Righty in a Lefty State

Milblog Conference Wrap-Up

2010-04-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Conference is over, and the ~~party-crowd~~ attendees have been dispersing all day. For those who didn't attend or watch the live feed, Princess Crabby's overview is here. I'll try to fill in the gaps a bit...

Friday afternoon included a treat - a tour of the Pentagon courtesy of Army PAO Lindy Kyzer and her team. We stopped briefly at the America's Heroes Memorial at the Chapel, to honor the memory of the victims of the 9-11 attack at the Pentagon. The tour then concluded at the Conference Center, where the blog crowd (about 25 of us) met with several key players in social media related roles in the Military / DoD for over an hour. Great discussions!!

Friday evening was the gathering phase, with the first panel of the Conference providing the attendees with a little perspective on Milblogging with the first panel discussion, titled "It's a Marathon, not Sprint". Several long-time milbloggers talked about their decisions to start blogging, and what the blog landscape was like in the early years of this decade. Members included Sgt. Mom, Baldilocks, Matt of Blackfive and Mitch 'Taco' Bell of Sandgram, with Grayhawk moderating.

Saturday was a packed day, with a quick welcome from "T" McCreary of Military.Com, who led straight to a message from Gen. Patraeus, recorded just for the Milblog Conference! His brief message centered around social media being here to stay, and an important means of keeping troops connected with their families, while providing a way for stories from all levels of the military to be read by anyone with interest.

The remaining panels covered divserse topics from military related charities and the use of social media, to a discussion of the View from the Top, which included no less than Admiral Harvey of US Fleet Forces blog. I can't begin to relate the varied topics covered across the panels. The good news is that the content should be available for viewing at YouServed, thanks to the hard work of Marcus Penn and Troy Steward, and others.

The best part of this conference for me was the time I was able to spend talking with various Denizens and bloggers who I had met only briefly in the 2008 Vegas conference. This one was much more intense, but without the time pressures.

We had quite a few Denizens present: Maggie, AFSister and Keith, FbL, Sgt. B, Homefront6, Bob, MaryAnn, AW1 Tim, and myself ... and we got to finally meet Boquisucio!! John and Beth were sorely missed, and not just by the Denizens crowd - many people were disappointed.

I need time to digest, and I will just offer this advice: When the videos are posted, take the time to watch the wrap up and awards ceremony. 'Taco' accepted the Marine Milbloggie on behalf of America's 1st Sgt of Castra Praetoria, who is downrange. The delivery was in the fine style of a senior Marine NCO, and holding in my laughter made it hard for me to hold the video camera still properly. I do hope the video comes out well, but even if only the audio were to survive, you should not miss it!

That's it, folks. If you weren't there, we missed you. If you were there, then leave a comment or trackback. I had a great time, and I am already looking forward to the next one!

(cross-posted at Castle Argghhh!)

Milblog Adventures

2010-04-04T21:43:00.001-07:00

This week the Milblog community will be holding the Fifth Annual Milblogging Conference, a gathering of the brightest and best of the Milblogging world. These fine folks even let a sometime-blogger like me join the crowd, so that's where I plan to be from April 9th through the 11th. There's just a few spots left to register for, if you're interested, so head on over.

Even if you can't make it to the Conference, take the time to head over to Milblogging.Com and vote for your favorite blogs. This is the fourth year of Milbloggies, which cover all of the military related blogging categories. It's tight competition - check it out, and lodge your votes Now!.

I've only been to one Conference in person, but it was a blast to meet many of my imaginary friends, and the panels are lively and enlightening. Here's a teaser:

We've stacked the agenda with a substantive, engaging conference and we've filled all remaining holes with more social events than ever before. You can sit down with film director Jake Rademacher, place someone under arrest at the Jail N' Bail, witness a live acoustic performance by Saving Abel, mix and mingle at Friday night's cocktail reception and party till the wee hours at the Fifth Anniversary Awards Ceremony and Party on Saturday night. Grab a seat while you still can....

Hope to see some of you there!

Connecting Deployed Troops with the Homefront

2010-01-03T11:48:00.001-08:00

What a great idea, from Dell and Operation Homelink

The Mission

Operation Homelink™ provides refurbished computers to the spouses or parents of junior enlisted (E1 –E5) U.S. deployed service men and women enabling email communication with their loved one deployed overseas. We offer this service on behalf of our donor corporations as a way to demonstrate their support of our brave men and women serving our country.

Read how the program works here. If you'd like to donate either computers or funds to help this great effort, check out the options on the Donate page.

H/T to Blackfive.

Milblogs Silent Today

2009-12-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

Army Master Sgt. C. J. Grisham has always led from the front, from combat that earned him the Bronze Star with V device, to doing right by the men he led. His honesty won him readership and respect, from the White House on down. Yet, when he stood up for his children in school, his command did not stand by him. You can read more at Military Times to get the full story.

Please donate via PayPal; or you can log into PayPal on your own, go to the send money page, and put in his email:

dj_chcknhawk -at- yahoo -dot- com

Or, you can send donations directly to:

Grisham Legal Fund
c/o Redstone Federal Credit Union
220 Wynn Drive
Huntsville, AL 35893
Please write "Grisham Legal Fund" in the memo line if you use this option.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to you. Today, many milblogs are gone and others are under attack from within and without. Today, you have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it. Make your voice heard by writing your congressional representatives and others, and by making donations as you see fit.

The battle for freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas is fought on many fronts and in many ways. Without your help, the battle may well be lost.

The Ballad of Captain Z

2009-10-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Combine the ballad from Jeff Bader with the memories and thoughts of Code Monkey, and you get this great video at Chuck Z's place. It's all done for Project Valour-IT, and it captures the reasons and emotions perfectly. Well done, Code Monkey!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Support Project Valour-IT

2009-10-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

The milblogs are once again raising funds in support of Soldiers' Angels : Project Valour-IT.

Project Valour-IT helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Items supplied include:

•Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

•Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

•Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The project starts Oct. 26th, and continues through Veteran's Day. As in previous years, we are using a little healthy inter-service rivalry to help keep our competitive spirit high. I have joined the Army team, led by Blackfive - which happens to one of the first milblogs I started reading.

Jump right in, donate, and help spread the word. Show our wounded troops how much you care, and help them to enjoy things we take for granted each day. Just click on the widget there in the right-hand column - it's easy!

Check back daily, as there will be an auction with very special items, and other unique options on occasion!

Patriot Golf Day / Weekend is coming up!

2009-09-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Planning to golf this weekend? If so, then you can add a few extra dollars to those greens fees to help the Folds of Honor foundation provide scholarships for the children and spouses of fallen and wounded service members. Thanks to Veteran Dan Rooney, the Patriot Golf Day program was created to allow golfers to donate easily to the program. Dan's original vision was a single designated day, but the program has been expanded to cover the whole Labor Day weekend.

It's simple to take part. Locate a participating golf course using the search tool, then make your tee-time. When you show up to play, add your desired donation to the golfing fees, and the course will take care of forwarding it to the Folds of Honor foundation.

By the way - If your favorite course is not listed in the tool, then call the course and check with them directly. Some courses may not have opted to be listed on the search site, or may not have been added to the list.

The Hubster and I plan to hit two different courses. I know, it's a tough job ... but somebody has to do it!

I'm good

2009-08-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

And that's only a smidge from great, in fact. I figured that when Eric showed up here to check up on me (see comment here), it was time I posted something as proof of life. (Thanks, Eric!)

I just haven't had the blogging bug lately, but life is good, and while some things change, others remain. Like family and friends. Good times were had on vacation with the Hubster, little sister, and 5 of her girlfriends. We descended on Whistler to play golf (sometimes in the Pacific Northwest version of liquid sunshine), eat, drink, and enjoy one another's company -- all very good.

Honoring their memories

2009-05-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today is about remembering our troops who have fallen in battle, men and women like Sgt. Adam Cann, 1st Lt. Laura M. Walker, Sgt. Robert G. Davis,
Pfc. Devon Gibbons. Remember their lives and honor their sacrifice.

John of Argghhh remembers.

Adopt a Hero

2009-05-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chuck for the reminder that this is National Miliary Appreciation Month. And the best way to show your appreciation for the military is to adopt one of our deployed troops. Go to Soldiers' Angels now to adopt one of the waiting Heroes.

There are hundreds of deployed men and women who need, now more than ever, to know their sacrifice and separation from their family and friends is appreciated. To quote Chuck:

To Adopt-A-Hero go to the website www.SoldiersAngels.org and click on the ADOPT button. Your commitment each month is simply a letter a week and a small package each month. Join our team. Our nation's heroes need you.

(Up)Grading Afghanistan

2009-02-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

As in creating roads, one of the suggestions of this open letter from AfghanistanShrugged, a training team leader with boots on the ground. He makes some very good points about how the lack of infrastructure keeps the power in the tribes.

Go read the whole thing. H/T to a tweet from JP.

Pledge allegiance to the Flag, not the man

2009-01-29T16:45:00.001-08:00

The Pledge of Allegiance is an 'oath of loyalty to the U.S. flag and the nation it represents.' Over the years, there has been controversy about the inclusion of the words "under God", and I understand that there are schools where it is not recited at the start of the day, as it was every day of my public school experience. But when the pledge is spoken, it is directed to the flag, as our symbol of the country and the Constitution it is built on.

Changing the focus from the flag, and the country behind it, to any person, is wrong. I don't care if that person is the President.

This isn't an oath of allegiance, but indoctrination – maybe hero worship. If I were a parent whose child attended a school such as this, the principal and school board would be hearing from me.

Double Tagged

2009-01-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

Both 1SG Keith and BillT decided to ~~maim~~ meme me. I think they conspired against me, trying to drag me back into my own blog. We'll see about that!

So the rulez are thus...

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

My six things...

1. As discussed at the Castle, I don't have any kind of cuckoo clock, or anything with chimes, bells, etc. in my house. I can't stand noisy clocks or other noise disturbing my sleep!

2. Like Keith, I hang all of my shirts, sweaters, etc. so that they face in the same direction. Being right handed, I want to grab the hanger and see the front of the item, not the back.

3. At meals I like to take a bit of each item on my plate in each bite - something about balance and symmetry. Unless there's something I really want to cherish, then I save it for last :-)

4. When I travel, I always want to pack my suitcase the night before I am to check out and return home. Doesn't matter how late it is.

5. I love mixing cold cereal together, and keep anywhere from 3 to 8 boxes of cereal open between my own choices and the Hubster's.

6. I love Starbucks, and it's definitely for the coffee. I even buy espresso packs so I can make my favorite mochas when we're at home. Which is funny, since I didn't learn to drink the stuff until I was 25. Before that I drank Mountain Dew in the morning for caffeine.

And the six random bloggers I am tagging are ...
Sarah
Jill Army
Sean
ArmyWifeToddlerMom
Aaron
Huntress

Celebrating Real Americans

2009-01-07T12:25:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Max for the heads-up on this one ...

"On call 24 hours a day, for the past five years, a group of senior citizens have made history by greeting almost 700,000 American troops at a tiny airport in Maine. The Way We Get By is a raw and intimate look at three of these troop greeters as they confront their own health problems, depression, financial debt, and the loss of meaning in their lives. Facing issues common to the nation’s ever-growing population of seniors, Bill Knight, Joan Gaudet, and Jerry Mundy find the strength to overcome their personal battles and transform their lives. This inspirational story will shatter the stereotypes of senior citizens today. Growing old will never be the same."

*Update*
For screening information, check the official web site.

Take a look at the trailer ...

If you are interested in a local screening, be sure to visit their site and provide your locale to let the film makers know. And follow either the Facebook group or the Blog to catch the news.

Kudos to Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly and Dan Ferrigan for creating a story about these real Americans and their devotion to our military men and women!

Why donate to Valour-IT?

2008-11-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to see that the teams are mixing it up well - with Fuzzybear Lioness hijacking the Castle to post for the Marine team. (Run, Fuzzy, Run!) Still, the Army team is currently holding a decent lead in the inter-service rivalry.

Go Army! Beat Navy!!!

Fun aside, there are many reasons to support Project Valour-IT. When it was created, the concept was simple - provide a laptop and voice-activated software to allow wounded servicemembers to communicate with their loved ones. To give them a means of interaction that didn't require someone else at the controls, and to give them a tool for further independence.

If you need help understanding how much it means to have this, be sure to try Chuck's visualization exercise. Go ahead and come back, I'll wait.
...
So, did you cheat? Now, imagine that you *couldn't* cheat. Because your arms are too hurt and encased in bandages, or maybe one or both are gone. Imagine how you would stay in touch with your buddies back in the sandbox, or with your family and friends back home.

Over the past three years more than 2700 laptops have been distributed, to men and women like Lieutenant Colonel X :

I don't know where to start. I was thrilled and truly appreciative of the laptop donation that Soldiers Angels sent. My neurology team is ecstatic with the progress that I have made, yet we all temper our excitement as I still have a long recovery ahead. Due to the great hearts (sponsors, donors, volunteers and others too numerous to mention) within Soldiers Angels I have become more mobile in my rehabilitation and the laptop is absolutely one of the tools that I have in my recovery toolbox. I use it to keep current on my schedule and have several applications that assist with recovery.

I know that my recovery has been aided by the cards, letters, and notes sent by your Angels. I love to read them and have started to send Thank You's to many of them. I just want you and everyone to know that your organization is a Godsend to Soldiers. Please send this note of Thanks to the appropriate personnel, and if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.

God Bless You and God Bless America.

Lieutenant Colonel X

Amen to that, sir.

Each year the project has improved, and this year, new technologies have been added for even more impact. One big change is the partnership between Project Valour-IT and the CAP program of the DoD :

Originally Valour-IT provided the voice-controlled software that accompanies the laptops, but now works closely with the Department of Defense Computer/electronic Accommodations Program (CAP): CAP supplies the adaptive software and Valour-IT provides the laptop. In addition, DoD caseworkers serve as Valour-IT’s “eyes and ears” at several medical centers, identifying patients in need of laptops and other technological support for their recovery.

The program is great, but ... there isn't enough money to meet the needs. As Chuck explains, they need our help. Give up some lattes or mochas, and go pop a few dollars in the pot to keep this program going strong. Help to ensure that all of our injured troops who can benefit from this program get hooked up - with the technology that will help them recover and stay connected to the world around them.

Oh - and make sure you donate right here!

Veteran's Day and a Call to Action

2008-11-11T11:33:00.001-08:00

Today is set aside to honor our Veterans, those men and women who have served, and those who are serving, offering their lives in defense of the United States of America. It's really something we should do every day - take a minute to thank the Vets around you for their service, send cards / letters through Soldiers' Angels, AnySoldier or Books for Soldiers, stop at a VA facility and brighten someone's day -- whatever way works for you. But at least, take the time today to seek out and thank as many Veterans as you can.

