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

Author: Hondo

  • Thanks, Mr. Jones

    We see a lot of harshness in the world today. At times it seems as if no one gives a damn about anything or anyone.

    Then you hear about something that makes you realize that there are some out there who care – and who, in their own small way, are making a difference.

    A few months ago, I brought up the issue of veterans burials. In that article I referenced the case of a veteran in Florida buried sans casket.

    It seems that someone in Florida didn’t like that outcome. And rather than stand around waiting for the Federal or state government to do something, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.

    Tom Jones, of Land O’Lakes, Florida, is a woodworker. He decided to make a couple of prototype wooden urns for use in the burial of unclaimed and/or indigent veterans’ remains.

    But he didn’t stop there. He showed the prototype to a woodworking club of which he’s a member. They’ve now made 17, and plan to continue.

    Jones hopes woodworking clubs nationwide join in the endeavor. That would indeed be a good thing.

    Not everything must or should be done by the government. Americans are a self-reliant people; we can and will take care of ourselves and others, given opportunity and motivation. Jones’ actions here prove that.

    In case anyone wondered: yes, Jones is indeed a veteran.  But you’d probably guessed that.

    Well done, Mr. Jones. Well done.

    Thanks.

  • A New Mission for the Federal Reserves

    Well, it looks like the Federal Reserve components (USAR, USAFR, USNR, and USMCR) now have a new mission. A recent change in law explicitly authorizes state governors to request and receive extended support from Federal reserve forces in the event of a disaster. The previousl law/policy was that such support could only be given for a short period of time (72 hours) without Federal orders.  Federal law now allows up to 4 months of such support with the President’s/Pentagon’s approval.

    On the surface, this seems like it should be a good idea. However, as with many things the “devil is in the details”. And there are indeed many potential devils here.

    First, this adds yet another rock to the Reserve rucksack. They’re already stressed heavily by current operations.

    Second, Federal Reserve units will have to be prepared to respond more often and longer to state authorities. This potentially provides a confused chain-of-command.  While providing support, to whom does the unit commander turn for definitive direction – the State AG? The governor?   His/her normal Reserve chain-of-command?  All of the above?  Confused chains-of-command are not a good thing.

    Third, I can easily see cash-strapped state governments requesting Federal assistance in lieu of fully mobilizing state resources – e.g., before calling up all appropriate state National Guard units – to save money.  But disaster support is one of the primary reasons states have National Guard units in the first place.  And last time I checked, the Federal budget is in bad shape too.

    Finally, this also may make Federal Reserve units more subject to political pressure from state authorities. Because if a unit commander knows he might have to work for the State AG or governor for long enough to get an OER or letter input to same – well, let’s just say that commander might be a bit more willing to bend a few rules if asked.

    As I said: on the surface, this looks like a good idea. I’m hoping this is not a case where good intentions end up paving the road to hell. Because IMO that potential certainly exists here.

    Thoughts?

  • Doubling Down – Stupidly

    Looks like Bissonnette is planning on thumbing his nose at DoD.  And he and his lawyer are planning to use an . . . interesting and novel legal argument:

    According to the letter, the nondisclosure agreement signed by Bissonnette when he was a SEAL only applied to “specially identified Special Access Programs” and not missions such as the May 1, 2011 raid.

    That’s an argument that may come as a surprise to some legal experts, who considered the Pentagon’s case against Bissonnette a “slam dunk” given his failure to submit his book for pre-publication review.

    The letter referenced above was from Bissonnette’s lawyer to DoD.

    I’m thinking that Bissonnette needs to find another lawyer – fast.  Because this one appears to be leading him down the proverbial primrose path.   Another way to describe the legal theory his lawyer is using besides “interesting and novel” is “naive, foolish, and wrong” – or, alternatively, “hope you enjoy your stay at the crossbar hotel”.

    Classified information nondisclosure agreements are like burqas – they cover damn near everything.  They’re not limited to “specially identified Special Access Programs”.

    IMO, teh stoopid appears to be running amok here. Bissonnette needs to remember that when a sledgehammer hits a walnut, it’s generally not the sledgehammer that gets damaged.  And DoD knows how to swing a sledge.

    ———

    For those interested:  a decent but brief analysis of Bissonnette’s actual legal situation may be found here.  He’s on damned thin ice.

  • Youngest Normandy Beachmaster Passes Away

    Another of the rapidly-dwindling Greatest Generation has passed.  The youngest of the 18 Navy beachmasters at Normandy – Joseph P. Vaghi, Jr. – passed away a week ago.  He was 92.

    None of the other beachmasters at Normandy are known to be still living; that group now appears gone forever.   But they’re not forgotten by history.

    Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.

  • Pentagon to Bissonnette: “See You In Court”

    Looks like the Pentagon is going to play hardball with former SEAL Matt Bissonnette (AKA “Mark Owen”) regarding his book.  The DoD General Counsel reportedly informed Bissonnette yesterday that the Pentagon is considering legal action against him and his publisher to force them to forfeit proceeds from Bissonnette’s upcoming book No Easy Day.

