Listen Up!

For all you boobs who think you can support the soldier but, not support the war, Jack Army has something to say to you.

Here's some of it...

...If you don't support my commander in chief and you don't support my mission, you don't support me. It's just that simple.

Just because you don't spit in my face and call me a babykiller doesn't mean you support me. I don't care how many care packages of beef jerky you send to Iraq, you don't support me if you think what I'm doing here is wrong. Period.

So you don't spit on me and call me names. That doesn't equal support, it equals common courtesy. Just because you aren't rude to my face doesn't mean you support me. Got it?

So stop saying you support the troops. It's hypocritical, it's untrue and I'm tired of it...

The rest is HERE! I couldn't have expressed it better myself.

CAV Solider receives the MOH

LTC Bruce Crandall (RET) received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Bush on 26 FEB 07 in a ceremony in the White House.

There's a little more about it HERE

You can read about his actions in the book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young or watch the Mel Gibson movie. LTC Crandall was in command of the UH-1's from the 229th Aviation Battalion supporting 1-7 CAV that day in Vietnam.

Odd isn't it that LTC Crandall can wear his cavalry stetson to the White House, but I need permission from a General Officer to wear mine in a war zone.

TR Tuesday, 27 FEB 07

Here's the TR quote of the day...

"Measure iniquity by the heart, whether a man's purse be full or empty, partly full or partly empty. If the man is a descent man, whether well off or not well off, stand by him; if he is not a decent man stand against him, whether he be rich or poor."

Bonus quote of the day is from General William T. Sherman...

"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want."

Gen. Pace: Military Capability Eroding

The entire article can be read here HERE

Feb 26, 11:45 PM (ET)
By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) - Strained by the demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a significant risk that the U.S. military won't be able to quickly and fully respond to yet another crisis, according to a new report to Congress.

The assessment, done by the nation's top military officer, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, represents a worsening from a year ago, when that risk was rated as moderate.

The report is classified, but on Monday senior defense officials, speaking on condition on anonymity, confirmed the decline in overall military readiness. And a report that accompanied Pace's review concluded that while the Pentagon is working to improve its warfighting abilities, it "may take several years to reduce risk to acceptable levels."

The report is classified but not THAT classified...if it fits the leakers agenda then all those pesky labels that say things like SECRET/NOFRON they don't mean anything...just the security of the nation you know. Idiots...politicans...they're going to be the death of us all.

I'm Sure This Was On The News

Really, tell me it was on TV everywhere...you couldn't get away from it, the story was talked about so much. No wait, I guess that was Britney Spears latest nervous breakdown, or the death of Anna Nicole.

Something like this, is simply not worth their time...

...Although shot in the leg during his squad's initial assault attempt, [ Sanford] still accompanied his squad during its second assault. Once inside the house, Sanford provided a heavy volume of suppressive fire while the casualties were evacuated. He continued to engage the enemy while escorting wounded soldiers from the house. ... Sanford returned to the house a second time to provide covering fire for the final withdrawal of casualties. When the last soldier leaving the house was shot in the neck, Sanford began performing CPR. Sanford was shot twice more in the back while trying to revive the other soldier...

The rest of the story of PFC Stephen Sanford actions that day is HERE.

H/T Castle ARGGHHH!

Candyman

I should have known the game was afoot when I saw Christina Aguilera staring at me from the cover of Maxim Magazine in the PX. They don't get half nakid for magazines for no reason at all.

Odd that I just posted the parody of Dirty a few posts below...as I knew nothing about her new record. This video/song is like the Andrews Sisters gone Wild. If you don't know who the Andrews Sisters were, look it up, I don't have time to explain everything to you.

This is entertaining...especially if you are stuck in Iraq.

Well it was entertaining while it lasted...they have apparently removed it for copyright reasons...odd as I always understood that videos were meant to help sell records...oh well. SORRY ABOUT THAT. NEVER MIND.

UPDATE #2 I'll try this again...now it's back. We'll see how long this lasts.



There's some good WWII imagery in here as well...well done by the cinematographer and director.

It's Oscar Night...

