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

Category: Military issues

  • Following up with the ACLU.

    About a month ago I sent a email to the ACLU chapter in Colorado in concerning the ruling on the Stolen Valor Act with our favorite impostor. I got this reply about a week later that raised a few points that I wanted to address. I was going to post this sooner but I was hoping to get a second reply from them.

    Hello Mr. Andrews,

    Thank you for a thorough and well-written argument on the Stolen Valor Act case. I appreciate the time you took to contact us with your concern. To be clear, no one at the ACLU supports Strandlof’s despicable lies, nor wishes to minimize the insult they can cause for all members of our country’s armed forces, decorated or not. Ultimately, however, insulting another person–no matter how heroic the target of the insult may be–is not illegal.

    Our argument is strictly an analysis of the law itself, and the dangers we see in terms of it outlawing verbal falsehoods of all kinds, regardless of measurable injury. The government’s position was that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to any speech that isn’t true- something that would extend even to people saying things they believed to be true, but were not. If those lies are used to defraud others, than that in and of itself is already illegal, and should be prosecuted as fraud.

    Here is a link to a PDF file of the judge’s decision- if you have the time you can read the his reasoning for yourself:

    This being a nuanced legal argument, there are indeed respected legal minds who disagree: Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment expert and UCLA law professor, agrees with you, though for slightly different reasons- you can find his argument here:

    As to your parting image, let me just say, please continue to expose any all military posers you can. We absolutely support efforts to expose and shame those who pretend to claim honors they did not earn nor will ever understand what it means to serve. That is one of the best examples of “countering bad speech with more speech.”

    Thanks again for you time and concern,

    -Erik Maulbetsch

    It seems that the way that the Law is being viewed by the ACLU is that the Stolen Valor Act will go after anyone with the same level of punishment for wearing fake medals regardless of if it was a National Defense Medal or the Congressional Medal of Honor. But we know that we are not going to throw someone in Jail for wearing a Army Service Ribbon they did not earn. Yes the person is guilty and punishment is recommend. But the level of punishment varies. Also reinforced that this Act will some how lead to laws that will make lying about anything at all. I mean if that were true we would all be in jail.

    It also is confusing when he takes about going after fake Vets when a solid case of fraud has been done. But with the lack of a stricter punishment combined with a esoteric standard of what is considered fraud with each case makes this much harder.

    But one thing that I also wanted to talk about is what happened with with former Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda This happened before the net came to full swing and I did not think about it until recently. I remember seeing this video when this first happened on the news.

    But this is my reply if anybody is wondering. I have yet to get a reply as of this writing.

    I am writing in reply to the court’s ruling that the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional. I strongly disagree that is is a matter of free speech. In the case of Strandlof in Colorado. The argument that nothing was gained or no one was hurt makes it freedom of speech is wrong. In every case of posers it does offer personal gain and injury to others.

    Personal gain:

    In the case of Strandlof he claimed the Silver Star and the Purple Heart while serving in Iraq as a Marine Officer. Because how these conflicts have affected so many, those who have faced the dangers of combat with heroics and valor are highly respected. So because of this many people lie about this to receive this attention. I have read a reply that this is just a law to protect the integrity of the Awards. It is, but there is more to that. Each award represents something that each person has gone through or gone without. To claim such awards like Iraq Campaign Medal without having spending time away from home is a insult. So consider that when he claims medals that can only be awarded by being in combat and never been in combat.

    Also when a person is highly decorated people are more willing to listen to them. Strandlof used his fake military service and awards to be started among different Veteran and Anti-War groups as key speakers. While doing these things they can and do receive additional awards and honors based on their lies. One thing that sees to keep coming up is that those that are proven to be fakes always claims elite units such as Special Forces, Ranger, SEALs, and Marine Recon. Hardly ever does it come out that a poser fakes being a cook, pad clerk or supply MOS (job). Because of the very demanding training and duties people who have done well. So people often want the glory of these people with out having to work for it. Also these awards are used to advance professional advancements in and out of the military, There are more then one story about people faking awards to get to the next rank.

    People who are hurt.
    First thing that comes to mind is his claim of a Purple Heart, the medal that is given for being wounded or killed by enemy actions. By claiming to have a Purple Heart without being wounded taking someone else pain and using it. When it is found out that you have fakes this it not only puts into question anything else you said, but anybody else who has a Purple Heart. Also people use the Purple Heart to get VA benefits and medical treatment. When at this time it is challenging to get VA medical care because of the numbers of claims. Fake and fraudulent claims steal from those who have honestly earned this and these fake awards only help this happen.

    But what I find it be damaging is when people like Strandlof are viewed as experts on what is happening in Iraq/Afghanistan despite the fact that he was never there. Often they make claims about atrocities that did not happen and sabotage the work and image of those that are serving honorably. Jesse Macbeth is a good example of this when he claimed to be a decorated Ranger that was Iraq vet that had been wounded in combat. His claims about killing women and children in a alleged terror campaign was sent around the web and even with the knowledge of the fact that he never got past basic the damage is still present if you go to youtube or similar sties. Now Strandlof was involved in the same group as Macbeth.

