truman building and causing distress to employees, according to an internal memorandum obtained by The Associated Press
Giant NWO Lizards unleashed are Eating and Terrorizing Amerikans
Pet owners in Cape Coral, Florida are being warned to keep a close eye on their animals. Recently monitor lizards have been appearing more often in Cape Coral, and some believe they're eating cats.
Have we all resorted to Weapons of Mass Animals?
I doubt it, I just think the animals want to dominate the world.
UPDATE:
