The time has come for the military to remove women from ground combat MOS's.

Army’s top enlisted soldier backs ACFT as Congress mulls future of the fitness test

Soldiers take the Army Combat Fitness Test at Blue Mountain Track at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., on Sept. 9, 2023. (Kate Kramer/U.S. Army National Guard)

Of COURSE this guy backs Army stupidity.

I'm happy that Congress has stepped in to deal with this insanity.

There needs to be only one fitness standard, regardless of gender.

Infantry qualified women, for example, need to be just as strong, just as fast and just as agile as the men. Otherwise, if they ever are allowed on the battlefield in an infantry role (Although there have been infantry qualified women since 2017, first, they do NOT have to meet these requirements in the infantry and second, no woman that I can find has ever been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, which indicates that no woman has ever been deployed, trained or not, in the infantry ground combat role.) they will cause more of their own and others deaths in their unit than they will cause enemy deaths.

The Army's Command Sergeant Major would not have been given the job if he had not promised, directly or indirectly, to be anything less than a cheerleader for Army policies... no matter how obviously idiotic they may be.

In the House, the GOP plan is to get rid on this insanity altogether.

In the Senate, they opened Pandora's Box by requiring the ACFT to be what was initially promised: gender neutral.

That is, as it is now, women do NOT have to be as strong as men or as fast. There IS a double standard in the area of physicality, no matter how much Department of Defense/Department of the Army claims women are "equal."

If women in the military are equal, it's only in the Orwellian sense that all pigs are equal... but some pigs are more equal than others.

Bullets, however, don't care. And unbelievably, the standards in the Army have been lowered in the name of gender equality to, for example, this:

To pass this test... you need to be able to do ten pushups.

Ten.

I actually do get the Army's conundrum here: On one hand, the Army is well aware of the strenuous nature of combat. On the other hand, when they test women to the same standard as men for a genuine combat-needs physical test, the reality of women being typically unfit for the physical demands of combat becomes clear as the vast majority of women fail... which results in democrats delusionally demanding that women NOT fail... which resulted in this horrific reduction in standards to keep women in the military because of the reality that in a combat environment, women will be inferior, will get killed in greater numbers, will sustain more injuries, will lack the needed stamina and as a result, will cause more deaths and wounds to their fellow soldiers who have to not only close with and kill the enemy, but look out for the women who simply cannot keep up.

The solution is obvious: bow to reality and remove women from any ground combat role. This is the defacto policy of the Army anyway, since no women appear to have ever been deployed in the ground-combat role, even though thousands have allegedly been qualified to perform in such a role.

Leftists, of course, demand equality in all things, even when, for example, that equality is impossible to achieve as a result of physical inferiorities that are well known. Thus, they would rather go through the kabuki dance of claiming women in the infantry are a reality, even if, to date, none appear to have been deployed in the standard infantry unit in ground combat.

Leftists are more concerned with "equal opportunity" than equal qualifications and/or equal abilities.

And they'll stand on a mountain of dead soldiers to try and make their point. Even as they fail.

There's a reason women aren't protesting over the obvious inequity of the draft; where, for example, men have to register and women don't. Some inequalities appear to be JUUUUUUST fine when one is in the "situational equality" business as opposed to the genuine article.

The military's insistence on a false equivalency as equality puts the security of our nation at risk. And the illustrated lowered standards, done entirely to accommodate women and their supporters who simply do not understand nor care about the issue of lethality will, one day, cost us rivers of blood as we continue to waste hundreds of millions of dollars training women who, to date, have not been allowed to do the jobs that we the taxpayers have paid them to do.

Review Marine SGM Justin LeHew's response to the insanity of the Navy ignoring the findings of the only actual ground combat test involving three separate units, one of all men, one of mixed gender and one of all women to get a glimpse of the women in ground combat reality.

The "integrated task force experiment" showed the institutional weaknesses of women in the ground combat role, and Obama's Secretary of the Navy made it clear he'd reject any findings that did not support the derangement of that meme.

In short, facts had no place in the consideration of this lunacy.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2015/09/14/marine-war-hero-secnav-off-base-on-women-in-combat/

https://ec.militarytimes.com/static/pdfs/Sgt-Maj-Justin-Lehew-Facebook-post.pdf

Major Egan, Why'd you do it? (Originally published here on 24 Dec 08)

(NOTE: I've been posting this for 13 years now... even though it doesn't seem to be that long.

It was a part of why I decided when I retired to stop just talking about veteran issues and to start doing something about it.

Last year (2018-since retired for medical reasons), I became a veteran service officer for the Washington State Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.  And for that organization, I also became Chair of Veteran Benefits Programs for this state.

If you need help, please contact a Veteran Service Officer through the Clark County Veterans Assistance Office at 1305 Columbia Street, Vancouver, WA 98660 or make an appointment by calling 360.693.7030.

All charitable organizations need actual hands-on help more than they need money.  Giving donations to these groups is important. Actually becoming involved is even more important.

I urge you to find some group that you can help... and get out there and help them.  The pay is practically nothing if you go to work for them.

But the rewards are incalculable.)

I originally posted this 13 years ago today (24 Dec). And it bears repeating.

This story was in the paper... although, unfortunately, not on the Columbian web.

It is the story of a retired Army Major, one Thomas Egan; a veteran of 2 years on the Korean DMZ, a Master's graduate of the University of Oregon; a retired Oregon Army National Guard officer.

He was found dead, apparently frozen to death, next to a bottle of booze, in Eugene, Oregon within the past few days.

Unfortunately, the story speaks for itself. Sometimes, the desire to destroy one's self can overwhelm all other instincts.

I never knew you, Major, but we served together at the same time. I have no idea what happened to you, but I wish I did... and I wish it could have been fixed.

Tomorrow is Christmas. If you know someone who needs help, take the time and the effort to try and get that help to them. Major Egan had help available, but made bad choices when it came to using it.

As I look outside at the foot of snow, I ask myself: "how many Major Egans are there?"

Is there more that could have been done?

Probably not.

But I wish there had been.

Good bye, Major. From all accounts, you served us honorably and well. I never met you, but I won't forget you.

I could have been you.

Soldier’s death resonates 

Homeless veteran froze to death though services were available

By JACK MO
(Eugene) Register-Guard 

EUGENE, Ore — Thomas Egan was a scholar and a decorated soldier. He was also a homeless alcoholic whose life ended last week when he froze to death in Eugene during an unusually long and harsh cold snap. 

His body was found covered in snow near the corner of West First Avenue and Blair Boulevard, a bottle of liquor by his side. 

News of the demise of the longtime Eugene resident troubled many local veterans — especially those who knew that with some effort and some help, the man they called Major Egan could have had a roof over his head. 

