Thursday, December 9, 2010

Shitbag Privates

Holy smokes, what is it about new privates that just makes my blood boil? The little bastards are rude, disrespectful, and cocky. Some of them are salvagable, but it seems that most of A-Co's initial entry... I hesitate to call them 'soldiers'... types are better off being thrown back into the civilian population. At least then they won't put me or my buddies in danger. Back in C-Btry, we looked at the arrival of new soldiers with a mix of glee and dread. Glee, because we'd get to pull all the old shenanigans on a new troop. Dread, because odds were he'd be a shitbag who'd wind up causing everyone in the battery a lot of headaches before he got caught with a DUI, popped hot on a piss test, or molested an underage girl (the only three offenses I've seen people get kicked out of the Army for). Just about every new soldier was an eighteen-to-twenty-year-old private who thought he was all that and a bag of chips because he graduated basic training. While some of that I can blame on their age, a lot of it simply goes back to TRADOC. They don't get taught that, while their dumb little buddies in IET land were just as low on the totem pole as they are, the soldiers in their unit ain't.

Take for example one of the little shits in my class. He's an E-2 barely out of BCT and not quite through IET. I'm an E-4 who's been some places and done some things. He acts as though following my directions were entirely at his option, and I have no recourse beyond going and grabbing an NCO! And because this is TRADOC, all the NCO can do is put him at parade rest and chew him out. He can't smoke him, can't write up paperwork on him. I've told him that I hope he winds up in the same unit as me. I fully intend to either break him as his drill sergeants should have done or make sure that when he screws up, the command does not look kindly upon him. I've had enough with shitstain privates. I don't mind the ones who're just dumb, but have a good attitude. I don't mind the ones who're cocky, but squared-away enough to back it up (that much). But when I'm chewing a private's ass because he decided that he would disregard my directions to continue working with the rest of the class rather than skip out to 'take out the trash' for twenty minutes, and he blatantly disrespects me? I tell him to go to parade rest and wipe that smirk off his face and he shoves his hands in his pockets? Fuck no. If the class leader (a SGT) hadn't intervened... heh, I probably woulda wound up losing my clearance and getting kicked out of the school. He thinks he's hot shit 'cause he can do 200 push-ups. Swell. That's completely unimpressive to anyone who's done PT with SSG Cobb (I bet everyone in old C-Btry remembers those "DIAMONDS!"). Doubly when you consider this private has lousy form and has to take breaks during this. Playing by the same rules, I can do over 500. You'll never hear me claiming that, though, 'cause I can really only do 50-60 a rep. Hell, you'll never hear me claiming that because I'm not some douchebag private who mistakes PT for soldiering. He asks "Why?" questions of an NCO. Anyone who's been in longer than three weeks understands that you do not do that. Period. Private does not ask "Why?", Private executes. If he's lucky, he'll figure out the "Why?" while he's doing it. The class leader had to tell him several times to get to parade rest. Not "At ease", not smirking, at parade-fucking-rest. What will his platoon sergeant do? Not a damn thing.

Before you think I was the one who started this, I wasn't. Except, perhaps, by being too soft and too nice to these kids. Believe me, I know how to be an asshole. I learned from the best. I chose not to, as it's not my job here. But when I start having to deal with a little bastard who disrespects everyone who doesn't have stripes on their chest... Well, I'm fully capable of putting away the Nice Guy hat and busting out with the Bastard McAssream hat.

This private is not the exception. He is the norm. This is why I have no intention of staying in the Army. TRADOC completely fails to instill any degree of respect into the new soldiers, and more and more the high command prevents units from correcting this oversight. They teach these kids that there's no such thing as rank inside the GCS. Bullshit there ain't. You can't pull rank to settle a disagreement over safety-of-flight issues, but there damn sure better be rank all the rest of the time. Privates need to follow the orders and directions of their superiors because... well, hell, they're the juniors for a reason. They don't know anything. If a private won't follow directions during a simple clean-up task, how can I expect him to follow directions during a firefight? How can I expect him to follow directions during a long, difficult mission? I can't. We are an Army at war. Even the noncombatant types like UAS operators need to understand that. I have a buddy who repairs optics. It's a job that sounds as poggie as... hell, the Navy these days. He's been in more firefights than he can count. What happens if I wind up in a knock-down drag-out firefight, and I have to rely on some shitbag private like the one described above? I'm trained and proficient in warfare. It comes naturally to me. I'll probably get killed trying to keep that jackass from getting himself killed, all because he won't listen to me when I'm trying to train him up... because he thinks that just because I'm not a sergeant, he doesn't have to listen to anything I say. Ignore the fact that I've spent more time in Iraq than he has in the Army. Ignore the fact that I've spent more time wearing a vest than he has wearing ACUs. Ignore that, he's an eighteen-year-old private and he knows everything.
Way to go, TRADOC. Glad some officer got that bullet on his OER. How many soldiers get killed because you won't let Drill Sergeant do his job the right way? How many shitbags have you released to the Army who we had to devote excessive time and energy into straightening out? How the hell do you think this is the right way to go?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Assange, Manning, and why some secrets need to be kept

I saw the quoted text in the comments on another blog. My response ran long, so I'm posting it here.

"BTW, I wonder how many patriots who are currently clamoring for Wikileak's demise, would act if their actions hurt a traditional US enemy?"

To be blunt? If Assange had taken action against the MME, the North Koreans, the Iranians, the Russians, pretty much anyone we really don't get along with and will probably find ourselves in conflict against? I'd think he was a sleezeball, but at least he's our sleezeball. I find the 'crusading for truth' journalists obnoxious at best. Some things simply are best kept quiet until they can do little harm. Some things need to be out in the open. Characters like Assange rarely know the difference.
You can't draw a moral equivalency between our enemies and us (certain presidential administrations and... hell, pretty much everything in DC notwithstanding).

But then, I'm an active duty soldier. Journalists are pretty much my natural enemy, even moreso than the ones who shoot at me.

Assange, I don't harbor so much ill will against. Charge him with espionage and put him in prison. Let him write a book, make a ton of money off of it. If we can prove someone's been killed because of what he did, then by all means get him with manslaughter or second-degree murder. I don't expect him to be able to see the consequences of his actions, being that he's not military. I hold him in contempt, as he's a trussed-up little puke who thinks he's something special. I do *not* want him assassinated. We are *not* a nation of vigilantes, we are a nation of laws. He should face trial for his actions, not be declared a terrorist and gunned down. If we do that, we prove him right.

So yes, I disagree with those internet commandos lusting for Assange's blood. We were once a principled nation. Doing the right thing, the just thing, with this person will be a sign that there's something of that left.

Bradley Manning, on the other hand, is guilty of treason. The firing squad for that one. I fail to see how my coldblooded desire to see him executed for crimes not against the government, but against his fellow soldiers, separates me from 'true patriots'. The man decided that he would betray us after we entrusted him with access to a great many 'national secrets'. While they didn't show the "True face of the evil American Empire" like some have crowed (rather, they tend to affirm that we - the military, that is - are who we say we are), it's the principal of the thing. I, like Manning, am a young soldier in military intelligence with a Secret clearance. I'm a drone operator, and have seen things and will see things that the public need never know about. Like Manning, I disagree with a number of the government's policies and actions. I do not find myself overwhelmingly compelled to release a flood of classified Secret documents that do little to harm the Federal government and pose a potential risk to our allies both on the state and personal levels. Assange claims he is going through the documents to make sure that nobody's put at risk - I don't trust him, and with some of the docs I've seen rightfully so. He is not a friend of liberty, and he's no friend of justice. Neither of them. If I am able to refrain from producing such a flood of classified information, then so should Manning.