...and I really don't care. But "The Wolf" over at BLACKFIVE is blogging about his favorite military movies and he wants your input as well.

Here are the ones I picked from way back in October '05...

I thought I would list my 10 favorite military themed movies...in no particular order. I am obviously not Roger Ebert (if I was I wouldn't be able to get into the cockpit) so don't expect a review or reason why I like each one...I just do. If you don't like them or never heard of them I'm sorry get over it, it is after all my list. If you would like put your list in the comments section.

So, here it is:

1. Twelve O'Clock High: I find this WWII movie starring Gregory Peck a great example about the pressures of command and a good illustration of the effort of the 8th AF in Europe.

2. To Hell And Back: Starring Audie Murphy as himself. If you read the citation of the final event depicted in this film you know it doesn't do justice to the acts he performed that day. This film begs to be remade. If you don't know who Audie Murphy was knock out 20 and look it up...every American should know about him and those like him.

3. Pork Chop Hill: Another Gregory Peck movie this time dealing with the actions that took place on Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War.

4. Patton: George C. Scott as the title character. Worth watching just for the speech at the beginning. But the entire movie captures the charter of this enigmatic general, tactical genius and egomaniac.

5. Stripes: Bill Murray goes to boot camp. If you can't watch this movie and laugh there is something wrong with you. Filmed at FT Knox, KY.

6. No Time For Sergeants: Another boot camp film this time with Andy Griffith as the hayseed that wants to be in the Infantry.

7. Rough Riders: A made for TV movie starring Tom Beringer as Teddy Roosevelt. I believe it's around fours hours in length and worth every minute of it. I enjoy this movie every time I watch it.

8. The Big Red One: Detailing a squad in the 1st Infantry division's travels through WWII. Starring Lee Marvin as the Platoon SGT, and Mark Hamel as on of the soldiers. A Private Ryan before there was a Private Ryan.

9. Band of Brothers: Yeah it's an HBO mini-series and not a movie but it's my list and I can do what I want. Besides it the best thing ever produced about WWII. Just an awsome production that captures the essence of soldiers.

10. Saving Private Ryan: I thought about not including this...simply because over time the tactical innacuracies and made up premise have begun to bug me more and more. But for the sheer impact this movie had the first time I saw it. This movie can't be matched. In the theater I saw this film you could hear a pin drop it was that quiet. EARN THIS!

Others of note: The Green Berets: Starring John Wayne; The Devils Brigade: Starring William Holden; The Hunters: Starring Robert Wagner and recently appearing on a screen near you, The Great Raid wasn't too bad. There are many more but these are a few of my favorites. I look forward to seeing yours as well. A list of the worst will follow soon.

So what say you?

Things Being Blown Up in Slow Motion

I found this little video pretty interesting...

Enjoy super slow motion shots of bullets ripping apart pieces of fruit and other stuff...via The Jawa Report

DATELINE: FT RUCKER, AL

H/T ROFASIX

If only it were as easy as going back to school...

Pilots Learn How to Not Get Shot Down
Associated Press February 23, 2007
FORT RUCKER, Ala. - At a sprawling base set amid the wiregrass pastures of southern Alabama, the Army is teaching its next class of helicopter pilots how to avoid getting shot down when it's their turn to go to Iraq.

Sometimes you fly high, they learn, and sometimes you go low. Vary your speed, and don't fly the same route too often. And always - always - know what's going on around you. That's because it doesn't take much more than a single gun on the ground to take down even the most advanced U.S. helicopter.

"Self-preservation is what the key is," said Chief Warrant Officer Troy A. Wyatt, an instructor.

The Pentagon has reported eight incidents in the past month in which helicopters were either shot down or landed under fire in Iraq. At least two suspects have been arrested. Military officials say militants are increasingly targeting choppers, firing simultaneously from different directions with an assortment of weapons, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

As the helicopter losses mount, instructors at the Army's aviation school at Fort Rucker are teaching the very latest lessons from the Iraq battlefield to the military's newest chopper pilots, all of whom come through this post at some point...