“The whole National Guard community is taking this very hard,” said Bud Dickey, a vocational rehabilitation coordinator with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ community reintegration service center in Eugene. 

“It’s very disturbing for all of us, because Major Egan was retired and could have been drawing his (veterans’) benefits,” Dickey said. “He had options that he did not access.” 

Egan collected monthly Social Security checks, but the amount was a pittance compared with the payments he was entitled to as a retired military veteran. When he turned 60 in July, Egan became eligible to receive $909 each month in National Guard retirement income, Dickey said. 

Egan also could have applied for a separate pension check based on unemployability. “That would have gotten him an apartment if he wanted one,” said Jay Rea, a Springfield resident who served under Egan in the National Guard in the late 1980s. “I shed a tear when I heard he died,” Rea said. “It breaks my heart because he was the friendliest guy, and so smart.” A New York native, Egan joined the Army in 1971 after graduating from Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn., with a bachelor’s degree in history. 

He was stationed at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea for two years, and was reassigned to the Oregon Army National Guard in 1977. 

Earned master’s degree 

Egan earned his master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1983, and ultimately attained the rank of major with the National Guard. 

He retired honorably in 1991, following a 20-year military career during which he was awarded several service medals and ribbons. 

Dickey said Egan’s desire to drink made him ineligible for VA housing programs that require sober living. 

Egan had declined to enroll in substance abuse treatment programs offered through the veterans agency, Dickey said. 

According to those who knew him, Egan worked sporadically. He did some landscaping, and most years helped deliver telephone books. 

Sometimes, he found an apartment to stay in for a while. At other times, he lived on the streets. In August, Egan spent two weeks at the Eugene Mission — which is less than one block from the spot where a passer-by discovered his body last week. 

Mission officials said Egan never caused any trouble there, and could have stayed any time. Dickey said Egan has no relatives in Oregon, and tracking down members of his extended family on the East Coast has been challenging. 

Dickey, who served five years with Egan in the National Guard, is helping to direct an effort to have Egan interred at the Roseburg National Cemetery. 

“He will be buried as a veteran in a veterans’ cemetery,” Dickey said. “He was a good soldier, and we’re going to get him the burial he’s due.”

My ARMY screws up AGAIN: instead of a court martial and major prison time for cowardice... "admin separation."

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We are cursed by an Army that continues to be wrapped around the axle of political correctness to the extent that it has produced stellar field grade officers like Major Nidal Hasan.

In this case, the scammer is one Alexis Hutchinson.

Hutchinson decided she didn't want to go. So, she's scammed an out by whining about her child.

Alexis Hutchinson was not on the plane when her unit deployed to Afghanistan in November.

Like the first scammer (Lisa Pagen) who successfully used her kids as a way to get out of doing her duty and screwing whoever took their place

At first, it seemed the Army had figured it out: Hutchinsion was rightfully charged in preparation for a court martial.

Failing to act will result in additional episodes of this kind of nonsense as those looking at deployment do a cost-benefit analysis over whether get a slap on the wrist is preferable to getting killed or mutilated.

So, for a while it seemed that sanity would reign, and the Army would finally move beyond the PC sewer that leadership has managed to sink into.

In the best of all worlds, Hutchinson would have been court martialed for desertion in the face of the enemy and, if found guilty, executed.

Harsh?

Absolutely.

But so is screwing her unit. So is screwing the poor schlep who will have to risk THEIR life by taking her place. And so is screwing the taxpayers who paid for all of this nonsense.

You want to put an end to people putting off their deployments?

Put an end to the people who DO blow off their deployments.

End of problem.

In this instance, at least, Hutchinson doesn't SEEM to get any veteran's benefits, unlike the cowardly Lisa Pagan, who told the Army to f*#k off and got the whole package: honorable and all the goodies that go along with it.

At some point, the Army MUST begin to reorient their leadership and philosophies: because if we cannot stare down and discipline our own soldiers...

.... how can we reasonably expect to defeat any enemy?
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More on Pagan - Hutchinson Army deployment.

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Well, I have to show some respect and admiration to anyone fired up enough about their perspective to spend this much time discussing it.

The comments in question are the product of a Craig Fosnock as opposed to anon.

Let me set the table here. To reiterate, I have a problem when ANYONE uses their kids as an excuse to violate their word, said word given when they enlisted. In this instance, the excuse for that violation is limited to the children of the mother in question.

In the first instance, Pagan's excuse was "her husband had a job where he frequently had to travel."

Tough. Change jobs, or don't have the kids until your service commitment is completed.

Pagan had FIFTEEN MONTHS to set up another program or option, and made the choice, quite deliberately, not to do so.

Thus, as I have repeatedly pointed out, she had no excuse.

I would again ask the question: what would happen to these kids if their mothers, in this case, Pagan and Hutchinson, were run over by a bus?

Would Pagan's husband give them up for adoption? Or would he do what he SHOULD have done THIS time, and CHANGED HIS FRICKING JOB?

What about Hutchinson's kid?

Sussman (Hutchinson's lawyer) said Hutchinson is no longer in a relationship with her son's father.

So? So what? GET the son's father BACK into the picture. Make HIM take custody of the kid.

But the idea that Hutchinson has no options is ludicrous.

BOTH of these women were/are making an attempt to manipulate the system. Pagan was unnecessarily successful. Hutchinson's actions are the result.

Failure to imprison these women and give them dishonorable discharges will result in dramatically increased numbers of others using the same dodge to get out of duty.

PAGAN was the time to send the message. But failing that, Hutchinson will do.

As for the other "7500," (Where does that number come from? I don't know.) I cannot speak for or about them. Clearly, however, they received deferments that were authorized regardless of the reason.

Pagan and Hutchinson did not. Unfortunately for the military, Pagan's convening authority blinked, because as Hasan seems to have proven, we've turned into an Army of expedience; doing the easy, low noise thing without any long term view of consequences... until now.

Court martialling Hutchinson will put an end to this, because if these women can't figure out what to do with their kids while they're deployed, perhaps they can figure out what to do with them while they're imprisoned.

What do any of us think would have happened if Pagan's commander had sat her down and told her that her choice was between prison/DD and her finding a way to have her kids taken care of and she deploys... what would that outcome have been?

Same thing for Hutchinson.

Either way, these two deploy, even if their kids are put into foster care, so some other poor bastard doesn't have to do their duty in their place.

LOL...well you got my point about this then you just ignored it. I will make a few more points then reinstate it. First a (low) percentage of women have always hidden behind their kids. How you may ask, well they get pregnant to avoid deployments, a lifetime commitment to avoid a deployment makes no sense to me but you figure that one out.

