This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Dave Hardin

  • Army Sergeant Michael Lindsey – No Purple Heart

    Army Sergeant Michael Lindsey – No Purple Heart

    The folks at Military Phony sent us their work on James Michael Lindsey.  He prefers to go by Michael or Mike.

    For some odd reason, a lot of people in Lindsey’s hometown of Haskell, Texas are under the impression that he has a Purple Heart from being wounded in Iraq.  Many of them might think that because he was designated an “Everyday Hero” and it was printed in the Abilene News-Reporter.

    In 2009, Lindsey, who lived in Haskell from age 5, was a medic in the U.S. Army when the Humvee in which he was riding struck an improvised explosive device, killing three of the soldiers and badly injuring Lindsey. For his actions, Lindsey received numerous medals, including the Purple Heart.

    Lindsey even saved a life before he passed out.

    “It was horrible,” said a friend, XXXX XXXXXX, of the incident. “He saved one soldier’s life with a tracheotomy but he couldn’t get to the others before he passed out himself.”

    People that knew Lindsey well questioned his version of events.  So, a quick examination of his military records show…

    Well, there is no Purple Heart in his records but he was in Iraq.

    As a side note, seven soldiers from Fort Carson CO were killed in Iraq in 2009 – five by a suicide truck bomb and two by non-hostile vehicle accidents. None match the incident that was described in the newspaper article.

    The newspaper was contacted and so was Michael.   Michael came clean but we believe that had something to do with the fact that he knew he was being investigated.  We would not want people thinking that he just had some kind of spontaneous act of humble honesty.

     

    Michael also promised he would contact the newspaper and set the record straight.  We are still waiting to hear from the Abilene News-Reporter.  They are not the first paper to be duped by a Stolen Valor Vulture, we hope they become one of the few that have the professional integrity to publish a meaningful correction.

    Many of the people we expose like to move around the country.  We have seen them set up shop again, sharpen their story and keep on telling lies.  We hope this will not be the case with Mikey.   It’s still a mystery as to who said what to whom and how it all ended up in the newspaper, but hopefully, it will all get sorted out and the good citizens that read that paper will eventually get the truth, as uncomfortable as it may be.

    There’s a common expression in Hollywood when it comes to movies — “Don’t ever let the truth get in the way of a good story.”  We just don’t think that should apply to newspaper articles.  Michael Lindsey had a perfectly honorable military career and served during a time when most people would not.  He had every reason to be proud of what he actually did do,  his embellishments are disappointing.

  • Tuesday morning feel good stories.

    Tuesday morning feel good stories.

    From RALEIGH, N.C.

    Not sure this will make ya “feel good” but it will get your heart pumping this morning.

    A store worker has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a young man who tried to rob a Raleigh store at gunpoint in July, police say.

    Police said that 21-year-old Derrick Malik Wiley was a suspect in the mid-July robbery at the Mini Mart on the 5500 block of Old Wake Forest Road.

    Wiley and a store employee exchanged gunfire the night of July 14 and Wiley was shot in the leg, police said.

    Police found Wiley about two and a half miles from the store and he died in the 4200 block of Waterbury Road.

    The owner of the Mini Mart told CBS 17 two days after the shooting that the incident began when someone outside the store saw a man wearing a mask walking inside, so they called 911.

    Once inside, the suspect pointed a gun at the store clerk, who handed over about $400 in cash, the store owner said.

    The owner says as the suspect ran outside, the clerk followed him out the door and told the suspect that the police were on their way.

    That’s when the suspect shot at the clerk, who then shot back, the store owner said.

    Ramy Ramsis Hanna, 47, is charged with voluntary manslaughter after a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment Monday, police said.

    From DeLand, FL

    A man says he climbed onto a DeLand convenience store’s roof Saturday morning in an attempt to get into the business, because he was thirsty, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

    The Woodland Food Mart was closed when Michael Monacelli, 31, told deputies he tried to get inside the store because he was dehydrated and needed something to drink. He tried getting in by breaking a window, the suspect told deputies. Unable to get into the business, Monacelli climbed a tree and onto the roof, according to the arrest report. He told deputies that he then crawled into a hole on the roof  for shelter.

    The suspect, who became stuck on the roof, was found around 8 a.m. by the business owner opening up for the day when they heard Monacelli’s calls for help.