Thanks to John and SWWBO, Bill, Dusty, Sgt B, Keith, Heartless Libertarian, ChuckZ, Neptunus Lex, Doc in the Box, Maj Pain and America's Son. Thank you to the whole gang at Blackfive, Greyhawk, Michael Yon, Army Girl, Allie, Joel, MacGyver, and so many others I have met through blogging. And thank you to Max (both of you!), Wendell, Sneddy, Rob, and countless more who I've met over the years.

Thank You - You guys and gals ROCK!

Today is also the perfect day to launch this year's Project Valour-IT event. That's right, it's time to use a little of that inter-service rivalry for a great cause ... the 2008 Valour-IT fundraiser!

Project Valour-IT
(formerly Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops)

In memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss

It was the first time I felt whole since I’d woken up wounded in Landstuhl.
–Major Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, on using a voice-controlled laptop

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

•Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

•Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions.

•Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery

.

As a Denizen of Argghhh!, I am joining the Army team ...

Check back for updates! Meanwhile - go read more at the Soldiers Angels site. And then donate to the ARMY team!

Sgt B is boots-on-the-ground

2008-11-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

I was so wrapped up in election angst that I missed Sgt B posting! He is now boots-on-the-ground in Iraq, and has recognized he isn't in Kansas (or eastern Washington) any more. Godzilla's fangs are exposed ... hoping for quiet, but ready for the alternative.

I'm pretty sure I speak for the Denizennes when I say, we fervently hope it's a boring rotation. With Sgt B and Bill both lounging in Iraq, quiet and boring would suit us just fine!

Speaking of Bill - his latest edition of Argghhh-onauts is up. Keep 'em coming, Bill!

It's funny, until it's not

2008-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

While I haven't blogged much about politics, or anything else, this fall - I am sure I won't surprise anyone by saying that I support the McCain/Palin ticket. I was extremely happy with the selection of Gov. Palin, and I like the lady's style, wit and brains.

So it's no shock that I got a big chuckle out of this Youtube video portraying the Obamunist being mocked by the world's dictators. It's low humor, but funny.

But the following video wasn't made to be funny, although it made me laugh as I watched it.

I laughed at the idea that anyone seriously wants to vote for a man who couldn't even bring himself to show up on time for his committee meetings ... before he started his public campaign for the Democratic nomination. His constant apologies for his tardiness and absence during testimony, which he then (apparently) intends to comment on, would be disappointing in a high school senior.

In a U.S. Senator it is highly unprofessional.

From a man who thinks he deserves to be President, it is unforgiveable.

This isn't the biggest reason *not* to vote for Obama, with his views on ~~raising our taxes~~ redistributing our wealth, and relieving us of our guns. But if you know anyone who really intends to vote for Obama/Biden, make sure they watch both videos, won't you?

Recent activities

2008-10-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

Much has happened in the last few weeks, and many miles have been traveled. A few weeks ago, I hopped on an airplane with BCR and headed for Last Vegas and the MilBlogging conference. One of the best things about that weekend was getting to meet so many of my imaginary friends, and to hang out with others once again.

In addition to the list below, I was tickled to chat with Francis Marion of Where I Stand again (our previous meet-up was documented here). And I shared tears and hugs with Sarah of Trying to Grok, in remembrance of Mike Reed, AKA Bunker Mulligan, who we lost in 2005. The fact that two people who were meeting in person for the first time could cry over the loss of someone neither had met in person is just one of the aspects of the blogging world that non-bloggers can't really grasp.

Last weekend, I took advantage of a business trip to spend a day at Castle Argghhh, home of the Armorer of Argghhh and She Who Will Be Obeyed. I arrived late Saturday night to find a crowd in the kitchen - Bloodspite of Techography, Wendy of Girl on the Right, and Kat of The Middle Ground and Castle Argghhh were already enjoying life mightily, and we all visited into the night/morning.

Among the benefits of a day at the Castle is the opportunity to throw some lead downrange with John, and several interesting and fine firearms were offered for testing. John captured the visual evidence, and provides context here and here.

I'm traveling again this weekend, headed farther yet away from my PNW anchor. More later!

Milblog Party - Success

2008-09-20T08:37:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Matt of Blackfive, and the wonderful folks at the Penthouse club, the milbloggers party was great fun. I had lots of fun meeting old friends for the first time, and putting faces and 'real names' together with blog / commenter names. The club provided a room just for our crowd, complete with dancing poles (more on that later) and an open bar staffed by comely young ladies.

Matt started the night off properly, with a toast to Absent Companions, then encouraged us all to enjoy the party, which order was taken to heart. Bad Cat Robot and I greeted our fellow Denizens - John, SWWBO, AFSister, Maggie, FbL - and tracking down Homefront Six to introduce ourselves for the first time. Then it was off around the room to visit with new/old friends.

One of the people I made sure to track down was blog-brother That 1 Guy. After nearly 4 years of blogging, it was nice to put a face to the guy! Along with the people who have kept me informed and amused over the years, like Matt, Froggy, Laughing Wolf and Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive, Greyhawk (but still waiting to meet Mrs. G), NZ Bear of TTLB, ChuckZ, American Soldier, Sean Dustman of Doc In The Box, and Andi of SpouseBuzz - and many more. I obviously have to do some work on the "Bloggers I have met" section of the sidebar!

Of course, as HF6 says, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But she is keeping track of the evidence. I won't say what happens next after that little series of pictures, but let's just say that there will be ~~blackmail~~ Fund-raising opportunities to come. Stay tuned!

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

I remember arriving at work around 7am (pacific time) as usual on this day in 2001, not having listened to the radio on the drive. As always, I sat at my computer and scanned email, and ran through the morning ritual of checking on customer cases for our support team.

I don't remember the time, but it wasn't long until my cube neighbor said "The World Trade Center in New York is burning", as he was checking the news feeds on his computer. Then he said "One of the towers is gone!". We thought that impossible to imagine, and the picture on his screen was too small to see well. Then we moved to the conference room, and on the TV feed we could clearly see he was right - there was only one tower left, and the images of the dust cloud across Manhattan.

We stood numbly watching, comforting one another, and many cried as the second tower collapsed. Throughout the day the horror overload continued, and we realized there were virtually no support calls - because the country was doing the same thing we were.

I haven't forgotten, and this song remains one of my favorites.

Others who are remembering today ...

Bill
John
Kat
Dusty
Lex
FbL

Also, it's interesting to note which of the popular internet search sites are remembering the day. Pictures at the Castle.

A Veteran's Reasons

2008-09-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is an eloquent and well-spoken reason for voting for John McCain this fall.

Dear Mr. Obama

From Warrior25, who I Thank for his service in Vietnam and for fathering this fine young man. H/T to BillT of Castle Argghhh!

Going to Vegas

2008-08-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

It's a sure thing - BCR and I are heading down to Vegas in September for the MilBlog Conference portion of the BlogWorld Expo.

I'm looking forward to some very interesting panels and lively discussion, and generally to meeting up with many blog friends - many of them for the first time.

Click the banner at the top of the right hand sidebar to read more about the Conference. If you want info on registering as a Milblog / supporter ... Greyhawk has the details here. Hope to see you there!

RNC highlights Obama's energy plan

2008-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Pretty creative tactic ... I like it!

RNC Delivers Tire Gauges to Obama Press Corps
by Bonney Kapp

When the Obama press corps arrived at the Elkhart, Indiana, Jameson Inn where the campaign is staying tonight, Obama staffers were on hand to distribute room keys - and a small white envelope from the RNC.

That’s right, the Republican National Committee.

Inside the envelope addressed to individual members of Obama’s regular traveling press, was a small tire gauge labeled “Obama’s Energy Plan” along the side, and a note that joyously read, “Happy Birthday, Barack Obama!”

The RNC along with the McCain campaign seized upon Obama’s advice to a voter last week to properly inflate her tires to increase fuel efficiency, and have managed to create a sideshow to mock Obama’s “judgment” and “experience” when it comes to energy policy.

Today Obama helped continue the story line when he accused the Republicans of being “ignorant” on the issue. At his Ohio town hall this afternoon, Obama said, “They think it is funny that they are making fun of something that is actually true. They need to do their homework because this is serious business.”

The RNC doubled down on their humorous assault tonight with its “gift” to the press corps. “We hope you’ll enjoy this complimentary tool related to Barack Obama’s energy plan - your very own tire gauge. Because, instead of actually increasing America’s domestic oil supply, this is how Obama thinks you should try to alleviate your pain at the pump,” the note read.

Web-a-Thon for the troops!

2008-06-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

Here it is, folks. A chance to show how much we care about our troops, but joining in to donate to this historic fund-raising event!

May 26, 2008— A team of patriotic leaders are working together in a historic undertaking with the goal of sending the largest single shipment of care packages to U.S. troops in American history. The care package drive will result in the shipment of not just 1,000 care packages—a feat accomplished by the Grand Ole Opry in October 2007 (Source Link). Organizers similarly won’t settle for just the 10,000 packages shipped as part of an impressive effort undertaken by the Nevada Girl Scouts (Source Link). And they plan to surpass the efforts of the terrific organization, Operation Gratitude, which undertook a multi-day effort to pack and ship 50,000 care packages last year (Source Link).

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization, has launched this historic drive to rally Americans to show our troops in Iraq & Afghanistan just how much support they have from the American people back home.

Milblog Conference registration is up!

2008-06-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am planning to get to the conference this year, and I am jazzed to catch up with fellow Denizens of Argghhh, and meet some of the milbloggers who have informed and amused me for the past four years!

Registration for the MilBlog Community Track
June 24, 2008 • Andi

The MilBlog Registration Package includes admittance into the full MilBlog Conference Track (all panels) and the exhibit hall. This package will be free of charge for milblog attendees. The BWE staff is extending the MilBlog Registration Package to milbloggers, milblog supporters, members of the military community or those who work in the troop support, non-profit community, but you must plan to attend the MilBlog Community Track in order to take advantage of this offering. We'd like to thank BWE for putting this package together for our attendees. If you want to register for additional events at Blog World Expo, you'll need to pay the associated costs.

To Register:

BWE will assign individual registration codes for MilBlog Track Attendees. Attendees (excluding panelists, speakers or moderators) will receive a registration code and should send an email with "Request Code" in the subject line. You need to meet the criteria laid out above to receive a code. Once your request has been received and a registration code assigned, you'll receive your registration code via email, and you can proceed with registration. If you're bringing a spouse, significant other, etc. you will need to request two codes. Each code is unique and can only be used once. You cannot share your code with someone else. Please request a code only if you plan to attend the MilBlog Track. All other registrations will need to be submitted through the BWE registration page.

If you're requesting a code, but but plan to attend another event (party, workshop, etc.) in addition to the MilBlog Track, after you receive your registration code, you'll need to send an email to Kathy at BWE, tell her you are attending the milblog track and want to pay to attend another portion of the Expo and she will take care of your request.

It may take a couple of days or so for you receive your code. Please don't send follow-up email or worry about it unless it's been more than seven days and you've received no response.

If you're a panelist, speaker or moderator, you will register as a speaker and will not need a registration code. Information on how to register will be emailed soon to all speakers.

A little humor

2008-05-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

Got this in email today. There's something here to irritate pretty much everybody.
Enjoy...

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD??

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on h is 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL:
Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth?' That's why they ca ll it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% .... reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

Belated Birthday fun

2008-05-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

A belated Washington chapter meeting of Denizennes was held at the local shootin' range Tuesday night. Bad Cat Robot provided a customized birthday gift, so that I could practice shooting at dangerous predators! Sadly, not all my shots were kill shots, but I think it's safe to say that This predator won't be hurting anyone soon ... heh!

Good Question

2008-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Favorite helicopter pilot and Castle Denizen, BillT, shares a good story from Iraq. If anyone can answer Hussan's question, I want to know the response.

Sgt B has been Busy!

2008-03-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

Blog brother Sgt B of The Gun Line has obviously been kicked by his muse. He had left his series on preparation for deployment hanging at Chapter 2: Movement to Training, but he has not neglected his writing, and just needed to kick the blog demons into submission. Today he adds many new chapters in the series - you owe it to yourself to visit and catch up on your reading!

My family has grown!

2008-01-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

The new entry in my sidebar is my BlogSon Sned, who just started his blog yesterday. Please go visit and welcome him to the blogosphere!

Welcome, Sned!!

No Real Surprise

2008-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

My favorite Republican candidate of the field, and the best Conservative, in my opinion, is no longer in the race. Fred Thompson has announced his withdrawal from the race for the oval office. I could see the writing on the wall, especially after South Carolina, so I wasn't surprised to see the actual notice. But still, I'm bummed.

So I reviewed the remaining candidates and concluded that I have to line up along with my friend Francis Marion, and throw my support to Mitt Romney. He's had some experience at turning this around, and has been an Executive in both the public and private sectors, and with the Congress we have now, he's going to need all of it.

If any of you who have been Fred supporters are aiming in another direction, I would love to hear Who and Why. There's still a lot of Primary / Caucus activity to happen yet, and things are still up in the air.

Li'l bits

2008-01-15T00:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know posting has been ~~light~~ almost non-existent around here for a while. Deal with it. But I have been trying to keep up on reading, and in finding interesting things, I decided to share.

My friend Atheist Crusader has some comments regarding Congress and the Religion of Pieces.

In the H&I post yesterday at Castle Argghhh, FbL pointed out an important note from Soldiers' Angels. To wit: No Slump for our Troops.

"Soldiers' Angels commit to sending support to our troops all year long, not just at the holidays, or around certain patriotic holidays. Troop rotations mean we have a lot of new troops signing up with us, but the slump means we don't have as many people signing up to adopt them.

If you are currently an angel, can you adopt another? If you have never adopted, why don't you give it a try? If you are a blogger, can you help spread the word? Our troops deserve our support, and we don't want to keep them waiting."

Spread the word, and take up the challenge.
If you want alternatives, go check out AnySoldier or any of the other support organizations I have listed at the right.

Nice Tribute

2008-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Sgt Hook points to a wonderful site which honors all who are serving and who have served ... Soldier Wall.

Visitors can add their own photos and highlights, and there is even a search function to see if your servicemember has been posted.

I've added a few good people, and as soon as I scrounge up some more images, I'll be adding others. Go check it out.

Pretty close

2008-01-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

Since the political season is heavy upon us, I snagged this quiz on political likeness from Uncle Jimbo over at Blackfive ... the results are not bad. Except for the fact that the outdated info still has Tancredo in it, it pretty much nailed my top choices.

83% Fred Thompson
81% Mitt Romney
80% Tom Tancredo
74% John McCain
64% Mike Huckabee
60% Rudy Giuliani
52% Ron Paul
30% Bill Richardson
30% John Edwards
29% Hillary Clinton
28% Joe Biden
24% Barack Obama
23% Chris Dodd
20% Mike Gravel
13% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I'm a little concerned about the 13% congruency with Kucinich, though ... I might need an intervention!