I appreciate your observation, but it's irrelevant what a "low percentage of women" do.

What's to "figure out?" They get pregnant, their unit leaves, they stay behind; or they deploy, they get pregnant and then are transferred out; they get an abortion.

It's only a "lifetime commitment" if they want it to be, and those willing to use their kids to avoid doing their duty ain't gonna score real high on the integrity meter.

You state that "her husband didn't feel like taking care of the kids"...the article states his job required him to travel...was he suppose to quit his job. Maybe he lied about the travel but until proven different I will say he was not going to be able (instead of not wanted) to put the kids into daycare.

That may be a difference between us. As I already stated, he could damned well change his job to one where he DIDN'T frequently travel.

Did he marry this woman in a vacuum? Do you suppose she never told him that she had an 8 year commitment and that she was subject to recall? Do you suppose she just forgot about that? Do you think she COULD have been responsible enough to put her commitment to possible deployment ahead of her biological clock?

He needed to man up and do the right thing.

And, of course, if he had done that, well, we wouldn't have heard anything about this, would we?

I again ask the question: what would this clown do if Lisa Pagan had been killed or crippled in a tragic bus-train accident?

Well, whatever THAT is, is what he SHOULD have done this time.

That he refused to put his family first and do what was required to help his wife honor HER word and HER commitment does NOT provide Pagan with ANY adequate excuse to avoid deployment.

There is a HUGE difference between "can't" and "don't want to." Clearly, both of these cases are of the "don't want to" variety, as opposed to the "can't" variety.

This wasn't a promise to run a cheerleader fund raiser car wash for a Saturday.

This was a sworn oath to do her duty for the 8 fricking years she signed up for. And her CHOICE not to do that duty SHOULD have resulted in her court martial and imprisonment.

You also ask "why the Army caved to this woman is a mystery to me." The simply answer is for the same reason they caved for the other 7,500 deferments, and for the same reason they will put on a dog and pony show about Hutchinson. This is the new military, and military readiness comes second to public relations.

Really?

Then why didn't they treat Hutchinson the same way? Why didn't they just kick her to the curb like they did Pagan?

Charges were never preferred against Pagan. So, why charge Hutchinson but not Pagan if it's just all about a "dog and pony show?"

You state the "7500" who didn't go MAY have had damned good reasons for it...the key word here is MAY...my argument is who determines this, unless you can determine the criteria then the argument is a moot point. Using your criteria all 7,501 people who got deferments are cowards so why pick on just one.

And using your criteria, anyone in the military should be able to get out whenever THEY feel like it, and get full benefits in the process.

In this instance, WHATEVER the criteria used to allow those others to leave, these two women obviously didn't qualify for it.

Another point Per military.com:

Hundreds of other IRR members, meanwhile, simply have failed to show up at deployment stations when ordered to do so.

And... so.... what, exactly? Does that make it right?

ANYONE missing their deployment should be arrested and court-martialled for desertion.

After the first few of those happened, what would the impacts be on the rest?

And instead of declaring the scofflaws as “absent without leave,” or AWOL, the Army is choosing to give these people “the benefit of the doubt,” Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman in the Pentagon, said in a Tuesday interview.

Again... so what?

This is the WRONG decision to make, and at some point (and maybe the Hutchinson case is the point in question) the military will come to understand that a part of their critical manpower shortage could be solved by making these people do what they promised TO do.

And one thing that ain't happening, is that these people aren't getting any benefits.

Don't show up?

Then try getting VA.

Once again the main point of my argument is that yes it sucks that she "hid behind her kids". What sucks even more is that 7,500 hid behind something else, but they get a pass because they MAY have had a good excuse.

I, for one, believe that there IS no "good" excuse.

But let's run out the string.

Would I make a parent deploy if their child was dying?

No. Nor a wife or a husband, for that matter. Nor would I provide some sort of permanent deferment. Once the situation is resolved, one way or the other, then you're going.

And of these "7500" (and where did that number come from?) it is not unreasonable to assume that many of those fell under that or some similar situation.

Only communists deal in absolutes. But in the end, the glaring, gapping hole in your position is that NO ONE forced these people to sign up.

No one. And their decision to violate their word, which results in someone else having to uproot their life and go in their stead, cannot be condoned by either an indifferent military or government.

For the sake of argument lets say I agree with you but then until the military goes after the SOBs who do not even bother showing up why complain about Lisa Pagan.

You know, I tried the "everyone else is doing it" argument when I was a kid as well.

And it never worked for me, either.
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The question is asked: How do I compare Pagan with Hutchinson?

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Got this anon comment, and though I'm not a huge fan of anon comments, I saw it worthy of a response:

How how do you compare Lisa Pagan with Alexis Hutchinson? You claim that Lisa Pagan is a coward who refused her duty...fair enough but please then tell me what are the excuses for the 7,500 who were granted deferments? Can someone tell me what the Army standard is used to grant them? If Lisa Pagan is a coward then so are the other 7,500 individuals. She served, she was honorably discharged, and she fought and won a deferment just like 7,500 other individuals. Alexis Hutchinson on the other hand is active duty, she needs to be court-martial, and then kicked out to maintain discipline.

(Anonymous) 1:27 PM

Simple, really. They both attempted to use their children as a scam to avoid doing their duty, a duty we paid them for, paid to train them for, and would expend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars directly to them as a result of their enlistments in the resulting benefits.

Pagan read the tea leaves and thought she could get away with screwing the Army and whoever it was that had to take her place. She guessed right because my Army is the same Army that led to scum like Major Hasan.

Pagan should have been court-martialed, sent to prison and given a dishonorable.

Hutchinson is in the same boat, but her convening authority seemed to have found a pair of testicles somewhere and remembered that the patch says "US Army."

I cannot speak to the "7500" others who got out of going. I am not going to say that there are never legitimate reasons to avoid deployment.

What I AM going to say is that NEITHER Pagan NOR Hutchinson HAVE ANY legitimate reason to avoid going.

She (Pagan) served, she was honorably discharged, and she fought and won a deferment just like 7,500 other individuals.

Uh.... no. Revisionist history doesn't work here.

Pagan deliberately had children ENTIRELY to avoid redeployment. And when she came out on orders, she REFUSED to do her duty, and had NO other reason to avoid deployment, save her husband didn't feel like taking care of the kids she had to AVOID deployment in the first place.

Why the Army caved to this woman is a mystery to me.

That they are NOT caving to Hutchinson is the thing.

To the anon poster, the issue of "getting a deferment" is settled BEFORE you show up for deployment.

If it ISN'T (and in neither case was that issue settled before they were to show up for deployment) then you GO.