    “I’m dying. I need help,” the business owner said he heard Monacelli saying.

    Deputies said when they arrived, they had trouble hearing Monacelli’s cries for help because he had crawled inside a hole behind the business’s sign. Deputy body camera video captured the encounter.  Volusia County Fire Rescue came out and used a ladder to help Monacelli, who was only wearing shorts and socks, get down from the roof, according to the report.

    Monacelli repeatedly told EMS and deputies he needed water and was given a bottle of water, the body camera videos shows.

    While explaining how he came to be on the roof, a deputy confronted Monacelli about his reasoning, pointing to the full bottle, saying “You’ve had that water for almost 30 minutes and you’ve had two sips of it.”

    “I was trying to put your thing first above my hydration,” Monacelli told the deputy, referring to his questions.

    As he was being placed into a patrol car, Monacelli said he didn’t even try to climb on the roof, “it just happened.”

    Monacelli was cleared by medical personal before he was booked into the Volusia County Jail on charges of  attempted burglary and property damage.

  • America’s deadliest battle took place 100 years ago.

    It was America’s deadliest battle ever, with more than 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed, tens of thousands wounded and more ammunition fired than in the whole of the Civil War. The Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918 was also a great American victory that helped bring an end to World War I.

    A remembrance ceremony took place on Sunday afternoon in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery, which is surrounded by green fields and forests in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, a village in northeastern France. More than 14,000 graves will be lit with candles to honor those buried there.

    List of battles with most United States military fatalities

    The Meuse-Argonne offensive produced warrior heroes like Sgt. Samuel Woodfill.

    On Oct. 12, according to his Medal of Honor citation, Woodfill was leading his company through a dense fog towards the village of Cunel when it came under heavy fire. Then a lieutenant, Woodfill set out ahead of his line with two Soldiers trailing and located a German machine gun nest. Woodfill successfully flanked the nest and eliminated three of its four occupants with his rifle. The fourth occupant charged Woodfill. After a hand-to-hand struggle, Woodfill killed the enemy with his pistol.

    The company continued its advance when it came under fire again. Woodfill once again rushed ahead. Despite being hindered by the effects of mustard gas, Woodfill shot several of the enemy while taking three others prisoner. Minutes later, Woodfill rushed a third machine gun pit and killed five men with his rifle before jumping into the pit with his pistol, where he encountered two German soldiers. With his ammunition exhausted, Woodfill grabbed a nearby pickax and killed both.

    With the machine guns silenced, Woodfill’s company continued its advance through Cunel under severe fire.

     

    During 47 days of combat, 1.2 million American troops led by Gen. John J. Pershing fought to advance on the entrenched positions held by about 450,000 Germans in the Verdun region. More than 26,000 U.S. troops were killed and about 96,000 were wounded.

    The offensive that started on Sept. 26, 1918, was one of several simultaneous Allied attacks that brought the four-year war to an end, leading the Germans to retreat and sign the armistice on November 11.

    Pershing said “the success stands out as one of the very great achievements in the history of American arms.”

     

     

     

  • When killing the enemy is a crime.

    When killing the enemy is a crime.

    There are too many cases of warriors being sent to prison for killing people in a war zone.  In the most recent report, a Navy SEAL is being detained.

    A Navy SEAL is being held in a military brig while authorities investigate the stabbing death of an Islamic State combatant while he was subdued in Iraq last year.

    The Navy Times reported Friday the unidentified SEAL based in California was being held in the brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, though he has not been charged with a crime. Such confinement is allowed in the military justice system.

    One of the cases I have followed for years is Sgt. Derrick Miller’s.   I find his story so disturbing because I can envision myself doing exactly what he and multiple witnesses testified that he did.

