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

Author: Operator Dan

  • Unanswered Questions About Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

    In the President’s State of the Union, just like he did as a candidate and on multiple occasions during his first year as President, Obama promised to work towards ending the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The Obama Administration has said it does not have the power to end DADT through executive order and that the only constitutional way to repeal the policy is through Congress. I don’t think this is even going to be a priority for the administration and Congress, with the obvious focus being on jobs, healthcare, and of course the 2010 election which are now only about nine months away. However, I am bothered by the way politicians and media discuss DADT, just like I am bothered by the shallow way that most issues involving the military are discussed. It is implied that all that needs to happen with DADT is that Congress and the President need to wave a magic wand and gays can serve openly the next day without a hitch. I’m pretty sure that most readers of this blog and anybody who has served in the military knows that this is not the case. There are serious policy, operational, logistical, and of course fiscal issues that the repeal of DADT poses to our military, which is in the middle of a very kinetic fight in Afghanistan and massive drawdown in Iraq.

    Lets go over some of the questions that nobody in the Obama administration or Congress has addressed in regards to repealing DADT:

    1. Will there be seperate barracks, berthing, and living quarters for homosexuals?

    With the Army and Marine Corps having expanded over the past three years and with the Navy changing its policies on living on ship while in port, there is a severe shortage of housing for both single and married military personnel. Not to mention that on naval vessels there is already limited berthing spaces for sailors/Marines. Mandating that homosexuals have their own living quarters (like some colleges and universities do) will require new construction of barracks and a complete rearrangement and reconfiguring of hundreds of naval vessels. On the other hand, allowing homosexuals to live with heterosexuals, will cause a whole different set of headaches for military commanders.

    2. Will homosexuals be allowed to serve in combat arms units?

    Women are forbidden by Congress to serve in combat arms units (infantry, arty, tanks, etc.). Some of the same issues surrounding women serving in combat units are present in the debate over gays serving openly in these same units.

    3. Will people discharged under DADT be allowed to reenlist/recommission in the military if the policy is repealed?

    I don’t know how many people who were discharged under DADT would want to reenter the military, but there are even more questions that need to be answered if they are allowed to reenter. Will they retain their same rank/billet regardless how long they have been out? Will they get retroactive promotions?

    4. If homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military, will the military recognize and award benefits to gay marriages or civil unions?

    5. Will each service be allowed to craft its own policies regarding homosexuals?

    Each service has its own operational needs and missions. Will the DoD have an across the board policy or like with women will each service be given some degree of freedom to craft its own policies?

    And finally…

    6. How much money is repealing DADT going to cost?

    Everytime the military changes a policy, it costs money. A major policy change like this one is going to cost that Defense Department a lot of money to implement and the amount depends a lot on the answers to the questions that I have posed. Thats money that can be spent on things like body armor, new vehicles, new guns, or any number of things that are important to an effective military.

    If anybody has any links to the Obama administration addressing these issues in writing or on video, I would greatly appreciate it if you provided the links in the comment sections.

  • Rot In Hell

    The Iraqi government announced today the death of Ali Hassan Al-Majid, the notorious cousin of Saddam Huessin who became known as “Chemical Ali” because of his role in using chemcial against the Kurds.  He was hanged shortly after recieving his FOURTH death sentence (and unfortunately they only hanged him once).  Ali Hassan also was the military governor of Kuwait following its occupation by Iraq and helped to crush a Shiite rebellion in southern Iraq after the Gulf War. He was part of Saddam’s inner-circle for many and was able to remain consisently in Saddam’s favor, unlike many of his other relatives, including his sadistic son Uday.

    I don’t think anybody will be missing him.

    “I want to kiss the hangman’s rope,” said Kamil Mahmoud, a 40-year-old teacher who lost eight family members in the March 16, 1988, attack in Iraq’s Kurdish region.”

  • The Few, The Proud…

    sanmateo

    …the incredibly bored and stupid.

    These are Marines with 5th Marine Regiment out of Camp Pendleton (San Mateo), which is being hit by the worst storm in a decade. I miss working with people like this…

  • “Jesus” Rifles

    I’m sure some of you already saw this, but apparently Trijicon has been inscribing references to Bible passages on its optics. After several media outlets issued reports about this, Trijicon agreed to remove the inscriptions.

    Here is a report on the inscriptions from ABC News.

    I used the ACOG a lot during my time in the Marines and I never noticed this. The serial number is on the topic of the optic and I honestly never really paid attention to those numbers and letters towards the base of the scope. I never heard anybody in the Marines or any of my buddies in the Army mention the fact these inscriptions existed on the ACOG, so if Trijicon’s intention was to spread the word of the Lord to the users of their optics, I don’t think they have succeeded. Regardless, it was a stupid thing to in the first place. Now they have to remove the inscriptions from thousands of optics, which cost the company millions, money that could have gone into developing better products. Anybody with half a brain, knows that the Iraqis, Afghans, and the US military are extremely sensitive to any accusation of promoting Christianity (in other words, “crusading”).