The only thing Manning accomplished with this leak was giving the government an excuse to generate more layers of secrecy and to hide things more. The government cannot be trusted with the ability to hide its actions from the people even more. It's simply human nature to abuse such power. Sometimes the government does things that need to see the light of day. People like Assange and Manning need to exercise discretion, to release those things to the public without airing out all the sundry little details of day-to-day life in the diplomatic corps, or giving out sensitive information about our TTPs and interactions with the locals. If they don't... well, the results speak for themselves, don't they?

Pearl Harbor

It happened a few hours from now just sixty-nine years ago. The Japs attacked the US, killed 'bout 2400 and wounded another 1200 military, with just about a hundred civilian casualties. An unapologetic USA proceeded to open up an unprecedented can of whup-ass on Japan and everyone who didn't back away from them fast enough. "Awakened the sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve," the Jap admiral said. The attack led to us entering WWII, and I don't think there's anyone familiar with history who says that we didn't bring the war to an end a whole lot sooner. We managed to stop the Japs before they got all the Chinese, we stopped the Germans before they got all the Jews, and we followed it up by doing something no other power (to my knowledge) has done after they've effectively conquered half the world: We gave it back. We rebuilt as much as we could, and we returned the government to the governed rather than making Europe part of the United States. Arguably, we could have profited more from retaining colonies... but that would have been a violation of our ethics. It would have been against our principles as a Republic of, by, and for the people. To my mind, it strikes me that our principles are the only thing we Americans have to unite us. There's no idea of common blood, of much common history in this country. Instead, it's an idea that binds Americans together. It's the idea of personal responsibility, the idea that you are the one who decides your fate, that set America apart from her contemporaries. It's why we didn't want an empire, and why we still don't.
They're called the Greatest Generation for a reason. They protected and preserved the idea when it came closest to disappearing in a wave of fascism and communism. I'm tempted to draw parallels between Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but it seems a mite disrespectful. Allow me to sum up: We fall short. We ain't worthy heirs.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Holger Awakens: Why I quit...

Holger Awakens: Why I quit...

I never expected to write this letter, but my Mom e-mailed me to get information about my career for a writeup on Veterans Day, and as this is the first such holiday in 22 years when I will not be on active duty, I felt compelled to let you know why I decided to quit.

Quit is a strong word, I know. Everyone I’ve talked to has repeated that I’ve had a marvelous career and that I’ve retired with honor. Maybe that’s true on paper; I guess that it’s reflected by the record. But that’s not how I feel. I feel like I’ve quit. And because I’m not a quitter, I feel I have to explain why — not that anyone is asking, but because perhaps they don’t know to ask.

Briefly, my career had been a representation of the promise of this country. Starting out on the lowest rung of the rank ladder as an F-4G Wild Weasel crew chief, continuing on F-16s and the F-117A Stealth fighter in Desert Storm, then a small part of Desert Fox as a nuclear Maintenance Officer and finally a pilot that took part in numerous deployments in Southern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. I finished up an awesome year on the ground in Iraq, and was selected to receive a coveted “Definitely Promote,” assuring me of promotion to lieutenant colonel. They don’t pass out many of those. My dreams were right in front of me. All I had to do was grab them. And then I retired. Why?

Atlas Shrugged.

I had chosen, freely, to place my life between those that would do harm to the U.S. and those whom I would protect: her citizens. I had always believed in the best of America and the people of her lands; that despite occasional missteps there was a general “rightness” to our way. I lived that belief for 22 years, leading and following warriors into combat. I’m certainly no war hero; my brothers in arms have seen far more combat, more intense and personal than I. But I have become acquainted with death in a way that I hope you never do. My last tour, on the ground in Iraq was where my heart started to be hardened towards you, the electorate, and culminated in this letter, written two days before our elections. And here’s why.

You’ve elected officials who, for partisan points, spoke openly that the “…war is lost.” I happened to be in a dining facility in Baghdad that day, filled with the (mostly) young faces of (mostly) Army men and women. CNN was on the TVs, and things got very quiet when this elected official continued on, railing that the mission that some of these very people were here to do, had “…failed.” Yet, they would be donning their body armor, strapping on med kits and weapons, mounting HMMVs or MRAPs and heading outside the wire, ensuring that the newborn democracy in Iraq, purchased with so many lives, would be safe another night. The newly re-invigorated insurgents would be waiting, teeth bared back in a hateful smile, gripping the IED detonator, the RPG launcher, or the AK-47s to ply their trade with new energy, because the Senate Majority Leader had said they were winning.

You elected officials who continually defame and berate military members, whether it is the observation that if you’re not too bright, you’ll get “…stuck in Iraq” (this from a guy who has two Purple Hearts for self-inflicted wounds, and known for throwing someone else’s medals away in protest), or the calling of combat Marines cold-blooded killers (in a war; before trial). You’ve elected officials in the role of commander-in-chief who “loathe” the military, while using ROTC deferments and special treatment to avoid military service that the less “connected” take as a responsibility. On the basis of “change,” you elected someone who had close, ongoing associations with people who were part of an organization that tried to kill us [U.S. military] on our own soil.

You elected officials that promised to take property from some Americans, and give it to you, merely because they had more than you did. Those Americans that these officials have labeled as the “rich” are your neighbors, who provide jobs and pay far more in taxes than you ever will. That means they are already subsidizing your lifestyle choices; you just want more of their property without the responsibility of risking your wealth and labor to get it. You would rather hire someone to take it from them. And you have.

Yet these same officials from this same party are the wealthiest group of people in both the House and Senate. They have offshore accounts, forbid unions in their businesses and use every tax loophole they can find with their armies of accountants. But you keep sending them back to those jobs, because they promise to steal from some Americans and give to you.

You elect officials who openly embrace illegal activity; but they don’t have to live with the consequences. Other Americans pay the price. You support “sanctuary cities” and open defiance of federal law, including supporting administrations who sue our sister states as they desperately try to control a crime epidemic by supporting federal law. You support an administration that leads a party that gives a standing ovation to the leader of a country that exploits our kindness and actively encourages law-breaking in our country while insulting our fellow citizens who dare to try to enforce the law. Check out your elected officials; did they stand and applaud the racist diatribe of the president of Mexico? Did they join the attorney general and the head of Homeland Security in applauding this gaping hole in (homeland) security and law? Do you have locks on your doors? Why?

You elect officials who are openly racist, decrying that “White folks’ greed drives a world in need…” and that their own grandmother was a “…typical white person.” Someone who sits in admiration as their pastor (small p; no capital letters for racists), in a church he attended for 20 years, slanders the United States as the “…U.S. of KKK America” and delights that the 9/11 “…chickens have come home to roost.” Someone who refused to denounce a paramilitary, racist organization that placed its members in front of polling places armed with billy clubs, and yelling racist, threatening epithets. On video. And the Attorney General did nothing.

Oh, wait. The Justice Department is now apparently, under sworn testimony, the Department of Racial Payback. And you continue to support the party that supports this blatantly racist behavior because they say that they will stick it to “the man” on your behalf. A Nation of Cowards? I don’t think so; the courage of this breathtaking racism is without equal in modern times. One would think that you would use your votes to eradicate these racist policies from the U.S. But that assumes eradicating racism is your aim. It’s not, or you would be as incensed at this blatant racism as you would if sheet-covered whites were there. But longtime Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd’s old gang has been rightfully disgraced and shamed into a virtual non-existence. Thank goodness that 52 percent of you discourage that kind of behavior.

But you don’t. You support the tactic of using the epithet of “racist” as the cudgel of choice for racists who don’t like policies that conservatives advocate. Don’t like illegal activity? Racist. Your party insists that to provide a photo ID — proving you are who you say you are — is not only too much of a burden to ask a voter to bear, but it’s racist as well. This not only terribly insulting to all races, but when the burden of proof to rent the DVD “Second Hand Lions” (amazing movie!) is higher than that required to vote for someone who has control of nuclear weapons or deploying men and women into harm’s way, there is something wrong.