The rest of the article can be read HERE

This article reads like it was written by the PAO himself...not that there is anything wrong with that. :)

Everything you read in there is true. What is missing however is the cold hard fact, that in combat the enemy gets a vote. Sometimes for us to be effective we have to put ourselves into harms way more than we would like. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we get lazy. Sometimes the bad guy gets lucky. But even with all of that, WE WILL WIN...if some people will get out the way and LET US WIN.

They Really Do Care...

A soldier's wife tells a story about a vistor to the hospital.

What Carren thinks of Senator McCain
Okay, folks. Here's the post Chuck said I owe you. Hopefully your waiting will be worth it and you'll "appreciate" the wait. Here goes... I am not responsible for any cuss words or really pissy comments - I'll try to keep it PG rated.

Senator is not a word I would use for McCain. JERK (or asshat, as Chuck usually says) is more like it. When Chuck was in the hospital, Jerk came to "visit" us. A quick story before I tell you what happened...

Read the rest HERE

Girl Friday, 23 FEB 07

Yeah, she's an actress and probably believes in all sorts of ideas that I would find ridiculous or repugnant...but she sure is pretty. Scarlett Johansson is our "Girl Friday" for 23 FEB 07.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Pictures From Iraq

Lugging a camera around Iraq us not easy...espeicially if you are on the ground. If you would like to see some fantastic lens work from the war zone please check out the website of Russell Klika.

The Meaning of TOP GUN...the movie

In case you were wondering...it's all spelled out for you in this video.

WARNING: THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK...lots and lots of bad words...they should have their mouths washed out with soap. They are bad bad boys!

I found this via BLACKFIVE...like he needs the traffic.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It's George Washington's Birthday!

Yes, if our politicians had any cajones we would still be celebrating this day instead of a generic "President's Day" which lumps GW in with other "great" presidents, such as Warren G. Harding and Jimmy Carter.

In celebration of this day and also in honor of General Order #1, I have stolen this little tidbit for your entertainment from ROFASIX

During the Revolution, Washington was also convinced of the salutary effects of alcohol on his troops: It kept them feeling warm and upbeat and discouraged desertions. In 1777, he instructed the purchasing officer of the Continental Army that "there should always be a sufficient quantity of spirits with the army." He noted in a letter to John Hancock that the "benefits arising from moderate use of liquor have been experienced in all armies and are not to be disputed."

But what the HELL does he know, he's only the father of our country.

DIRRRRTY!

I know this is kind of old but it still gets a chuckle out of me...plus Sara Michelle is pretty hot.


Dirty - The funniest videos clips are here

Who would have thunk it...between her and Britney, Christina would be viewed as the "classy" one.

TR Tuesday, 20 FEB 07

The Teddy Roosevelt quote of the week

There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of the great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder.
- Sorbonne
April 23, 1910

Bonus Dead Guy quote from GEN George S Patton Jr.

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"
(addressing his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

Now Showing...

This was shamelessly stolen from POINT FIVE

What The Duce...

It seems I can't leave the country for a few months and everything has gone straight to H, E, double hockey sticks. WTF?

Leeann Tweeden

First I find out that FHM a magazine popular over here for its high quality output of AAFES p0rn, is going out of the print business...I guess it will be available on-line. There are only so many car, men's lifestyle, computer and gun magazines out there and this means one less to choose from on the magazine rack at good ole Camp Taji...according to this article the company that prints this rag was going broke. So who knew the market for scantly clad women and articles about drinking, cars and other stupid stuff was soft? Apparantly not the publishers of FHM.

Kiran Chetry

Next up...how the HELL did my favorite news babe end up working for the communist news network? Yeah, I know she's got a husband and kid to feed but CNN? Somehow Kiran Chetry has ened up at CNN... You know I'll put up with alot of stuff, but I do have some standards...nice knowing ya' kid.



And finally we have this load of steaming horse poo...

PHOTO SHAMELESSLY STOLEN FROM SKYE

Thanks for your support. Next thing you know they'll be telling us, sorry the money that was supposed to be there to fly you guys home has been spent to save the Baby Harp Seals of Nome Alaska...but we have have rented out a tramp steamer and you should be home in about 6 months or so...weather permitting...thanks for your service...baby killer...we love you a lot...but not really because that would mean that we buy into the whole war thing which we don't so...well you know.