What he said

2007-12-28T22:25:00.001-08:00

Having just exercised my 2nd Amendment rights only yesterday, in the cheery company of fellow denizenne Bad Cat Robot, I found myself nodding in agreement with Lex.

"Just remember that when it comes to protecting your individual right to life - the most profound right, upon which all others depend - the constabulary can only obliquely contribute. They are not designed to prevent your murder, only to punish it. When the bad man comes, and seconds count, they will be only minutes away."

As always ... go read the rest.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

Wherever you are, be safe and take care of each other. My thoughts today are especially with the ones in harm's way or preparing to head there - Allie, Sgt B, Jason, Sgt Hook, Sean and many others.

Make sure to catch John's Christmas round the world, and read Bill's reminder of why good people don uniforms and go where they go. And Thank Goodness that they do!

Merry Christmas, All!!

Travel memories

2007-11-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

I was catching up on the travel adventures of Kim and Connie du Toit, and found myself laughing out loud at the challenge of finding the way to their hotel in Vienna.

...But once in the city itself? Oy. The famous “Ringstrasse” is in fact a one-way (clockwise), and just because you can turn right easily into the Innestadt (inner city)—when it’s not a one-way out, that is—doesn’t mean you can get anywhere, because your street is likely to dead-end into a pedestrian walkway, or you’ll be forced into a T-junction with only a left- or right-hand turn (but never both). Getting lost, in an area half the size of Central Park, is easily done.

After an hour of frustration, we finally gave up, found a parking place (also no small feat), and walked the last four blocks to the hotel.

When we showed the receptionist a map of where we’d parked, and asked her to help us get our car to the hotel, she replied (and this is the quote of the trip so far): “I know exactly where your car is; I just don’t know how you got it there.” Pause. ”Or how to get it out.” ...

I could completely sympathize, as it was awfully similar to my own experience a few years ago.

When I wrote about the long day's drive from Venice, Italy to Zurich, Switzerland (by way of Schloss Neuschwanstein), there were some missing details. My brief description then :
Unfortunately, we had to wait 90 minutes until the next available tour. It was definitely worth it - but it made for a LONG day, as we didn't get into Zurich until about 9, and then couldn't find our hotel!

The REST of the story, as they say, is much funnier.

You see, I had a laptop with me for that vacation, on which I installed 'Auto Route'. That's the European version of Streets and Trips, and with it I had mapped all of our inter-city driving routes, from Geneva to Lausanne to Florence, then on to Venice, and the big final day of driving from Venice to Zurich. We were staying one last night there, as our international flight home was early the next morning.

That mammoth drive was actually a lot of fun. At one point, in the southern Germany countryside, we were weaving our way through small villages in an attempt to catch a highway and make speed into Zurich. My head would bob up to catch a marker or mile post, and then I'd try to correlate to the map on the screen, and warn of turns and roads to watch for. At one point I told the Hubster that we would pass through a village and then turn. As we pulled into the village, he said "Are you sure? Because the whole line of cars behind us ... turned left half a mile back."
Huh.
Sure enough - technology hadn't quite caught up to the roads, and the locals had taken a turn I didn't even show on the map. So we wheeled around, caught up with the gang, and found the highway. Until it ended 10 miles later. Oh, well.

But the topper of the evening was arriving (at 9pm, well after dark in September) in Zurich. The roads didn't look quite like the turns that the computer told me would lead to the hotel, which I had found in the resident database of the program. As we turned off the route a few blocks too early, and tried in vain to re-sync ourselves with the map, the conversation went something like this...

Me: What's the cross street?

Hubster: Most of these streets don't seen to have signs!

Me: Well, here's a major street - is there a sign?

Hubster: It says 'B-something-Strasse'.

Me: Oh, Hell! They're ALL 'B-something-Strasse'!!!

And so on. For an hour. We drove around getting more lost, and the only saving grace was (A) there is a river, which kind of sets some nice boundaries, and (B) we found the train station. Finally, we struggled up some streets which didn't really look promising, to the address that we had been seeking.

Except we were in the wrong place. Because that database of hotels? Was out of date - and the place we found wasn't the place we wanted. *sigh*

But the good news is that the nice people there knew how to find the right place. It was 5 minutes away, and we finally found it.

It was 10pm at this point, and we were starving, having been driving like maniacs for nearly 5 hours. Bless the management - the restaurant was still open! Wheeee! I don't think the Hubster will ever let me live down my little episode with the laptop map.

By the way - we're headed to Vienna next spring. I'll be reading the rest of the adventures of Connie and Kim very closely !! But I'll still be taking a laptop, with maps on it ... I'm not curable.

Great news for Soldiers' Angels

2007-11-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

The final tally is in for the Project Valour-IT Fundraiser, and Team Army led the pack this year. Now if the Army football team can only carry that success onto the field this weekend ... heh!

This year's fundraising competition raised
$192,193.02
for the Valour-IT project of Soldiers' Angels, and that's a reason to Celebrate! That translates to over 300 laptops for our wounded troops, and it's something to be very proud of.

I noticed another great item while reading Something to be Very Thankful For at Chuck's place. Commenter H. L. DeVore noted something special that his company has done for Soldiers' Angels...

... You gave me a brief demo of a voice activated laptop. I didn't appreciate appropriately at the time meeting you. I do now. Hope to meet again in person some day. I've donated 280,000 holiday cards to Patti and Soldiers' Angels, however even more meaningful to me and my company are the three laptops that we are presenting to soldiers at our offices on this coming Friday (Nov. 30th). [emphasis added]

You can read more about the card donation at The Gallery Collection company's Greeting Card Blog, and check out the very nice line of patriotic holiday cards on their web site.

Thank You to Mr. DeVore and all of the folks at The Gallery Collection for supporting Soldiers' Angels and our troops!!!

Send Thanks to the Troops!

2007-11-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

How do you plan to give Thanks this year? Here's an easy way to have a direct impact on the morale of our troops...

THE ASY GIVING THANKS CAMPAIGN
This holiday season, America Supports You is giving you a new way to send your thanks to the troops - by text message! When you send your message of thanks to 89279 (TXASY) between November 17th and 22nd, you'll receive a special thanks in return. Also, we'll be displaying those messages on our ASY Giving Thanks widget far and wide across the internet. Just another way that you can support our brave military men and women serving in 177 countries across the world.

Since Blogger hates embedding certain objects in posts, I've propped the widget into the top of the sidebar for easy access. Hop to it, folks! Thanks to my buddy Val for the hat tip.

Valour-IT ... Go Army!

2007-11-05T20:45:00.001-08:00

Well, the competition for bragging rights among the services teams is fun to watch. But we have our work cut out for us ... even the Army team is barely a quarter of the way to our goal of $60,000!

It's time to pull out the stops and spread the word ... take the Gollum 'Three Friends' Challenge: You get three friends/relatives/passing acquaintances to donate, and they get three folks to donate, and so one.

Spread the word! Share the Donation link with your friends and family!

Make sure you check out the Valour-IT auction site, there are plenty of interesting items to bid on. For instance:

A beautiful "Gone, But Not Forgotten" quilt
A signed, original caricature from John Cox
Even a Pentagon Challenge Coin from the former CJCoS

Check out the message from Patti Patton-Bader at Chuck's place. And be sure to see what Badger 6 offers to those who donate. But whatever you do, don't go to Lex's place ... think of the kittens!

Lefty bloggers have donated (including fellow Denizen Trias), righty bloggers have donated, folks who don't care about politics have donated.

Remember the most important part ... this isn't about supporting the war, global warming, or the next elections. It's about helping the men and women who have given of themselves, and been wounded. It's about taking their quality of life up a notch, and keeping them in touch with their loved ones and friends. It's about giving something back to the people who have put their lives on the line for us.

It's easy - just click on the Donation button in the graphic at the upper right of the page, and pop $10, $25, $100 into the pot. And if you're a blogger, join a team and spread the word!

Don't forget to read what the troops themselves have said about the impact of receiving their laptops, at blogs like Sgt Hook and Blackfive (Army team leader). Or read about JR Salzman at Fuzzilicious Thinking, and see what JR is up to these days.

Valour-IT notes

2007-10-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Valour-IT fund raising competition is well under way! ~~However, my widget in the sidebar is not keeping track, and I will replace it as soon as I can.~~

*UPDATE* Widget Replaced! Total is now correct and tracking. The donations entered through the first widget were accepted and properly assigned to the teams, but the numbers were not updating. Thanks to all who have contributed!

The current totals (at 8am pacific time) stand at:

ARMY: $5,190
Marine Corps: $5,137
Navy/CSG: $2,350
Air Force: $3,118

Total: $15,795

What Fundraiser? Read the post below for all the fun details.

Spread the word! We have a ways to go to reach our $240,000 goal!!

Go Army! Beat Navy!

2007-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's time to focus some attention on Project Valour-IT, as we approach Veterans Day. For anyone not already familiar with the program, here is the blurb from the Project Valour-IT web site:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field. The experience of MAJ Charles “Chuck” Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops can be to a wounded service member's recovery.

As in previous years, the fund-raising efforts are set up as a team competition, to add a little fun, and allow for some serious inter-service snarkage.

Who: Bloggers of any and all stripes who support the U.S. Military
What: Raising $240,000 ($60,000/team) for Project Valour-IT, the non-profit Soldiers' Angels program that helps supply voice-controlled and other adapted laptops to severely-wounded troops.
Where: Starting on the blogs, then spreading through your community and into major media
When: Monday, 29 October through Saturday, 11 November (Veterans Day)
Why: Because reconnecting the wounded with the world is a vital part of their recovery
How: Signing up for your favorite military branch, blogging, auctioning, emailing, and spreading the news

Here are the Team Leaders:

Blackfive - Army
Chaotic Synaptic Activity - Navy/Coast Guard
Mudville Gazette - Air Force
SA Holly Aho - Marine Corps

I'm a proud member of the ARMY team - as you can tell by the donation block at the top of the right hand sidebar. Please spread the word, send email, tell your friends, and consider a donation - no matter how small.

It all adds up, and the impact is huge.

SpouseBUZZ 3 Live announcement

2007-10-03T20:40:00.001-07:00

Greetings all - I just wanted to pass along the Buzz! Carren Ziegenfuss asked for help spreading the word on the news that SpouseBUZZ Live 3 is a Go.

The SpouseBUZZ team is super excited about taking our next LIVE event to Fayetteville, North Carolina, home to Ft. Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. If you've never attended one of these events, you are in for a real treat.

I understand from the spouses who've attended the previous SpouseBUZZ Live events that they are the place to be. Here's more from Andi...

We have some wonderful surprises in store for you at SpouseBUZZ LIVE Ft. Bragg/Pope. Each of our LIVE events have been amazing, and this one will be no exception.

Please plan to attend. The SpouseBUZZ team wants to meet you. Tell your friends about SpouseBUZZ LIVE Ft. Bragg/Pope. Make it a girls weekend, or a girls day out. Are you a male spouse? We would love to have you. As much as Toad enjoys hanging out with all the ladies, I'm sure he would be thrilled to see a few male spouses in the audience, and so would we. Come relax, laugh, cry and bond with hundreds of other military spouses. Listen to great conversations, meet interesting people, make new friends, load yourself down with free stuff and walk away stimulated and energized. Hey, we need each other - especially now.

We want to extend a very special thank you to Military.com, the premiere sponsor for this event. Military.com has been incredibly supportive of all things SpouseBUZZ, and we are grateful for their deep commitment to the military spouse community.

So go here to read more about it, and go here to register. And if you aren't already reading SpouseBUZZ, add it to your list now!

Sgt Hook is back...

2007-10-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

I was happy to see his blog light up again today ... And he's got boots on the ground. Glad to see you again, Sgt Hook - Welcome back!

First Amendment and deployed soldiers

2007-09-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Flying Shepherd reviews the meaning of religious freedom in a deployed military unit - for those who defend our rights, there are always limitations. But the point here is that you have to defend everyone's religious freedom, not just those who worship as you do.

One of the issues that took up quite a bit of time lately was something that pops up in every Chaplain course and is typically part of any conversation I have with a civilian Christian about the Chaplaincy: The First Amendment. I phrase it that way, because that is the proper frame for what I had to do. I spent over 40 hours of work defending Wicca to my supervisors, and defending my supervisors to Wicca.

Read the rest here.

Cross posted at Castle Argghhh!

Freedom Walk 2007

2007-09-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

The local chapter of Operation Homefront organized the regional Freedom Walk event in Lakewood this evening. For those not familiar with the area, Lakewood is a community near Fort Lewis and McChord AFB, and home to a large contingent of veterans (such as fellow blogger Echo9er) and military families.

There were several speeches and presentations, by Lakewood mayor Claudia Thomas and Operation Homefront chapter president Janice Buckley. I also enjoyed listening to LTG Charles Jacoby, the commander of I-Corps, and to Lt. Judith Lemley (a self described Sand Sailor), who was present through the DoD 'Why We Serve" program. And I was surprised to discover that the man sitting in a wheelchair near the speakers was none other than Gen. Shalikashvili!

I was riveted, however, by the speech presented by retired Marine LtCol. Mark Wriggle. As the speakers finished, and the walk proper began, I hung back so that I could shake Mark's hand and thank him for speaking. I asked him for a favor, and he very generously provided the text of his speech, so that I could share it here.

FREEDOM WALK 2007

TODAY MARKS THE 6TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK OF SEPT 11TH 2001. I SUSPECT THAT ALL OF US REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE AND WHAT WE WERE DOING THOSE FATEFUL MOMENTS WHEN SOME 3000 PEOPLE PERISHED BY HORRIFIC AND UNIMAGINABLE MEANS IN BARELY 100 MINUTES OF THIS NATION’S HISTORY.

HOMEGROWN HERE IN LAKEWOOD, HAVING RECEIVED MY PRIMARY EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS OF THIS DISTRICT THROUGH MY GRADUATION IN 1974, I AM HONORED TO BE AFFORDED THIS OPPORTUNITY JANICE TO TALK WITH MY FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF ABSENCE. AND REALLY, THE REASON FOR MY ABSENCE BROUGHT ME TO THIS PLACE TODAY.

YOU SEE, I AM A RETIRED MARINE WHO HAS INTIMATE EXPERIENCE IN FIGHTING THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR. I CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST TO YOU, WITH TWO COMBAT DEPLOYMENTS TO OIF’S I AND II, HAVING BEEN IN RAMADI AND FALLUJAH JUST PRIOR TO MY RETIREMENT EARLY LAST YEAR, AND A DEPLOYMENT TO DESERT SHIELD AND STORM IN THE EARLY 90’S, THAT THE FACE,…AND RESOLVE [MIND YOU]…OF OUR FOE, IS QUITE REAL. IF THAT MAKES YOU FEEL A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE, THEN I HAVE DONE MY BIDDING.

