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

Category: Military issues

  • Military; Hillary and Trump are bad choices

    Military; Hillary and Trump are bad choices

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    The Military Times says that folks in uniform aren’t happy that their only choices in this election are between the Democrat and Republican candidates.

    American military personnel favor Donald Trump for president over Hillary Clinton by more than a 2-to-1 margin in an exclusive survey conducted by Military Times ahead of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, but a strong majority of respondents say they are wholly unimpressed with both candidates.

    More than 61 percent indicated they are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with Trump as the Republican nominee, including 28 percent of those who intend to vote for him. More than 82 percent said the same about Clinton, the Democratic nominee, with 30 percent of those pledging to vote for her voicing displeasure with the choice.

    “This is the worst presidential election I have ever seen,” said one Air Force master sergeant who responded to the survey. “How in the world could we only have Hillary and Trump as the options?”

    I feel ya. However, the Republicans have no one to blame except themselves. They thought that they could be Democrat Lite and win the election. After eight years of Obama, it was theirs to lose, and Behold! They did it.

    CNN has Clinton on top, this morning.

    In a two-way matchup, Clinton tops Trump 49% to 42%.
    Both Clinton and Trump have bumped up their support among those who did not back them through the nomination process. Among those who say they’d rather see Sanders become the Democratic nominee, 79% now back Clinton, up slightly from 74% in June, while 74% of those who want someone other than Trump to be the Republican nominee now back him, up from 67% in June.

    Republicans have misinterpreted their base for the last thirty years and they’ve paid the price for it. But, this time, the country is in the shitter and it’s only going further down the drain because of the GOP’s incompetence.

  • Same Old Song and Dance, Part II

    Well, we have a new claim by our “illustrious regime” in DC.  They now claim that they know why their past attempts to support that mythical “moderate” Syrian opposition during the Syrian Civil War failed.

    They now claim that US support failed because it was sabotaged.

    Seriously.

    Specifically, the latest       attempt to grasp at straws         blatant propaganda designed to shift blame         claim is that CIA  aid to those mythical “moderate” Syrian rebels was diverted by “dirty Mideast intel”.   Allegedly, Jordanian intelligence redirected a substantial part of the aid intended for those mythical “moderate” rebels in Syria to Daesh.

    They also admit that corruption within the Syrian opposition was also partly to blame.  They had no choice but to do that; that’s already too well publicly documented.

    Why would Jordan do that, you ask?  Well, as the story goes:  because “Jordan’s biggest enemy is anything Shia” – and Daesh was opposing Iran.

    Gee.  A foreign nation looking out for its own interests.  Ya think that might happen on occasion?

    And corruption within the shadowy world of intel?  Oh, no! That implies that intel is sometimes a “dirty” endeavor!  This is big news!  Stop the presses!

    Hmm.  Ya think that maybe corruption might happen on occasion too?  Especially in the Middle East?  Or in the shadowy world of intel?

    At the risk of sounding “insensitive”:  both of those possibilities are so obvious that even Stevie Wonder can see them.

    These        inane tall tales        dubious claims by the Administration IMO show one of two things.  First, and IMO most likely:  they’re simply dissembling in an attempt to redirect blame for failure.

    And second:  if by some miracle that’s not the case and they’re telling the truth, then this fiasco shows a near-childlike level of incompetence and naïvety.  I mean really:  given how “steadfastly” we’ve supported our allies recently, did they really not expect Jordan to “look out for number one”?  Were they so foolish that they disregarded the possibility of corruption in pretty much ANY organization in the Middle East?

    And to add insult to injury:  either way,  they’re also throwing a valuable ally “under the bus” in the process.  We seem to have gotten quite good at that lately, too.

    GMAFB.  If they didn’t take measures to detect/correct diversion of support to support an ally’s agenda and limit corruption, then IMO they are literally incompetent fools.  But given what I’ve seen in the past from this Administration, I can easily believe that could well be the case.

    Hell, given this        ridiculously naïve and grossly incompetent clown krewe running the show        Administration I personally believe both deliberate mendacity and abysmally naïve incompetence played a part in creating this latest fairy tale.  No, I don’t have proof that’s the case.  But it simply fits.

    Once again, I think my leg’s wet.  And it hasn’t started raining yet.

  • Russell Thomas Langford threatens mosque

    Russell Thomas Langford threatens mosque

    Russell Thomas Langford

    According to the Associated Press, this fellow, Russell Thomas Langford, got mad at a neighborhood mosque in Raeford, North Carolina. He left packages of bacon at the entrance of the mosque then drove off in his Chevy Tahoe, he returned several times and threatened the people outside the mosque.