The "7500" who didn't go MAY have had damned good reasons for it, and then went through proper channels and followed the rules to get their deferments.

Neither Pagan OR Hutchinson had the reasons or went through the process. And that makes Pagan a cowardly deserter who failed to keep her word and who had no problem screwing some other poor schlep who had to take HER place because she didn't FEEL like DOING HER DUTY.

And the same can be said about Hutchinson.

Since you asked.
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Major Egan... why'd you do it? (Originally posted 24 Dec 08)

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I originally posted this a year ago today (24 Dec). And it bears repeating.

This story was in the paper... although, unfortunately, not on the Columbian web.

It is the story of a retired Army Major, one Thomas Egan; a veteran of 2 years on the Korean DMZ, a Master's graduate of the University of Oregon; a retired Oregon Army National Guard officer.

He was found dead, apparently frozen to death, next to a bottle of booze, in Eugene, Oregon within the past few days.

Unfortunately, the story speaks for itself. Sometimes, the desire to destroy one's self can overwhelm all other instincts.

I never knew you, Major, but we served together at the same time. I have no idea what happened to you, but I wish I did... and I wish it could have been fixed.

Tomorrow is Christmas. If you know someone who needs help, take the time and the effort to try and get that help to them. Major Egan had help available, but made a bad choice when it came to using it.

As I look outside at the foot of snow, I ask myself: "how many Major Egans are there?" Is there more that could have been done?

Probably not.

But I wish there had been.


Good bye, Major. From all accounts, you served us honorably and well. I never met you, but I won't forget you.


I could have been you.

Soldier’s death resonates
Homeless veteran froze to death though services were available

By JACK MO
(Eugene) Register-Guard

EUGENE, Ore — Thomas Egan was a scholar and a decorated soldier. He was also a homeless alcoholic whose life ended last week when he froze to death in Eugene during an unusually long and harsh cold snap.

His body was found covered in snow near the corner of West First Avenue and Blair Boulevard, a bottle of liquor by his side.

News of the demise of the longtime Eugene resident troubled many local veterans — especially those who knew that with some effort and some help, the man they called Major Egan could have had a roof over his head.

“The whole National Guard community is taking this very hard,” said Bud Dickey, a vocational rehabilitation coordinator with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ community reintegration service center in Eugene.

“It’s very disturbing for all of us, because Major Egan was retired and could have been drawing his (veterans’) benefits,” Dickey said. “He had options that he did not access.”

Egan collected monthly Social Security checks, but the amount was a pittance compared with the payments he was entitled to as a retired military veteran. When he turned 60 in July, Egan became eligible to receive $909 each month in National Guard retirement income, Dickey said.

Egan also could have applied for a separate pension check based on unemployability. “That would have gotten him an apartment if he wanted one,” said Jay Rea, a Springfield resident who served under Egan in the National Guard in the late 1980s. “I shed a tear when I heard he died,” Rea said. “It breaks my heart because he was the friendliest guy, and so smart.” A New York native, Egan joined the Army in 1971 after graduating from Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn., with a bachelor’s degree in history.

He was stationed at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea for two years, and was reassigned to the Oregon Army National Guard in 1977.

Earned master’s degree
Egan earned his master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1983, and ultimately attained the rank of major with the National Guard.

He retired honorably in 1991, following a 20-year military career during which he was awarded several service medals and ribbons.

Dickey said Egan’s desire to drink made him ineligible for VA housing programs that require sober living.

Egan had declined to enroll in substance abuse treatment programs offered through the veterans agency, Dickey said.

According to those who knew him, Egan worked sporadically. He did some landscaping, and most years helped deliver telephone books.

Sometimes, he found an apartment to stay in for a while. At other times, he lived on the streets. In August, Egan spent two weeks at the Eugene Mission — which is less than one block from the spot where a passer-by discovered his body last week.

Mission officials said Egan never caused any trouble there, and could have stayed any time. Dickey said Egan has no relatives in Oregon, and tracking down members of his extended family on the East Coast has been challenging.

Dickey, who served five years with Egan in the National Guard, is helping to direct an effort to have Egan interred at the Roseburg National Cemetery.

“He will be buried as a veteran in a veterans’ cemetery,” Dickey said. “He was a good soldier, and we’re going to get him the burial he’s due.”
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There's Something REALLY wrong with this: WWII veteran, homeowners group at odds over flagpole

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For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.[7]

The citation above accompanied the Medal of Honor, Awarded to then Techical Sergeant (Now Colonel, USA, RET) Van Barfoot.

There are a group of out and out scum known as the Homeowners Association of Sussex Square, Henrico County, VA. These miscreants have "ordered" COL Barfoot to remove the flagpole from his yard from which he flies the flag he fought under, bled under, and killed for.

An actual picture of the offensive and not aesthetically pleasing flag and pole.

These scum have problems with it because the flag pole and its flag aren't "aesthetically pleasing."
Although I am not located within 3000 miles of this pack of jackals, my outrage should reach that far, and a copy of this post is getting emailed as soon as I can scrounge up an email address that goes directly to their nest of vipers.

This is a short post, because I simply cannot find words adequate to the task. The idea that a bunch of sniveling scum who enjoy the life that people like COL Barfoot have enabled them to enjoy would tell THIS man that HE CANNOT HAVE A FLAG POLE AND FLAG IN HIS OWN YARD???????

Despicable doesn't begin to cover it.

Huge HT to Smash Mouth Politics, who investigated this sorry episode and took the picture of the offending flag pole and flag.
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Red River 44: Angel Flight

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First and foremost, a hat tip to Knottie's Niche, a Gold Star Mom's site "that's still dedicated to the troops and their mission."

My son is doing everything he can to become a Marine. He's a man now and has to make his own decisions. He wants Light Weapons Infantry...

It is some small comfort to know that if they have to bring him home at some point, there are people are out there that will not only understand, but who will handle this most important task in a way that reinforces that what we're doing really, really matters, and is really, really important.

I hope that day never comes. But I know that if it does...


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When MY Army REALLY PISSES ME OFF: Hasan's former commander let him continue because "he would not be doing any real patient care."

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The next time the leadership of the US Military is looking around, scratching their collective asses, trying to figure out why so few, relatively speaking, seek mental health help for their trauma and PTSD, they might want to look hard at this quote:

One of Hasan's commanding officers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Guerrero, told investigators she had considered failing him as an intern but "decided to allow him to pass since he was going into psychiatry and would not be doing any real patient care."

If I could wave my magic wand, LTC Guerrero would immediately be reassigned to a Manila whorehouse, treating syphilitics where, she so obviously belongs. But I would not let her within 5 miles of anyone serving in the military today.