PRIOR TO MY SPEECH LAST YEAR, I RESEARCHED THE WEB. AS I WAS PERUSING THAT SPEECH IN PREPARATION FOR TODAY, I DECIDED THAT THE FACTS I PRESENTED THEN ARE EVER MORESO RELEVANT TODAY. WE TRULY ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR OUR PRESENT (AND FUTURE) EXISTENCE.

SO, WHAT’S “THIS” ALL ABOUT? LET ME SHARE THE PURPOSE OF THE FREEDOM WALK WITH YOU; IT ESTABLISHES A NATIONAL TRADITION TO REFLECT ON THE LIVES LOST ON SEPTEMBER 11, RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM AND THE VALUES OF OUR COUNTRY, AND TO HONOR OUR VETERANS, PAST AND PRESENT.” THEREFORE, I OFFER YOU THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

THE WORLD TRADE CENTER WAS COMPOSED OF MORE THAN 200,000 TONS OF STEEL, 425,000 CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE (WHICH IS ENOUGH TO BUILD A FIVE-FOOT WIDE SIDEWALK FROM NEW YORK CITY TO WASHINGTON, D.C.), HAD 43,600 WINDOWS WITH MORE THAN 600,000 SQUARE FEET OF SURFACE AREA, HAD A 60,000 TON COOLING CAPACITY (THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD), 239 ELEVATORS AND 71 ESCALATORS. OF THE APPROXIMATELY 3,000 PEOPLE THAT DIED THAT DAY:
• OVER 400 EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL DIED
• 60 WTC COMPANIES LOST PEOPLE
• 1,402 EMPLOYEES DIED IN TOWER ONE
• 614 EMPLOYEES DIED IN TOWER TWO
• AGE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER WHO DIED: BETWEEN 35 AND 39
• 289 BODIES WERE FOUND "INTACT"
• 19,858 BODY PARTS WERE FOUND
• 1,717 FAMILIES DID NOT RECEIVE ANY REMAINS
• 1,609 PEOPLE LOST A SPOUSE OR PARTNER IN THE ATTACKS
• 3,051 CHILDREN LOST A PARENT
• 20% OF AMERICANS KNEW SOMEONE HURT OR KILLED IN THE ATTACKS
• 98 FDNY VEHICLES DESTROYED
• 1.5M TONS OF DEBRIS REMOVED FROM SITE
• 99 DAYS FIRES CONTINUED TO BURN AFTER THE ATTACK
• THERE WERE 146,100 JOBS LOST IN NEW YORK OWING TO THE ATTACKS
• DAYS THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE WAS CLOSED: 6
• POINT DROP IN THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE WHEN THE NYSE REOPENED: 684.81
• ECONOMIC LOSS TO NEW YORK IN MONTH FOLLOWING THE ATTACKS: $105B
• ESTIMATED COST OF CLEANUP WAS $600M
• $970M OF FEMA MONEY SPENT ON THE EMERGENCY
• APPROXIMATELY $1.4B WAS DONATED TO 9/11 CHARITIES
• ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF INSURANCE PAID WORLDWIDE RELATED TO 9/11: $40.2B
• ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF MONEY NEEDED TO OVERHAUL LOWER-MANHATTAN SUBWAYS: $7.5B
• ESTIMATED $500M RAISED FOR FUNDS DEDICATED TO NYPD AND FDNY FAMILIES
• PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN CIA APPLICATIONS FROM 2001 TO 2002: 50
• 1.4M AMERICANS CHANGED THEIR 2001 HOLIDAY-TRAVEL PLANS FROM PLANE TO TRAIN OR CAR

ARE WE AT WAR OR NOT? WHAT OTHER EVIDENCE DO YOU REQUIRE?

IN 1978, A YOUNG MAN HAD RECENTLY FINISHED HIS FIRST ENLISTMENT IN THE MARINES, AND ANOTHER MAN, SADDAM HUSSEIN HAD LED THE BAATH PARTY IN A COUP TO TAKE OVER IRAQ. WHILE IN COLLEGE, THE YOUNG MAN DECIDED TO FOLLOW HIS CALLING AND BECAME A MARINE OFFICER. SINCE HIS COMMISSIONING IN 1983, WELL OVER 150 SEPARATE TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND KNOWN SUBSIDIARIES, THE WORLD OVER, HAVE BEEN FOUND TO EXIST.

TERRORISM HAS EXISTED, IN FACT, MUCH LONGER THAN THIS COUNTRY. I WOULD HOWEVER, LIKE TO OFFER SOME MORE RECENT EVENTS SINCE THAT PINNACLE YEAR OF 1983. LET ME NAME SOME OF THE MORE MEMORABLE ATTACKS OF THE 100’S THAT HAVE OCCURRED.
CHRONOLOGICALLY:
THE MARINE BARRACKS IN BEIRUT 1983 (WHILE I WAS AT TBS)
THE SS ACHILLE LAURO 1985
TWA FLIGHT 847 HIJACKING 1985, SEAMAN ROBERT STETHEM
ROME AND VIENNA ATTACKS 1985
TWA FLIGHT 840 BOMBING 1986
THE BERLIN DISCOTHEQUE 1986
KAL FLT 858 1987
PAN AM FLT 103 1988
ISREALI EMBASSY BOMBING IN BUENOS AIRES 1992
WORLD TRADE CENTER 1993
TOKYO SUBWAY SARIN GAS ATTACK (WHILE I WAS STATIONED AT ATSUGI NAF) 1995
THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING 1995
DERAILED TRAIN IN PALO VERDE, AZ 1995
KHOBAR TOWERS 1996
JAPANESE EMBASSY IN LIMA, PERU 1996-1997
U.S. EMBASSY IN KENYA 1998 (I SPENT SIX MONTHS THERE IN 2003 AFTER OIF I)
THE U.S.S. COLE 2000
ANTHRAX ATTACKS ON CONGRESS & NEW YORK GOVERNMENT OFFICES 2001
THE LAX EQYPTIAN GUNMAN 2002
BALI 2002
CASABLANCA 2003
MOSCOW CITY BOMBINGS 2003-2004
PHILIPPINES SUPERFERRY BOMBING 2004
SPAIN’S COMMUTER TRAIN BOMBING 2004
AND LONDON’S DOUBLE-DECKER BUS AND TRAIN STATION BOMBINGS 2005
PALESTINIAN KASSAM ROCKET ATTACKS ON GAZA 2006
DAHAB, EGYPT RESORT 2006
TEL AVIV RESTAURANT BOMBING 2006
PHILIPPINES BOMBINGS 2007
AL QAEDA ALGIERS BOMBING 2007

THERE ARE COUNTLESS OTHER ATTACKS NOT SO POPULARIZED AND SEVERAL RECENTLY FOILED ATTEMPTS AS WELL. MY QUESTION IS SIMPLE: “WHAT ADDITIONAL PROOF DO YOU NEED?”

THE LATEST STATISTICS REGARDING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS AND WHAT THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO DATE ARE:
DEATHS - 3,774
WIA - 27,186

HOW MANY MORE CASUALTIES ARE NECESSARY FOR THIS COUNTRY TO SURVIVE? MY ANSWER IS: AS MANY AS IT TAKES. FOR MY CHILDREN, YOUR CHILDREN, FOR THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDRENS’ CHILDREN.

FREEDOM, VALUES, AND THOSE WHO PUT THEMSELVES IN HARM’S WAY TO PROTECT US. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE HERE FOR. OUR COUNTRY IS FIGHTING FOR ITS EXISTENCE. WHAT ARE WE ALL GOING TO DO TO INSURE ITS SURVIVAL? WHETHER WE CARE TO ADMIT IT OR NOT WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A CLASH OF CULTURES. MY DAD ONCE SAID TO ME AS A YOUNG TEEN, “AS LONG AS THERE ARE TWO MEN ON THE PLANET, ONE WILL HAVE TO DOMINATE AND THE OTHER WILL SUBMIT.” WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO BE?

TODAY, WE ALL WALK FOR FREEDOM. LET EVERY STEP WE TAKE TODAY MOVE US CLOSER TO FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL, THE PHILOSOPHY WHICH THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS WAS FOUNDED.
THANK YOU

I wish you could hear it the same way that I did, and hear the passion and intensity in his voice as he spoke. He told me that it could be made more flowery, but that some things just have to be said ... popular or not.

Couldn't agree more. I think it's just right, as is.

[Bio on Mark from the Clover Park School District site:
Mark Wriggle recently retired from the Marines after 26 years of service in both the enlisted and officer ranks. He returned to Lakewood where he attended Clover Park Schools from elementary through high school graduation at Lakes. His three sons currently attend Clover Park High School. Wriggle is involved in international business development activities, is an Advisory Board member for Operation Homefront helping wounded veterans and their families, and is a of the Clover Park Rotary, the Military Officers Association of America, and the Marine Corps League. He is working towards his MBA in Global Entrepreneurship and plans to make Lakewood his long-term home. He is committed to a quality education for the students of our community while building a safer and increasingly-involved community.]

Have you Forgetten?

2007-09-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Darryl Worley songs...

Remember Why We Fight

2007-09-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Global War on Terror came to our shores 6 years ago today. It didn't start here, but we must never forget, and never stop fighting.

John remembers.
Bill remembers.
Beth remembers.
Cassandra remembers.
FbL remembers.
AFSister remembers.
Boston Maggie remembers.
Homefront Six remembers.
Lex remembers.
Maj Pain remembers.
Greyhawk and Mrs. Greyhawk remember ... just start at the top and scroll down.
Trias, our Aussie Denizen, remembers.
Blackfive remembers, and shares the memorial of Marian Jordan Lewandowski of Poland. Jordan is a fine photographer and wonderful supporter of the U.S. and the war on terror. (The MJL Photography web site is currently having problems.)

** Added **
Sgt B remembers.
Kat remembers.
Murray remembers ... each individual.

The U.S. Department of Defense remembers.

Today I will remember by walking with Operation Homefront at the local Freedom Walk.

Backpacks for the kids

2007-08-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

Operation Homefront organizes a Back-To-School backpack giveaway for military dependents. The Washington state chapter got together on Fort Lewis last weekend to hand out backpacks, loaded with supplies such as notebooks and pens/pencils, notecards, rulers, even crayons for the younger crowd.

We started off bright and early - I had to be at the base by 7am to join the caravan to the community center. Since I live an hour's drive north of the base, I was up way early. Good thing they provided coffee and donuts as promised, though!

We had plenty of Operation Homefront volunteers ...

And the 'customers' sure seemed happy ...

... Although many times the Moms looked much happier about the whole Back To School thing than the kids did ... *grin*.

We handed out backpacks from about 8am till 2:30 pm. There were moments of heavy scurrying, separated by periods where we wondered if we were taking hundreds of backpacks home with us! But at the end of the day, we packed the lack 20 or so into a car to be delivered to another post. Counting the 35 or so that were loaded up for one of the Navy base units, that means we handed out about 500 backpacks.
*whew*

We had a blast. The chance to give back something tangible was wonderful. And the look on some of the parents faces as they realized that the backpacks were truly free -AND- came with supplies, was precious.

But my favorite moment happened when one of the Moms realized her phone was ringing. It was her husband, currently deployed in Iraq! She finished signing for the backpacks for her two girls, and they talked for a bit. Then he talked to the girls - who happily told Daddy all about their neat new backpacks. Their excitement absolutely made my day complete.

When helicopters fall

2007-08-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

We mourn for the families and friends of the soldiers lost in the crash of a Blackhawk helicopter in Iraq - some of whom were based here at Fort Lewis.

Killed were the following soldiers assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.:
Capt. Corry P. Tyler, 29, of Georgia.
Chief Warrant Officer Paul J. Flynn, 28, of Whitsett, N.C.
Sgt. Matthew L. Tallman, 30, of Groveland, Calif.
Spc. Rickey L. Bell, 21, of Caruthersville, Mo.

Also killed were the following soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii:
Capt. Derek A. Dobogai, 26, of Fond du Lac, Wis.
Staff Sgt. Jason L. Paton, 25, of Poway, Calif.
Sgt. Garrett I. McLead, 23, of Rockport, Texas.
Cpl. Jeremy P. Bouffard, 21, of Middlefield, Mass.
Cpl. Phillip J. Brodnick, 25, of New Lenox, Ill.
Cpl. Joshua S. Harmon, 20, of Mentor, Ohio.
Cpl. Nathan C. Hubbard, 21, of Clovis, Calif.
Spc. Michael A. Hook, 25, of Altoona, Penn.
Spc. Jessy G. Pollard, 22, of Springfield, Mo.
Spc. Tyler R. Seideman, 20, of Lincoln, Ark.

I'll be helping out with the Operation Backpack handout tomorrow at Fort Lewis. The event ought to be a time for children to giggle as they ready themselves for school. This changes the tone a bit, but we'll make sure that the kids are taken care of, while remembering the sacrifice of all of the fallen.

As at the Castle, now is the time when we dance In Memoriam.

OMV Sends: Operation Alljah

2007-08-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sometime after 0200 Operation Alljah began in a middle-class neighborhood in northern Fallujah. The Marines of the 2nd Battalion 6th Marines occupied a police precinct and began a swarm or strategic blocking off of the streets, in order to control access both in and out of the neighborhood. That morning, by the time I arrived with the 5/10, a civil affairs unit out of Camp Lejeune, the 2/6 were firmly ensconced in the east side of the concrete precinct, the 5/10 took the west and the Iraqi Police seemed to have everything in control.

Since traveling north from Kuwait on an Army convoy, and crossing into Baghdad, and later Camp Fallujah, I had always heard stories of how bad, corrupt and unprofessional the Iraqi police is. "They smile at us because they know there's an IED planted ahead," said one platoon leader. An Iraqi interpreter said they were "not to be trusted", and troops in the Green Zone handled all security so they had little interaction with the Iraqi police and even fewer compliments.

That all changed when we were at the police precinct in Fallujah and a police officer blocked a suicide bomber from passing through the 2nd layer of security for screening potential recruits. Although the press reported 20 victims, there was in fact only one, the suicide bomber. Call me old-fashion, but when someone protects you, even inadvertently, I feel he's due a fresh benefit of the doubt, so I talked to a couple of police officers and recruits through the interpreter.

Most of the officers were from the neighborhood or Fallujah, which meant they were taking a great risk. The "bad guys" as the interpreter called them, often targeted the politicians, the businessmen and the police. Many officers wore ski-masks so as not to be recognized by someone who may have had issues with authority figures, and what figures they were. In their ill-fitting blue shirts, mismatched uniforms and barely any firepower, the Fallujah police were a Sunni version of the keystone cops.