It doesn’t end there. Don’t like a particular female’s policies? Sexist. Yet, you support politicians who prey on 20-year old interns, seduce underage male interns, and, as a double bonus, support a person for the Supreme Court who says she is “wiser” than white people because of her race and sex. And any opponent of hers must be sexist and racist. Yet the prevailing double standard makes “bitch” an acceptable term for a conservative grandmother with the temerity to want to stop illegal activity. And “whore” is acceptable terminology for any conservative woman.

Sarah Palin seems to be a nice person, the kind you would love to have as a neighbor, regardless of her policies; but you insist that she is stupid and vile. She is ignorant and inexperienced, clearly not ready for anything, as holding a variety of elected and appointed positions culminating in the governorship of Alaska clearly doesn’t hold up against… an organizer of race-based communities. Sexist, if a conservative said those words about a liberal, but because she is not pro-killing-little-kids, 52 percent of you decided she was worth vicious ad hominem attacks that continue to this day. Not just saying that you disagree, but saying she is evil. You support it all. All because the folks that practice this abhorrent behavior promise to give you free health care stolen from other Americans who haven’t paid their ill-defined “fair share.”

My oath was this: “I, Mike, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I took that oath seriously. But you have responsibilities, too. You should take them seriously.


I think the Major speaks his piece far more eloquently than my usual bloody screaming profanity.

It's nice to see some people have caught on

Too bad they're approximately ten years late.
http://www.optoutday.com/

Let me put it this way. I'll often fly in uniform, like when I went on leave from Iraq, NTC, JRTC, pretty miserable places. If not, I'll probably have my ACU-pattern assault pack or at the very least I'll have purchased my tickets with a military discount. Roughly every third flight TSA selects me for 'additional searching'. Sometimes they'll pull me out of line to get on the plane after I've already been searched and my bags inspected just to search me and my bag again. My SOP when they do this is to refuse to be taken into a back room, instead letting them violate the person and privacy of someone who's obviously a veteran, and if it's been a shitty day (read: I just fucking came back from Iraq or they searched me already and I hadn't broken quarantine) I'll make snide remarks about the usefulness of their job.

Don't worry, I'm smart enough to not point out "Gee, all I'd need to do to make all this security completely pointless would be to set up a mortar tube two hundred meters thataway... or drive a VBIED up to baggage claim when a flight lets out..." or any of a hundred-and-one tactics our enemies actually have used. But hey, they're not worried about that. They're worried about whether or not that eighty-year-old lady with the walker is secretly a jihadi. They're deeply concerned that a vet might be carrying a bomb on his person, 'cause, y'know, we're the ones who carry out suicide attacks. For me, the line they shouldn't have crossed wasn't when they started using imagers to look at people's nekkid heineys, the line was when they gave me additional searching twice on a three-flight trip from Sarasota to Detroit and one of the searchers said to me "I wish I had a pack like this when I was in the service" while he was going through my assault pack. I could justify it with the reasoning that they were just looking for any rounds/UXO in my pack that I might've accidentally left - it's happened to other guys before, it'll happen again - were it not for the fact that the government I answer to has put out a memo stating returning veterans are a potential threat.
Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities.
- DHS

When I first read that memo shortly after being extra-searched so damn many times, I found within myself whole new depths of outrage and anger wholly outclassing any I'd developed during my deployment to Iraq. I began to become genuinely pissed off at the American people. Not the "I'mma gonna go get me a high-powered rifle and hide out in a clocktower" kind of pissed off, the kind of irritation you get when you see people doing something incredibly stupid when they should know better and squandering something that better men than they have given all they had to win. It's been getting to the point that I've pretty much given up hope that this Republic has any hope of improving, of becoming the world leader in science, industry, and liberty. This thing with the TSA, it's just one drop in the damn bucket. Everywhere I look, I see signs that our Constitutionally-mandated rights either have been or are being eroded away. They limit what we can say and where we can say it, they limit what weapons we're allowed to have, they invade our privacy for shits and giggles, 'due process' is a joke that the gov't ignores and the criminals abuse, if a right wasn't enumerated in the Constitution it might as well not exist, and God knows the Civil War just about gave the guillotine to the rights of the States and the people.

The only reason they can continue to violate us like this is because they have a monopoly on travel by air. This Christmas may well be the last time I fly by airline on my own dime - after that, Uncle Sam's either paying for it or I'm taking the damn bus. The American people can continue to tolerate it or not. I doubt taking an extra day or two on a trip is worth it to them, and for that they have my contempt.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Pun Time!

What do an impotent Japanese man and the Democratic party have in common? Electile disfunction.

This horrible joke brought to you by the historic sweep. Don't worry, though, I'm sure the new boss is pretty much the same as the old boss. Optimism and I are not well acquainted.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Schneppy's List

I found this thing a few days ago. I made it while I was in Iraq.

This is a compilation of the standing orders I've been given during my deployment with C-Btry 2-8 FA. They're all things I've done, things I've plotted to do (but was forbidden from doing before I could carry it out), and things I've seen other people do (but they forbade me from doing it anyhow!).

1. Not allowed to play mind-games with the LT.

2. Not even for science.

3. Not allowed to drive an armored vehicle halfway across Iraq without a driver's license, civilian or otherwise.

4. The squirrel does not go to guard mount.

5. It does not "Help to give the voices a face."

6. The squirrel does not countermand any orders from the Sergeant of the Guard.

7. When the SoG calls for the hourly radio check, the proper response is "Tower Two, lima charlie," not "Tower Two, just as loud and clear as it was twenty minutes ago." Even if the last one was only twenty minutes ago.

8. I shouldn't complain about that pesky SoG keeping me awake all the time.

9. That goes double if the First Sergeant is within earshot.

10. If I find a camel spider in my tower, I should kill it dead.

11. I shouldn't call my battle buddy over to rescue me from the Spanglish-spouting drunken camel spider that has me trapped by hanging out near the ladder.

12. If a buddy does the above to me, I'm not supposed to sit there and laugh before telling the arachnid where the buddy's bunk is.

13. Using my weapon to kill a camel spider is not a good idea. It'll probably die, but the chain of command gets cranky.

14. Using my weapon and not killing the camel spider is a worse idea. Now I have both the chain of command and a camel spider cranky at me.

15. If at any time I show up for mission with tinfoil in my ACH, I stay home today.

16. When the Brigade psychiatrist stops by, I'm to give Chief all my tinfoil.

17. Not allowed to lie to the Brigade psychiatrist to pretend to be 'five different flavors of crazy'.

18. Not allowed to lie to the Brigade psychiatrist to pretend to be sane. Even Automatic Six knows I'm not.

19. Each of my personalities does not get an interview with the Brigade psychiatrist. We have to share the one I get.

20. Even if she's the only female I've seen in two months.

21. Getting "Steel on Steel" with the RQ-11B Raven on the instructor's vehicle is a bad thing. That means I should stop bragging about it.

22. Even if it was my first time flying that $40,000 lawn dart and the look on his face was really funny.

23. Don't refer to the row of parked personal vehicles as a "Landing strip."

24. I'm to hand the controls over to my Mission Operator when it comes landing time. It's just better that way.

25. I need to eventually run out of new and interesting mistakes to make. The creativity and energy I put into them has much more constructive outlets that I should look into.

26. When anyone above the rank of O-7 visits the COP, I'm to go out by Tower Four and do my ninja impression until he leaves.

27. During an air-assault mission, not allowed to threaten to "Spew my guts all over this bird and everyone in it - even the pilot!" when the ride gets a little choppy.

28. Don't carry out the above threat again.

29. Think about it for thirty seconds, then say it.

30. "Thingie" is not a technical term.

31. Don't paint sillhouettes of animals I've run over on the door of my truck (Simpson, not me - they don't let me drive).

32. If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 10 seconds, I am to assume that I'm not allowed to do it. (Apparently, the LT's read Skippy's List).