    During a combat mission in a hostile area of Afghanistan in September 2010, Sgt. Derrick Miller’s attention was drawn to an Afghan national who had penetrated the defense perimeter set up by the US Army. The Afghan man was positively identified by another soldier under Sgt. Miller’s command who recognized him from a detainment the previous day. The man in question was the driver of a truck reported by military intelligence as transporting members of the opposition to a nearby combat firefight. US military intelligence let the trucks pass. Sgt. Miller was sent to question the Afghan national after observing the suspicious behavior of the man as he reconnoitered their defense perimeter. It appeared that the man was gathering information, and since he was already identified as an enemy combatant, Sgt. Miller was acting instinctively to protect his unit by detaining this man. During the questioning, which took place in an open area with another US soldier and an Afghan interpreter present, Sgt. Miller asked the man why he was within the perimeter. The man initially claimed to be an electrician who was responding to a downed power line, but later claimed to be there to fix a water pump. He had no tools with him, and no apparent means of carrying out the repairs he was supposedly there to address. The man was originally observed accompanied by two men whom he claimed were his sons and helpers. Both of those men had returned to the village without having performed any electrical work, and both in separate directions. They were not present during Sgt. Miller’s questioning. During the harsh questioning, the Afghan insurgent attempted to grab Sgt. Miller’s weapon, and was shot and killed in the struggle. Within 45 minutes, SGT Miller’s unit was attacked on three sides by Afghan insurgents. During Sgt. Miller’s trial, all the soldiers who appeared from his unit testified that the enemy had to have reconnoitered their position closely in order to attack in the manner they did. There was also testimony that the incident with Sgt. Miller forced the entire unit into full alert / 100% security, which prepared the soldiers for the attack. Because of Sgt. Miller’s actions, no American lives were lost due to the level of their preparation. As the details of the events of that day came to light, the US soldiers were suspicious of the Afghan man and the two other young men with him that he claimed were his sons and helpers. Yet at different times during the few hours that the Afghan was inside the perimeter, each of these men were sent back to the village by different routes. The Afghan interpreter testified that this happened. It is believed by the soldiers present at the time that these two men were carrying information to the insurgents detailing the most effective targets for the ensuing attack. Sgt. Miller believes, despite his conviction and sentence of life in prison for the murder of this Afghan insurgent, that he was acting solely in self-defense and with sound judgment.

    Another link on Miller is HERE.   We are not alone in dealing with these cases, Canadian Robert Semrau and British Sergeant Alexander Blackman are just two more examples.   I am not suggesting that crimes are not committed during a time of war, I am suggesting that we no longer engage in war.  What we do is deploy Americans into places where we expect them to only kill people that don’t offend our social pallet.

    Conducting operations that require warriors to seek permission from people who are at times not even in the same hemisphere should not be classified as a “War”.  The  Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E holds the remains of many thousands of service members.  We now know that too many of them should have never been buried among the dishonored.  This is not a new problem, we have just not learned to deal with it very well.

    Too often the enemy of a warrior is a peaceful citizen with offended sensibilities.

     

     

  • Monday morning feel good stories

    Monday morning feel good stories

    Things are a bit quiet on the self-defense use today so I thought this would be a nice feel-good story.

    From Jefferson County, KS

    DJ Klenklen, 28, left, and his 23-year-old brother Kody pose with the bull elk DJ shot with a muzzleloader on Sept. 6 in Jefferson County. The bull will not be officially scored until Nov. 5, after the skull and antlers dry, but game wardens said they think it could be a Kansas record non-typical bull elk. Lacy Klenklen Courtesy

    A Kansas hunter shot what may be a state record bull elk in northeast Kansas, and it was the first elk he’d ever seen outside of captivity.

    Stories of a rogue bull elk showing up the past two Septembers at the same Jefferson County property where DJ Klenklen had just landed permission to hunt drove his imagination wild.

    “If I see this thing, I’m buying a tag,” Klenklen, 28, said he told his wife during the summer months leading up to the season.

    The landowner had told him about the elk and, knowing Klenklen was an avid whitetail deer hunter, asked him if he wanted to hunt it. But before he bought a tag, he wanted to make sure it was there.

    “We’re thinking of packing up, it’s about 6:45, and he bugles, man, and it made the hairs stand up all over my body,” Klenklen said.

    “I heard him start coming through those trees and he was just coming like a freight train. I’ll never forget the sound of him coming through those trees.

    “He’s making this noise — I don’t even want to try to replicate it, but it’s like a drum. And it’s really deep and short. And then he came out of the woods, and, man, I have never felt adrenaline like that in my life,” he said. “I was shaking so bad.”

    Klenklen said he got two clean, broadside shots at the bull at about 60 yards, and the bull didn’t go far before it fell.

    “All’s you could see in the milo was his antlers sticking up, and it was a beautiful thing,” Klenklen said.

