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

Author: Hondo

  • Sh!tbaggery: It’s Not Just for Junior Guys Any More

    TSO’s got his hands full right now dealing with Timmy “The Craven” Poe, so he sent me a link concerning one each William John Roy. As in CSM William John Roy, US Army. It looks to be worth mentioning.

    CSM Roy – what a guy! According to Roy, he saw Combat in Vietnam with MACV SOG as a combat medic. Was wounded twice, got 2 Purple Hearts, plus a Bronze Star while in ‘Nam. And he also served in Germany, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.

    Per CSM Roy, he got seriously hurt in a rocket/mortar attack near Jalalabad. But don’t worry too much. He applied to the VA for assistance. The VA looked at the paperwork he sent them, and came through for him – bigtime. They awarded him nearly $60k in disability and educational benefits.

    Then someone apparently took a closer look at his paperwork. And his claims began to fall apart.

    Seems that Roy had claimed to have served in combat in Vietnam. With MACV-SOG. In 1974. That’s odd – MACV-SOG was disbanded in 1972. And the Paris Peace Accords were signed in January 1973. Hmm.

    And one of the documents he submitted to the VA was a Purple Heart certificate signed by President Nixon. But it was dated 4 months after Nixon left office. Hmmmmm.

    A little more digging, and it turned out that Roy wasn’t involved in the incident in Jalalabad that he claimed injured him. More investigation showed Roy also appears to have been in Germany the whole time he claimed to have been in Vietnam. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. “Uh, Houston, we have a problem.”

    In a way, it’s too bad this guy wasn’t COL James “Bigamist” Johnson’s CSM. Those two would have made quite a pair, and it seems they deserve one another. Both appear to have been stupid enough to attempt to pull truly outrageous crap while simultaneously being arrogant enough to think they could get away with it. Maybe they were e-mail buddies. (smile)

    Roy was indicted on 6 June 2012 in US District Court in Los Angeles. He was charged with seven Federal offenses – one count of presenting false writings, three counts of making false statements, and three counts of theft. He now faces up to 57 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.

    No, Roy wasn’t indicted on Stolen Valor Act charges. He lives in California – which falls under the jurisdiction of the 9th Circus Clowns of Appeasement. Figures.

    But I guess I can live with that in Roy’s case. The Federal government tends to get a wee bit upset when it’s the victim of fraud, or when you steal from them. And when they’re a victim of fraud or theft, they usually hit back – hard.

    “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” You’d think a CSM would know that rather than having to find it out the hard way.

    Then again, you’d also think a CSM should be able to read an encyclopedia and a calender, too.

  • Remembrance of Things Past

    Today was the 68th Anniversary of D-Day. While that’s not a “magic number” anniversary – like 2009 was (the 65th) or 2019 will be (the 75th), it’s still a day worth remembering.

    By most, anyway. But not by all.

    Some people forget, I guess. They get caught up in life, and are too busy to take time to remember those who fought 68 years ago today to ensure that America remained free.

    Some whose family fought in World War II are even too busy to remember. Even when those family members were someone close – like a grandfather, or a grand-uncle. Oh well, such is modern life.

    But you’d think the POTUS would remember D-Day.

    For the third consecutive year, the POTUS has done nothing to commemorate publicly the anniversary of D-Day. His schedule today just doesn’t seem to have allowed it. The last time he did anything to recognize D-Day publicly was in 2009 – the 65th anniversary.

    And it looks like the POTUS was also too busy to post a D-Day statement on the White House Website or to make a Presidential proclamation observing today’s D-Day anniversary.

    But I’ll give the POTUS credit; he was able to find the time to issue a public statement noting yesterday’s passing of noted author Ray Bradbury. That was important enough to merit some of his time.

    I know the POTUS is a very busy man. But it seems he could find maybe a 1/2 hour to do something – somewhere – on the 6th of June to pay his respects to those Americans who fought in Normandy on that date in 1944. You’d think he’d do at least that much, since his maternal grandfather supported the D-Day landings and one of his great-uncles went ashore at Omaha Easy Red on D+4. And another of his great-uncles participated in the liberation of the Nazi forced labor camp at Ohrdruf.

    I guess the POTUS had his reasons for not publicly commemorating D-Day today. Maybe he was simply too busy. Or maybe he just plain forgot. But I still just don’t understand why he couldn’t find the time to remember and recognize those who, 68 years ago today, fought to ensure his freedom – even though he wasn’t yet born.

