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
We wouldn't have it any other way.
The Patriot Guard, along with a group of very vocal Army wives remained at the intersection, cheering for the troops and urging passing motorists at the busy intersection to show support as well.Jerry Deon, Senior Ride Captain for the Patriot Guard Riders, said they had been tipped off by a posting on the Westboro website and he quickly emailed his group of riders to convene on the site and block off the protestors with their bikes and American flags. After what he called a “couple of uncomfortable situations” for the Westboro protestors they decided to leave.
An almost continuous din of automobile horns could be heard from the passing cars in response to the sign-waving group of Army spouses who turned out.
One last News of Afghanistan for me - hopefully some of my co-bloggers at my site will carry on - and a switch over to my new AOI - Iraq. See what I mean here
You guys are going right?
Military.com will be sponsoring the milblogging booth and panels, here are the details as released by the Expo folks this morning.
I just received the latest info from Andi and the folks at Military.com. This is an all star lineup. The panelists will include Matt and Uncle Jimbo from Black Five, John Noonan from Op-for, Tim Boggs, and many more.Michael Yon has agreed to do a live video feed from Iraq (as long as we can get the technology to work).
You have to hear Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss tell the story about how Project Valour-IT run by the amazing ladies at Soldiers Angels was created after Captain Ziegenfuss suffered wounds to his hands in Iraq.
Here are the panels:
HEY, WHAT’S A MILBOG?
Moderator: Christian Lowe
Thursday, November 8 (1:30 – 2:30)TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG:
MILBLOGGERS,THE DOD AND THE MEDIA
Moderator: Ward Carroll
Thursday, November 8 (2:45 – 3:45)FROM THE FRONT
Moderator: Ward Carroll
Friday, November 9 (10:15 – 11:45)MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE HOMEFRONT
Moderator: Andi Hurley
Friday, November 9 (1:30 – 2:30)A sincere thank you to Military.com for sponsoring the Milblog track and to Andi, John Noonan, Ward Caroll and others for helping put this all together. You don’t have to be in the military or have family serving to appreciate what these amazing individuals have done. In fact you are a civilian you owe it to yourself to attend at least one of these sessions while you are at BlogWorld.
This thing isn't military exclusive, we're just a small part. But if you're someone who uses, reads, or profits from blogs or the online community you're going to want to be there.
Cross posted at my dumb blog.
This year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous will be donating all money raised to Project Valour-IT. Major Chuck Ziegenfuss of TC Override will be our Guest of Honor.
For more information on the Gun Blogger Rendezvous check the Rendezvous site,
and the Mr. Completely blog.
Any publicity you can get out that would encourage Gun and/or Milbloggers or readers/commenters to attend would be greatly appreciated.
It is a small and informal event that allows everyone to get to know everyone else, so you get to put a face to the bloggers you've been reading! It's a great lot of fun hanging out with an amazing bunch of folks!
SWWBO and I went last year, and intend to go this year - though the job situation (mine, not hers) may get in the way, with a TDY complicating things.
And since we're talking guns here - how many of you are meeting the standard? Or am I having to carry some of you slackers, too?
The U.S. Coast Guard marks a milestone: 1,000,000 lives saved!
Top Ten Rescues:
Thank a Coastie today!
See also here.
I was contacted yesterday by a representative of the Transition Training Academy - an public/private partnership between the Department of Labor, Naval Hospital Balboa and Cisco that's working here in San Diego to help wounded troops pick up their lives through providing enhanced IT skills and Cisco certification.
Worth spreading the news, I think.
A couple of weeks ago, I pointed to a clever Marine wife. Today, I'll tip my hat to two very clever Army wives.
Heh!
Part one is here.
Wearing the Black Flag (2)
There are a number of different types of military helicopters in service in Iraq, and a good-natured rivalry among those who fly the various frames. Ask an Apache guy about a '60 - he'll tell you it's a "training aircraft". Ask anyone about a '58 and you'll get a response that includes (or consists entirely of) this: "bait".
But no one disses a medevac crew.
It's a myth that poor weather conditions shut down flying. The reality is that flying becomes riskier.
In aviation there is an obvious inverse relationship between visibility and risk. The shorter the distance you can see, the greater the risk of travel. This is true of travel on the earth's surface, too, but surface travel is generally confined to two dimensional space and very specific routes (roads).
Travel above the surface brings a third dimension to the equation, and while "routes" still exist there are no marked roads, and when visual contact with the surface is lost life can become very interesting for those on the trip.
Drive down the highways of America during a blinding storm or a heavy fog and you can slow down (assuming you aren't suicidal) to the point where risk is diminished to an acceptable level. You can even stop and wait for improvement.
Slowing down in a combat zone makes you easier to shoot. Stopping means you're a sitting duck.
So when conditions demand it, routine missions are put on hold - but for situations with troops engaged with hostile forces or in case of urgent medevac requirements the birds can fly. So when the call came in there was a bird ready to launch, and a crew ready to go, and a clock ticking away.
There are a number of locations from which such a mission can launch, but one by one they reported conditions that day - bad, bad, bad, worse, really bad, and bad but better then those. I was standing in the TOC at the latter.
No one disses a medevac crew.
When U.S. soldiers are in garrison they wear a full color American flag patch on the shoulder of the Army Combat Uniform. In a combat zone that patch is replaced with a black version. Attaching the black flag is a simple act, but profound. It is done without ceremony, and after enough repitions without conscious thought. But it symbolizes a passage from a relatively safe environment to one where few would go.
Why?
If you would ask one of the thousands of Americans who perform that act on a daily basis in Iraq you would probably get a curious look as first response. After all, you've asked them to explain something fundamental, and it's often the most basic things that are most difficult to put into words. It's what we do. But go ahead and ask for more detail.