This sorry bitch needs to be relieved IMMEDIATELY, and then she needs to both be kicked out, AND required to repay the Army (meaning us taxpayers) for all of the money we WASTED in training HER dumb ass and promoting HER idiotic efforts to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

This issue is even seperate from the stupidity of just passing someone, not because they deserved it, BUT BECAUSE THIS MORON DIDN'T THINK THEY'D BE PRACTICING REAL MEDICINE.

Here's the article. Read it for yourself.

Home > The Blotter from Brian Ross

Hasan Was Worried About Results of Recent HIV Test

Investigators Also Find Accused Fort Hood Shooter Sent $30,000 a Year Overseas to Islamic "Charities"

By JOSEPH RHEE, ANNA SCHECTER and BRIAN ROSS
Nov. 19, 2009

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Major Nidal Hasan seemed worried about the results of an HIV blood test taken a week before the Fort Hood shooting rampage, according to federal investigators piecing together background details on Hasan's life.

The suspected gunman in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 5, 2009, was identified by ABC News as Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. He appears here in a Defense Department photograph.

(Handout)

The information came from a member of the Fort Hood medical staff who was in the building where Hasan is accused of opening fire on November 5 and killing 13 people.

The investigators said there was no indication that Hasan was HIV positive, although a bottle of medicine used to treat HIV-positive individuals, Combivir, was seen in Hasan's apartment by ABC News last week. Medical experts say many doctors also have Combivir on hand in case of an accidental needle stick. A second drug seen in the apartment, clarithromycin, is an antibiotic designed to treat respiratory infections. However, it can also be used to treat specific opportunistic infections in patients with HIV.

Hasan, who is not married, was a regular at a Killeen, Texas strip club which features nude dancers, according to employees there.

Related

Officials: Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda

Al Qaeda Recruiter New Focus in Fort Hood Killings Investigation

More from Brian Ross and the Investigative Team

Investigators also found that Hasan donated $20,000 to $30,000 a year to overseas Islamic "charities." As an Army major, his yearly salary, including housing and food allowances, was approximately $92,000. A number of Islamic charities have been identified by U.S. authorities as conduits to terror groups.

Investigators said Hasan followed his own strict interpretation of how a Muslim should live -- including driving without auto insurance or signing up for life insurance provided through the military.

His academic record is replete with serious concerns about his religious statements and his academic abilities, the investigators found.

One of Hasan's commanding officers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Guerrero, told investigators she had considered failing him as an intern but "decided to allow him to pass since he was going into psychiatry and would not be doing any real patient care."

Guerrero told ABC News his performance problems stemmed from his lack of competence in the intensive care unit, including problems with recommending the proper medications or coming up with the right kind of patient treatment plan.

More:
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This is separate from the stupidity of passing anyone not supremely qualified to treat our military members.

How the hell can ANYONE serving in the military have ANY confidence in ANY of these morons after this?

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a reliably identified picture of the woman in question, one Lt. Col Melanie Guerrero, MD but her info is easy enough to find.

Walter Reed Army Med Ctr
7100 Georgia St Ste 77
Bethesda, MD 20815

Phone: (202) 782-6745
Fax: (202) 782-9032

Give her a call and let her know what you think of her. I know I am.

Why, as a soldier, the ACORN in Chief sickens me.

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That the empty suited, anti-American racist bigot occupying the White House loathes the military is no particular secret.

In every way from dithering on his decision to ignore HIS HAND PICKED COMMANDER in Afghanistan, to getting wounded Veterans to buy their own health care to using soldiers as campaign props.... I dispise this clown and everything he stands for.

So, it came as no particular surpise when I discovered this tidbit from Michelle Malkin:

We need not imagine the national uproar that would have ensued had George W. Bush talked to American soldiers the way that the President Obama did today at a U.S. military base in South Korea:

President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday.

The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, just before boarding Air Force One and heading back to Washington after an eight-day trip to Asia.

…Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures.

“You guys make a pretty good photo op,” the president said.

Standing on a riser wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a cluster of troops and a large American flag behind him, Obama expressed “the gratitude of the American public” and said his meetings in four countries over eight days in Asia will help deliver a “safer, more prosperous world for all of us.”

He got a huge cheer when he told them he was increasing military pay. “That’s what you call an applause line,” he said, before boarding his jet and taking off at 4:11 p.m.

More here:

It's just a damned shame that we're cursed with such an utterly clueless moron to run the show.
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The second wave? Yet another Mom refuses to deploy, using a child as an excuse.

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Earlier, a coward by the name of Lisa Pagan scammed her way out of deploying with her unit, using her children as an excuse.

Ms. Pagan, who somehow apparently received an Honorable Discharge for her cowardice, used the following as her excuse:

The reason for the discharge will be that she doesn't have, and cannot have, an adequate family care for her two young children, he said.

That's a lie, of course. Pagan has a husband; he certainly could have decided to care for her two children precisely like he decided not to.

So, Pagan screwed us over. At the time, I remarked as to how stupid it was for the Army to allow this coward to use her children as an excuse to avoid doing her duty, a duty we taxpayers paid to train her for; a duty the Army expected her to do; a duty she just decided she wasn't going to do.

My concern was that once this decision was made, precedent was set.

So, in the end, Pagan's actions here not only screw the people of this country... but they screw the man or woman who has to take her place... and who will live up to their commitment to the United States.

We can now reasonably expect many, many more to follow the path blazed by this enterprising young woman who made a decision that she did not want to live up to her commitment, and then found a way to make it happen.

Surprisingly to me, there wasn't a rush of men and women with kids using the same dodge to avoid their responsibilities. But it was inevitable that SOME would, because they saw Pagan get away with it, to include training and full VA benefits, causing them to figure, eh, what the hell... let's give it a shot. What have I got to lose?

So, here we have an Army cook, Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21; who decided to have, and keep, a child on her own, and then use that child as an excuse to avoid her deployment.

The article describing all of this contains nothing that would justify her nondeployment. She knows who the child's father is; he could easily be forced to assume responsibility for the child. It also fails to mention Pagan's successful scam. But can there be any doubt this gambit by Hutchinson was not influenced by Pagan?

At this point, Hutchinson is being threatened with years in prison and a Dishonorable Discharge.

Does anyone believe that anything close to that would happen with the Empty Suit in office? I don't.

The Pagan Precedent has been set. And there is little doubt THIS outcome will be the same.
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ABC News: So, Hasan wasn't terrorism? Odd, isn't it, that he had at least attempted contact with al Qaeda... And we KNEW it.

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Now if FOX NEWS reported this, the fringe left nutters would reject it out of hand.