    After all: he seemed to have plenty of spare time 9 days ago to visit Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam War Memorial.

  • And In the “Even a Stopped Clock is Right Twice Daily” Department . . . .

    I’m sure everyone has seen the many articles about US intelligence and/or other “hush-hush” operations that have appeared in the press recently. (A decent summary is found here – even if it does confuse some recent stuff with Stuxnet, which occurred about a year ago.) Hell, if you follow the news at all you couldn’t have missed them if you tried.

    My reaction on seeing them was pretty much “WTF?”. Not because some of them indicated things had not gone well, or that we’d screwed the pooch fornicated Fido – but because these things were being talked about at all. Some things just don’t need to be made public. Lives can literally depend on keeping some things quiet.

    A number of Members of Congress also apparently have the same thoughts. For all his faults, IMO McCain got this one right. He’s calling for appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate. Chambliss (chair of the Senate Intel Committee) is similarly pissed. The Senate Armed Services Committee will apparently hold hearings. And even Pelosi and Kerry – not exactly known for being all that friendly towards the US Intel Community – are complaining publicly.

    When the Congressional leadership of both parties are complaining concurrently about the same leaks of classified info, you know things have gotten way out of control.

    I’ll refrain from speculating as to whether or not these leaks occurred for political purposes, or if some numbnuts simply couldn’t keep his or her damn mouth (or mouths) shut. Because whatever the reason for the leak, it simply doesn’t matter. Leaks like this squander US assets and advantages. That costs lives on the battlefield – and sometimes in other places as well. See Walker, John and Hansen, Robert.

    Whoever leaked this stuff needs to be burned – now, publicly, and to the freaking ground. As does any senior official who authorized the leak without statutory authority to do so.

  • Al Qaeda Number Two – Gone

    Media reports indicate that al Qaeda’s number two, Abu Yahya Al-Libi, is no more. He was killed yesterday in Pakistan by an armed US drone.

    Personally, I wish we’d have executed a “snatch and grab” and asked him a few questions before giving him the opportunity to explain his sins to Allah instead of sending him by Hellfire express. But I guess we can’t have everything.

    May all of his 72 virgins look thusly

    and may he enjoy the “pleasure” of serving as one of Shaytan’s personal sex-slaves for eternity.

  • Here We Go Again – Part III?

    Well, now we have a couple of US Senators urging that we “do something” regarding Syria. Specifically, they’re Senators McCain and Lieberman.

    Lieberman has indicated he thinks we’re getting closer to “stopping the bloodshed” in Syria, but that we’re “moving too slowly.” And McCain is “embarrassed” by the lack of “US leadership” regarding the situation in Syria.

    Lieberman’s stance doesn’t surprise me. IMO, Lieberman’s relatively liberal regarding social matters. I’d expect him to cry out, “We gotta do something now!” – which is essentially what he’s done.

    But McCain? To some extent, his stance here does. He’s seen “up close and personal” what can happen when the US intervenes somewhere without first figuring out precisely what we want to accomplish and how we intend to accomplish it. That type of error by US national leadership during Vietnam cost McCain several years of his life spent as a “guest” in the Hanoi Hilton.

    Will all due respect to each: gentlemen, IMO you’re not exactly helping here. No case has yet been made that US intervention in Syria is in the US national interest. I don’t think the Obama administration has yet figured out who the players are, much less we want to accomplish by such an intervention. And I haven’t seen anything presented to the American public that lays out the benefits and potential costs of such an intervention.

    All I’ve seen is cries of, “This is bad! We gotta do something!” But I haven’t seen that “something” defined – or an explanation of why it matters enough to the US to risk getting involved.

    Bad stuff happens in the world all the time. People are mistreated by their own governments routinely all over the world – just look at Darfur, Rwanda, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and any number of other countries. But that should never be the criteria for US intervention, particularly intervention that risks military involvement.

    We should get involved in Syria if – and only if – doing so furthers US national interests and prospects for success are reasonable. If neither of those is true, we should leave well enough alone. Period. And I haven’t yet seen a good case made by the current POTUS or officials in his administration to support either.

    Santayana warned us what happens when we ignore history. And history shows us that foreign interventions started without due consideration – even those that start out with the best of intentions – often have a way of blowing up in our face.

    Make the case first, gentlemen. It’s always best to look before you leap.

