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

Category: Military issues

  • Sailor who outed himself, given reprieve

    While the Pentagon plans to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in midsummer, a three-judge panel voted unanimously to retain a sailor who posted pictures of himself on MySpace kissing another man almost a year-and-a-half ago. The defense called four witnesses to his character and the prosecution called none.

    Attorneys also argued that given the imminent repeal of the 17-year-old policy, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus would be unlikely to approve the discharge. Defense Secretary Robert Gates directed in October that all discharges had to be expressly approved by the secretary of the service and the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Nobody has been discharged since then.

    “Today was a victory, and we’re grateful to [Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Morado] for lending his story and his voice to highlight the fact that servicemembers are still facing the discharge process, even 100 days after the law was repealed,” GetEQUAL director Robin McGehee said in a statement.

    Yeah, a victory, but not a victory for the rule of law. It’s a victory for everyone who breaks laws they don’t like.

  • The parade face plant

    Yeah, we’ve all watched the weakest link hit the ground during parade activities, but how would you like it splashed across the international press – with that expression. This poor Spanish soldier went down yesterday while waiting for Prince Charles. That’s Spanish Princess Letizia in the foreground.

    Looks like his mate isn’t buying his act.

  • The inevitable “OutServe”

    CNN announces the possible launch of the OutServe magazine. Yes, it means what you think it means;

    A magazine designed for and by gay military members may soon be displayed at military installations worldwide, an advocacy group announced Monday.

    “Our first objective with the magazine is to let all the gay, lesbian, bi, and trans members currently serving know that they are not alone,” an active-duty officer who goes by the pseudonym JD Smith said in a statement.

    Yes, I’m sure they don’t know already that they’re not alone, what with examples of every variation of the lifestyle chained to the White House fence.

    I propose that someone come up with a competing magazine for the straight soldier, call it “InServe” and see if it can get on magazine shelves in the PX.

    Thanks to jerry920 for the link.

  • Napolitano: The border is open for business

    Yesterday, the Homeland Security Department posted this optimistic message from Secretary Janet Napolitano on their TheBlog@Homeland Security;

    Yet, local leaders in border communities say misinformation about the safety of the Southwest border is hurting their communities, driving potential visitors away and hurting local businesses.

    The reality is that the Southwest border is open for business. El Paso, Texas is one of the best examples. Not only have crime statistics shown it to be one of the safest big cities in the country, but the value of imports crossing into the United States through El Paso has risen 40 percent just in the last year.

    In fact, today I was in El Paso to meet with local officials and business leaders to discuss ways that we can help strengthen trade and travel in the region and help set the record straight about the safety and economic opportunities in their communities.

    We all agree that the challenges at the border are real – but so is the progress we’ve made over the last two years. I’m proud to join with our border communities in spreading the word that the Southwest border is, indeed, open for business.

    I say that’s pretty bold talk from a portly woman with her own security detail. Guidance from the Fort Bliss commander from less than two years ago (Fort Bliss is next to El Paso) reads like this;

    I think if Janet Napolitano told me the sky is blue, I’d have to ask for another opinion.

    Thanks to one of our observant readers who shall remain nameless.

  • Someone appreciates us

    Spockgirl sends us this link from our drinking buddy, Boston Maggie.

  • Is there a referendum I haven’t heard about?

    For some reason the United Press International felt the need to write an article about how repealing the 14th Amendment would hurt military recruiting. The part they’re referring to is the first line;

    All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

    The UPI writes;

    Conservative activists have been pushing to supersede the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which among other things guarantees citizenship to everyone born in the United States, whatever their parents’ status.

    Margaret Stock, who practices law in Anchorage, Alaska, and is retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, said the number of potential recruits could drop by 8 percent to 10 percent, The Arizona Republic reported. Jeanne Batalova of the Migration Policy Institute told the newspaper she estimates 8.1 percent of active military members have at least one immigrant parent

    As far as I know, it takes 2/3 of the House and 2/3 of the Senate and 3/5 of the States (in 50 separate referendums) to change the Constitution, and the process in this case hasn’t even begun yet, so why bother to write about a non-event when, if the process began today, is years in the future?

    I guess UPI is finding today to be a slow news day…like I am.

  • DoD begins sexual orientation training

    Rowan Scarborough at the Washington Times reports that the Pentagon has begun mailing instructional material to members of the military to begin their sensitivity training in regards to the upcoming withdrawal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Since commanders are the first targets of this training, the Marines partially released some of their material, while the intend to publically release the entire package on April Fools Day. Here’s a sample;

    “Situation,” it begins. “You are the Executive Officer of your unit. While shopping at the local mall over the weekend, you observe two junior male Marines in appropriate civilian attire assigned to your unit kissing and hugging in the food court.

    “Issue: Standards of Conduct. Is this within standards of personal and professional conduct?”

    The answer to Marines: “If the observed behavior crosses acceptable boundaries as defined in the standards of conduct for your unit and the Marine Corps, then an appropriate correction should be made. Your assessment should be made without regard to sexual orientation.”

    A separate training guide answers 23 frequently asked questions, such as “is consensual sodomy still a punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice?”

    Answer: “The U.S. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces found that private, consensual sexual activity, to include consensual sodomy, regardless of sexual orientation, is a protected liberty under the Fourteenth Amendment.”

    So that answers a lot of question you folks had.

    Read more at the Washington Times.

  • Things I wouldn’t write

    There’s an opinion column in the Washington Post written by Michael Cummings entitled “I didn’t deserve my combat pay“. Basically, Cummings compares his two tours to the Middle East. Of his first tour he wrote;

    We slept on cots. I roomed with eight other people. In the winter, snowmelt leaked through our roof. In the summer, temperatures routinely passed 100 degrees and our AC units would crash. It took several minutes to get hot water in the shower, if it came. Food consisted of two warm trays of heated .?.?. stuff, if we didn’t eat MREs. A snowstorm could knock out the satellite television feed and the Internet, as one did on Super Bowl Sunday.

    In short, conditions were spartan.

    Now, I may get some shit for this, seein’s how my war was two decades ago and fairly abbreviated, but; WTF, dude? That’s not Spartan in the least – I mean look at some of the nouns in that statement “AC”, “cots”, “hot water”, “satellite television”, “internet”, “food…warm”. So what if the stuff hardly ever worked.

    I’m not saying he didn’t deserve those things, nor that he didn’t deserve to have the stuff work, but I’m pretty sure no who has spent any time in most of the Army would call that spartan.

    He compares that tour to his second tour;

    On our compound, the water was always warm (sometimes too warm). The chow hall had a Caesar salad bar, a sandwich bar, an ice cream freezer, and shrimp and steak Fridays. My (personal) room had a working AC unit and Internet connection. VBC hosted multiple PXs, coffee shops and nightly dance parties. I could buy pillows, microwaves, televisions or any video game.

    Conditions were plush.

    Actually, i thought the description of the first tour was about plush conditions.