Despite my perception of Iraqi Police, there was a line of over 300 men who wanted to join the auxiliary neighborhood watch program, with the aspiration of becoming one of those policemen. Marines from the 2/6 and 5/10 attempted to barter for the Fallujah Police t-shirts, but I didn't see any of the officers make the exchange (the last bid in earshot was $50 dollars, which represented a month's pay for some). The Iraqi army, many of whom were shia foreigners to the city, was better armed and, most felt, better trained, but the men of the Fallujah police force knew the terrain and gathered more valuable intelligence. Historically very insular, someone from Fallujah confided more in a fellow Fallujan than in any foreigner, American or otherwise. The police precinct showed promise, I learned that a police officer had uncovered information on insurgent activity that lead to an arrest.

Since their arrival, the infantrymen of the 2/6 had taken an RPG and some small arms fire. A young lieutenant told me an Iraqi police recruit, who was shot in the finger, proudly showed him the wound and told him he was happy to prove himself to the Marine. The lieutenant later remarked "He didn't have to go through that much trouble to prove himself," I thought about how much these current and future officers would have to face to make the city and concluded that maybe he did.

H/T to Maj Pain at One Marine's View.

US Soldiers rescue baby from war zone

2007-08-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Another positive story about our troops ...

Aug. 17: Against all odds, a 9-month-old Iraqi girl is alive and well in an American military hospital. One of the soldiers responsible for rescuing her talks about her amazing journey.

Catching Up

2007-08-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got to meet the Ziegenfusses (Ziegenfi?) here in Seattle yesterday {happy dance}! Chuck and Carren are much fun to spend time with, and I was only sorry that we had limited time to spend. (Hope you two had fun at the Space Needle!) Ever since Chuck blogged about coming to Fort Lewis for the summer, I've been trying to figure out how to hook up with him. So it was ironic that I discovered Chuck was trying to reach me by reading this post ... before I checked my cell phone!

Other items that I have been slack on posting about:

Vets for Freedom Week 6: "Cost of Defeat" Call in Campaign
YouTube Smackdown (H/T to Castle Argghhh!)
Maj Pain is starting up a One Marine's View mailing list - join up!

Views from Ground Level:

Greyhawk
Michael Yon
Go Jack Army
Fightin 6th Marines
Francis Marion
Joel Maxwell

Watch "The Anvil of God"

2007-08-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email from a friend, and will try to watch, even though it means tuning to *shudder* CNN...

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I have exciting news! As many of you are aware, I have spent the last few months working on a one hour documentary about the November 2004 Battle for Falluja. The program, The Anvil of God, is scheduled to air this Friday (8/3) at 10pm eastern.

This is the third hour that I have produced with correspondent Tom Foreman. (Ambush at the River of Secrets and The Lion in the Village) Our hope in creating Anvil is for viewers to pause and consider the sacrifices made every day by the men and women serving overseas and their families back home.

The Anvil of God tells the story of Camp Lejeune’s 1/8 Bravo Company. Bravo went into Falluja believing the battle would last 96 hours. It lasted five weeks. As they walked the entire city the Marines fought heated battles, searched house to house and faced their mortality on a daily basis. The Marines of Bravo were the tip of the spear as Americans progressed through the Falluja and they suffered numerous casualties as a result.

I appreciate all of the interest many of you have expressed in this project and hope that you will be able to tune in!

Spread the word!

The Anvil of God CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 FRIDAY 8/3 – 10P EASTERN

Best, Amanda

Amanda Townsend Producer CNN - Anderson Cooper 360

People you should know

2007-08-03T06:29:00.001-07:00

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Allan Davison and Chief Warrant Officer Micah Johnson are awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions in rescuing two other pilots on July 2.

Chief Davison and Chief Johnson made sure their brothers came home. Because that's what troops do.

Somebody please clue in the MSM. As of this morning, there is scarcely a mention of these two fine soldiers in the news, and nothing in the major newspapers at all. Shameful.

Sending cards to the Troops

2007-07-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Have you joined the ranks of Soldiers' Angels? If not, go visit Castle Argghhh or The Middle Ground to read about the need for a Surge in Angels!

If you are an Angel, or an AnySoldier or BooksforSoldiers volunteer, or you have family or friends deployed, you know that it is sometimes a challenge to find a card that hits the right tone.

Luckily for me (and for the troops on my writing list!), the good folks at Hallmark have a line of cards which is perfect for the task.

Continued Demand for Cards for Military Brings "America's Heroes"

In response to a need for cards to send to Americans serving in the military, Hallmark offers America's Heroes – a line of cards first introduced in 2004 specifically for those in the military and others who protect and serve.

When Hallmark learned from Hallmark Gold Crown® retailers that consumers were asking for patriotic and military themed cards throughout the year – not just for Veterans Day – America's Heroes From Hallmark was created to fill that need.

Using information from retailers, Hallmark's employee idea submission bank, and the Idea Exchange (on-line consumer groups that provide opinions to Hallmark), artists and writers learned the kinds of cards people wanted to give.

America's Heroes From Hallmark features 28 greeting cards. The most popular cards in the group express missing you, thinking of you, thanks and appreciation, and love. The line provides a mix of humorous, light-hearted and serious cards, including religious messages.

In addition to being perfect for military personnel, most of the cards also are appropriate for those who serve in other ways, such as police or firefighters. Some cards are meant for anyone who is patriotic or supports those in the military or their families. One such card features a flag and fireworks, and simply says: Congratulations!...You deserve to be celebrated!

America's Heroes cards are available in Hallmark Gold Crown stores nationwide, as well as in military outlets at home and abroad.

Do I have to send a fancy card each time I write to a troop?? Not at all. But what a nice way to introduce myself to a new contact - someone who doesn't yet know my love for this country, and for the men and women who go out to serve it every day.

There's a bigger picture here as well. We need to vote with our checkbooks (figuratively) to let businesses know that they are doing the Right Thing. If we don't generate sales for these beautiful cards, then Hallmark will do the normal business thing, and remove them from the shelves. So make sure to check for them in your local Hallmark store, and if they aren't in view - ask for them.

Let's send the right message to Hallmark - and to our men and women in uniform!

What paper do You read?

2007-07-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

I was exploring the Ejectia blogroll today (so many new blogs, so little time), and found myself visiting Ready, Fire, Aim, Apologize. This Guide to US Newspapers is probably old news, but it's the first I've seen it, and I had to share ...

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The Washington Post is read by people who think they should run the country.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand the Washington Post. They do, however like the smog statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country, if they could spare the time, and if they didn’t have to leave L.A. to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country, and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country either, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

9. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it; but whoever it is, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority, feministic atheist dwarfs, who also happen to be illegal aliens from ANY country or galaxy as long as they are democrats.

10. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country, but need the baseball scores.

Give the mission time

2007-07-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

As John of Argghhh points out, the troops are in Iraq and Gen. Petraeus is now fully implementing the plan for which the military deployments 'surged'. So it must be time for our short-sighted, instant-gratification driven culture to cry 'Failure'.

How about we try something new? Let's allow the troops to actually have some space while they try to, ya know, perform the mission. Keep reporting on the actions in the Middle East, just don't make every IED explosion or terrorist who escapes into proof that 'the Surge is failing', for heaven's sake!

As Eric of BlackTygrrrr says - Unless your name is General David Petraeus, your opinion on the war is irrelevant.

The Email surge is working!

2007-06-29T12:30:00.001-07:00

We have an update today from the Fightin' 6th Marines. The email count is now almost at 9,000 - and still growing!

That is Awesome, folks. But when you think about it, that is still less than 2 emails per Marine. Keep it UP!

The wisdom of children

2007-06-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

How true ...

Cheerfully borrowed from Wayne, who has a whole collection of these.

We have a winnah

2007-06-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Early this morning a visitor arrived here out of the blue (no referrer), apparently decided they were in the wrong place, and zoomed off to places unknown. That was my 50,000th visitor. The only thing I can tell is that they are located in Billings, MT ... and whoever it is likes to get up much earlier in the morning than I do! {Hugs} to you, anonymous visitor!

So Amy of Gentle Whisper, and John of Castle Argghhh! ... you got close, but no ceegar.

Over the two-plus years that I've been exploring the blogosphere and feeding the blog monster (sometimes on a starvation diet), I've met some great folks. We've talked about ideas large and small, cheered on our troops and honored their sacrifices, ranted against the inequities of the world, played meme games, and raised virtual glasses in joy, and to honor those who are no longer with us.

This occurs largely in the virtual sense, being spread out around the world as we are. Sometimes the virtual spreads into the physical world, and real margaritas can replace virtual ones - and life is even better.

Not that virtual friends are less than real, as has been discussed before in this space.

... friends are friends - whether we met first through the internet or in person matters not. Secondly, I think that not only can we form true friendships without meeting one another, it may lead a purer form of friendship.

We didn't form these friendships because we happened to work together, live next to one another, etc. We formed them because we shared ideas with each other, and came back for more. As long as we have been honest, then the bonds between us are not based on age or physical parameters, or on other accidents of location. Instead the bonds are based on how we think - and that is a better, stronger bond to me.

Getting to meet any of you face to face will just be the icing on the cake!

I'm glad you came by, drop a comment in the box if you're so inclined. Come back anytime ... And when you get to the Pacific Northwest (Hi Chuck!), leave a comment so the virtual and real worlds can intersect.

50,000!

2007-06-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Wow - sometime Saturday night or Sunday my sitemeter will tick over 50,000 visits, recorded over two and a half years.

It's been a ton of fun! Sorry ... no prizes for pushing the counter past the milestone. You'll get a mention here, though, as will the blog that you came from. And a big virtual {Hug} from me for helping the meter to tick over!

Kaziah's Gift

2007-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Artist Kaziah Hancock gives her talents and time to honor fallen troops by painting portraits for their families. I was introduced to her efforts by this video (thanks for the link, Beck!). She has completed almost 200 paintings since 2003, and does it all without accepting any payment from the families themselves. This is her Thank You gift to our fallen heroes, and to their loved ones.

Here's one example of her talent and devotion ...

Marine Sgt. Adam Cann was killed in Iraq in January of 2006, but he is alive in the hearts of his friends and family, and again in this portrait.

Artists like Kaziah, and like Michael Reagan, who I profiled last year, give freely of their talents and their time to keep alive the spirit of these fallen heroes. Neither of them will accept money from the families who request the portraits, so if you have a few dollars to spare, visit Kaziah and Michael to help them continue in their missions:

Kaziah - Portraits of Heroes

Michael - Fallen Heroes Project

Marines of the Fighting 6th need You!

2007-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

How can you help the Marines of Regimental Combat Team 6? I'm glad you asked! How about starting out with an email to tell them you support them...

We have a golden opportunity to make a direction connection with the help of Grim and Blackfive (with a tip of the hat to Kat), you can even do it right from your computer. How easy is that?!

Just sit down and tell these warriors at the tip of the spear that you care, and that you support them and their mission. These are our Marines, putting it all on the line every day - thousands of miles from their homes and families. So take 10 minutes of your day to tell them you care.

Then send another email to all of your friends and family who support the troops. And tell them to do the same thing. Let's make certain that these Marines know we support them, and completely flood their email box!

Happy Birthday, US Army - and Happy Flag Day

2007-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

This date has dual significance to US citizens. First, it is the 232nd birthday of the US Army.

June 14, 1775 - Recognizing the need to form a unified army to fight Great Britain, the Continental Congress creates the Continental Army and unanimously votes George Washington of Virginia as its commander. Organizing the army from the militia units gathered outside Boston, Washington led the Continental Army for the duration of the war. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1783, most of the army was disbanded. The following year on June 3, Congress authorized the formation of United States Army to take the place of its revolutionary predecessor.
(From About.Com : Military History)

Today is also Flag Day, in honor of which I offer you my own flag.

I'm working today, but I have a special event planned for Friday. If you're curious, the details are at the American Legion of Washington site. I won't actually be on base at Fort Lewis, just close to it. But I expect to get to meet 'n' greet some soldiers. If I get pics (and permission), I'll post them up this weekend. Hope you all have fun as well!

*** UPDATE ***
Yippee! I just found out that Walt Gaya will be at the golf event tomorrow, to take pictures. Yay! If that name doesn't ring any bells, you need to read Mike Yon's post Americans Among Us and Angels Among Us for lunch, and then read A Piece of Cake for desert. I will be honored to once again get to see and talk with Walt.

This humbles me ... Again

2007-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

While every story of our brave men and women in uniform has the dual effect of inspiring and humbling me, the stories of Major Doug Zembiec, the "Lion of Fallujah", maxes both impacts for me. I thought that I could not be more inspired after reading his story at Blackfive. I was wrong.

Go read the letter this fine Marine wrote to the family of another fallen Marine. Take the hanky with you. You'll need it.

Zembiec Family Photo - Captain Doug Zembiec, April 2004

*** Update ***

Just when I cleared the blurriness from my vision, my blog-son brings it back again, with the simple word Friend. Go read Living With Our Scars to see how far Major Zembiec's words reach.

How I remembered D-Day

2007-06-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Imagine my excitement last week when I saw that I would be able to attend a special event today at work. In honor of the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, and in the spirit of Memorial Day, we were going to host a special guest. Buck Compton, a member of the E (Easy) Company, known to most as the Band of Brothers, would come to our work campus to speak.

Let me set the stage for this event a little. Within the company are many social organizations, and among these are two groups - those who are military veterans, and those who are reservists. They were the organizers of the event, and of the 300 or so folks in the lecture hall, I'd guess at least 75% were members of these two groups - or their guests. The organizer, Paul, is a veteran, and he introduced another veteran, Chris, who has been a co-worker for a year since retiring from the Marine Corps with 2 stars.

Chris started off with a moment of silence in honor of our fallen troops, as this was also a Memorial Day observance. That was followed by a playing of the Star Spangled Banner, and then Chris provided the background on just who this Buck Compton fellow is. And I learned many things I didn't know.

For all those who have read Stephen Ambrose's book, Band of Brothers, or enjoyed the mini-series, the name Lynn "Buck" Compton should be familiar. As one of the members of E (Easy) Company of the 506th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) of the 101st Airborne Division, Buck made the jump into Normandy on D-Day, and was awarded a Silver Star for his actions in disabling a German gun emplacement.

But before he put on the uniform of an Army officer, there was college. Buck attended UCLA, where he played baseball with Jackie Robinson, and joined the UCLA football team in winning the Rose Bowl in 1943.

After the war ended, Buck became a police officer in L.A. and started a family. He decided to became a lawyer and moved on to the District Attorney's office as a Deputy D.A., where he led the team which prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. He was then named to the California Court of Appeal, where he spent 20 years as an associate justice.