    When you sow the wind, sometimes you indeed end up reaping the whirlwind.

  • National Cemeteries and Caskets

    I ran across a story today that leaves me with decidedly mixed feelings.

    Here’s a summary: some years ago a World War II veteran – Lawrence Davis, Jr. – died in Florida. He apparently had no family willing to make funeral arrangements for him.

    As a World War II veteran, Davis was authorized to be buried in a National Cemetery. VA regulations and Federal law in effect then and today allowed the VA to bury him. But those same laws and regulations did not allow (or require) the VA to provide him a casket.

    So Davis was buried without a casket. In Florida, that’s apparently still allowed; I don’t know how common that is in other states. He was later honored, per the cemetery’s policy, at a periodic ceremony held to honor veterans who die and are buried with no family present.

    The story has sparked predictable outrage. As the cited article notes, a bill has been introduced in Congress (the Dignified Burial of Veterans Act of 2012) mandating the VA “review its burial standards” and authorizing the VA to purchase caskets (or urns) for all veterans buried in National Cemeteries.

    As I said, I have mixed feelings.

    Obviously, everyone – veterans and non-veterans alike – deserve a dignified burial. But is it really the Federal government’s responsibility to provide a casket for each and every veteran who chooses to be buried in a National Cemetery? And what is inherently disrespectful about burial sans casket?

    I’ve also got serious concerns about how the bill “fixing” this will be implemented and funded if passed. What will the standards be for such government-provided caskets – and what will they cost? (I kinda doubt they’ll end up being the proverbial old-time “pine box.”) And just what else in the VA budget will get cut to free up the funds to buy them? ‘Cause if you think the VA budget will be increased to fund this – well, in that case I happen to have a bridge I’d like to talk to you about selling . . . .

    As a Veteran, my heart tells me the bill proposed to “fix” this is a good thing. But as a believer in limited government – and a fiscal conservative – my head tells me this could be a really bad idea. And it also tells me that maybe we’re trying to “fix” a problem that isn’t really a problem at all.

    What say you all?

  • Brendan Haas Redux

    As jerry920 has pointed out in the comments to Jonn’s original article, it looks like the youngster will do it again.

    It seems that Disney heard what Brendan did and decided to reward him with another free trip to Disneyland. Brendan plans to give this one away, too – to another surviving family of a veteran who was KIA.

    Well done, Brendan – very well done. You’ve made veterans everywhere proud of you.

    Your parents have obviously raised you well. Kudos to them, too.

  • Here We Go Again – Part II?

    I wrote about the possibility of US intervention in Syria recently. Well, it looks like it’s not only the CJCS who’s hinting at potential US intervention in Syria. Now we hear much the same from the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice.

    Earlier, Susan Rice, the American ambassador to the UN, said that Russia’s veto-wielding membership of the Security Council would not necessarily prevent international action. If the violence worsened and the peace plan proposed by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, made no progress, some countries would consider whether to bypass Russian and Chinese opposition in the UN.

    “Some countries would consider whether to bypass Russian and Chinese opposition in the UN.” Hmmm. A public statement like that by the US Ambassador to the UN seems to me to be a reasonably clear signal. But then again, I’ve never been accused of being a diplomat.

    The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, also appears to have obliquely alluded to potential US intervention, albeit differently and of perhaps a different type. In the linked article, Clinton is quoted as saying that the US State Department has told the Russians “their policy (regarding Russian support for Syria) is going help to contribute to a civil war.” Yes, this could refer to Russia’s steadfast diplomatic support for the current Syrian government. But it could also refer to a change in policy on the part of the US – specifically, that the US will now provide diplomatic and/or material support to Syria’s rebel factions. That’s a different type of US involvement in Syria – but it still constitutes a US intervention. And US material support for one side of a war often has a way of ending up involving those wearing a uniform sooner or later.

    As I said previously: there may well be a good case to be made for US intervention in Syria. But to date, I’ve not seen that case made by the POTUS or his administration. And until that case is made, I’m reluctant as hell to support a US intervention there. Unless it’s shown to be in the US national interest to intervene in Syria – and that the expected cost of intervention is commensurate with the expected gain to US security – IMO we should leave well enough alone. Sometimes “the devil ye know” really is better than the devil ye don’t.

    As Vietnam showed, the time to have such a discussion is before we’re decisively involved in a foreign war. Not after.