    The whole story is HERE

    I remember my first Buck, the thing stomped through the woods just like that.  I was using one of my friend’s fathers guns, a 303 British.  I remember watching that huge beast stomp out under the power lines, steam blowing from its nostrils.  I shot and it seemed like an hour went by and nothing happened…then the huge beast dropped with a tremendous thud.   I could not have been any more proud than I was carrying all 3 points back to the truck.  I no longer feared Godzilla.

    Have a great day.

  • Study released on Sexual Assaults

    Study released on Sexual Assaults

    Color me skeptical but I do not believe that 1 in 25 male Sailors have been sexually assaulted.  The issue here is what criteria are they using to define sexual assault.  To some, anyone who questions the results of these kinds of studies is supporting a rape culture.

    A sailor from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command carries a pair of shoes, painted teal to symbolize victims of sexual assault, as she participates in the Aug. 25 “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” command event at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lisa Reese/Navy)

    Across the services, the safest places to work were at the Pentagon or other national capital region headquarters buildings, according to the report.

    The Pentagon released the data on Friday as part of a much-anticipated report, that for the first time looks at the likelihood of sexual assault on a military installation or ship and ranks them by service.

    The rankings were commissioned by the Defense Department and aim to help military officials to better identify the risk factors for sexual assault and how to most effectively deploy prevention and response efforts.

    It is based on 2014 data that was gathered through more than 170,000 surveys of active-duty service members collected by the RAND Corporation. Because of the five-year time lag, defense officials said the rankings do not reflect what the most dangerous bases are today. The study faced other limitations too, such as that assaults reported that were linked to a base could have occurred off-base or off-ship, such as while on liberty or leave. But the information is still jarring:

    NAVY

    In one stunning example, RAND found that “on one of these ships, we estimate that close to one in every 25 men was sexually assaulted in FY 2014.”

    But RAND won’t name the ship, saying it was trying to respect the anonymity of the respondents. In the survey, RAND eliminated ships and bases with fewer than 50 survey responses, or with ship or base populations of less than 100 personnel.

    For Navy women, ships were particularly dangerous, according to the report.

    For both men and women, Navy ships assigned to the FPO code 96671 — which based on Navy data includes cruisers Champlain and Lake Erie, submarines Louisiana and Louisville, and destroyer William P. Lawrence — “are associated with risk more than 100 percent greater than the average installation-specific risk in the Navy,” RAND found.

    Navy officials did not receive an advanced copy of the RAND report but told Military Times that they look forward to working with the think tank on future surveys.

    “We are aware of the 2016 RAND Military Workplace Study Survey, and we value the approaches that RAND takes to cutting edge research,” the officials said in a written statement emailed to Military Times.

    “The Navy has further engaged with RAND to help us take a closer look at the conclusions of this report by conducting follow-on projects to provide more actionable information about where sexual assault risk is highest and lowest in the Navy.

    ARMY

    Fort Drum in upstate New York was one of the most dangerous places for both Army men and women in terms of risk of sexual assault.

    For Army women, the top five locations in terms of risk of sexual assault included Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Osan Air Base, Korea; Fort Drum; Okinawa, Japan; and Fort Riley, Kansas.

    For men, the top five locations with the highest risk were located in Italy; at Fort Myer, Virginia; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Drum; and Rose Barracks, Germany.

    “While the lowest-risk installations for men are dominated by small, command or support installations, the highest-risk list includes many installations with a more prominent combat unit presence,” the study found.

    “The Army remains fully committed to reducing sexual assault and sexual harassment in its ranks,” the Army said in a statement to Military Times. “RAND’s risk estimates, which are based on survey data from over four years ago, may help focus ongoing efforts to combat these harmful behaviors. While prevalence rates of sexual assault among the force have declined, the Army continues to integrate and update prevention programs.”

    AIR FORCE

    Undergraduate pilot training bases were among the most dangerous places for both Air Force men and women for the risk for sexual assault, the report found.

    For men, the top five installations in terms of risk of sexual assault were Altus Air Force Base; Laughlin Air Force Base; Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington D.C.’ Luke Air Force Base, Arizona; and Columbus Air Force Base.

    MARINE CORPS

    Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, in California, was one of the top five most dangerous places for male and female Marines for risk of sexual assault, the report found.