33. During a room inspection, I really shouldn't have porn playing on my computer with the sound turned up.

34. My collection of miniatures does not need to be on display for a room inspection.

35. Especially not in formations.

36. I am the "Designated Alibi." That means I should stay out of trouble at least more often than the other savages.

37. Sunlight does not burn my skin like acid.

38. I shouldn't write "All work and no play make Schnepp a dull boy" all over my walls again just because it's the fourth month of night and I'm starting to get cabin fever.

39. When they put out the call for a new name for C-Battery, don't volunteer things like "Cannibals," "Criminals," "Cavemen," or "Convicts" no matter how accurate a descriptor it is.

40. Don't ask about that "Cannibals" thing. What happens in the field, stays in the field.

41. I shouldn't threaten people with "You're on the List now".

42. By now, they're all on it at least twice.

43. Circled and underlined for McWilliams.

44. When another soldier asks if he's on the List, I shouldn't reply with, "Are you in the phone book?"

45. Not supposed to announce who's made the "Top Five" on the List. That's the kind of thing people are happier not knowing.

46. I shouldn't complain about having never been "killed" during wargames.

47. When someone says that C-Btry's the best, not supposed to laugh out loud. It's actually true. *Sighs*

48. Think about it for a minute, then say it.

49. When I capture a radio off of OPFOR, don't call up "I'm in ur base, killin ur manz!" over it. That's just in bad taste.

50. Don't yell "Blood for the Blood God!" during a firefight.

51. Don't get kicked off the range and subsequently banned from coming near the Signal Company just because "The bullet missed, so I sent a few of his buddies to investigate."

52. Don't call them pansies just because they get scared of someone shooting an M16A2 at its cyclic rate of fire at a target at point-blank range.

53. Not allowed to make the new privates sleep outside, just because "I don't like that little shit." It's freezing cold and he's soft and weak.

54. The fact that I can sleep out there with no trouble at all has nothing to do with this. They're soft and weak, remember?

55. I shouldn't refer to Basic Training as Daycare. I'm New Army, it's kinda like making fun of myself.

56. When Alaska Governor and then-Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin says "Hooyah!" (as opposed to "HUA") during our deployment ceremony, do a better job of stifling the giggles.

57. During our mandatory Suicide Prevention classes, I'm not allowed to utter the words "Natural Selection."

58. During our mandatory Equal Opportunity classes, we really shouldn't spend a half-hour swapping politically incorrect jokes.

59. I am not allowed to sing "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to completion over the radio during a 36-hour overwatch.
Again.

60. Talking priveledges are revoked.

61. When the LT asks follow-up questions to the briefing to make sure we know what we're doing, respond with anything other than "I don't know."

62. When we train with paintball rounds, don't aim for the head.

63. I *know* it doesn't have as much body armor, that's why I'm not allowed to aim for it.

64. When we train with paintball rounds, don't aim for the cojones, either.

65. When we train with paintball rounds and find out that FDC's guys playing OPFOR aren't going down until they run out of ammo, aim for the cojones.

66. Don't "Put two in a dead guy, just to make sure" when it's paintballs. At point-blank, those things really hurt... the cojones.

67. Try not to antagonize FDC anymore. They have a purpose in life other than "Cheap slave labor," and a bruised testicle really isn't all that funny.

68. Take less than four hours to zero my weapon. If I can hit a running target in the nuts from across the room, I can hit a stationary sillhouette 300 meters away with at least five out of thirty shots.

69. Being the best with a bayonet doesn't make up for being the second-worst shot in the battery.

70. When everyone else has daggers and hatchets as their backup melee weapon, I shouldn't take a hammer just because "I can tenderize them more" with it.

71. Don't use the hammer on OPFOR.

72. When we're playing OPFOR, don't capture any of the following and turn them on the other battery: A gun truck, their FDC, the chow hall, a platoon sergeant, a crew-served weapon, or a howitzer.
Again.

73. We don't take prisoners, so don't shoot them in a less-than-lethal area and then beat them with the hammer.

74. If we do, it's not for tonight's chow (see #40), even if they are really tender and juicy now.

75. Don't speculate about how he'd taste roasted over a heating stove in front of the captured OPFOR. I have a reputation, he'll believe it. This is somehow a bad thing.

76. Hazing is illegal in today's Army. That means we should at least wait for the new guys to screw up before giving them "blanket parties."

77. Don't force my superiors to check the limits of their sanity more than once a week.

78. It is not the "Moustache of Power."

79. When I figure out that the Iraqi Army guys who operate in our AO know about it, it is not the "Internationally-Renowned Moustache of Power."

80. The Moustache is not the source of my Samson-like strength.

81. When reporting, it's "Specialist Schnepp, reporting as ordered," not "Schnepp and the 'Stache, reporting as ordered!"

82. When I say something rude, insubordinate, or inappropriate, not allowed to blame it on the Moustache.

83. There are limits to the amount of bloodlust I'm allowed to show.

84. My mix of naivete, rage, and bloodlust is not endearing. It's frightening to the other soldiers. This means I shouldn't ask "Can I shoot it?" so much.

85. If a SERE graduate won't eat it, that's a sign I probably shouldn't.

86. The mess tent is not the "Tomb of Horrors." Don't volunteer a battle-buddy to take point when going into it.
We'll all die anyways.

87. My alter ego is not masked superhero "Moustache Man." I do not have theme music. Take that cape off.

88. Don't ask the Captain if he's gotten into Smoke's 'stash'. That's just a good mood. They happen in sane people every once in a while.

89. Never tell an IA "Mako coswa." He speaks Arabc, he knows what it means.

90. Try not to start, join, or finish a firefight with allied ISF. LT doesn't like paperwork.

91. The 10-second rule of food doesn't apply in Iraq.

92. When taking a psych-eval, don't say "It's not like I can get any crazier since getting to Iraq." Again, paperwork.

93. Never tell my NCO that "Fiki-fiki?" means "How are you?" He's dumb enough to say it to ISF, they speak Arabic, they know what it really means. This gets awkward fast.

94. Don't replace my nametape with "US Terp" just to mess with the new soldiers.

95. The fat kid who paints his toenails doesn't need a sports bra. He's inactive enough that a regular one will do just fine.

96. Accusing fellow soldiers of witchcraft stops being funny about the time I start seriously talking about "Cleansing with fire."

97. When asked to demonstrate "Escalation of Force Procedure" to the new guys, don't just raise my rifle and set it to burst. There are steps to be taken before that; take them. "Escalation of Force" is not "Raise my rifle to give that guy his Darwin Award."

98. "Rules of Engagement" for C-Btry is not "Whatever we can get away with."

99. Detainees are not "Ablative Meat-Shields," nor are they "Polish Mine Detectors." We have to pretend to follow the Geneva Conventions around here.

100. Don't get air with the 5-ton truck. Don't yell "YEE-HAW!" Don't pause in mid-jump to do a commentary on the situation.

101. Must file all requests to communicate with voices outside my head in paperwork to my first-line supervisor twenty-four hours in advance.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

SST: Morgan's Mavericks

I picked up one of my orders from eBay, hand-delivered 'cause the seller and I live in the same general area. They were already basecoated a desert brown with a brick red/forest green/black tigerstripe camouflage pattern on one of them.

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By spschnepp2 at 2010-10-30

As you can tell, I haven't done a whole lot to 'em yet. I touched up the visors, making them a paler blue (I'll probably wind up redoing them in an attempt at doing that jewel painting technique I've never gotten down, and like as not I'll get some gloss varnish in there just to see how it works out) and drybrushed Bleached Bone over 'em. Painting the corporal's stripes on went surprisingly well, but the sergeant's stripes, not so much. I'm either going to do 'em up in the chocolate chip desert pattern or have 'em all be in the same camouflage as the sergeant, not sure which. They're also going to get some 'battle damage' painted on, mostly in the form of scratched paint (mithril silver for the shiny). I'll get around to writing up some fluff for their squad eventually.