  • VA Budget Insanity

    A couple of weeks ago, the House was debating a $77.3 billion dollar appropriations bill that included the 2011 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). While the bill was being debated in the House Rules Committee, John Boehner and other Republicans introduced three amendments that would have cut $52 million dollars from the budget request for 2011. Democrats of course did not hesitate to accuse the Republicans of selling-out veterans.

    Louise Slaughter of New York said the following (emphasis is mine):

    “I thought it was extraordinary that someone would want to cut the VA budget to the bone,” said Rules Chairwoman Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.

    This article from the AP quotes Democrat Bob Filner:

    “I couldn’t believe it. You’re coming into an election and you’re taking money away from veterans,” said Veterans Committee Chairman Bob Filner, D-Calif. “I guess that’s their definition of supporting the troops.”

    Of course, the toolbags over at VoteVets did not miss the chance to chime in and bash Republicans:

    Not only do they not want their pimps, the wealthy, the corporations, whoever else they get on their knee’s for, to pay for veterans issues, and more, but they keep trying to Cut VA Budgets by millions while pushing Defense and their Wars of Choice Spending to the limits!!

    So what exactly did the Republicans want to cut from the DVA’s budget? More below the fold…

    (more…)

  • New law forbids mailing cigarettes to the troops

    The was a law that took effect June 29th that forbid mailing cigarettes in the US Postal System in order to prevent smuggling smokes through the mail It’s had the effect of preventing folks from sending tobacco products to troops in war zones, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution;

    The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 quietly took effect June 29. It cut off those care packages by effectively requiring that tobacco be sent with one particular kind of U.S. Postal Service shipping that requires a signature for delivery but does not deliver to most overseas military addresses.

    April Woods, the 26-year-old wife of a Fort Campbell soldier in Afghanistan, used to regularly send him packages of snacks, drink mixes, pictures and cartons of his favorite variety of Marlboros.

    “I would hope that they would change it. It’s just ridiculous that they take so much away from our soldiers,” Woods said

    There was talk about banning smoking in the military a year ago, and it looks like they found a way to enact it. Of course, there won’t be a shortage for the REMFs who get to go to the PX every day, but the troops in the field, you know, the guys who need the calming effect of a good smoke, who’ll suffer.

    My mother and my wife sent me cigarettes and just getting the cartons of Old Golds had a satisfying effect. I sent my son La Gloria Cubanas while he was in Afghanistan and he smoked them on the roof of his hospital at night with his buddies after grueling days in the operating room.

    Lynn Becker, a spokeswoman for the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the law did not intend to restrict mailing tobacco to soldiers.

    “Sen. Kohl’s counsel is working with the legal office at USPS to determine whether there is an alternative to Express Mail that could be used to reach troops overseas,” Becker said. “He’s also working on a legislative fix to ensure that service members overseas can receive care packages that include tobacco products.”

    Of course, he could have tried to fix the law before it became a problem, but that would be proactive, wouldn’t it?

    COB6 and I ran out of cigarettes while we were deep inside Iraq, a two-day drive in a Bradley from the nearest PX – we were the meanest bunch of SOBs in Southwest Asia. Our company XO had to slip back to Saudi Arabia in a M113 to settle us down – a four-day drive there and back.

    I pity the Taliban unit that decides to attack some soldiers who’ve run out of cigarettes. There won’t be any prisoners. Can anyone tell me how many soldiers in combat have died from smoking?

    Thanks to Just A Grunt for the link.

  • Soldiers toss arty simulators at Dahlonega crowd

    Three soldiers stationed at Camp Frank D. Merrill in Georgia have been arrested for tossing artillery simulators at a crowd of people in a Dahlonega, GA parking lot according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution;

    “A large group was standing around talking, and a Cadillac with three occupants pulled up, threw two devices and fled,” Wooten said.

    He said the Cadillac fled up Georgia 400 and deputies who were in the area and heard the explosions “were able to see them on 400 as they attempted to turn off their lights and elude us.”

    The Cadillac pulled onto a side road off Ga. 400 and the three suspects were taken into custody. Deputies later found a dozen undetonated devices that had been thrown from the Cadillac before it stopped, Wooten said.

    The three suspects are assigned to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, but they’re not Rangers, at least not in the military sense. Nicholas Gregory Wendt is a Specialist in the Signal Corps, SGT Thomas Dale Campbell and SSG Jeremy Wade Morgan are both in the AG Corps. The AJC article merely says they’re in the 5th RTB, but doesn’t mention their MOSs, I thought I’d clear that up.

    No one was injured in the brief assault, but hardly anyone ever is. Artillery simulators whistle like an incoming artillery round before the paper and gunpowder device explodes and flashes. The only possible injury is if an inexperienced victim slips and falls in their own excrement after detonation – or holds one as it detonates.

    But these three pogues need to be punished for acting like assholes regardless. Especially the NCOs who should have known better.