That a member of the lamestream media is reporting it?

Not so much.

So, Mr. President, before I offer up my son, the Marine wannabe, on the alter of your empty suited stupidity, will SOMEBODY explain why this guy was allowed to continue to wear the uniform of a major in MY Army?

Will SOMEONE explain why MY ARMY KNEW AND DID NOTHING?

I served many, many years. I'm familiar with the concept of things "falling through the cracks" but I'm also familiar with the corporate attitude infesting the Army.

We are, no longer, an Army of soldiers. We are, instead, an Army of political correctness, a horrifically expensive Army where each combat soldier requires his own platoon of logistics and administration.... an Army where you can smoke like a train but God help you if you're one pound over weight... an Army where we have a corporate culture instead of a military culture.

Say the wrong thing.... do the wrong thing.... THINK the wrong thing.... and you're done. And you wind up with an attitude of fear... an attitude not unlike the one adopted by those living next to concentration camps... or hearing nothing... seeing.... nothing and saying... nothing.

Not because they've been explicitly TOLD to remain silent. But because, in all the years I served, I NEVER saw anyone who tried to deal with these issues from a position of authority, as opposed to dealing with it from a position of victimhood, live to tell the tale.

The omnipresent attitude of the military was, and apparently still is, that you do not need a complete commitment to your job, your Army, your country.

Even yesterday, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Casey, sniveled about his concern over a "backlash" against Muslim troops. Well, General, what *I* need to know is where was your goddamned concern for your troops before this scumbag took them down? Not even the blood of American men and women spilled on YOUR watch on one of YOUR posts has dented the attitude that allowed this to happen.

General, you should resign. The attitudes inculcated in the Army that fostered Hasan's terrorist attack Are YOUR responsibility. Your failure to act pre-emptively is YOUR responsibility. While YOU did not pull the trigger, the blood on the grounds of Ft. Hood is at least partially your fault, and your misguided concern over Muslim troops instead of your focus on addressing the culture that resulted in this attack is YOUR responsibility.

And you blew it, General.

Turn in your shit. You're done.

The rank and file of the United States Army look to YOU, General. They look to YOU for guidance and leadership... and to protect them when they're home.

Oh, you may not leave, General. But you ARE done... because even the newest E-1 knows you've blown it and you are blowing it because your concern isn't for the Army; instead, it's for those who MIGHT suffer some discomfort because a terrorist wearing an officer's uniform slaughtered innocent people.

General, pull your head out of your ass. The military requires a fundamental attitudinal shift, back to the days of an Army of Warriors... not the soap opera bullshit you run.

You ought to resign. And if you don't, that empty suited moron running the show ought to fire your clueless corporate ass.





Monday, November 09, 2009 The Blotter from Brian Ross

Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda
By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE and BRIAN ROSS
Today, 7:53 AM EST

Army Major in Fort Hood killing used 'electronic means' to connect w/ terrorists

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.

One senior lawmaker said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan's efforts.

CIA director Leon Panetta and the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, have been asked by Congress "to preserve" all documents and intelligence files that relate to Hasan, according to the lawmaker.

On Sunday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) called for an investigation into whether the Army missed signs as to whether Hasan was an Islamic extremist.

"If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have a zero tolerance," Lieberman told Fox News Sunday.

Investigators want to know if Hasan maintained contact with a radical mosque leader from Virginia, Anwar al Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen and runs a web site that promotes jihad around the world against the U.S.

In a blog posting early Monday titled "Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing," Awlaki calls Hassan a "hero" and a "man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people."

According to his site, Awlaki served as an imam in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Major Hasan attended the Falls Church mosque when Awlaki was there.

The Telegraph of London reported that Awlaki had made contact with two of the 9/11 hijackers when he was in San Diego.

He denied any knowledge of the hijacking plot and was never charged with any crime. After an intensive investigation by the FBI, Awlaki moved to Yemen.

People who knew or worked with Hasan say he seemed to have gradually become more radical in his disapproval of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army Chief of Staff

A fellow Army doctor who studied with Hasan, Val Finell, told ABC News, "We would frequently say he was a Muslim first and an American second. And that came out in just about everything he did at the University.

Finell said he and other Army doctors complained to superiors about Hasan's statements.

"And we questioned how somebody could take an oath of office…be an officer in the military and swear allegiance to the constitution and to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic and have that type of conflict," Finell told ABC News.

The Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, raised concerns over the weekend that innocent Muslim soldiers could suffer as a result of the shooting at Fort Hood.

"I think the speculation (on Hasan's Islamic roots) could potentially heighten backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers," he said on ABC's "This Week."

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.
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The larger question on the Hasan - Ft. Hood terrorist attack: now what?

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As a former Army officer, I will never be able to adequately express my outrage at the complete betrayal of everything he was SUPPOSED to have stood for... His Oath as an Officer; his oath as a doctor... and living the life of the so-called "Religion of Peace" (tm)(all rights reserved)

There were warning signs; many reported to the chain of command. Yet, it appears the chain of command was possessed of the same tin ear our president owns to our dismay.

If they listened, they did not hear. If they heard, they did not act. They did nothing they SHOULD have done (And what SHOULD have happened is this clown SHOULD have been kicked out of the Army and he SHOULD have been billed for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we wasted on educating this scumbag.)

That said, there are two questions... two monumentally pressing questions that I believe need to be answered.

Question One: Precisely why was this clown allowed to skate?

Question Two: Precisely WHAT are we going to do now?

Others will explore Question One in detail. Fear of retribution by the same chain that is supposed to protect its soldiers; fear of charges of racism and the career implications of that... those are the kinds of things that played a role in this, I'm sure.

Whatever it was that allowed scum like this to be in the military in ANY capacity, let alone commissioned, must be identified and addressed so that it never, ever, happens again.

Which brings me to Question Two: Now what?

There IS a problem here. Hasan is not the first Muslim scumbag to go off and kill his fellow soldiers. So, what do we do?

Do we go through the inventory and kick out every Muslim in the Armed Forces?

Do we go through the inventory and kick out every NON-Muslim MARRIED to a Muslim?

Do we forbid the enlistment of Muslims?

Do we set up a board of some sort and run all of the Muslims serving past it to make a determination as to their fitness to serve? What criteria would they use?

Do we revoke their clearances? Do we make some effort to keep them away from weapons... and/or, keep them from serving in the Middle East much like we keep soldiers born in Germany from serving in Germany under the Status of Forces Agreement?

I can't answer these questions in the legal sense. That is, I can't think of answers that I also can't come up with serious legal questions about... screams of racism being really, really high on my list.

Of course, with our current president, and his complete lack of concern or care for his soldiers; his total disregard for their welfare and his contempt for the military, we can expect exactly NO action.