He retired to the Pacific Northwest, and ended up the neighbor of a co-worker. And it turned out, when asked, that he was happy to come to speak to us in honor of the day. Which was our good fortune, because Buck is equally comfortable talking about the events of 63 years ago or the current war front in Iraq. He can tell tales of the past, but he doesn't dwell there.

Right off the bat, Buck made us chuckle, as he pointed out the uniqueness of being introduced by a former Major General. He noted that in his career, he hadn't had much exposure to General officers! This set the tone well, as he proved to be very down to earth and matter of fact about his experiences. As with other WWII vets I've known, he feels that what he did was nothing special. In fact, he pointed out that having a book based on Easy Company was pure chance, partly founded from the relationship between Walter Gordon, a member of Easy Company, and Stephen Ambrose - as they were neighbors.

I would need a transcript of the hour he spent with us to remember all of the topics he covered - everything from current politics and the war in Iraq, to the differences between Reality as he recalls it versus the movie version of events. After telling a few tales to illustrate some of the artistic license, I had to grin when someone asked him, "But you did get shot in the butt, right?" - and Buck chuckled and said "Oh, yeah. That happened."

Buck made an incredibly important point, however, that I shall never forget. He talked about how people will walk up to him and thank him for 'fighting for our freedom'. Because he is certain that many, probably most, of the people who do so are not really thinking about what all of those freedoms are. They think of Freedom of Speech (and the evidence is how many people spout off ... *grin*), but they ignore equally important freedoms and rights that we have in this country. Freedom to associate with those we choose to, the right to own property, a free market economy, and so on. These are all part of what makes America special, and we have seen way too much nibbling at them over the years.

It was also quite refreshing to hear him denounce the 'so-called' government leaders who play politics with the troops, and worry too much about whether the NSA is listening to their phone calls. And music to my ears when he referred to Madame Pelosi as traitorous. If he were running for office right now, I'd be voting for him!!

Both before and after the event, Buck generously signed autographs and allowed photos. Since we wanted to get good seats, the Hubster and I did not pause on the way in to buy a copy of Ambrose's book, and on coming out afterwards, I found that they were all sold out. I bought a copy of the book "Biggest Brother", by Larry Alexander, instead - and had that autographed instead, along with a poster for a friend.

I came to shake the hand of one of the Band of Brothers, and instead I got to meet a wonderful American ... priceless.

By the way, I couldn't resist doing a little web searching afterwards - after learning so much more about the rest of Buck's busy life. He may be retired, but he isn't sitting around doing nothing. He has a regular radio gig for a station in Anacortes (north of Seattle, for those east of the Rockies), commenting on current events and political topics. Better yet, he has a blog where one can listen to his previous commentaries. If you're interested - wander over to Buck Compton Online, and tell him Barb sent you!

Reports from the Sandbox

2007-06-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

There's a few people from my sidebar who are currently in Iraq or Afghanistan, or have family in country. Go drop them a comment or two if you have a moment, and let them know you're thinking about them.

Jack Army went out on Patrol the other day, and listened to the silence (Not!) of the lambs.

Partamian scowled while en route to the 'Stan.

Amy of Gentle Whisper blogs and misses her hubby Joel, who is in Afghanistan as well.

Homefront Six shares a video she made while she waits for MacGyver to come home safely.

The Bastidge is no longer in the military, he's in Iraq as a civilian contractor.

Memorial Day 2007

2007-05-28T06:32:00.001-07:00

Before you take off today for picnics or cookouts, or boating or golfing, whatever enjoyment awaits you with family and friends, remember those who have died in uniform. They served, and whether they fell in uniform or passed on in later years, we should take time to honor their service. That is the real meaning of Memorial Day, and it is sometimes lost.

John Donovan remembers , and his memory is long, and broad.

Blackfive remembers.

Francis Marion remembers.

Maj Pain remembers.

Lex remembers.

Sgt. Hook remembers.

We remember 1st Lt. Laura M. Walker and Sgt. Robert G. Davis, who died in Afghanistan.

We remember Pfc. Devon Gibbons, who died from wounds received in Iraq.

We remember Sgt Adam Cann/USMC, who died in Iraq.

I remember my father, Robert M. Stanley, who joined the Army in 1943 as a gawky teenager to fight against Hitler, and came home to marry the girl next door and live the American Dream.

** Update **

Fellow Denizenne Kat created a beautiful and moving video tribute, which she shares in her post Remember Them - Memorial Day.

Enjoy your day ... and Remember the reason that you have the freedom to do so.

Denizenne Micro-meet

2007-05-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Fellow Denizenne AFSister had to leave the heartland this week, and travel to the awful Pacific Northwest, where all week people have tried to feed her fish parts. *gasp*

The Good News it that Bad Cat Robot and I got to meet up with her for dinner last night. As she was in Portland, we scoped out a place about halfway from here to there, and met up near Centralia ... a well named burg.

'Ritas were had by all, and much grinning and giggling ensued as we three caught up on events such as the Milblog conference and such. As always, these quick meetings are over much too quickly, but at least I got to add another Denizenne to my 'Bloggers I've met' sidebar!

Of course, the Commander of Argghhh is demanding the photo evidence (see the comments) of this meeting, but he'll just have to wait until AFSis posts the pics. Yep, I forgot my camera. D'oh!

Community

2007-05-23T06:12:00.001-07:00

My post "Where are we headed?" opened the question of the tidings for our future, and a hope for the same. Make sure, by the way, to read the cogent comments in that post from some who have seen the elephant. Very important.

In particular, I want to highlight the words left behind by Francis Marion:

I wrote this a few weeks ago when I was struggling with some of the same thoughts...

Hope

There is an ugly place and I go there often
I go there to keep it from spreading to your place
When it does not spread you do not see it
When you do not see it you do not understand it
That which you do not understand is ignored
That which is ignored becomes an ugly place

Today, Bill Whittle has posted his Good News in this same vein. So grab a pot (a cup won't do it!) of coffee, and settle in to read:
You are Not Alone (part 1)
You are Not Alone (part 2)

When you have registered that completely, continue on to his initiation post for Building Ejectia. You see, the whole concept of You are not Alone, is that we build Ejectia together. Now get reading!

Clap for me, too

2007-05-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Cheers on Corridor Three

The clapping starts at the E-Ring. That is the outermost of the five rings of the Pentagon and it is closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is low, sustained, hearty. It is an applause with a deep emotion behind it as it moves forward in a wave down the length of the hallway. A steady rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the soldier in the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with his presence. He is the first. He is missing the greater part of one leg, and some of his wounds are still suppurating.

By his age I expect that he is a private, or perhaps a private first class. Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels meet his gaze and nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago when I described one of these events on Altercation, those lining the hallways were somewhat different. The applause a little wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in the burden … yet. Now almost everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the wheelchair, also a combat veteran. This steadies the applause, but I think deepens the sentiment. We have all been there now. The soldier’s chair is pushed by, I believe, a full colonel. Behind him, and stretching the length from E to A, come more of his peers, each private, corporal or sergeant assisted as need be by a field grade officer.

You have to read the rest at Blog Them Out Of The Stone Age.

Thank you for clapping for me, Colonel. I wish I could do it myself, but perhaps your applause means more than mine could.

Where are we headed?

2007-05-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of interesting and thought-provoking posts crashed together in my head today, and the pieces are still forming back together into an image. Before I try to describe that image, you need to go read the posts for yourself.

First, John Donovan initiates a discussion On the Democrats, Republicans, and the waging of the war, and looks at the shape of politics under the specter of the Global War on Terror, and how that shape will affect our decisions in the 2008 elections, and beyond. Make sure that you continue into the comments ... as with many discussions at the Castle they are as important as the post.

When you are ready to continue, the next stop is Our Society's Undoing, from America's Son. Dip into the mind and heart of one of the Sheepdogs who knows the face of the enemy in Iraq, and the face of the criminal enemies of our society.

Still with me? Good.

Be honest - did you spend a few moments wondering why you bothered to get out of bed today, if we're all going to hell in a handbasket? The thought flashed through my mind. But I'm not able to dwell long in that state, so I found something that happened over the weekend to help balance the grim outlook.

Last Saturday, I joined with the fine folks at Operation Support Our Troops for a rally in celebration of Armed Forces Day, at the Memorial Park in my town. In addition to OSOT, there were members of the American Legion of Washington, and several teams of the local Issaquah School District NJROTC units - including color guard, rifle team and a bugler. We even had a visit from my Congressman, Dave Reichert (8th district). After the speeches and ceremonies, the presentation of the wreath, and 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps, we adjourned to the main intersection in town (a block away) to wave signs of support and wave to the drivers by.

One of my favorite parts of the day, however, was before the events began. I found myself standing next to a young man in cadet uniform, both of us alone - and I struck up a conversation with him. Randy turned out to be a high school senior and senior member of the local NJROTC, and his role for Saturday was to play Taps. We talked for almost 15 minutes, during which time I learned of his college plans (he will attend UW in the fall), about his family (he is the youngest), and about the horn he would be playing - which actually wasn't a bugle.

We talked about some of his friends, who were also members of the Junior ROTC program, and have graduated from high school already. Some of these young men are already enlisted in the military, and Randy told me that some of them are being deployed this year. I gave Randy one of the AnySoldier.com cards that I always carry, and asked him to pass the site along to his friends, so that someday one of us can send them support to ease their time.

If at least half of the class of 2007 is as personable, bright and dedicated as Randy is, then I know that the future has great possibilities.

Celebrate the Military

2007-05-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

May 19th is Armed Forces Day, and I plan to celebrate it by joining the Operation Support Our Troops gang at the Armed Forces Day Rally in Issaquah this weekend. Come join us if you are in the area!

Apache tribute

2007-05-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Need to satisfy that urge for some helo action? Check out the video at Guidons, Guidons, Guidons. The video is a tribute to the Apache AH-64D community, and especially to the memory of two fallen pilots: CW4 Keith Yoakum and CW2 Jason Defrenn.

After that, you can learn more about these two heroes in Wayne's "Above and Beyond" post at Savannah Daydreamin'.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
~ Gen. George S. Patton ~

Micro blogmeet

2007-05-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was very lucky to catch up with soldier and sometime blogger Dogtulosba a couple of weeks ago. He and his wife J were catching up with both of their families, now that he is returned from spending a year in Afghanistan. So the three of us met up at a local eatery, and chowed down on some great Thai food while we caught up on events. They are good people, and it was a blast to spend time with them. I even sweet talked J into taking a picture of me with D, just to prove it really happened.

Before he left the sandbox, though, his commander made sure that he came home in style. Sporting new bars, that is...

Think of the children

2007-05-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Our military knows how important their mission in Iraq and Afghanistan is, because they see the faces of the future every day. Today, Jack Army shares one of those images as a reminder of the mission and that future.

I find it hard to believe that America's congressional leaders want to abandon these people. I mean, look at those kids! They are adorable, happy and worth all the effort we can put into securing this country and giving them a chance to get a handle on things. Freedom is worth it.

And this country is crawling with these kids, the future of Iraq and the Middle East. Every Soldier here or that has been here probably has several photos like that one above. These kids are everywhere, not just little rural villages like I described, but everywhere.

Abandon them? I think not.

You know the drill. Go read the whole thing. Look at the faces of Iraqi children, and then tell your congress critter to shape up.

Report from Iraq

2007-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

This report from LTC G, currently serving his third tour in Iraq, came by way of a mutual acquaintance. It's actually his Update number 13, and I will post the previous Updates very soon.

"Update # 13
9 May 2007

I would complain about being hot, but I know that the worst is yet to come. After several months of remarkably pleasant nights and reasonable days, our grace period is up. At a mere 104 degrees everything is incrementally harder. The only real mercy is that the sun remains out longer, and the pace of life in the mid-east adjusts to the brutal reality.

We make the turn off of Haifa Street and into on of the poorer muhallas. Three months ago this wide side street would have been completely empty of all but trash, stray dogs, and a few men busy getting from one place to another. Two months ago, we would have been confronted by elder males eager to tell us about their woes. One particular shop owner made a point of stopping every American patrol that passed in those first weeks and bringing them to his shop. Off his shelf he would take one of about twenty cans of various foodstuffs. The can had a bullet hole in one side and out the other. Proof of the “sniper,” that hunted by night in the high rise apartments that overlooked the slums. An all too real urban legend, the sniper boogey man, struck fear I the neighborhood and kept them out of the main street and tucked in the relatively secure back allies. Coupled with the corpse like hulk of the burnt out power station on the other side of the neighborhood, the residents told a constant and unrelenting tale of horror. Last month, the sniper threat had stopped as some cancer in the local forces was carved out. People ventured back out in the streets and children became common place.

Now, the street is packed for the almost nightly game of soccer. The late afternoon cools off significantly and the last few hours of the day see families enjoying themselves at every doorstep, in the cafes, at the slowly improving parks and gardens, and in the streets. The crowd parts as we pass by during a joint patrol with our shurta. We weave in and around the makeshift rock goal posts and through the slums. In another few hours, when we pass through again, curfew will be in effect. The streets will be empty, and most of this area will be dark, the electrical corpse here has not been resurrected yet.

But the next neighborhood tells a different story. This area while still a ghetto, is nowhere near as ancient as the one we have just left, nor has it suffered quite as much recent loss. Its infrastructure has been easier to replace, and neon signs and well lit shops are gearing up for the setting of the sun. The streets are filled, and our fourteen vehicles wind trough as if on parade. The tentative waves of February’s children are replaced by almost enthusiastic responses from entire May families. Women that once discouraged kids from interacting smile and wave. Males eagerly take the newspapers we drop off. Hard to say if they believe the governmental papers, but they are at least considering them. We still get hard stares from many. Knots of young males glare from street corners. Older men study us as we go by. Many still hate us, but terrors fever has largely broken and fled the neighborhood.

At the end of the block we recognize two of the local government leaders from our weekly council meetings. We pull over and dismount to chat with them. COL B, MAJ B and I chat on the corner while the nightly block party swirls around us. The frosty reception COL B received at our arrival in sector has been replaced with warm greetings and genuine appreciation. Months ago, the conversation would have been dominated with a list of demands about plugged sewers, mounds of trash, downed power lines, missing relatives and abusive security forces. Tonight, over a cold orange soda hastily offered from a local vendor, they eagerly tell us of the work that has gone on the last few days. Junker cars towed away. Water pipes repaired. Increased electricity. They are beginning to see that cooperation with security forces allows real work to get done. And when real work gets done people are happy. And happy people are happy voters.

As we stood there, the shurta passed out newspapers. Many of the young kids took them, anxious to have anything free. One tiny young boy, barely pushing two was determined not to be left out. Smart enough to know that the papers probably originated from the Americans and not the National police, he gathered up his courage, strode up to MAJ B, executed a flawless parade ground salute, stomped his heal in Iraqi style and asked in a clear young voice if he too could have a newspaper. One of COL Bs security detachment quickly acquired one back from the many they handed out while our terp filled us in on the young lad’s request. MAJ B presented the young trooper his trophy. If I could have one untaken photo from my trip here, it would be of that young child saluting the American soldier.