What Makes America Great

I know in the past few weeks I have expressed doubt about the backbone of the American body politic (which seems to have been borne out by the lilly livered vote in Congress to not support the "surge" but still support me...WHAT?!?). But what REALLY matters is the PEOPLE. REAL PEOPLE, not hold your wet finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing so I can get elected politician, but people with some intestinal fortitude and actual courage of conviction.

If you follow this link to HOT AIR you will see a story about some great folks in Texas that was presented on ABC News.

I have met some of these people before. The last time I was in Iraq when I came back on EML, I was greeted at DFW not only by my brother but all the wonderful people you will see in this video. They are there day after day every day. They are the real AMERICA... and they understand what it means to be a TEXAN.

Memorial for a Friend

Someday people will know the whole story about the heroic way these soldiers left this planet. If Keith were here today he would say he wasn't being a hero he was just doing his job...but that's the kind of guy he was.

A friend of mine sent me this article that appeared in Alabama newspapers:

Army helicopter pilot remembered as model for others

The Associated Press


FORT RUCKER, Ala. - Army helicopter pilot Keith Yoakum was remembered
as a model for others who fly choppers in combat, protecting ground
troops, as well as a loving father who looked forward to teaching his
daughters to fly.

A memorial service for the 41-year-old chief warrant officer, who died
Feb. 2 in Iraq while conducting combat air patrol, will be held
Tuesday in the main post chapel at Fort Rucker. But recollections of
his military career and his love of his family and flying were
expressed in advance of the service.

"He made us all stand a little taller and be the best that we can be,"
said his older brother, Mark Yoakum. "He wasn't the wind beneath our
wings, but he was our wings."

Keith Yoakum, who lived at Coffee Springs in Geneva County, had moved
to the Wiregrass region from Hemet, Calif. Near his two brothers, the
family bought property and had begun to build a hangar and grass
landing strip.

"He was teaching his daughters (Katelynn, 16, and Kirstee, 14) how to
fly," his wife, Kelly Yoakum, told The Dothan Eagle in a story Monday.
"That was his dream, to own his own grass strip. Flying was his
passion. And he loved his brothers and wanted to do as many things as
possible together."

"He was just such a good man," she said. "He was a very good father.
He was very proud of his daughters and with what little time he had he
tried to give it to them."

His twin brother, Kevin Yoakum, said he has received e-mails from
soldiers around the world expressing condolences and sharing memories.

Rob Williams, who served with Keith Yoakum, said in an e-mail that
"anyone who's been flying Apaches for any length of time either knows
(Yoakum) or knows of him. He's the guy everyone wishes they could be."

He died of wounds suffered when he was forced down in combat
operations at Taji, Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Jason G. Defrenn, 34,
of Barnwell, S.C., was also killed. They were assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 227th Aviation Cavalry Regiment, 1st Division, at Fort
Hood, Texas.

Yoakum's family said he died doing what he loved.

"I'm glad I came," Yoakum wrote in an e-mail two days before his
death. "I think I make a difference."

---

Information from: The Dothan Eagle

Rest in Peace Keith and Jason...we'll try and finish the job, save us a spot at the Green.

You Stole My Jesus Fish!

Hypocrites and religion...why I've never heard of such a thing!

Girl Friday, 16 FEB 07

Once again Reagan Yun graces us with her presence to usher in another weekend.

Have a good one!

At Least THEY Know WHo The Good Guys Are...

H/T Dude, Where's the Beach?

This story is from Breitbart.com

Opponents of Poland's former communist regime reportedly want to pay a posthumous homage to US President Ronald Reagan by erecting his statue in the place of a Soviet-era monument.
In an open letter to the mayor of the southwestern city of Katowice, the former anti-regime activists said that the staunchly anti-communist Reagan had been a "symbol of liberty," the Polish news agency PAP reported...

...They also said that they wanted the site to be rebaptised "Ronald Reagan Freedom Square."

City hall spokesman Waldemar Bojarun said that Katowice's councillors would consider the issue.

Bojarun said that he had "enormous respect" for Reagan...