ANY steps he takes to secure this issue would bring his own, well-known but never talked about racism to the fore and subject him to those allegations.... which would be just the tiniest bit awkward, even for a blockhead like Obama.

(As a side note: isn't it amazing that this complete waste of skin in the White House jumped to the conclusion that the police officer in the Professor case was wrong and racist, without having a clue as to what had actually gone on there, save his own, built in, knee-jerk racism... but then this scumbag tells US not to "jump to conclusions" after a Muslim slaughters a dozen troops and wounds at least 30 others? Have you even noticed the terminology that even the Army used... that these soldiers weren't "wounded...." oh, no. They were, in fact, "injured."

Well, that's a crock.

"Injured" is what *I* was when I broke my left wrist playing football. "WOUNDED" is what THEY were when a scumbag Army doctor shot them in cold blood at close range.

If the shooter had been a Methodist... do you suppose they would have been "INJURED" then? Or would they have been WOUNDED?)

To him, 50 or so soldiers getting shot is small price to pay. I mean, it didn't even stop that moron from giving shout-outs to non-existent Medal of Honor recipients at this tribal idiocy when he gave his first remarks after the slaughter took place.

One of the major problems we have is a president who views life as such a cheap commodity. His blatant insensitivity.... the fact that he expressed MUCH more outrage of the death of Tiller the Baby Killer then he has over the troops under his command; the fact that as I type this now, this scumbag is in his office working the phones for an unfathomably huge waste of money as part of his socialized medicine program instead of going down to Fort Hood.... These and so many more tenets of the abortion that is his presidency shows his true lack of care and concern for those sworn to protect us.

And if possible, it deepens my shame about this clown even more.
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Major Hasan: All they've got is whining about a non-existent "harassment."

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So, we have a United States Army field-grade officer on orders for Iraq or AStan. He decides he doesn't want to go because Muslims must "stand up to oppression."

Well, this scumbag low-life not only violated his oath as an Army officer, but he certainly violated the Hippocratic Oath of a physician.

He can't claim, as much as the fringer's initially charged, that it was the stress of all his deployments; this particular scumbag was never deployed. That only leaves one "out," already mentioned by a cousin: harassment due to his race.

Claims of harassment

Hasan, who dealt with troops returning from combat and faced his own imminent deployment, had been harassed by his military colleagues because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity," said his cousin Nader Hasan.

"I don't think he's ever been disenchanted with the military," Nader Hasan told Fox News.

"It was the harassment.

"He hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the government, to get out of the military. He was at the end of trying everything."

Nader Hasan says his cousin did not want to be deployed to Iraq.

"He is a good American and we are shocked," he said.

And to that I call bullshit.

"Good" Americans of any stripe do not slaughter unarmed innocents.

"Harassment," while not impossible in the Army, is extremely unlikely in this era of political correctness with it's emphasis on Race Relations and Equal Opportunity.

But "harassment" is all this scumbag has. He's not about to claim it was a result of his increasingly militant feelings against his own country.

The questions I have include these: the Army's chain of command has been aware of the scumbag's anti-American positions for months, both uttered and written. Yet, instead of kicking his dumb ass out and forcing him to repay the hundreds of thousands of dollars we, as grateful taxpayers, paid to make this clown into a doctor.... they PROMOTE him?

Multiple asses need to fry on this.

I really don't give a rat's hindquarter if his "harassment" was so bad it made his hair fall out.

It provides no cover, no justification, no mitigation.

This traitor to his country should, in the American tradition, be given a fair court martial. And if he did it, they should execute him immediately... or as immediately as you CAN execute someone.

Harassment.

I got your harassment hanging.
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Political correctness run amok: Female Medical Corps Colonel with zero experience in Afghanistan or Iraq to command combat troops. Why? Don't ask.

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... Don't tell.

Mr Wolf of the legendary BLACKFIVE with the down low.

Get Ready to Remove The BAN

Posted By Mr Wolf

The Colorado National Guard this past weekend held a Change of Command ceremony with a historic twist- it appointed COL Dana Capozella as its first female commander of Army troops; she will soon be promoted to Brigadier General. What is far more interesting is possibly WHY the Guard appointed her as the commander of its troops.

First off, I must say that I have no problem whatsoever with the appointment of a female in this position. There have been, and are, many excellent female leaders in the Army. The problems I see with this particular appointment are twofold:

One- she has ZERO experience in either Afghanistan or Iraq, or any other combat deployment, despite being a medical officer where there is a known shortage of help in either theater. She has had deployments to Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua, but most people of a particular slant don't have problems going there helping on these MedReps. Appointing someone who will oversee deployments of combat troops and combat support troops without any experience leaves that leader devoid of a huge amount of knowledge. Going on 10 years of activity, NOT having a deployment tells me that this person likely worked harder at AVOIDING it than in joining it.

Second- she wrote this paper as part of her War College education- ''The Time Is Now To Remove The Ban'' In this paper, she advocates the complete removal of DADT and a swift and direct command repercussion to those who violate any changes in DADT by employing top-down disciplinary action ''swiftly and directly''. She does not advocate 'acceptance' but education and tolerance. She does mention that most Judeo-Christian teachings put that acceptance in conflict with their core beliefs. She does not address just how the Chaplains, who have enough to do with helping morale, will adjust core doctrine within their faiths.

The Colonel writes-

''The Long War is costly in terms of both the need for retaining qualified service members and the overall cost of sustaining this mission"

yet does not mention that she herself has not joined in helping reduce these costs by going. Why not? Does she not believe this is a 'just war'??

It appears, from the outside, that the Colonel was appointed because of her stance on DADT, and the upcoming removal of this policy by DoD on direction of the President.

Much, much more, if you can stomach it.

#########################################

Back in the day, folks used to be able to buy their commands... and their titles. Some times that worked out. Others? Well... not so much.

My fear is that if we begin to promote combat commanders based on ideological purity, as it appears to be the case here, then the empty suit will spill lakes of American blood in pursuit of his socialist utopia.

There are times I am ashamed to have been in the Army and this is one of them: Watada gets over.

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The Seattle PI web site is reporting that 1LT Ehren Watada is being allowed to resign during the first week of October.

You remember, Watada, don't you? He's that scumbag that bailed out on his men and his unit to avoid deploying.

While he's getting an "Other then Honorable" discharge (does anyone have any doubt that the ACORN-in-Chief will get it upgraded so this scumbag gets his benefits?) that doesn't come close to what he SHOULD be getting.... which is shot.