    Authorities found several handguns and other weapons, plus about 500 rounds of ammunition in Langford’s vehicle, Kivett said. He said Langford didn’t make specific threats about a mass shooting other than to say he wanted to kill mosque members.

    Langford made his initial court appearance Friday, posted a $60,000 secured bond and was released, Kivett said.

    Since posting bond, Langford has been placed under the control of his commander on base at Fort Bragg, said Army Reserve spokesman Capt. Eric Connor. He said what Langford is charged with doing is “totally contradictory to Army values.”

    Langford, who works full-time as a major in the Army Reserve, served two tours in Iraq while on active Army duty and earned the Bronze Star for “outstanding dedication to duty during combat” while with a military police battalion, Connor said.

    CAIR is asking that Langford be charged with a hate crime, whatever that means.

    Personally, I blame the Chevy Tahoe. Those people who drive those things can’t be trusted. Did you notice the first three letters of TAHoe.

  • Rowan Elijah Feldhaus hits legal snag

    Rowan Elijah Feldhaus hits legal snag

    Rowan Feldhaus

    TSO sends us a link to the story about how Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper told this chick, an Army reservist, formerly known as Rebeccah Elizabeth Feldhaus that she couldn’t change her name to Rowan Elijah Feldhaus because Feldhaus, who decided that she’s a man now, didn’t pick a feminine name according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution;

    “I don’t know anybody named Elijah who’s female,” Roper said, according to a transcript of the hearing. “I’m not going to do that. I’ve never heard of that. And I know who Elijah was, one of the greatest men that ever lived.”

    Feldhaus, a sergeant in the Army Reserve and a student at Augusta University, said in statement that he felt insulted and objectified to be told he can’t use the name that family, friends and co-workers already use.

    “It can be a scary situation when I show up for work or the first day of class and my legal name does not match my public presentation and my gender identity,” Feldhaus said. “I just want to change my name so that it reflects who I am.”

    In my opinion, the judge is clearly firing outside his lane. The court was provided with statements from Feldhaus’ doctor claiming that Feldhaus needed to change her name for part of her treatment for gender dysphoria. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but its not up to the judge to decide what we can call ourselves. I’m thinking that he’s going to get thrust into the twenty-first century in a very abrupt manner.

  • Lieutenant Deshauna Barber; Miss USA

    Lieutenant Deshauna Barber; Miss USA

    Deshauna Barber

    The big news this morning is that Army reservist Lieutenant Deshauna Barber won the Miss USA title last night. Her question from the judges was, according to CNN;

    When asked by judge Joe Zee whether the Pentagon’s decision to open up all combat roles to women had “put political correctness over our military’s ability to perform,” 1st Lt. Barber responded:

    “As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military.”

    She continued: “We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful, I am dedicated and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States.”

    She says that she intends to highlight veterans’ issues during her reign, according to Fox News;

    Barber said she plans to use the pageant’s spotlight and her title to support veteran’s causes and tackle the issue of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder among military members. When asked what message she had for the presidential candidates — including former pageant owner and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump — Barber said they should focus more on veteran’s issues, including the backlog at veterans hospitals.

    That’s laudable, I suppose.

    She’s going to ask for a break from her reserve obligation;

    In a press conference following the event, the 26-year-old lieutenant from Northeast DC said she plans to take a break from the Army Reserve and had already discussed with superiors the possibility of going inactive for a couple of years should she win the title. She said she currently serves two days per month.

    “My commander should be watching right now,” Barber said. “Two days a month is definitely not active duty. It is an obligation that I signed up for but they are very flexible in the United States Army Reserves.”

    She should be aware, however, that when she’s running for President in 20 years, she’ll have to explain those “not observed” entries on her Officer Evaluation Reports by her rater.

  • So, How’s the Fight Against Daesh Going?

    Remember those little conflicts with Daesh that have been ongoing in Iraq and Syria for a while?  (I say “conflicts” because from my perspective they are indeed multiple separate, apparently uncoordinated efforts.) You know, the ones the POTUS pledged to “accelerate”?  The ones that the POTUS said would require no US “combat troops” or “boots on the ground”?

    Well, we have some recent updates from the Pentagon and the IC regarding the “big picture” status of operations against Daesh.  And it turns out things are apparently going . . . a bit slowly.

    Yes, we’ve supposedly beaten up their financial infrastructure somewhat via air strikes.  But on the ground things don’t exactly seem to be going well.

    Per Pentagon sources, since December US allies have retaken a 5% of the territory Daesh held in Iraq at maximum extent.  That’s an average of a whopping 1% per month.