I won’t be so naïve to say that all is rosy. The violence still rages all around our sector and as last week reminded us, also in ours. Nor will I say that these men on the street corner have been converted. It is however progress that they are at least showing signs of being conflicted. Unsure if they should jump fully on the winning team, or if they should hedge their bets and keep one foot solidly in the enemy camp…just in case worse comes to worse. These men walk a fine tight rope. And why shouldn’t they, they read a steady diet of defeatism in the press.

I can’t help but wonder about the huge amount of relief the enemy must feel after years of climbing, knowing that they are no longer looking at a false peak. There it is! The summit, right in front of them! I have climbed enough mountains to know how easy that final ascent is. The burst of enthusiasm at knowing the end is in sight. After years of constant conflict, in a brutal strategy of pure attrition, this must be a huge relief. They had no measurable way of marking success. No march across Europe. No castles to siege, no flags to raise. Only an endless series of explosions and ethnic killings with no real way of knowing when victory might be in sight. But now, completely inexplicably we have told them where the finish line is. Foes that thought they were in a marathon know that they only have several hundred more meters to run. Those on the fence have renewed hope. Victory is in sight.

I wish my grandparents were still alive, or my parents were old enough to remember D-Day. I would love to know how they felt on hearing Eisenhower’s powerful D-Day message.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower

How sad that General Petreus couldn’t pull this speech in it’s entirety off the shelf. Unfortunately the third paragraph needs some serious work….but this is 2007, much has happened since Al Queda’s triumph of 9/11. We have inflicted serious defeats on the enemies’ capabilities. Our home front…well, ok we don’t have a funding bill…..and the freedom loving nations of the world…well, ok they have lost their stomach…and victory would be cool and all…But you troops, you guys rock! We love you. Go knock yourselves out…you have about three months to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Don’t screw it up.

The note that Eisenhower didn’t publish, the one he kept in his pocket, written before the operation in case of failure, read:

Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.

What an incredibly amazing document. The fact that the commander, on the ground, in charge of the free worlds human and industrial treasure, took personal responsibility for the success or failure, knowing he had the backing of his government and its people. Great big brass balls!

Can you imagine if we had put the D-day invasion up to a congressional vote? How about the A-Bomb? How much harder would D-Day have been if every aspect of the strategy had been second guessed in every nightly talk show and editorial for months on end. Rommel would have giggled like a school girl.

While I would never advocate a restriction on a vigorous public debate, the simple reality is that there is a time and place for the doors of Congress to be shut. The hard decisions to commit or withdrawal should be done in secrecy. And in a way that keeps the troops certain that the sand on the beach is worth wading up onto, keeps the enemy uncertain of how high the climb is, and keeps hope alive in the millions tyrannies’ victims who have a vested interest in which way the tide will turn.

Our job gets harder every day, but is no less rewarding. This morning we drove past construction crews already rebuilding last weeks collapsed traffic circle. The crazy lady has been forced to pick a new corner to sit on, but she is alive. And I am left to wonder whose world is crazier, hers or mine."

Honoring the Fallen

2007-05-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough week for the Washington state military community.

Six soldiers from Fort Lewis were killed on Sunday, from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:

Staff Sgt. Vincenzo Romeo, 23, of Lodi, N.J.

Sgt. Jason R. Harkins, 25, of Clarkesville, Ga.

Sgt. Joel W. Lewis, 28, of Sandia Park, N.M.

Cpl. Matthew L. Alexander, 21, of Gretna, Neb.

Cpl. Anthony M. Bradshaw, 21, of San Antonio, Texas.

Cpl. Michael A. Pursel, 19, of Clinton, Utah.

On May 3rd, two soldiers from Company B, 321st Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve, Hayden Lake, Idaho were killed.

Staff Sgt. Coby G. Schwab, 25, of Puyallup, Wash.

Spc. Kelly B. Grothe, 21, of Spokane, Wash.

Coby's unit was one of those adopted for the Operation Support Our Troops Santa's Soldiers event that I took part in last November. His wife PFC Mallory A. Schwab serves in the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3-2 SBCT, also out of Fort Lewis.

Operation Support Our Troops is planning a tribute at the Freedom Bridge for this weekend:

When: Saturday, May 12, 2007
Where: Exit 122 off I-5 Madigan (Freedom Bridge)
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

To show our Love and Respect for our Fallen Heroes and their families, we will be paying tribute at noon with the playing of Taps, a moment of silence and prayers at the small white cross memorial at the entrance to Madigan Hospital.

Six soldiers from Fort Lewis were killed in Iraq on Sunday and the entire military community is grieving the loss of these Heroes. Let's show them the civilian community grieves with them.

This is an especially painful time for us, because SSG Coby Schwab was also killed in Iraq this week. Coby was assigned to the 321st Engineers from Hayden Lake, Idaho. OSOT adopted Coby's unit this past Christmas and his wife, PFC Mallory Schwab's unit for Easter. Coby was the son-in-law of Stacey Fenton, one of OSOT's Core Team members. May Coby rest in peace and know that his service will always be deeply honored by us.

To borrow from Echo9er ...

May God hold them in his hands and may their families carry them forever in their hearts.

Fun in Cabo

2007-05-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

We're doing the usual stuff ... playing golf, laying by the pool, getting sunburned. And going fishing ... for Really Big Fish. Or at least, bigger than anything I've ever caught before! (hi-res here)

Objective time to haul in the 101" long marlin ... maybe 25 minutes. Subjective time - about 2 hours. Yowza! Yes - that one is mine. The Hubster hauled one in as well. Except for being a bit green around the gills at times, a very productive morning.

Playing in the Sun

2007-04-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not here -- gone beachin' for a while. See you when I get back.

In the meantime, visit Castle Argghhh!, or any of the other fine blogs listed in my sidebar.

Good news on Free Speech in Washington State

2007-04-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

During the 2004 election cycle, ballot initiative I-912 was introduced to repeal the 9.5 cent per gallon additional gas tax that had been voted into law by the state legislature. I-912 was a polarizing issue, and drew hot debate. Sadly, many of my fellow ~~inmates~~ citizens voted against I-912, and the gas tax increase stayed the law of the land.

Why does this relate to Free Speech? Because local KVI radio hosts Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson were accused of using their platforms as free advertising for I-912, and were ordered to report their online support as a political contribution, which I posted about in July of 2005.

They have been fighing this finding ever since, and today we have the determination from the Washington State Supreme Court, by way of Michelle Malkin:

Breaking: Free speech victory in Washington state
There's an important breaking court decision on a political free speech case involving my friends at KVI radio in Seattle. A reader e-mails:

A unanimous Washington state supreme court ruling, issued this morning, reversed a lower court ruling that held radio commentary by Seattle's KVI-570's Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson made "in-kind" contributions when they promoted an anti-gas tax voter initiative on their shows in 2005.

Majority Opinion by Justice Barbara Madsen.

Concurring opinion by Justice James Johnson, scolding the abusive prosecutors.

Seattle Times coverage:

The state Supreme Court said in an opinion released this morning that KVI talk show hosts did not need to report their advocacy for an anti-gas tax campaign as an in-kind political contribution. And the court has reinstated a countersuit filed by the No New Gas Tax (NNGT) campaign against local governments that initially sued.
We hold that RCW 42.17.090 did not require NNGT to disclose the value of KVI's radio broadcasts supporting the initiative campaign as an in-kind contribution. The statutory media exemption, RCW 42.17.020(15)(b)(iv), excludes from the definition of "contribution" political advocacy for or against a political campaign by the hosts of a regularly scheduled talk show, broadcast by a radio station that is not controlled by a candidate or political committee. We reverse the order dismissing NNGT's counterclaims and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Great news, and a solid statement for free speech! I was listening to Kirby this morning, and he indicated that if this decision had gone against them, he and John were prepared to take it to the US Supreme Court. I'm glad that the justices of my state were able to see the light.

Mental gymnastics

2007-04-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

It takes some real mind-bending skill to come up with some of the viewpoints highlighted in these posts...

Fuzzilicious Thinking Code Pink Calls US Soldiers Terrorists

Boston Maggie ... Egos and hypocrisy of the celebrity left

Rofasix ... Rascism in Democratic Party Politics

The Middle Ground ... Harry Reid surrenders

Frank J of IMAO ... Super Ultra Mega Hypocrisy!

John of Argghhh ... Reid calls Veep 'Attack Dog'

In fact - Senator Reid is burning me up from all sides. But he is really, really grating on the nerves of those who have troops in harm's way. Yet, somehow, he and the other Dem 'leaders' (to use the term loosely) don't understand that they are cutting down this nation and our brave troops when they open their mouths and speak of surrender.

On the lighter side - if Reid wants to surrender, Harvey willing to accept his admission of defeat. Heh.

Wouldn't this be cool?

2007-04-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

What a great centennial honor this would be ... the USS Robert A. Heinlein.

What better way to commemorate Robert Heinlein's birth centennial than naming a major new US Navy ship after him? The ultra-sophisticated DDG destroyers (Zumwalt class) are something straight out of science fiction themselves, and there's never been a better ship to name after an sf writer, futurist and proud Navy man.

We'll have more here soon about the USS Heinlein campaign and how to make it happen, but for now, here's the scoop from our event coordinator, Tim Kyger:

The U.S.S. Robert A. Heinlein Campaign
For all but a very brief period at the beginning of our history, the word ship will mean space ship. [1] Many will be named “Robert A. Heinlein.”

Only one will ever be the first.

We have the chance to name that very first one. [2]

This coming July 7, 2007 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert A. Heinlein. That day would be a perfect opportunity for the Secretary of the Navy to announce that ship DDG-1001 (or another early hull number) would be named the U.S.S. Robert A. Heinlein.

How do we make it happen? We write the Secretary of the Navy and ask him to! The Secretary of the Navy has the authority to name the ships of the U.S. Navy (he is the only one who can).
(H/T to Ry in today's H&I Fires)

As a huge fan of Heinlein's works, I'd love to see this happen. Heinlein's Starship Troopers had a clarifying effect on my viewpoints regarding the military when I read it the first time, and it is the one which I re-read most often.

Phil at Pacific Empire pulls a quote from Starship Troopers that has an uncanny resemblance to our current day situation...

“If you wanted to teach a baby a lesson, would you cut its head off? Of course not. You’d paddle it. There can be circumstances when it’s just as foolish to hit an enemy city with an H-bomb as it would be to spank a baby with an axe. War is not violence and killing, pure and simple; war is controlled violence, for a purpose. The purpose of war is to support your government’s decisions by force. The purpose is never to kill the enemy just to be killing him…but to make him do what you want to do. Not killing…but controlled and purposeful violence.

There is an old song which asserts that “the best things in life are free”. Not true! Utterly false! This was the tragic fallacy which brought on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments failed because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted… and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears.

Emphasis added by me. Good time to remember that Freedom Isn't Free.

UPDATE
Make sure you visit the Castle and read / take part in the comment conversation on this idea. Very Interesting!

Continuing the Sheepdog theme

2007-04-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Some other interesting and thought-provoking responses to the events at Virginia Tech that have caught my attention:

Francis Marion describes how he would approach the situation, in his response to Grim's wargame proposal.

The Bastidge talks about thought processes.

Mrs. du Toit Can't get there from here. Be sure to read the comments - a worthy discussion.

David at Random Nuclear Strikes has more on the shooter's mental instability and the law.

Heartless Libertarian ticks off the number of existing gun laws broken by the VT shooter.

Chuck points out the obvious - Gun control does not work.

Neptunus Lex and his eldest daughter discuss Free Will vs. Fatalism.

Uncle Jimbo and Snarkatron each take on the shameless media.

Wandering, Blissful Musings - The American Way: Why things were not this bad when I was in school

Another Sheepdog's perspective

2007-04-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

In my post on Sheep and Sheepdogs yesterday, laid out the concept that there is a continuum between the two modes. I still feel that is true, because many people who otherwise live average non-Sheepdog lives may find themselves in the role of Sheepdog when events intercede, as they did Monday.

However, the purebred Sheepdog is at a different level. They recognize early that the world needs Sheepdogs, and they take the steps necessary to become a fully-trained one in a position to help. This is true of the military, as evidenced by the active duty and veteran community at Castle Argghhh and many other fine Milblogs.

One such is my blog-kin, America's Son. He spent his life preparing for the Sheepdog role. First serving his 8 years in the Marine Corps (including 2 trips to Iraq), and then moving from the Corps to the Suffolk, VA police department. His post In the Sheepdog's Absence exposes his reaction to the horrible events and loss of life at VT this week, and he pinpoints one of the key differences between the average Sheep and the average Sheepdog.

I was asked by a gentleman the other day how I felt about the events, and I answered, "I wish I would have been in that dorm five minutes before that demon walked in." "And what is it that you think you could have done young man?", he replied. "I could have made a difference."

While millions of Americans breathed a sigh of relief that they were not caught up in the horror, the Sheepdogs were sorry they weren't there to prevent it.

I am, too. Go read the whole thing.

Thoughts on Sheep and Sheepdogs

2007-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

The horrible events at Virginia Tech on Monday left many innocents dead. Students and professors started off their day as they would on any Monday, and fate led a madman into their midst. My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends.

The first reports I heard left me with the impression of a gunman letting loose in a classroom full of people, and I could not understand how so many were killed. In a post 9-11 world, it is hard to imagine a group of people not fighting back against a single attacker.

As more information has been brought forward, it's obvious that the scenario was quite different, with many classrooms attacked one after another. There were acts of bravery and sacrifice, such as the actions of Professor Liviu Librescu, who gave his life to protect his students. There are others as well, and I join John of Castle Argghhh in implementing a Rule regarding discussion around these events. I will name and honor the memory of the victims, but not the shooter.

I couldn't help but react to the emerging stories by remembering LTC (ret.) Dave Grossman's essay "On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves", as did many others. The discussion at the Castle continues, and some have called into question the proper meaning of the term Sheep in this context.

They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

The term Sheep is not used here to be offensive, as some may take it. The point is that the bulk of the population goes on about their daily, productive, lives without spending much time thinking about the wolves around us. The consensus of virtually all of the Sheepdogs that I am happy to call friends is that this is a good thing.

As Grossman pointed out in his essay, it's not an on/off state, it's a continuum. The Sheep in the center of the herd don't even see the edges, and may not admit that the Wolves exist. The ones at the next layer may understand the danger but not be able or willing to act. The next layer contains Sheep with greater understanding of the Wolves of the world, and some ability and inclination to protect the Sheep farther in. And so on, until you reach the pure Sheepdogs - Police, Firemen, and the Military. Men and women who daily put their lives on the line to secure the peace and security.