Friday, October 29, 2010

"I hate this formation and everyone in it" or "Why Schnepp owes the retention NCO a swift kick in the balls"

I've come to a conclusion. I hate the Army. I really, truly, deeply, hate the Army.

Here's why:
I just spent an hour and a half doing 'PRT'. I broke a sweat because it was really hot out. Half of the exercises involved holding my knees in a really painful position for two minutes a pop. The NCO leading PT thought this was good PT. Here's a hint, folks, it's not physical training without movement. I specify knees because mine are fucked up courtesy three years running around with full battle-rattle on and playing artillertard in between being a discount infantryman. This is not a concern for fobbits, whose knees only hurt if they used 'em to get promotion points.

I have to come into work several hours early to get a flu shot. I am twenty-two years old and healthy as a horse. Why the holy heavenly monkey-fuck am I getting a flu shot?

I apparently need to file a pass to go to Tucson, Arizona. It's an hour's drive away. This is for 'accountability'. The command also likes to ignore the policy letter they put out stating that us prior service jackasses are to be treated as permanent party... and permanent party doesn't have to file a pass to go seventy fucking miles. But we do. Apparently, my class leader (an E-5) is not qualified to be able to track me down after I tell him, "Hey, Sergeant, I'mma gonna go to Tucson". No. I need to file paperwork one week in advance my request to go to Tucson.
But I don't need to do this for Tombstone.

First Sergeant will state he looks out for all his soldiers, MOS-T and IET alike, then he'll only give IET kids the opportunity to go train up for the bigger UAS. His reason? The ERMP units already have NCOs. Because, y'know, apparently I've been promoted without anyone telling me. Finance does not approve of this as a reason to give me back-pay.

If I get a private back-talking, I'm not allowed to snatch him up and give him what-for. I have to tell the platoon sergeant that the private was misbehaving. Yeah. That's effective at instilling discipline.
If a private back-talks to a sergeant who isn't cadre, the sergeant is not allowed to smoke the private. He has to tell the platoon sergeant that the private was misbehaving. Yeah, that's gonna teach these pukes respect for the rank.
This while the First Sergeant tells us that all the MOS-T soldiers are NCOs and supposed to lead the IET pukes. How? They're goddamn civilians in uniform, how the hell can you expect them to act like soldiers?

Whatever happened to the Army I joined? Y'know, the one where they believed in the carrot and the stick, not just the carrot? Oh, right, we gotta be nice now. It's the kinder, gentler Army. Because that gets shit done.

I have to stand in formation for an hour and a half listening to Top, the Captain, and a butter-bar who I've spent more time in Iraq than he has in the service (ROTC/West Point don't count, jackass) give me a safety briefing. Thank you very much, I did not know I was not supposed to drink and drive.

I keep hearing about this spice shit. I wanna try some. I'm not kidding, every goddamn briefing involves spice someway, somehow.

At one point in my career I had to carry around five pieces of headgear. Five. FIVE. I do not have five heads. Why the fuck do I need five pieces of headgear? Here's why: I had the balaclava for when it was below 20. I had the watch-cap for when it was between 20 and 32. I had the beret for when I was out of the motor pool and it was above 32. I had the patrol cap for when I was in the motor pool and it was above 32. I had the ACH for when I was driving a military vehicle, and yes I had to have it in reach at all times even though I didn't have a license. Yes, the temperature would range like that in a single day. No, it still didn't make sense to have that many goddamn hats. If it does make sense to you, suck-start your weapon.

I am fully capable of driving a vehicle without a crash helmet. For that matter, I'm fully capable of climbing a vehicle without a crash helmet. Don't point out that helmets won't do shit for the neck. Or the hip. Or the ankle. Or the arm. The head's the only part you might hit when you fall off the truck, after all.

I've never touched alcohol in my life, and now I wanna drink. If nothing else, taking scoops out of my brain might help these command decisions make sense.

There are a great many sergeants for whom NCO stands for "No Chance Outside". I've only met a handful who were good at their jobs. The good ones don't re-up 'cause they can find a better job that has twice the pay with half the bullshit.

I spend one month's worth of time out of any given year sitting in the CP standing by. This is not unusual, and in fact some guys spend even more time standing by. This is 'cause the higher-ups won't release us until they're done doing the work they've been putting off to the last minute, even though we were done right after lunch.

There's the simple, easy way to do things that is immediately apparent to anyone with a brain in their skulls. That way is not the Army way. The Army way requires that you file at least three different documents at least a week in advance before, that you receive a three-hour safety brief, that you compile a composite risk management work packet, that you bring along five times as many people (in which case the shithead NCOIC will ensure everyone is working) or half as many people (in which case the shithead NCOIC will be nowhere to be found and half of those people won't be doing a damn thing) as are required for the task, and afterwards that you conduct an after-action review that takes - at the barest mininum - thirty minutes. Any attempts to deviate from this mandatory procedure will result in anything from a negative counseling to UCMJ.

Last but not least: I had to listen to some fuckwit in a fancy suit talk about how we've lost the war just to score in an election, then I had to put on my battle-rattle, mount up in the MRAP, and go out on patrol.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

And Now for Something Completely Different

As it turns out, I have interests beyond randomly spewing about the goings-on in the world. One of these interests includes science fiction, both producing and ingesting. I'm currently fiddling with some of the old Mongoose Publishing Starship Troopers minis. They're... really lackluster compared to GW's plastics, as a lot of the kits don't seem to fit together quite right. Once they're together, though, they're not too bad. I'd have liked to see a better grade of detail on 'em and more variation of pose, but it's not bad. I've only basecoated one PAMI as a test dummy, but I've assembled several more and an Ape Marauder. The Arachnids have about eight warriors put together and most of a tanker bug. The tanker bug will be a lot of work, as the default pose it's in is pretty dull.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Between Young Soldiers and Old

I have a shibboleth I use to really tell people who've been in the Army for a very brief time from those who've been in long enough. It's a simple question: "If you were in a survival situation, life or death, would you eat a dead human?" Presumably, you didn't kill him for the sole purpose of eating him. There's lines, after all.
The young bucks almost always answer with a vehement "No!"
The old bastards almost always answer with a "Yeah, sure, why not?"
I don't think it's so much that the military encourages cannibalism as it is that us fellas who been in a minute have a better understanding of ourselves and have much fewer taboos. We have a better idea of what we will and won't do out of necessity, whereas civilians cling to certain illusions about what they won't do in order to survive.

In other news, I'm having pork for dinner.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Ant and the Auto Worker

Turns out a bunch of people in Indianapolis, IN voted themselves out of a job recently. Yeah, good going UAW. This is why democracy sucks: People cannot be trusted once they figure out they can vote themselves a pay raise. In this case, they refused to take a 50% pay cut to keep their jobs (they were getting paid close to $30 an hour). Four hundred and fifty-six people said that they would much rather continue at their pay for the next year or so than take less pay and continue to have jobs for a lot longer, and keep a plant open that would continue to employ other people.
What the hell is wrong here? Who in their right mind would think "They wouldn't shut the plant down, they have to keep it open!" Oh, right, everyone who thought the bailout bill was a great idea. Too big to fail, right? I mean, it's not like we're in a recession or anything.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Stuff

Today I got to sleep in 'til 0400. It's depressing to be able to type that sentence. We had a Class A inspection which I somehow passed 100% despite my uniform having been in a box since June and me putting on the bits of shiny by eyeball alone. I think that the first sergeant was distracted by the two epic fuck-ups standing behind me.