  • Code Pink at Quantico

    Well, as you probably know, Code Pink and their assembled freaks from the FAR LEFT were at Quantico yesterday to show their support and beg for the release of Wiki-traitor Bradley Manning. CNN quoted some the hippies;

    “We are here to say that if he, indeed, was the whistle-blower, then we are proud of him,” said Medea Benjamin, founder of anti-war group Code Pink. “In the United States that I know and love, transparency is a positive thing.”

    Yeah, except medea has never known or loved the United States. She just mouths the words to sound main stream.

    Uncle Jimbo was there, too;

    “If Bradley Manning is the one that leaked these documents, he has already put his fellow soldiers at risk,” said Jim Hanson, who writes for the pro-military website BlackFive.

    “I think the military and the government have some things that should be kept secret. The public knows that … There is no ‘right to know’ secret information.”

    Jimbo put one picture of Concrete Bob on Blackfive. One picture. Geez.

    Luckily CNN has video starring Jim and Medea, if you can stand the contrast;

    Jim says they had less than a hundred potesters and several dozen counter-protesters. For all of the press that the protesters had, that was pretty shabby participation. I’ve seen the Left show up with half-again as many on short notice for more ridiculous events. I guess it’s hard to even find people on the Far Left to show support for a traitor on a sunny Sunday afternoon outside of DC.

    ADDED: Someone forarded me this video from Code Pink of the events yesterday. make sure you digest your breakfast before you watch;

  • Defense Business Board: reduce retirement benefits

    Hold on to your pension, military retirees, the Defense Department is coming for your checks as a way to cut expenses reports Stars & Stripes;

    The 25-member group of civilian business leaders suggests that the Defense Department look at changing the current system, even hinting at raising the number of years troops must serve before being eligible for retirement pay.

    The current system “encourages our military to leave at 20 years when they are most productive and experienced, and then pays them and their families and their survivors for another 40 years, committee chairman Arnold Punaro told board members at their quarterly meeting late last month.

    So like I said years ago, somehow the only solutions the government ever comes up with to cut expenses are ways that they’d never let big business cut their expenses. Imagine what would happen to an automaker who discussed cutting union pensions. Or imagine the debate in Congress to cut their retirement benefits.

    Military retirees know how jealous civilians are of our retirement benefits…which, by the way, we earned. We weren’t handed these benefits for showing up one day, like a lot of SSI recipients. We ate yards of shit for years, lived like no civilian would ever tolerate to get those benefits, and now every time there’s a Democrat administration, we have to keep fighting for the meager rewards we earned.

    Of course, the real damage here would be retention. Who would want to work longer for less benefits like the Board suggests? They complain that the military loses experience at the 20-year mark. Who honestly thinks that the military would have higher retention with longer requirements for service towards retirement?

  • Chasing neocon ghosts at Vets Today

    We only bing the sage words of Gordon Duff here because of the entertainment value – no one takes him seriously, do they? And since we know that Gordon reads TAH, we can rest assured that we’re taking well-aimed shots at him. Take his latest at Veterans Today. It begins with these words and generally slides downhill from there;

    When former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assigned General Boykin the task of “Christianizing” the US Army, even if every hard hitting, foul mouthed war fighter had to be “cashiered” the task was taken to heart. Boykin’s efforts to infiltrate every level of the officer corps with Christian Zionists, notwithstanding they may be the worst leaders any military service has ever seen in wartime, was a tremendous success.

    Yes, everyone with a single brain cell left knows that the Right is intent on firing everyone in the military who says cuss words. Right? It only makes complete sense. Yup, everyone must swear their complete allegiance to Jesus Christ and His Father – and the existence of Israel. It’s right there in the oath of enlistment for anyone to see. Right?

    if Gordon had more than 18 months of service in the USMC, he might be able to speak more intelligently to the subject of religion in the military. In fact, I wonder what he thinks about those officers with whom he served as a TOC rat. Does he think they could be influenced by such a useless plot to build an Army of God within the US Army? I know my leaders were always more interested in the outcome of a battle or an exercise than they were about salvation of my soul – but maybe that was just me.

  • Speaking of Quantico…

    One of the cavscouts sent us a link to this article about the Army Marksmanship Unit sweeping the Interservice Rifle Championships at Quantico this week;

    “We know that the Army expects us to be the best,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Hodne, commander of the USAMU. “The USAMU’s service rifle section has maintained a cumulative string of victories at the interservice rifle championships since 1995, when the USAMU custom firearms shop introduced the accurized M16A2/A4, which replaced the M14, as the USAMU service rifle for competition.”

    The USAMU won the coveted 10-man Interservice Rifle team championship match.

    I was offered a slot on the XVIIIth Airborne Corps’ .45 pistol team (only about 30 years ago), but turned it down because I like being a recon squad leader more. Sometimes I regret the decision, but what other choice would a young 24-year-old buck sergeant in the 82d make?

    But for the time I spent training with the pistol team, I know it’s grueling work and the training is tough and I send my sincere congratulations to those sharpshooters of the AMU. Here’s more information on the AMU, if you’re curious.