  • Extremely Disappointed in the Results of Massachusetts Race

    As a former Massachusetts resident, I have to say that I am extremely disappointed that Scott Brown won the special election in Massachusetts and I blame one institution for his victory: the Kennedy/Kerry political machine. I honestly expected more from these people. Did they even try to stuff the ballot boxes on election day? How many times did their supporters vote on Tuesday? Usually you can expect them to vote at least ten times in five different districts, but in this election they couldn’t have voted more once before they went back to their halfway house/minimum security prison or else Coakley would be the new Senator from Massachusetts. Did any of their dead relatives vote? I am almost positive Joe Kennedy Sr has voted in every election since 1970 even though died in 1969, but did he vote in this one? I doubt it. Teddy must be rolling over in his grave (thats assuming he didn’t get up and vote).

    I still have faith in the Daley machine over in Chicago. My great-grandmother has been dead for about fifteen years  but you better believe she somehow showed up to vote for Kerry in 2004 and Obama in 2008. The Daley machine brings it A game everytime and if this election had taken place in Chicago you better believe Coakley would have won.

    I couldn’t be more disappointed in Massachusetts Democrats.

  • The Jarhead Thread

    There have been a few stories that I have been wanting to blog about involving the Marines, so instead of making several posts I have decided to make one. I think it will make it easier to comment and for you Army pukes to talk to trash. Enjoy…

    22nd MEU Deploying to Haiti

    These Marines just got off a six-month long deployment, most of it spent in Kuwait and other parts of the Middle East. I doubt many of the Marines that are part of this MEU are happy about this and I have no doubt if Bush were still President I’m sure Katie Couric would be in Jacksonville interviewing families about the strain this emergency deployment is putting on them. Oh the double standard…

    Politics aside, a MEU is the best equipped military unit to handle a disaster like this. A MEU has a perfect mix of equipment for operations like this, including its own fleet of helicopters, amphibious vehicles, and engineering equipment. I saw a report on CNN that said the road leading out of the main port in Port-au-Prince was heavily damaged and most of the unloading equipment was destroyed in the earthquake. The 22nd MEU can offload supplies onto any beach in Haiti while its combat engineers repair the roads and equipment at the port. This is why almost every year the three forward deployed MEUs (one out of Japan, Pendleton, and Lejuene) conduct multiple humanitarian missions every year.

    A little side story about the Marines that responded to Hurricane Katrina. Most of the Marines were rotated out when they had been in the disaster zone 29 days. Why 29 days? Because at 30 days the Marine Corps the would have to start paying separation allowances and hazardous duty pay. Most Marines were also denied the Humanitarian Service Medal, probably by a bunch of pogue officers that the closest they got to New Orleans was an office in Quantico. I wonder if this will happen again…

    San Diego Man Pleads Guilty for Posing as Marine Two Star General

    One place where it is probably not a good idea to fake being a general is at a VFW hall, especially on the Marine Corps’ birthday. But then again, you have to be pretty stupid to attempt something like this in the first place.

    Scott Ritter Arrested in Online Sex Sting……AGAIN

    What does this have to do with the Marines? Well, just like Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Whitman, and John Wayne Bobbitt, Scott Ritter was a former Marine. His first arrest wasn’t widely reported, for reasons unknown to me (maybe it had something to do with his views on the Iraq War…) Hopefully they will keep his dumbass locked up this time.

    Last Marines Leave Iraq

    The last Marines are leaving Iraq this month, officially turning everything over to the Army and the Iraqis. When the Marines rolled into Anbar in 2004, it was the center of the Sunni insurgency. Today, it is one of the most stable parts of Iraq and has seen the quickest drawdown of American forces. The Marine Corps, Army, and Navy (the SEALs, EOD, Seabees, Corpsmans, etc.) and even the Air Force (especially in retrograde of equipment) all contributed to the victory there and it should be a point of pride in all the services.

    Semper Fidelis….

  • UN Says Taliban Cause Rise in Civilian Deaths

    A good read from the AP that doesn’t for once blame unmanned drones for all the death and carnage in Afghanistan.

    I found this part most interesting:

    A survey released this week found that 42 percent of the 1,534 Afghan respondents now blame the violence on the Taliban — up from 27 percent a year ago. Seventeen percent blame the U.S., NATO or the Afghan security forces, down from 36 percent a year ago. But 66 percent said airstrikes by the U.S. and international forces were unacceptable because they endangered too many innocent civilians, even though they might help defeat militants.

  • Berkeley Proves Yet Again They Are Batsh*t Crazy

    I really am at a loss for words here.

    Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

    Paul Gibson, an alternate parent representative on the School Governance Council, said that information presented at council meetings suggests that the science labs were largely classes for white students. He said the decision to consider cutting the labs in order to redirect resources to underperforming students was virtually unanimous.

    “…virtually unanimous.” Wow.

    (thanks to Michelle Malkin for originally posting this)