    At that rate, it will only take 55 more months (40% had been recovered prior to December) – or until December 2021 – to eradicate the Daesh regime in Iraq.  Behold the Swift Success, doubters!

    Oh, and regarding retaking Mosul:  don’t hold your breath.  Last week the US Director of National Intelligence said that it’s “unlikely (Daesh) would be pushed out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, during the Obama administration”.  Gee, that’s . . . wonderful.  Just freaking wonderful.

    Even so, things seem to be going substantially better for US allies opposing Daesh in Iraq than in Syria.  Per Pentagon officials Daesh controls about the same amount of territory in Syria today that it did in January.

    Oh, and did I mention that it appears we now have a “small number” of us troops on the ground in Libya opposing Daesh elements there as well?  I guess US involvement in two simultaneous and       poorly thought-out and unsuccessfully executed interventions based on fatally flawed strategy       less than perfectly successful interventions against radical Islamic forces just isn’t enough for the current Administration.

    Fox News has an article giving more details about the above.  IMO it’s worth a read.

    National Security and Foreign Policy competence:  that’s not what this Administration “serves for dinner”.

  • Commander in Chief

    Commander in Chief

    Hillary Clinton believes she’s qualified to serve as Commander in Chief of the United States military—and rightly so.  Coming off the heels of a freshman Senator, who learned how to lead while on the job, a Washington fixture like Hillary is more than qualified.

    Consider her military leadership bona fides:

    Lying about combat.

    In 2008, Hillary Clinton lied about landing under sniper fire while visiting Bosnia in 1996.  Here’s exactly what she said,

    I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.

    She later said that she “misspoke.”  For those of us that have been on the receiving end of hostile fire, I’m sure we can understand how a greeting ceremony where she engaged in conversation with a little girl could easily be mistaken for sniper fire.

    Lying to the Benghazi families.

    Three days after the attacks in Benghazi, Hillary Clinton lied to the families of the fallen when she blamed a video for being responsible for the deaths.  Here’s exactly what she said to Tyrone Wood’s father and later to the American people,

    We are going to have the filmmaker arrested who was responsible for the death of your son.

    We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with.

    When pressed about claims that she blamed the deaths on the video, Hillary (I want to lead America’s military) Clinton said the families were lying and then incoherently blamed the “fog of war.”  Apparently she’s read Clausewitz, although it’s more likely that one of her advisers (probably a draft dodger) told her to use that phrase.

    Lying about her classified emails.

    On March 10, 2015, Hillary Clinton informed the world that although she used a private email server, she did not compromise our nation’s secrets.  She clearly articulated,

    There is no classified material.

    Less than a year later the State Department informed Americans that 22 of her emails were classified “top secret.”  True to form, as per her website hillaryclinton.com, she still maintains that “nothing she sent or received was marked classified.”

    I’ve previously discussed her “marked classified” statements (here and here), and I’ve explained how she relies entirely on semantics.  Suffice to say; Hillary Clinton is a lying liar who is clinically delusional.

    Lying about lying.

    Remember when she said this in an interview?

    You’re asking me to say, ‘Have I ever [lied]?’ I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever will. I am going to do the best I can to level with the American people,

    Honorable mention:  Apparently she tried to join the Marines.

    Here’s her recounting of the event,

    He looks at me and goes, ‘Um, how old are you. And I said, ‘Well I am 26, I will be 27.’ And he goes, ‘Well, that is kind of old for us.’ And then he says to me, and this is what gets me, ‘Maybe the dogs will take you,’ meaning the Army.

    If this story is true (it’s not) I would suggest adding a rejection of Hillary Clinton to the Marine Corps Hymn.

    From the Halls of Montezuma

    To the Shores of Tripoli;

    We fought our country’s battles

    By rejecting Hillary

    And there you have it folks, the epitome of a military leader: lying, blame shifting, no empathy for the fallen and zero integrity.

    Hail to the Chief!

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Coronado Turns Out to Honor SOC Keating

    Last week, Coronado turned out to honor SOC Charles Keating IV.  Twice.

    The first was on Thursday.  On that day, in excess of 1,000 turned out for a memorial ceremony for SOC Keating.  At that ceremony he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.  He was also posthumously promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

    The second occurred on Friday.   Over 3,000 lined 6th Street for his funeral procession.  The profession took SOC Keating’s remains to the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, where he was interred in a private ceremony.

    Rest in peace, brother-in-arms.  You did your duty, and you did it well.

    And thank you, citizens of Coronado.