...There are already separate plans to erect a statue in memory of Reagan in the centre of the Polish capital, Warsaw, which would be paid-for from private funds.

Reagan, who dubbed the Soviet Union an "evil empire," is widely credited by Poles with having driven communism to the wall.

Well Hello Mister Fancy Pants...

Ripped from the website known as THE DEFAMER Nicolas Cage calls out Entertainment Weekly for being shallow when it comes to him appearing the the upcoming movie/film Ghost Rider (coming to a theater near you this Friday)...Egads I've fallen into their evil trap and given them free publicity.

'Entertainment Weekly' hasn't done anything to me. Someone just asked me a question about whether I think comic book movies get a bad rap. Someone mentioned to me that there was a blurb in 'Entertainment Weekly' that said very condescendingly, 'We get a kick out of watching Academy Award winners being in movies that they have no business being seen in.' I thought, 'Well, okay. That's really shallow thinking because they can't get outside their own box.' They don't understand the concept of what I would say is art.

Believe me there is much more of this twaddle included...but do you really need to read that? When will these people learn that they are making a living pretending to be something that they are not? Stop PRETENDING (there's that word again) that what you do is earth shattering or even "art".

I enjoy movies, it's a good way to entertain myself and my friends. Get lost in a story, enjoy the action or the laughs, and I thank actors for doing that for me and for all of us. But for for the love of Mary Jane Watson quit trying to dress up a pig and tell me its a centerfold. Besides there are those of us out here Mr. Cage that have yet to forgive you for an abomination against man called: Firebirds...just try and tell me that is "ART".

Happy Valentines Day

A short apology for the gratuitous use of the F-Bomb in the following for those who are easily offended.

As I once read in a porta john at the National Training Center, "Profanity is the linguistic crutch of the illiterate mother fucker."

I received this via e-mail from a good friend...also a Warrant Officer Army Aviator.

Happy Valentines Day!

TR Tuesday, 13 FEB 07

Today's Quote from Teddy Roosevelt concerns talkers and doers...

To sit home, read one's favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men's doing.
- The Outlook
December 21, 1895

BONUS QUOTES from GEN William Tecumseh Sherman

“If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast.”

and this one

“You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.”

Girl Friday, 9 FEB 07

For Friday the 9th of February 2007, we present Jennifer Hurt as this week's "Girl Friday".





A "Psychcology Student" from Maryland, Jennifer, I'm sure wishes eveyone a fabulous weekend and so do I.

I'm sure she's also looking forward to valentines day next week...as are the stockholders of Hallmark Cards, all candy makers and restaurant owners of the western world.

Miller Catifight Girls Return

Remember the Miller Lite commercial where the two women were fighting in the fountain about, Tastes Great or Less Filling?

Well, they are back...wait for it...

TR Tuesday

The latest words of wisdom from Teddy R...

"Don't hit at all if you can help it; don't hit a man if you can possibly avoid it; but if you do hit him, put him to sleep."
New York City
February 17, 1899

And a bonus dead guy quote for today from a guy named Von Clausewitz...

"Kindhearted people might, of course, think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat an enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this to be a true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed. War is such a dangerous business that the mistakes which come from kindness are the very worst."

Thanks!

To everyone who has expressed their thanks and support...I never doubted for a moment that there were people like you out there.

Unfortunately, I am beginning to feel that you and I will fail to win the day...not here on the battlefield but back home in "the arena of (non)ideas". That place where the Superbowl ratings and political grandstanding are more important than the soldiers who just rolled up an HVT.

I'm just not very confident in my nation's ability to have any kind of tactical patience at all. Doesn't mean I don't have faith in my friends, my comrades in arms and the people who have expressed their concern and support...I love you guys!

So what the HELL...let's have a party!

I'm quite sure Stewy is no Navy guy, because there's far too many women in this picture to be someone from the Navy... if you know what I mean...and I think you do...not that there's anything wrong with that... wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Intel has told me that Skye from Midnight Blue is pictured 2nd from the left :) (just kidding...no really)

TIME

At first glance you'd think this cover of a Pink Floyd song by Dream Theater has nothing to do with anything I've posted below...but I beg to differ.