As you progress outward, the Sheep characteristics are mixed at varying levels with the Sheepdog attributes, and I would like to think that each of us has the potential to become the Sheepdog in a situation where there are Wolves threatening to do harm. This happened at Virginia Tech, as evidenced by the actions of Professor Lebrescu, and others like Zach Petkewicz.

"I was completely scared out of my mind originally, just went into a cowering position, and then just realized you have got to do something." [emphasis added]

Sometimes one just has to Act, to become a Sheepdog and not simply submit to the Wolves. I pray that if the need were to arise, I too would summon the Sheepdog inside and take action.

Final note on this. While we remember those murdered on Monday, and decry the acts of a madman killing our 'children', a little perspective. We have thousands of troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan who are younger than many of those killed, who go outside the wire and into harm's way every single day. However you feel about the Global War on Terror, the Sheepdogs are out there doing their jobs every day. Many of them aren't old enough yet to drink. Some never will be.

Taking apart Conspiracy theories

2007-04-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Bill Whittle has posted up essay #2 on conspiracy theories and critical thinking.

I'm shocked to say that Bill has let me down. In Part #1 he promised that the next episode would take on "... 9/11 conspiracies, Global Warming, Chemtrails, professional cynics and Our Friends the Press ..." But he wasn't quite up to the task, sadly, so we have to wait a little longer for the take-down on Global Warming.

All kidding aside, he takes on the rest of the agenda in typical Bill Whittle fashion. To whit:

Intellectually honest people, people without a deep, vested emotional need to believe the worst, are usually relieved to hear the facts that demolish superstitions like the Bermuda Triangle and the Loch Ness Monster. While there may be disappointment at the loss of an unseen world, people who have chosen to live in reality find comfort in the fact that reality is, in fact, made up of the real and not the wished for.

No, what fascinates me is the emotional motive of people who, presented with overwhelming evidence that the events that transpired on November 22nd, 1963 or September 11th, 2001 really happened exactly the way it appeared, continue to spin ever more elaborate webs in order to get to a place they need to be emotionally. Who are you going to believe: them or your own lying eyes?

Get a cuppa joe, and go read.

Ft. Lewis news

2007-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Ft. Lewis military community, among many, will be impacted by the deployment extensions announced by Secretary Gates recently.

10,000 from Fort Lewis have missions extended
Christian Hill

About 10,000 Fort Lewis soldiers serving in or heading to Iraq and Afghanistan will have their deployments extended three months under a new policy that the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said all active-duty Army units deployed in support of the wars in those nations will serve tours up to 15 months, instead of 12 months, effective immediately.

The policy ensures that soldiers will be home at least a year before they have to deploy again, and Gates acknowledged that it is necessary to sustain forces stretched by the demands of the wars.

Olympia-area soldiers and families had heard rumors of an extension for weeks, but the announcement caught many by surprise. Unit commanders weren’t able to notify soldiers ahead of time because news of the policy was leaked to everyone at once, Gates said.

The policy affects two Stryker combat brigades from Fort Lewis: the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which was expected back from Iraq in late June or early July, and the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which recently deployed to the Middle East. Each brigade has about 4,000 soldiers.

It also affects the 864th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), which is serving in Afghanistan, its third overseas deployment since March 2003.

“For the families and loved ones of the brigade’s soldiers, this is not easy news to swallow, and their reactions are predictably mixed,” said Maj. Robert Bennett, rear detachment commander for 3rd Brigade, which now is expected back in October. “It was not unexpected news. We had prepared for this announcement, and we are ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead.” ...

I have adopted a squad from the 864th through AnySoldier.com, along with my friends Val and Rob. Supporting them for another three months is a no-brainer for us. But my heart goes out to the soldiers, who just arrived in Afghanistan in mid-February, and especially to their families.

The soldiers will do their duty, because that's what soldiers do. And the families will cope, because that's what military families do. And they are proud to do it, just ask 'em. While you're asking, though, don't say anything dumb like "How do you live that way?". Trust me on this.

Fun and Informative

2007-04-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I missed the April 1 cartoon at Cox & Forkum. I'm not pasting it here - you need to go see it in action!

Bloodspite exposes the Real Pelosi ... *shudder*

Dusty celebrated a Natal Day yesterday, and it's *not* my fault for missing it ... this year. Happy Birthday, Dusty!

What do you know...

2007-04-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

How's your perspective these days?

This is what I see and hear.
by @WR

I hear that we are losing the war.
I see a repressed country beginning to stand on its own.
What do you know about loss?

I hear that this war costs too much.
I see you drive off in your BMW sipping Starbucks.
What do you know about cost? ...

There's more ... go read the whole poem.

Reforming the system

2007-04-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

Chuck can spin out more ideas in a 20-minute rant than any other 10 people I know! He brainstorms on some ways to reform the system to ensure the availability of quality Healthcare for military and veterans and their families.

His list has some gems I just love:

A fifty-cent surcharge to all dating-service phone calls, and a $1 surcharge to all American Idol type voter call in shows.

A $25 dollar tax on every person who says "Long time listener, first time caller" on a radio show.

A $50 tax for anyone who calls Dr. Laura for advice--not for the advice, but for being so stupid they need her to tell them what to do.

That's just a tiny sample ... go read the whole list!

You Might Be From the Pacific Northwest If...

2007-04-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

How many can You check off?

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, is not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye Salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima, and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
... or golfing without rainpants and jacket.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk Season (Fall).

30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them.

31. Your kids ask to play in the sprinkler when the temp gets up to 65.

Heh ... My count is 23!

Geek fun

2007-04-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Pardon the technical moment, but I felt this wonderfully useful error message just had to be shared.
Beta testing is SO much fun!

This makes me want to sing the Song of the Software Engineer.

Families United petition

2007-04-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

The father of a fallen Marine asks for our help.

My name is John Ellsworth and I am the father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth U.S.M.C. who was killed in the fight for Fallujah on 13 NOV 2004.

I am the Co-Chair of "Families United for our Troops and their Mission" which is a member of the "America Supports You" network. We are a grassroots coalition of Gold Star families, veterans, families with loved ones in harm's way, and Americans who share a deep appreciation for our men and women in uniform and support them in their efforts to make America safer by winning the War On Terror.

We at Families United have recently started an on-line petition to show support for our troops and will be delivering it to our Congressmen around September 11th 2007. We have received endorsement from the National V.F.W. in this quest for ONE MILLION SIGNATURES!

I am requesting that you provide a link to this important petition on your web site and notification to all of your members to participate in this event. To link directly to this petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-america-petition.html.

I believe that this is too important to ignore any longer and we need to let our troops know America really does support them, even if Congress doesn’t.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me

Repectfully,

John M. Ellsworth,
Proud Father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth U.S.M.C.
K.I.A. / Operation Iraqi Freedom
13 NOV 2004 - Fallujah, Iraq

I've already signed -- hope you'll join me. Thanks!!

H/T to Operation Support Our Troops.

Defend your Castle

2007-04-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Instead of reading serious stuff, I got sucked in to BowMaster Prelude, and am happy to report that I was victorious in defending the Castle. All good Denizens should take up arms against the invaders!

H/T to Graumagus, who had his own blog renovation not so long ago.

Meet CSM Althea Davis

2007-04-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Top Enlisted Soldier at Walter Reed Gets Back to Basics of Soldier Care

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2007 – During the past three weeks, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Althea Green Dixon has done a lot of walking and talking.

She’s also done a lot of listening. As well as much inspecting, checking, moving and shaking.

What she hasn’t had time to do is any packing.

Sitting in her new office in the command section of the red-bricked Building 1 on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus, Dixon is surrounded by blank walls and bare cabinets. Her office is adorned with only the American and Army flags. All of her “stuff” is still in her old office on Fort Detrick, Md., she said.

But that’s OK, because the new top NCO over the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command hasn’t spent a lot of time in her office since being handpicked for the job at Walter Reed.

“I believe in management by walking around. Just stop in on people and say, ‘Hi.’ See how they are doing. Check on things,” Dixon said.

“I can get a lot done in this office sitting behind that computer, but I can get a lot more done by walking around and interacting with people and really seeing how things are going out there and hearing from folks directly,” she said.

Army Maj. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the new commander of Walter Reed and the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command, chose the 29-year career medical soldier to lead the changes in wounded soldier care at the center and within the command. The center and its previous leadership have been under fire for the past month since media reports of poor outpatient soldier care caught national attention.

Dixon served as Schoomaker’s “right hand” on Fort Detrick and Fort Gordon, Ga. She found out March 2 that Schoomaker wanted her to move to Walter Reed with him. The next day, when she was supposed to be packing her bags for a vacation in California, she was instead at the center helping coordinate the packing and moving of soldiers and their belongings out of Building 18. The building was spotlighted in the media for poor living conditions, including moldy walls, faulty plumbing and backed-up maintenance work orders.

“I needed to be here,” Dixon said. “Our first priority that weekend was to move our soldiers out of Building 18 and into suitable quarters. And we got that done.”

Dixon has taken only one day off since.

A native of Trinidad, Dixon speaks with a pleasant Caribbean accent, soft and sure about the basics of soldier care. Her passion for taking care of troops showed during an interview with American Forces Press Service.

“I hate to talk about the past. I probably shouldn’t. But part of the reason that we have this situation that we’re in right now is because noncommissioned officers failed to do their jobs,” Dixon said.

“They’re supposed to check on their soldiers,” she added. “They are supposed to know how they are living, what problems they have.

“I’m sorry. I get a little emotional when I talk about that because that’s basic stuff and they didn’t do it,” she said.

For the past three weeks, Dixon has spent countless hours making her rounds across the sprawling 113-acre campus reacquainting the center’s NCOs with the basics of soldier care as she sees them.

“I’m about three things: basics, standards and accountability,” she said. “Basic things like taking care of soldiers, basic things like checking soldiers’ living quarters, basic things like keeping up with your soldiers’ whereabouts. If you stick to the basics, you generally end up OK.”

Probably the biggest effort she’s taken on so far has been making sure all wounded warriors at Walter Reed are housed in “accommodations that are suitable for an American soldier,” she said.

Wounded soldiers in outpatient care with families at the center now live in the 280-room Mologne House, which boasts all the amenities of a luxury hotel, as well as Delano Hall and the two popular Fisher Houses.

The 274-room Abrams Hall became the primary facility for unaccompanied soldiers in outpatient care. Each room offers a private bath -- some with tubs -- kitchenette, walk-in closet, a large, flat-screen television mounted on the wall, and a brand new 17-inch iMac computers. Ten of the rooms there are fitted for wheel-chair access. Brightly lit dayrooms sport large-screen televisions and pool, foosball and ping pong tables.

“It’s the nicest set of barracks that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been in the Army, … and I’ve been in a lot of barracks,” Dixon said with a laugh as she walked from her office toward Abrams Hall to finish her room inspections.

Abrams Hall is across the street and only a short walk from Dixon’s office. The grounds look more like an apartment complex than an Army barracks.

Walking down bright white halls with waxed floors, past the security desk, Dixon lightly quizzed a handful of soldiers on duty about an upcoming town hall meeting.

They told her they knew about it, but not the time or the place.

She kindly set them straight. “Looking forward to seeing you there,” Dixon said.

To make room in Abrams hall, some permanent party and student soldiers living there were moved into furnished, two-bedroom apartments off the campus. Each has walk-in closets and private baths. A shuttle is provided for transportation. The Army paid all relocation, utility transfer and hook-up fees, Dixon said.

“We don’t want our young soldiers to be subject to any financial liabilities because of decisions that their leadership has made,” Dixon said. “I don’t think any soldier lost anything in this shuffle.”

Both Dixon and her boss have talked regularly to the student soldiers and have received nothing but positive feedback, she said. “I haven’t heard any major complaints so far. But we’re keeping those lines of communication open. We want to make sure we’re doing right by all of our soldiers,” she said.

Regular barracks checks help keep her in touch with the soldiers and the NCOs who lead them, Dixon said.

“When a new face comes in they tend to open up a little bit,” she said. “When I go over there, … I try to have a dialogue with them, just to see how they’re doing, get an azimuth check on how we’re doing and if there are any issues.”

Face-to-face communication is a recurring theme in many of the changes that Dixon and Schoomaker have made.

The center now has a weekly orientation for every new soldier-patient and family. On March 21 Schoomaker held his first town hall meeting with the soldier-patients, and more are planned. Schoomaker and Dixon also have held sensing sessions with NCOs and other leaders.

“We are here for the soldier. That’s our job. They ought to not feel they are imposing on us if they come to us with an issue. We are here to deal with those issues,” Dixon said.

In light of recent changes, Dixon said, morale for wounded soldiers is on an “upswing.”

At the same time, Dixon must also focus on the morale of her staff of soldiers. She said that the negative publicity has had an effect on those in uniform serving there. She said she is meeting with staff members to “get their thoughts on how they are doing and what can be done to improve their quality of life,” she said.

“Although a lot of the scrutiny has been on the (care of the) patient-soldiers, I want our employees to know that we still care for them,” she said. “We are here to take care of them the same as we are here to take care of our patient-soldiers.”

Dixon said she is pleased with the changes made already, but acknowledged much work ahead. She said she is receiving support, both from top-level leaders across the Army and DoD, as well as from her NCOs and staff.

The next step is to stand up the Wounded Warrior Transition Brigade, charged with overseeing the health, welfare and morale of patients as they recover. Army combat veterans have been chosen to stand up brigade. Its new top NCO, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Hartless, has spent time recovering at the center from wounds he suffered while serving in Afghanistan.

About 600 soldiers will make up the three companies in the new brigade. Many officers and NCOs have been given only 30 days notice to report to their new assignments at the center, but haven’t complained about the sudden change. There has been “no whining,” Dixon said.

“They are just stepping up to the plate,” she said.

The three company commanders for the new transition brigade are already on the ground working through issues of furniture, space, personnel restructuring, offices and so forth.

By the end of this month, half of the staff is set to be in place, three-quarters by the end of April, and full staffing for the brigade should be in place by the end of May, Dixon said.

In the meantime, the sergeant major makes no apologies for the standards she sets and said she will continue taking care of soldiers with “high standards with a big heart.”

“I can be pretty easy going. But I’m often not, because I have high standards, because I really like people and I really care about people,” she said. “Sometimes I have to correct people. I try to be nice about it. Sometimes I’m not so nice about it.”

American Soldier

2007-04-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've always loved this song by Toby Keith. I know, it's a few years old, but it's a good reminder of what motivates our troops in all services.

Video: AMERICAN SOLDIER

Business opportunity missed?

2007-04-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

We missed the boat again, says JMH [ed: corrected my original dyslexic entry!]. We being the mighty Circle-M, as I like to call my place of employment. I actually should have posted this yesterday, so I guess I'm the one who missed the boat...

Check out Google's Gmail Paper.