A kid fractured his neck being a dumbass in combatives. It was a simulation of crowd control, and he somehow managed to get his Kevlar to fall down over his eyes. He panicked. He took off at a sprint, tripped, and landed headfirst on a wall. He's in a halo thingie now, complete with struts drilled into his skull. He'll live, but I doubt he learned the lesson of "If your helmet covers your eyes, push it back up." It's amazing how the obvious solution evades us when we're in a panic.
I had to resist the urge to write 'Keep your chin up' on the get-well poster.

For the record, when I went through I immediately 'shot' the guy who grabbed my secondary weapon. A second guy tackled me, I kicked him off (shouting "Bad Iraqi! No cookie! No chocolat*!" as I did so) and 'shot' him. The NCO in our group did even better, beating them back with his rubber ducky before the big guy grabbed him. The NCO calmly put a pistol to the side of the big guy's head and said 'bang'. Another kid was pretty damn hostile - he had his knife out and 'in' the attacker before he hit the ground. It was pretty cool to watch.
*: Not misspelled, the Iraqis pronounce it funny.

We did a land nav course yesterday. The group I was with had it wrapped up forty minutes before the next team and about two hours before the last team. I'm fair to sure it's because they realized rather quickly (with a little pointer from yours truly) that land nav courses are maintained by a buncha old graybeards who don't want to walk for hundreds of meters, so almost all of the points are within about a hundred meters or so of a path. It was refreshing for them to put down the damn compass and just navigate. It's been my (albeit limited) experience that compasses are good for orientation, resection, and intersection, not for actually navigating your way from one place to another.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Best Reason for Cell Phones Ever

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/10/september.11.photo/index.html?hpt=C1

New York (CNN) -- Judson Box has never known exactly how his son, Gary, died on September 11, 2001. But an unexpected find nine years later has given him a glimpse into his son's final hours.

Gary, then 35, had been working as a firefighter in Brooklyn for roughly five years when the terrorists attacked. He did not speak to his father the day of the attack and his body was never recovered, leaving the circumstances of his death a mystery.

On September 11, 2009, Gary's sister, Christine, was visiting the Tribute Center when an employee asked her if she was looking for someone specifically. She mentioned her brother Gary, and the employee showed her to a picture of a firefighter in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel that had a caption bearing Gary's name.

But it was not Gary. It was a photo of Brian Bilcher, another member of Gary's fire squad who also perished on 9/11.

The discovery compelled Gary's father to dig deeper, clinging to the possibility that there could be a similar picture of his son out there.

Box scoured photo archives of the National 9/11 Museum and the memorial's website, which allows users to upload photos from 9/11 directly to the site.

After searching one night for more than five hours, Box went to sleep, physically and emotionally exhausted. The next morning, his wife, Helen, called him into the living room as he was eating breakfast.

She showed him a photo of a firefighter running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel toward the Towers alongside cars stuck in traffic.

This time, it was Gary.

"I was out of out control, emotionally," Box said. "Thanking God, being so happy that I had something to see."

Eager for more answers, Box contacted the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial in an attempt to track down the photographer. Several months later, the museum gave him the e-mail address of Erik Troelson, a Danish businessman who was stranded in the tunnel on his way to a meeting when he snapped the picture of Gary.

Having entered the tunnel before the first plane hit, Troelson was unaware of the tragedy that was taking place outside.

"Suddenly, the girl in the car in front of us got out crying," he said. "Then we turned on the radio and heard the events as they unfolded."

Soon after, firetrucks started racing through the tunnel, but a car with blown-out tires jammed traffic, he said.

"Some of the bigger trucks got stuck, so the guys started walking briskly past us," Troelson said. "Gary Box was one of the guys."

Box and Troelson corresponded via e-mail for months, with Troelson doing his best to recall the day's timeline of events.

On Tuesday, the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial foundation arranged for a surprise rendezvous between the men at their annual fundraiser.

They shared an emotional moment onstage. Afterward, they spoke at length, with Box expressing his gratitude.

"I think I said about 300 times thank you and God bless you, that's all I could say," Box said. "I think I told him I love you, and I don't tell anybody that."

Nine years after September 11, Box said he still feels the pain of that day. He doesn't have the means to make large donations to the museum, but has sought to promote their cause through his story.

"We need that in this country because too many people forget," Box said of the museum.

"I wish everybody could get what I got."


It didn't bother me when I had to watch as people I cared about got packaged up and shipped off on a Black Hawk for the medics to try and save their lives. I bore putting the black Lab down during my redeployment leave with a stiff upper lip. I shed tears when I read this story. Special mention to the Danish businessman, Erik Troelson, who snapped what's probably the last picture of Gary Box ever taken.

It's Been a While

Yeah, it's been almost three months since I've posted in this. Sue me, I'm the only one who reads this thing anyways.
It's also been nine years since the attacks on September eleventh. Talk about generationally defining moments. You saw 'em, I don't think I really need to say much more on the subject. If you didn't, the basic summary is a bunch of savages from the Middle East killed thousands of innocent civilians in four attacks - the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field south of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The flight that went down in Pennsylvania is, when it's remembered, remembered as the beginning of our War on Terror. Then-President George W. Bush received word while he was reading to a group of elementary school students and got a shit-ton of flak for continuing to read for seven minutes. It's amazing how much younger he looked back then. People like to say that, from then on forth, we were a nation at war.
Yeah. Right.
See, here's the fact of the matter: Your average American is not at war, nor has he made any 'sacrifices' for this war. He is, in fact, continuing on much as he did before the attacks. Sure, he's gotta spend more time jumping through hoops at airports, and the global jihad makes the news a lot more frequently, but less than two percent of the country is actually anywhere close to the war.
(That whole economic collapse thing? It's called the end result of living beyond your means like a jackass, not the result of the war's expenses.)

A pastor in Gainesville, Florida decided he'd get some free publicity by publically announcing he'd burn a couple hundred korans as a protest against the government's dhimmitude. Everyone and their mother's been pleading with him not to do it, not to antagonize the Muslims. Okay. One: Why should he be concerned with antagonizing Muslims? And this is speaking as one of those Joes who the jihadists target whenever they get their man-dresses in a bunch. It's like telling an abused wife not to talk back so she doesn't antagonize her husband. Two: How in the wide, wide world of sports can the creator of the infinite multiverse be offended by the actions of a mote of dust on a mote of dust in a cloud of dust in a cloud of dust? Three: With the strictures against idolatry, how can any material items be truly sacred? How can any item of this world be more sacred to the Creator than even the least of His children? I know my God would rather all the Bibles in the world be burned than one person be harmed by another.
I'm just sayin'.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Racists and Potato Farmers

I've arrived in Arizona, and even had my first experience with SB 1070.
It was so harsh, having to present a form of photo identification to the patrolman. Woe. Woe is me, for my life has been ruined.
Seriously, people, it's nothing compared to the checkpoints you'll see in Iraq. Having to drive past a checkpoint and wave your ID at him as you go past? Golly gee. When you examine the alternatives, I have to wonder at the mind that thinks it's better to have these 'undocumented citizens' pouring into our nation. I've had me a look at the towns they infest, and I gotta say it reminds me rather uncomfortably of the third-world pissholes and the urban slums I've seen. How can someone defend this? How can someone say "These people have a right to be here!" when all they are doing is importing the same shit that made Mexico so damn unlivable?