    Responses for male Marines showed that the other most risky locations to be assigned included Japan, Korea, and Afghanistan.

    In a statement, the Marines said more research is needed to understand whether increased risk is really tied to an installation.

    “The RAND study documented differences in sexual assault risk across installations; the reasons for the variations in the levels of risk is not highlighted in this report,” said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Craig Thomas. “There are many possible causes for differences, such as command climate, alcohol availability and price, crime rates in the surrounding civilian communities, or the transitory presence of one or more sexual offenders. Although the current study cannot identify the relationship between risk factors and risk estimates, additional research may help answer these questions.”

    Working to reduce risk

    Galbreath said that now that DoD has the data, it will be able to look for installations where additional steps can be taken to reduce the risk of sexual assault. For example, around 2015, at Great Lakes Naval Base near Chicago, DoD noticed a spike in sexual assault reports and decided to take a closer look.

    “What the Navy found out is that, locally there, on the weekends, all of the recruits were going off base and having hotel parties. And a lot of these hotel parties involved alcohol. And a lot of those situations ended up with sailors getting sexually assaulted,” Galbreath said.

    With that, and training initiatives, Galbreath said, the numbers started to improve.

    “Sexual assault began to fall,” Galbreath said. “So that’s the kind of local work [that can reduce risk of attack]. But there’s 270 places that we have to do that at.”

    The next survey is currently getting sent to respondents now, Galbreath said, and the results should be available in April.

    I do not have the time this weekend to read and research this study.  I may not be a smart man but I know what bullshit smells like.  Somebody or bodies are making a fortune publishing this kind of nonsense.  1 actual sexual assault is 1 too many, diluting what sexual assault is and having no means testing to verify numbers brings skepticism to the issue.

     

    Link to published Study

     

     

     

     

  • Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer gets the Medal of Honor

    Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer gets the Medal of Honor

     

    An Army Special Forces soldier will receive the Medal of Honor for fighting through an enemy ambush and saving his teammates’ lives 10 years ago in Afghanistan, the White House announced Friday.

    Former Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, who had already received a Silver Star for his actions, will be honored with the nation’s highest award for valor by President Donald Trump during an Oct. 1 ceremony at the White House.

    Shurer served as a Special Forces medic with 3rd Special Forces Group.

    On April 6, 2008, Shurer and his team were assigned to take out high-value targets of the Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin in Shok Valley, according to the Army.

    As the soldiers moved through the valley, they were attacked by enemy machine gun, sniper and rocket-propelled grenade fire, according to the White House.

     

  • Sunday morning feel good stories

    Sunday morning feel good stories

    From PEORIA, AZ

    A man discharged his gun into the ground to scare off a man with a knife and brass knuckles in Peoria.  Peoria police report that on September 13 they were called to an apartment complex near 82rd Avenue and Bell Road.

    Witnesses say a man, identified as 28-year-old David Rubio, attacked three people by pushing them, pulling their hair, or punching them.  While hitting the last victim, Rubio allegedly pulled out a knife and brass knuckles and again advanced on the victim.

    The victim pulled out a handgun and fired one shot into the ground, causing Rubio to run away.  He was later located, arrested, and charged with aggravated assault.

    From Clovis, NM

    A Texas man says he shot a would-be mugger who came at him with a knife early Friday morning outside a Clovis motel.

    Zion Flores, 20, of Mission, Texas, said he was in his car about 8:15 a.m. when two men came toward him, one slashing his tire with a knife. Flores said he responded by pulling a gun and firing in self-defense.

    “I seen them coming to the window, I just lowered the (car) window, and ‘Pop, pop, pop,’” Flores said.  Clovis police said a 40-year-old man was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to his buttocks. He was in stable condition at a Lubbock hospital on Friday afternoon.  Police and prosecutors said no arrests had been made Friday afternoon.

    “They (police) want to complete their investigation to determine if it was self defense,” said Assistant District Attorney Jake Boazman.  “It’s not in dispute who did the shooting.”

    Flores said the second man ran from the scene at the Travel Lodge motel after he shot the first one “in the ass.”

    Police Capt. Roman Romero said in a news release that “all relevant witnesses and subjects were transported to the Clovis Police Department for interview. … The investigation into this event is ongoing.”  Flores said he is staying at the motel while working in Clovis.