    Looks like Bissonnette should have actually read his Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement, especially paragraphs 3 and 5.  In paragraph 3, he specifically agreed to submit potentially classified manuscripts for prepublication classification review.  (He didn’t.)  And in paragraph 5, Bissonnette agreed in writing to forfeit all proceeds obtained through the unauthorized release of classified information.

    This isn’t any kind of government power grab, or “prior restraint” of any type.  Bissonnette screwed himself here.  He signed a formal, enforceable legal agreement with the government, and he later violated that agreement.  So now he gets the consequences – which were spelled out for him a priori.  He gets no sympathy from me.

  • Yes, PC Has Reached the Point of Blithering Idiocy

    Remember, folks: according to our very own State Department the expression “hold down the fort” – as well as many others – is now to be considered offensive.

    For instance, Robinson warned, “hold down the fort” is a potentially insulting reference to American Indian stereotypes.

    “How many times have you or a colleague asked if someone could ‘hold down the fort?’” he wrote. “You were likely asking someone to watch the office while you go and do something else, but the phrase’s historical connotation to some is negative and racially offensive.”

    Read the rest of the article for some more real “winners” in terms of absolutely inane thinking.

    Yes, many common terms have different meanings today than they did years ago.  For example:  the term “slave” was derived from the generic term for the Slavic peoples of eastern Europe – Slavs.  So . . .  is saying I’m “slaving away” cutting the grass or at work now offensive to eastern Europeans?

    This is sheer idiocy.  And someone got paid to come up with it.

  • Manning’s Lawyers Are Whining Again

    It seems that PFC Bradley Manning’s lawyers are whining again.  But this time, it’s not over his treatment.

    No, this time they are objecting to the fact that Army officials seemed more concerned about potential bad publicity than Manning’s comfort and “feelings”.   At least, that’s what I get from this paragraph:

    David Coombs, a lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning, argued at a pretrial hearing that prosecutors have yet to turn over about 700 emails in their possession. But he said the emails he’s already aware of paint a portrait of a military more concerned with combating negative publicity than with Manning’s welfare and reveal that high-level officials, including a three-star general, were briefed about the conditions of his confinement.

    Gee, a 3-star General was concerned that the Army might get bad publicity.  I’m shocked, I say – shocked!

    Frankly, I’m not surprised that senior Army leadership is concerned about avoiding bad publicity for the Army.  That’s part of their job.  And I couldn’t personally give a hoot in hell if they were more concerned about protecting the Army than about how Manning was inconvenienced, provided they ensured he was treated humanely – which they did.

    Let me recap a few pesky things called “facts” that Manning’s lawyers don’t seem to want to discuss.  Manning was confined to his cell for 23 hours daily.  So?  Many prisoners who might be at-risk from other inmates (or who are dangerous) are similarly kept isolated.

    Manning was also evaluated as a suicide risk. Therefore, for a period of time at Quantico his clothing was temporarily taken away.  This was done as a protective measure to ensure he didn’t attempt to harm himself with same.  He was later provided with a suicide-prevention smock.

    But for a while, he had to make do with skivvies – and even sleep in them, without his jammies.  Oh, the horror!   The horror!

    Were Manning’s “feelings hurt” by such “terrible” treatment?  Whoop-te-doo.  Personally, I couldn’t give the proverbial flying . . . flip if they were.    Perhaps he should have thought about the possibility that he’d go to prison – and be treated harshly but humanely as a prisoner – before disclosing several hundred  thousand classified documents to persons not authorized to receive them.

    Humane treatment doesn’t necessarily equate to pleasant conditions.  “Three hots and a cot”, adequate shelter, and protection from physical harm or abuse qualifies.  And having to sleep in your skivvies (or naked) because you’re thought to be suicidal and your normal clothing has been taken away to ensure you don’t harm yourself with it does not qualify as abuse.

    Manning didn’t give a damn about how his actions affected the Army or his brothers/sisters in arms – or his country.  So as long as he’s treated humanely, why should anyone in the Army give a rat’s ass whether he’s comfortable or his feelings get hurt?

  • Not Exactly a Surprise

    Welll, the Navy announced today the fate of that ship’s captain who recently managed to get his ship rammed near the Strait of Hormuz. And I have to say the decision wasn’t really a surprise to me:

    The skipper of the USS Porter has been removed from command after his ship collided with an oil tanker just outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz

    The commander of Naval Surface Force Atlantic announced Cmdr. Martin Arriola’s relief of command on Thursday.

    I have zero experience in matters nautical, so I can’t really give an educated opinion on whether or not this was justified.  But as a “landlubber”, well, I do have to say it seems about right to me.

    I hope CDR Arriola has some good plans for life post-Navy.  I’d guess his Navy career has reached it’s apex.