Don't get me wrong, I'm anything but opposed to immigration. I'm the great-grandson of an immigrant, and I consider my family story to be a pretty good example of just what they meant when they said America was the land of opportunity. My great-grandfather, Philip James Schnepp, was a German-speaking potato farmer in Michigan. He came over here with little more than the clothes on his back. What he taught his son led to my grandfather, Howard Schnepp, being a very successful businessman after he served as a Navy fighter pilot in the last days of World War II. What he taught his son led to my father, Steve Schnepp, being a successful automotive engineer. Not the best in his field, maybe, but good enough that they haven't sold his job to India yet. He's also done time as a church elder and a cub scout leader. I'm not sure what went wrong with his son. My cousins are a lawyer, a physicist of some kind (hey, whaddya want from me, I pull lanyards for a living!), and a pediatrician. It's not a stretch to say that I'm the scruffiest li'l bastard of the bunch,
In short? The Schnepp family came here with nothing, and while none of us were millionaires we've done more than well enough for ourselves. You can see how I have little sympathy for those protesting the 'lack of opportunity' those 'poor, oppressed minorities' have. They had something going decades ago. That time has come and gone. In America today, the only reason you fail is because you failed. It's not because 'The Man' is keeping you down. It's because you did not work hard enough. See, that's what my father taught me when I was growing up under his roof, something I'm pretty sure Philip James Schnepp knew even better than I: Those who do not work do not eat. I learned that how hard you worked, how frugal you were, and how smartly you operated had a direct relationship with how well off you were. It's a pity so many people seem to have forgotten this simple, basic, fundamental fact.

In other news, there are apparently conspiracy theories around this fort. Those are always good for a laugh. I wonder if the Air Force guys in Area 51 think the same thing about their conspiracy theories?

Monday, June 28, 2010

Moving

I'm currently en route from Alaska to Arizona. It really amazes me how much hotel rooms cost.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Having Trouble Staying Awake?

http://www.rense.com/general32/americ.htm

Little thoughts to keep you up at night. I really wish I'd stop seeing shit the commies said they wanted to do forty years ago that's going on as we speak.
I remember when "Commie" used to be a bad word. Now it seems a whole hell of a lot of folks are asking "What's wrong with socialism?"
Well, nothing... if you don't particularly like keeping the money you work for. The best example of why socialism is a bad idea, of course, is the anecdote of the liberal girl with Democrat parents who asks a wealthy man to donate to the poor. The wealthy man says "Well, why don't you come down to my house and clean my yard? I'll give you five dollars, and then you can give that five dollars to the beggar at Wal-Mart."
Little girl replies, "Well, why don't you have the beggar come clean your yard?"
It's simply human nature. We're selfish creatures. If we weren't, we would've gone extinct by now. In other news, I was awarded an MOVSM (That's Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal) today along with my PCS award (AAM, standard for junior enlisted). The difference between charity and collectivism is that charity is given freely, collectivism requires force. I really wish people would realize this. If more folks rubbed some neurons together, this country wouldn't be circling the drain.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Generation Me

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html

I found that link on Dennis Prager's site, and made the mistake of following it. What the holy heavenly fuck, are these people that demented? Best friends are unhealthy?
Reminds me of how my father used to say that they were child psychologists only because they were too honest to be pet therapists. Looks like a few more parents need to clue in to the con-job. Dennis Prager's got some good ideas in his head, if ya ask me.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/11/i-don-t.html

This girl gets the facts, and then draws the entirely *wrong* conclusion from them. No small surprise considering it comes from Newsweek.

I see these two things being related. Kids these days don't seem to value anything other than their own damn selves.

"Yes! This is my generation! We are self-entitled! All of us think we were truly destined to be great! And our moms and dads definitely help us out financially more than either child or parent would like. But we are also headstrong. We dream big. We don't give up. We embrace new technology. We hope. We don't say "no." We're EXCITED to live. We want to travel the world, see new cultures, break down barriers and change this world. And maybe it's just me being a product of this generation, but I know we will. So to answer the question: we're both hardy with just a hint of delusion (which trust me, comes in handy in this day in age).

-adrienne"

Some random post on a comment thread that I thought illustrated the situation quite nicely.

I call bullshit. There's a whole lot of quit in kids these days. A whole hell of a lot. I work with some of the finest men this generation has had to offer, and I remain unimpressed. Someone tried arguing that this equipped kids for the world they're inheriting. I instead say that if the world we inherit remains, that if civilization survives, it will *not* be because of the majority of this generation. Spoiled, self-entitled, headstrong, and delusional punks do not have it in them to weather the islamofacist, econazi, collectivist storm that's intensifying as we speak. Hardy my left nut. We're the generation that passes up work and lives off of our parents rent-free. We're the generation trained by our parents. We're the generation that, if things continue unchecked, will see the end of American-brand capitalism and the end of the Republic as we knew it. Any questions?

Best Friends are Unhealthy... In Crazy Land

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html

Seriously?

Jesus on Non-Violence

Yeah, I'll be lazy and post something an acquaintance sent me. She didn't want credit, on account of having found it on a public board and thinking that this is something that ought to be spread around more. I agree.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:38:45 RSV)

On Not Resisting Evil- Jesus counceled against retaliation, not against submission. Jesus never submitted, he resisted and actively fought against the evils he saw. His message was to not let evil dictate the terms of your opposition, don't let your enemy turn you into the very thing you hate. Which is why he counseled to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors.

Turn the other cheek -Luke 5:39, Matt 5:29, and Did 1:4 is often translated incorrectly. The misunderstanding arises out of the *nature* of the blow (slap). Most people think of a blow with the fist. But a right-handed blow would strike the left cheeck. A left hook would hit the right cheek of the victim. However, in Jesus' time the left hand was never used publicly. It was a punishable crime to even gesture with it in some areas. The only way to strike someone's right cheek with the right hand is with the back of the hand. This is not a blow to cause injury, but rather a symbolic act intended to humiliate. It was always administered from a superior to inferior, master to slave, man to woman, parent to child, Roman to Jew. The message was "get back in your place, submit to authority. You are my inferior and as such are scum."

Jesus assumes those listening are accustomed to such treatment...thus "If anyone slaps you..." In effect Jesus is advising: Don't take this kind of treatment anymore. Turn the other cheek. (role play it if it helps...) It is an act of defiance. It is now impossible with the other cheek presented to repeat the backhand blow. If it didn't work the first time to put the intended victim in his/her place, it won't ever work, because the power is symbolic. The master will dare not use his fist because only equals fight with fists and that is the last thing the master wants for the inferior to believe he is equal.
By turning the other cheek the victim is saying, "I am a human being and will not be treated this way." It is not the way to avoid punishment. It is not the way of submission.

Giving Cloak- people in Jesus' day only wore an inner garment (chiton) and an outer garment (himation). When poor people wanted/needed to take out a loan they often mortgage they very coats on their backs. The creditor was allowed to keep the garment by day but was required to return it at night so the person would not freeze. When a person fell behind on his loan due to the exorbitant interest (up to 250%!) he was often taken to court. It is to this situation that Jesus is speaking (and he is speaking to the debtors not the creditors). By offering not only the outer garment but also the inner garment Jesus is suggesting the debtor strip naked--in the courtroom! Nakedness was very taboo in Israel and the shame belonged to the viewing party. What shame the creditor would feel having the tables turned on him exposing the whole economic structure.

Second Mile- Roman legions were allowed to conscript civilians (which often meant Jews) to carry their gear. But the law stipulated a limit of 1 mile. By refusing to give back the gear and walking the 2 mile the Jew puts the Roman soldier in the unenviable position of being noticed by their Centurion who was at liberty to impose any punishment he saw fit. So this has nothing to do with extending yourself out of goodness. It is about not allowing yourself to be taken advantage of but instead to turn the tables on the persectors.

Jesus is not giving legalistic rhetoric in response to unfair situations instead he is offering ideas for his followers to think on and then provide their own creative responses to break the cycle of humiliation. To shake the foundations of oppression with humor and even ridicule.

This knowledge was imparted to me by Walter Wink, a noted seminarian at Auburn Theological Seminary in NYC. I'm not claiming that bombing is non-violent. I am not claiming that Bush believes that bombing is non-violent. I am claiming that Jesus advocated ACTIVE resistance via non-violence not submission. FRC-Just because you haven't heard anything like it doesn't make it wrong...do some research on the laws of Rome...and aren't most forms of non-violent protest by their vary nature acts of defiance ala MLK, Ghandi, and gasp, Jesus?!"