While he will, no doubt, be lionized by the fringe-left... the SAME fringe left that has so hypocritically been absent and mostly silent in the face of the empty-suit's mishandling of the war, one can only hope that he'll become so depressed because of his shame that he do us all a favor.

This waste of skin should never have been commissioned. And meekly letting this scumbag go when, at the very least, he should be spending the rest of his life in prison, the Army shames all of us that deployed to where-ever we were needed and where-ever we were sent without abandoning either our troops or our voluntarily assumed responsibilities.
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ANOTHER Obama lie? Obama extends tours of 82nd Airborne troops in A-stan

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Among other talents, the empty suit running the United States government has been a remarkable liar.

He's lied about many things detailed in this blog; some, truly despicable. I get that politicians will, typically, say absolutely anything to get elected... but this anti-American racist bigot takes the cake.

His latest lie? Well, during the campaign, he bitched like a cut cat about President Bush's extension of troop's combat tours in Iraq. He whined, sniveled and moaned.

Mr. Bush ended the practice of extending tours... and the moron running the show; all of his whining and sniveling notwithstanding; has just, you guessed it, extended the combat tours of our soldiers in the 82nd by an extra 2 months.

His positions were bad enough when he babbled them. But to babble them only to mislead a malleable electorate, while then turning around and doing the opposite of what he's pledged... well, let that be a lesson to the rank and file Obamanism supporter.

In my very first lesson on leadership in my very first leadership academy way back in 73, they taught us a lesson that I remember even now, some 36 years later.

That lesson?

Never, ever, ever, promise something you cannot, or don't, deliver.

How come I, a lowly SP4 recon scout, was able to learn this simple truth, while the simple idiot running the show doesn't seem to get it?
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BLACKFIVE does a write up: On Independence Day, a few hours ago, they killed my son Aaron in Afghanistan.

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Words fail me, so I'll let Deebow from BLACKFIVE handle it:

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Aaron Fairbairn: Someone You Should Know

Posted By Deebow

Lo, There Do I See My Father…

Lo, There Do I See My Mother…

And My Sisters and My Brothers…

Lo, There Do I See The Line

Of My People Back to the Beginning…

They Do Bid Me To Take My Place Among Them…

In The Halls of Valhalla

Where The Brave May Live Forever

I never know how to start a post like this...

News of something like this shows up in the news (at least on our radar).... (H/T: Bill at LWJ)

US soldiers in eastern Afghanistan beat back a complex attack on a combat outpost by the Haqqani Network in Eastern Afghanistan.

The attack began as Haqqani Network fighters launched rockets and mortars at a small US base in the Zarok district in Paktika province. As the rockets and mortars were fired, a suicide bomber attempted to ram a truck packed with explosives into the combat outpost, but soldiers shot and killed the driver before he could penetrate the base. The attackers also fired assault rifles and machine guns during the assault.

And then Aaron's father, David M. Masters, passed along the devastating news on Twitter over the weekend that his son was one of two American soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan at the COP in Zarok. His brothers and sisters are grieving as well and they are enroute to receive him when he arrives at Dover AFB. There is more here about Aaron and what happened. (H/T: MM)

Aaron had a MySpace page and you can see it here

Hey my name is Aaron Fairbairn, I am 20 and in the army. I like to ride dirtbikes, go muddin and all of that kind of stuff. One of my favorite things to do is work on my truck when I break it. I have a yamaha yz 125 I haven’t got to ride it much because of work but i plan to go race it sometime.

My Kandak helped establish this COP out in the Zarok District with a company from 2-87 INF of the 10th Mountain Division in 2006. In fact, we took down an HVT we had been looking for there and spent the better part of a year operating there, as it is a major cross roads for infiltration from over the border.

Aaron sounds like someone that I would have shared a canteen cup of coffee over my Esbit stove with and talked motorcycles and girls with.

God Bless Aaron, his comrades in arms and his family, and I grieve with them for their loss... I will remember him and his family in my prayers

____________________The Brave Truly Do Live Forever... ___________________

I didn't know Aaron... but I wish I had.

He, and all of the others who've made the ultimate sacrifice are our brothers and sisters and I will miss them all.

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When it comes to Veterans and the military, our president is a real moron.

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I fear that one day, soon, our president's lack of value for the military, both present and past, is going to cost us blood.

American blood.

Once again, in it's own inimitable way, the fine folks at BLACKFIVE have hit the nail on the head.

And, as a brief aside, that racist crap he thought was so funny... about Limbaugh succumbing to kidney failure?

Oddly enough, I'm coming to feel the same way about him.

Hah, hah. Yuk, yuk. Funny, eh?

His cluelessness about the military and veterans is already legendary. That he never cared enough about our country to serve it emphasizes his clueless idiocy about all things military.

Mr. President, this isn't ABOUT you. It's about those who put their asses on the line so a dumb shit like YOU could unfortunately be elected to the most powerful office in the world.

So, do us all a favor.

Don't go. Stay here. Send Biden. Send Clinton. Hell, send that lie of a "I'm going to get a dog out of a shelter" mutt that got more coverage than Darfur.

That he would use this as a photo op disgusts me. The networks will, of course, be on there knees in front of him, again, and make some totally absurd effort to make him One Of Us.

It's as bad as ripping us off for $350,000 for a photo op that could have been photo-shopped for nothing.

Dispicable.

I Refuse to Listen....
Posted By Deebow

I am not trying to harsh the Best Ranger Mellow...

I refuse to listen to anything that the Obama Administration, or President Obama says about how much he "values the sacrifices of our veterans" when he continues to do things like suggest that combat related injuries would need to be covered by my Blue Cross/Blue Shield (what a tool-bag idea).

And I remain unconvinced that he even has any idea about the sacrifices that veterans make for the freedoms that many others, besides America, enjoy now. And this is why...

The 65th Anniversary of D-Day is fast approaching. Barack Obama will attend the events on June 6th as George Bush did in 2004 for the sixtieth memorial service.

Here is the rub, as of now Obama’s State Department has asked (read demanded) the French government not allow tour guide services to operate that day. It is a big day for Normandy tourism. Yet, the king will not allow those not connected with government to enjoy the day.

I refuse to listen to a Commander in Chief who continues to treat me like a battered wife; telling me how much you love me after you spend most of the evening slapping me around the kitchen for dinner not being hot.

His continued disrespect of the sacrifices of men who he isn't fit to hold the hat of sends me absolutely to the moon, and I know I should not get this angry about this stuff, because it is who he is, but I am flat tired of being told, in a very battered wife sorta way, that I am a potential terrorist, that I am not allowed to tour the grounds where heroes shed their blood for the freedom of others (and my comrades lie forever) and that I better get a job with good health insurance, so I can use it to cover my combat injuries.

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