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

Author: Hondo

  • Purple Hearts Reunited Comes Through Again

    T/Sgt. Emilio Ricci was a medic in the Pacific during World War II. He was assigned to the 43rd Infantry Division.

    71 years ago today, he was KIA. His NOK at the time received his Purple Heart.

    Over the years, T/Sgt Emilio’s Purple Heart. . . wandered. The medal was rediscovered in a VFW attic in 2011.

    A recent vet – also a Purple Heart recipient – notified Purple Hearts Reunited. Today, the medal was returned to T/Sgt Ricci’s family.

    Well done, all. And especially well done, Purple Hearts Reunited.

  • New PACAF Commander Announced

    The USAF has announced its next Commander for PACAF:  Lt. Gen. Lori Robinson.  She’s currently the Vice-Commander for Air Combat Command.

    Lt. Gen. Robinson won’t be the first woman to command one of the Air Component Commands.  And she won’t be the USAF’s first female 4-star, either.

    But I do have to admit one thing about the announcement gives me pause.  And it’s not the general’s gender.

    It’s also not her leadership ability.  It’s exceptionally rare for someone to get to the O-9 level without being a good leader.

    It’s the fact that she’s not a pilot.  She’s an air battle manager.

    Call me old fashioned, but I think someone who commands an organization with a mission of flying in combat simply needs to be someone who’s been a pilot themselves.  (The previous female Air Combat Component commander – at AFRICOM – reputedly was a longtime transport aircraft pilot.)

    But I’m neither an aviator nor a zoomie.  Maybe I’m wrong.

    Comments?

  • Dare to Criticize the POTUS, Get Investigated by DoJ

    Seriously.

    DOJ investigates Nebraska parade float critical of Obama

    So much for that pesky “free speech” concept.  I guess to some folks, free speech means, “Free for me – but not for thee.”  I guess the same holds true regarding that little oath taken to “. . . preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . “, too.

  • Berghdal Completes “Reintegration Process”

    The Army Times reports that Bowe Bergdahl has completed his “reintegration process.” He will be returned to duty with US Army North, duty station Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. He will reportedly be assigned administrative duties.

    That same Army Times article also notes the following:

    An Army fact-finding investigation conducted in the months after Bergdahl’s disappearance concluded he walked away from his post of his own free will, CNN reported, citing an official who was shown the report.

    But the report said there was no definitive conclusion Bergdahl was a deserter because that would require knowing his intent — something officials couldn’t learn without talking to him, a U.S. military official has said.

    Well, duh – of course the conclusion that Bergdahl was a deserter involves a determination that he intended to remain away permanently.  That’s the essential distinction between AWOL/UA and desertion:  the intent to remain away permanently.

    But there are ways to infer intent that don’t involve interviewing the individual in question and accepting their words at face value. Like maybe interviewing those he actually served with immediately before he went “over the hill”, maybe.

    You can also examine other related reports.  It also seems that the US Intelligence Community (IC) was not exactly sitting on their hands during Bergdahl’s absence from military control.  Specifically, the IC apparently conducted a substantial investigation regarding Berghdal and his activities while “out and about”. The file resulting from that IC investigation is reportedly quite extensive.

    As of early June, no relevant Congressional committee had asked to see the IC’s Berghdal files. It’s unclear whether or not that’s happened since early June or not.

    Hmm. Perhaps MG Dahl can quicken the pace of his investigation. Maybe he will get around to re-interviewing the folks who served in Afghanistan “real soon now”. They might be able to shed some light on the guy’s intent through statements he made to or around them.

    And maybe he’ll take a look at what the IC has regarding the matter, too. That just might shed a bit of light on the subject as well.

  • Pink Slips for Soldiers

    We all knew this was coming.  Last week, the Pentagon announced it was becoming reality.

    Last Thursday, the VCSA, GEN John Campbell, indicated that 1,100 Army officers had been identified for involuntary separation due to “sequestration”.  Now, it appears that the planned overall total planned for involuntary release from active duty is 2,600 officers – predominantly Captains, but with some of other ranks included.  Additional cuts are expected at a later time.

    No specific figures were made public regarding planned enlisted involuntary separations.  However, there are far more enlisted troops than officers.  And with the Army planning to draw down from an active duty strength of 520,000 to 450,000, well . . . I think we’ll be hearing about a fair number of enlisted soldiers receiving involuntary separations notices PDQ.

    To add insult to injury, some of those identified to receive “pink slips” are currently serving in Afghanistan.  Yeah, that’ll be really great for morale.

    Hat tip to Fox News for the source article.

     

  • Another “Global Warming” Update

    Well, it looks like that “global warming” is coming right along as we were warned. That must be why the French Antarctic Dumont d’Urville Station just recorded the coldest June on record for that location. The average temperature there during June 2014 was -22.4C (-8.3F). That’s 6.6C (11.9F) lower than normal. It’s also the second coldest month recorded there – ever.

    June is the early part of the Antarctic winter. July and August are usually colder.

    Austrailia is also seeing some of that “global warming”. Brisbane just recorded its coldest temperature in 103 years: 2.6C (36.7F).

    Brisbane is at 27° 30′ 0″ S latitude. For comparison, the latitude of Sarasota, FL, is 27° 20′ 10″ N.  Both are subtropical.

    Yeah, it looks like they’re getting their share of that “global warming” in Australia, too.

    Al Gore, of course, continues to insist that this is due to “global climate change” (he formerly warned it was “global warming”, but for some reason he doesn’t seem to use that phrase any more). He further insists that this is all is settled science, and that “”We’re way past time where it’s responsible for any national leader to reject the science behind the climate crisis.”

    News flash for ya, Al: it’s beginning like that “global warming” you used to warn everyone about about just might not be a warming trend after all. If anything, the climate could well be changing – in the other direction.

    Hmm. As I recall, that’s precisely what climate scientists were convinced was going to happen nearly 40 years ago.  Then, everyone was warning us about the coming Ice Age.

  • Illinois Gets One Right

    We often give Illinois – and in particular, Chicago – grief for being a “shining example” of dystopia, foolishness, and corruption. But for once it looks like Illinois did something right.

    What, you ask? Well, they named a bridge on the Illinois Tollway.

    Nothing really new there, I guess.  Except this time they didn’t name the bridge after some famous athlete, entertainer, or local mayor.  Instead, they named the bridge after someone deserving the honor:   a Medal of Honor recipient.

    The man honored is Allen J. Lynch of Gurnee, IL. He received the MoH for heroism in action near My An, South Vietnam, on 15 December 1967.

    You can read his MoH citation here.  If you do, be prepared to be humbled – and awed.

     

  • Lerner: “. . . we need to be cautious about what we say in emails.”

    I’ve written previously (here . . . and here . . . and here – and Jonn’s written about it here) about the IRS and “missing” email relating to their recent scandal. Well, today we have a new indication that something shady was indeed going on – albeit a circumstantial indication.

    The quote above is accurate. It came from Lois Lerner – the former head of the IRS Exempt Organization, which has been accused of blatant anti-conservative bias in its actions from 2009-2011.

    The quote is from one of Lerner’s emails that didn’t disappear. In it, she’s telling subordinates to be cautious about what they say in email.

    The email from which the quote comes is from 2013. It was written after Congress had started inquiring about email traffic.

    The basic article linked above has more info. IMO it’s worth a read.

    Now, why would someone working for “the most transparent Administration in history” feel the need to tell her employees to “be cautious in what we say” in their email – by sending them an email, no less? (smile)  And why would she do that right after Congress started asking about getting access to IRS email?

    C’mon, Lois – enlighten us. “Inquiring minds want to know.” (smile)