My job can best be described as making sure that someone who turns the other cheek can reasonably expect to survive doing so.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

It's Not the First Time I've Said This...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/22/AR2010062200813_pf.html

Now, I'm not the good General's biggest fan. I have serious doubts as to whether or not he's actually had boots on the ground at any point in the recent past, as he seems hell-bent on reducing the lethality of our engagements... for our enemies. He's the guy who handed out the order about not going into areas where they could reasonably expect to take contact. That kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it? General Petraeus he is not, and it's made even worse by his civilian commander. General McChrystal is trying to apply a strategy that worked in Iraq to a whole different ballgame. Petraeus's strategy in Iraq worked because we had the insurgents whupped. We haven't whupped the Afghani resistance yet, so we haven't established in their minds that we're Big Billy Badass. Until we do that, any peaceful overtures will be seen as attempts at surrender.

But this Administration? Holy heavenly God, America, what were you thinking? These people seem to be even more dedicated to losing Afghanistan than the Taliban is to winning it! They shouldn't be demanding apologies, they should be straightening up their acts. Like I say whenever someone complains about me going on about one of my many triggers, "I'll quit saying it when it quits being true." How long did Obama sit on McChrystal's request for more troops? How many men died because Obama couldn't make a decision recommended him by the expert *he* appointed? How many men have died because the American civilians - that's you, every damn one of you who voted for the Dhimmicrats - demanded that we fight this war like civilized men and not kill any of those precious, precious civilians?

Here's a little secret I'm going to let you all in on. There is no such thing as an "Innocent Civilian" in Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other Middle Eastern pisshole. Honest. There's only degrees of guilt. You say how horrible it is for children to die, and it is. Even so, the little ones grow up to be the big ones - that is, if they aren't used as suicide bombs first - and the big ones kill Westerners whenever they get it in their heads to do so. I say it's horrible that American children die because of these people. We Westerners respect discipline and restraint. Middle Easterners respect strength. By restraining ourselves so unnecessarily, we're actually working against our goals. We are not fighting civilized men. We're fighting barbarians. It's long past time for us to take the kid gloves off and go after them with the full might of the American military.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day

I know, it was actually yesterday. My father doesn't read this blog, and I think he might have a heart attack if I remembered something like Father's Day, Mother's Day, somebody's birthday, Christmas, etc.

It wasn't until I got out into the world that I really came to understand just how great a father I had. Sure, he has his faults. Everyone does. He's still a good man. Growing up, though, there were times I hated him for the things he did.

He taught me right from wrong. He taught me that the only way to get something was to work for it, even if he had a hard time suppressing that generous streak of his. He taught me generosity, too. Patience, kindness, and a willingness to open up a can of whup-ass when someone desperately needs it.
Typically that last was on me, applied with a leather belt after I got into a fistfight at school for the umpteenth time.
He taught me duty, honor, respect, and loyalty. My father never served in the military, but he knew those things better than many in uniform. He taught me faith and patriotism. Not the kinds that shout themselves from the street corners and the rooftops at the first hint of a crisis, but the quiet, strong varieties that weather any storm and come out the stronger for it. He taught me the proper way to fold a flag and respect for the flag at an age when most kids were still working on learning to ride bikes. There are grown men in uniform who still don't know how to fold a flag. He taught me the sanctity of marriage, and the importance of spouse and family. Coming from a generation that thought it was cool to question authority and disrespect those who hold it, he taught me to respect my betters and my elders, that there's a difference between someone having to earn my respect and me being disrespectful to them. He didn't teach me these things by telling me them, he taught me by doing them.

I look at some of the other sperm donors my battle-buddies have had. Deadbeats, liberals, drunks, drug addicts, abusers. It seems a good father these days is about as rare as a unicorn, and I can't help but wonder how much better the world would be if there were a million more like him. If I ever do wind up breeding, I hope to be half as good a father as he was.

Support our Students?

A few days back I saw someone on a forum asking why the nineteen-year-old in Afghanistan was more worthy of support than the nineteen-year-old in university. As the forum was one of the many where political and religious debate are discouraged, the topic was quickly shut down after my, ah, response. Let's call him Jack. Jack is from the UK, so there's some cultural differences. As a more moderate type explained to me in private messages after I went after Jack with both barrels, Europe lacks a lot of the "Military Worship" that the US has. He said it's only recently become socially unacceptable to spit on men in uniform.
I think you can imagine my reaction. "Ungrateful pissants" was only the start. I think that might provide fodder for another post, but not today.

I'll go more into my reasoning here, and I'll pull experiences off my own life. I was, as matter of fact, a nineteen-year-old in college and a twenty-year-old in Iraq. I had my twenty-first birthday in a guard tower. The sons of bitches on duty with me, having found out my birthdate from my section chief, sang "Happy Birthday" over the radio. Bastards. I digress.

Let's imagine, if you will, two paths a life may have taken. Picture a nineteen-year-old male, fresh out of high school. We'll call him Tim. Let's pretend this is before the economy tanked, say around '07, so Tim here has actual job prospects. On the one hand, our man Tim could choose to go to college, get a degree and work in some cubicle until he dies of old age. Retirement, as we're beginning to realize, is just not gonna happen. On the other hand, our man Tim could choose to enlist, go to war, and if he comes back he might just come back fucked up in the head.
If he were me, he was fucked up in the head to begin with so it was just drops in the bucket.

Let's say Tim goes to college. He works part-time at some soul-killing minimum-wage job like all college students should, and the most he gets out of it is a real motivation to do well in school so he doesn't have to keep doing that same soul-killing minimum-wage job. He does fairly well in his classes, not quite as well as he did in high school but well enough. When he wraps up his time in college he's twenty-three, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to start a career in whatever field he studied for.
Jack seems to think that our man Tim deserves our support, morally and financially, because Tim is studying art or history or engineering or whatever. I disagree. Tim is studying, and the only real, direct beneficiary of Tim's studying is Tim. Tim's parents might enjoy a more comfortable retirement, if they have one, if he does well, but overall he's really the only person who benefits from his college education.

Let's take a look at the other path, and say that Tim decides to enlist. He joins the Army, signs up for a combat arms MOS. Take your pick, my personal preference was 13B. Sucker that I am, my day-to-day wound up looking more like an 11B. Our man Tim, though, wraps up basic training with about four to six months to train with his unit before he deploys over to Iraq. There's still and insurgency there, and overall Tim has a bad time. He manages to avoid catching any serious injuries, but he sees some stuff of the sort that you just can't unsee. He has some buddies blown up, but doesn't get into any firefights himself. He picks up physical and mental scars, and the deployment changes him in ways most people simply can't understand. When Tim finishes his first four-year contract he's twenty-three, but most people think he's closer to thirty. Some good has come of his time in the Army, he's stronger in mind and fitter in body than he's ever been, but overall he comes away damaged. His job prospects are actually pretty lousy, as many employers don't want to risk hiring a veteran who has the dreaded PTSD. He didn't acquire any job skills in the Army, at least none documented on paper, so the best he can really hope for is that someone he knows is looking to hire somebody. Tim comes to the realization that while civilians will smile to his face and thank him for his service, he can't find too many willing to pull the knife out of his back.
Jack seems to think that this version of Tim isn't particularly worthy of support, being that all he did was go over to some foreign country and pick fights with people Jack's pretty sure would leave us alone if we'd just leave them alone. What Jack doesn't seem to understand is that when Tim joined the Army, he didn't join some mercenary outfit. It's called the service for a reason. Just like policemen and firefighters, servicemen provide a fundamental necessity for modern life. The problem is that we do our job too well, and there are a lot of people in the Free World who take their liberty for granted. There are a lot of people who fail to understand that freedom is not the natural order of things, that it takes a constant, active struggle - both politically and militarily - for a nation to remain free.

Remind me sometime, and I'll have to go into just what freedom is. I've had plenty of time to think on tower guard.