Now you'll get into the realm of commitment. Every member of a team depends on every other member of the team. No one wants to let his brothers down. It's more individual pride then collective behavior, though there's a bit of that involved too. There's been a real effort in America over the past few decades to eradicate this sort of thinking, individual pride and group will to succeed against a common foe. There's been concerted effort to describe their cause as a hopeless lie, and their fellow soldiers as killers and failures and rejects and fools. But in spite of those efforts there are still a few Americans to be found who will wear their nations flag on their sleeves and walk into places where few would go for even the clearest of reasons.
Why? If you have to ask, you couldn't possibly comprehend the answer.
But here is something they know with certainty. Should something happen, should the lowest among them require urgent care, the effort to provide that will be something unmatched in history. Every man around them is trained to render life-saving aid on the scene, and if the situation calls for it helicopters will be dispatched to get them by the fastest possible method to the nearest possible medical facility.
There is a procedure to request that assistance - inside or outside the wire, a code to shorten the message to the briefest possible transmission. Man down, location, and assessed level of urgency. There is nowhere in the code time or space to discuss rank or station. Medevac crews are always ready, within minutes a standby bird will launch.
Of sweet little Andi banging her head to Let the Bodies Hit the Floor at a Drowning Pool concert make anyone else grin like an idiot?
My husband and I recently attended a Drowning Pool concert. If you looked around the audience, you might think that we were a bit out of our element. A soldier and his wife in a room full of twenty-something head-bangers, but in reality, we had never felt more at home.
airforcewife and I recently interviewed Drowning Pool about their support for our troops. Drowning Pool is part of the USO entertainment circuit. They played in Baghdad on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and are currently working on putting together another USO tour, which they hope will take them to Afghanistan and Iraq, and they will soon be visiting troops at Walter Reed.
Before the show, my husband and I were able to meet and chat with the band, and they could not have been more gracious to us. Ryan McCombs told us that his trip to Iraq "changed him forever." Ryan was talking to my husband about how hot it was in Baghdad when they were there. When someone asked him if he was hot, he said, "like I'm gonna complain, I'm wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and look at these guys in their uniforms and body armor."
While the meet-and-greet was wonderful, I was shocked, pleasantly shocked, at what happened during the concert. After the band played a few songs, Ryan McCombs gave a heartfelt speech. He began by asking everyone to raise their hands if they are related to, or know anyone, who is now serving in defense of "the red, white and blue." He then went on to say, and I'm paraphrasing, "These men and women put their lives on the line so that we can have the freedom to come here tonight and listen to some music. We have the easy job, they have the tough job. Next time you see a soldier on the street, next time you see one in the airport lugging their bags around, next time you see them anywhere, it only takes three seconds to extend your hand and thank them for what they do for us. It's not that hard and it's the least we can do." Then, the band played "Soldiers," the song they wrote for our troops when they returned from Iraq. In fact, Drowning Pool recently renamed their tour the "This is for the Soldiers tour." We don't hear enough of this kind of support coming from celebrities, and it's music to the ears (pun intended) when we do.
Military spouses are known to be intensely loyal to businesses that support them. A lot of businesses compete for our dollars, and we like it that way, because it's all about giving our money to people who appreciate us. For all you spouses and troops out there, Drowning Pool is the real deal when it comes to supporting our troops. Might want to pick up a copy of Drowning Pool's latest album, the one that features "Soldiers" or maybe go see them in concert if they're in a town near you. It' would be money well spent.
I gave the band gifts from the SpouseBUZZ Team. Small, inexpensive gifts, but a little something to thank them for their unqualified support of our husbands. Drowning Pool music is now a staple in this household.
Oddly enough, this burning ship, modern for its day, was a sign of the beginning of the end for the old Navy and the beginning of a whole new world order.
And its designer played a major role in opening doors to that future.
But the bear died.
Sort of explained here.
I'm past questioning anyone's patriotism. Over at the Huffington Post, blogger Martin Lewis writes an open letter asking for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to relieve the President of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief:
General Pace - you have the power to fulfill your responsibility to protect the troops under your command. Indeed you have an obligation to do so.You can relieve the President of his command.
Not of his Presidency. But of his military role as Commander-In-Chief.
You simply invoke the Uniform Code Of Military Justice.
I mean lunacy like "that's crazy." Certifiably. Off the hook. Jibbering. Tending towards the straight jacket.
And, yes. Yes this would be a good time to step away from the keyboard. And up your meds.
Ya' kook.
Update: Note to Lex: Always check what the other kids have been posting first. Meh.
This is what passes for enlightened, educated, and thoughtful commentary from the Left. The lack on understanding and thought by Martin Lewis at HuffPo just left me gobsmacked.
General Pace - you have the power to fulfill your responsibility to protect the troops under your command. Indeed you have an obligation to do so.They must be running out of ideas to bring about defeat in time for the next election.You can relieve the President of his command.
Not of his Presidency. But of his military role as Commander-In-Chief.
You simply invoke the Uniform Code Of Military Justice.
The United States Code: Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 47, Subchapter X, Section 934.
...
you have the legal responsibility - under Article 134 of the Uniform Code Of Military Justice - to protect the troops under your command by relieving the President of his MILITARY command.If you have reason to believe that the President is responsible for "disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces" and for "conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital" then you have the obligation to act.
In addition to relieving him of his command as Commander-In-Chief, you also have authority to place the President under MILITARY arrest.
ArmyLawyer, get together with DocInTheBox and find Mr. Lewis' meds please.
At one moment the Left thinks the military if full of goose stepping, fascist, rapists - and next they want us to have a coup.
Site design and management: Mrs Greyhawk
Original content copyright © 2006 by the respective authors