Think it over and discuss among yourselves.
H/T The Jawa Report

I Walk Alone...

From The New Media Journal, a piece written by a soldier deployed, like me to Iraq. H/T to Castle Argghhh!

...And to think, I volunteered for this...

And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.


I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward’s war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the internet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of President Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right...

You can read the rest HERE

The good SGT doesn't walk alone, he has many many many more friends than he will ever know. The sad thing however, is that his friends aren't nearly as loud as the nay sayers, complainers and whiners who's political goals and ambitions are far more important than even national security, and certainly more important than mine and SGT Jeffers' pitiful lives.

These chattering whining people that SGT Jeffers describes are beneath my contempt. While it is fully within their rights as American citizens to express their opinion no matter how stupid or inane, it doesn't make that opinion worth listening to or even given the time of day.

It's troubling to me that these types of opinions are being accepted as fact without argument or discussion more and more. I weep for this Republic.

Vader Sessions

Via Ace of Spades

This is some fuuny stuff...

Fiddler's Green

This is for those we have lost...

Halfway down the trail to Hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen,
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers' Green.
Marching past, straight through to Hell,
The Infantry are seen,
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marine,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers' Green.

Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene,
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he's emptied his canteen,
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers' Green.
And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen.
Or in a roaring charge of fierce mêlée
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddlers' Green.

Sorry for being out of touch these last few days...sometimes this job really sucks and this has been one of those times.

We lost some great troopers the last week or so...keep their families in your prayers. Just know this, they went down fighting like the great Cavalrymen they were.

William Arkin is an Ass...

A bigger ass than even J-Lo's. In a story I stumbled upon by reading BLACKFIVE (like I need the aggravation), Wild Bill Arkin tells us things like,

I've been mulling over an NBC Nightly News report from Iraq last Friday in which a number of soldiers expressed frustration with opposition to war in the United States...
...I'm all for everyone expressing their opinion, even those who wear the uniform of the United States Army. But I also hope that military commanders took the soldiers aside after the story and explained to them why it wasn't for them to disapprove of the American people.

Or this gem

These soldiers should be grateful that the American public, which by all polls overwhelmingly disapproves of the Iraq war and the President's handling of it, do still offer their support to them, and their respect.

Through every Abu Ghraib and Haditha, through every rape and murder, the American public has indulged those in uniform, accepting that the incidents were the product of bad apples or even of some administration or command order.

Well you know what Bill, and all you other twits who agree with him...I've got something for you. It's been building up for a while now but this clown put the pin in the party hog with his tripe. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE LANGUAGE.

I am consistently amazed at how people who have never even served one day in uniform seem to have all the answers and understand EXACTLY what is going on in a country with a culture so different from their own that they would think they were on another planet if they experienced it themselves. It's sanctimonious twits like Bill, who with their imbecilic rantings about how I am the one who should be greatful that people don't spit on me and others with their pronouncements of our impending doom who encourage our enemies and endanger those you half heartedly state that you "support". Every time someone in the press talks about quitting it goes straight to JAM, AQI and every other enemy headquarters in Iraq. If Hadji was thinking about giving it all up for working in the oil fields or whatever else he might want to do...you just gave him a big ol' pep talk...thanks a lot douchbag. Why don't you just wrap up a new Ak-47 and sent it in the mail "To Any Terrorist"? If we go down to defeat it's you and cockgobblers like you who will have caused it. All you guttless whiney bastards who are only for the war if it can be won on the cheap. If it takes too long or the enemy actually decides to make a go of it, or heaven forbid the chain of command is not perfect and makes some false steps...just pick up your toys and quit...to hell with the conciquences. "It's too hard.. I'm tired of seeing it on the news every night." Hey, FUCK YOU...I'm tired of seeing it every day first hand. Listen FUCKTARDS...if we don't fight them here and we leave they will go to where they can fight us. WHY CAN"T YOU GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK FUCKING HEADS? And for all your cowardly sniviling boobs in congress (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) why don't you grow a pair?

Finally here's a quote from John Stewart Mill...

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.