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

Category: Military issues

  • Huertas not guilty

    The first of three Navy SEALs accused of abusing a terrorist has been acquitted. Julio Huertas was cleared of all charges according to Fox News. Links will follow as available.

    Huffington Post quotes Associated Press;

    “There was no abuse,” [Huertas’ civilian attorney Monica Lombardi] said. “This is classic terrorist training.”

    After the verdict, Lombardi said the jurors told her they had made their ruling because there were too many inconsistencies in the case and that they did not believe the prisoner.

    Prosecutors refused to comment after the verdict, but in his closing argument Lt. Cmdr. Jason Grover said the SEALs were itching for payback for the killings of the Blackwater guards – two of whom were former SEALs – and that now the elite unit had “circled the wagons.”

  • This is not helping

    Several supposedly gay servicemembers chained themselves to the fence in front of the White House today. This is what your new post-DADT military looks like.
    dadt-white-house
    These are not servicemembers – they’re activists. I wouldn’t tolerate this from the anti-war folks, why should we be treated to this spectacle of non-military bearing every month. By the way these peckerwoods, from your left to right are; Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen, Lt. Dan Choi, Cpl. Evelyn Thomas, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II, Cadet Mara Boyd and Petty Officer Larry Whitt.

    While I’ve slowly come around to the idea that DADT is antiquated and outdated and that it needs to be rescinded, these shit-for-brains have made me rerethink it. Fuck these ritards, they don’t deserve a moment’s thought.

    While I was trying to get this POS computer to work right, Blackfive took all of the good lines. Except the one I’ve been trying not to type for months; All of you guys who want to tell the ladies that you’re ready to fulfill all of their needs, now’s the time to chain your ass to the White House fence and tell them all that you perform cunnilingus at every opportunity. Apparently it’s socially acceptable to advertise what you do in the privacy of your bedroom on Pennsylvania Avenue.

  • DADT opponents heckle Obama

    Some of the folks who oppose the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy heckled him in Los Angeles last night over the issue according to the Associated Press;

    The protesters shouted to ask Obama what he is going to do about the policy, which prohibits gays from serving openly in the military. The shouts grew so insistent that Obama responded.

    The president said that he supports overturning “don’t ask don’t tell” and suggested the protesters should be yelling at the people who don’t.

    Yeah, good come back – except, apparently everyone who can end the policy are Democrats, so where are the folks who oppose it?

    Personally, I would have rounded up all of the hecklers, dropped them all off at the nearest basic training/boot camp facility, give them eight weeks of initial entry training and see how many enlist afterward. Sort of make them put their money where their mouth is – if there are so many gays who want to serve, where are they?

    All I see are goofballs looking for an issue.

  • Senators subpoena Gates

    The Stars & Stripes wrote last night that Senators Lieberman and Snowe issued a subpoena to Defense Secretary Gates in regards to the Fort Hood shooting last November;

    Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been ordered to appear before Congress or provide the requested information, but a senior Defense official said the department may say no to the subpoena.

    Senior Defense officials told reporters Monday that the department cannot provide certain information to Congress under a provision of the military justice system known as “unlawful command influence.” For example, if the department provided Congress information that was inadmissible in court, and Congress in turn held hearings, a military judge could toss the case, one senior Defense official said.

    Yeah, I saw how upset everyone got about John Murtha using “unlawful command influence”. The Army and DoD are hiding stuff, they’ve been hiding stuff since they told us that Hasan was dead in the early moments of the investigation. If there’s a fear of command influence, have the investigation behind closed doors – I want something on the record that will point fingers after the trial.

    Gates’ subordinates used “illegal command influence” when they told us that the worst thing that could happen as a result of the Fort Hood shootings is if the Army suffered from a lack of diversity. After that idiot statement, everything Gates and the DoD does is suspect.

  • Marc Hall slides

    IVAW member Marc Hall, the Stop Loss rapper, slides off with virtually no punishment after he threatened to shoot his superiors back in December, according to the Associated Press;

    The dismissal for misconduct means Spc. Marc A. Hall will avoid criminal charges but lose all military benefits earned over at least four years of service, including an earlier tour in Iraq.

    Army spokesman Lt. Col. Eric Bloom said Saturday that top brass decided to discharge Hall instead of taking him to trial in part because he admitted his guilt.

    So Hall makes out fine, while I’m sure some of his fellow soldiers are weighing the consequences of their own adherence to Army policy. Yeah, he lost his benefits, but he was facing 15 years in prison for communicating a threat – in fact he’s communicated threats several times – and we all know how his (NLG) lawyers will eventually coerce the VA in to giving the former mechanic back his benefits.

    Bloom said that Maj. Gen. Terry Wolff signed off Friday on a plea deal for Hall to admit guilt and be discharged from the Army instead of face trial in Baghdad, as military lawyers requested.

    I understand the Army’s reluctance to make a big deal out of this, but it will bite them in the ass. They don’t need to hear it from me, they know.

    Thanks to Sparky for the link.

  • Tea Party Marine’s speech “chilled”

    TSO sent this link to an article about a Marine at Camp Pendelton who has been counseled by his supervisors about his Facebook group “Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots“.

    After his superiors at Camp Pendleton learned of it and that he was slated to appear on MSNBC to talk about it, they directed him to sit down and review Defense Department policy that governs what political activities are acceptable for members of the armed forces.

    Stein said he agrees with that policy and will abide by the limits it sets, which include barring troops from taking part in partisan political fundraising or using the uniform to influence an election. They also prohibit soliciting votes for a particular party and taking part in any radio or television broadcast as an advocate for or against a candidate or cause.

    “The last 24 hours has been a learning experience and I know a lot more about the directive and will continue to moderate the page and stick within the guidelines,” he said.

    The Marines emphasize that SGT Stein is not being disciplined or investigated. But the ACLU was prompted to weigh in;

    “The ACLU strongly supports the First Amendment rights of service members to discuss and critique the government’s policies and conduct,” the organization said in a written statement. “Speech on issues of social and political concern is recognized by the courts, including military courts, as “the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect.”

    The Marine Corps was prompted to curtail Stein’s activities after an interview in TPMMuckraker during which Stein declared;

    “People in the military need to be heard,” the group’s prime organizer, Gary Stein — a Marine Corps sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California — told TPMmuckraker in an interview. “Our opinions do count.”

    Many people in the military “feel like they can’t speak out against Obama or Congress,” said Stein. “The armed forces should have a little bit more say than we think we do,” he said.

    Stein also mentioned that he is a firm supporter of Oath Keepers.

    ADDED: I don’t really fault Oath Keeper members for their membership in the organization. Oath Keepers’ basic message is seductive to members of the military, LEOs and First Responders. I fault Stewart Rhodes for not being upfront with his intentions and political aspirations. If he were, the membership would flee in droves.

  • Pentagon to chase tail for Potok

    The Pentagon is about to conduct a witch hunt for “extremists” based on information they were handed by the left wing extremist hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the organization of Grand Flea Eagle Arbiter of Hate Mark Potok. This according to Stars & Stripes;

    The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group in Montgomery, Ala., presented dozens of the user profiles to Congress and the Pentagon. The center estimates “thousands” of extremists serve in the ranks and has lobbied the Pentagon for three years to adopt clearer anti-hate measures and more vigorously pursue servicemembers known to be affiliating with hate groups.

    I wrote about those profiles which were dredged up by Wikileaks, of “Collateral Murder” fame. Of the emails I examined then, membership in the hate groups was questionable and SPLC didn’t bother to check to see if those claiming to be in the military were servicemembers at all.

    To quote Mark Potok; “We can’t verify these things,” Potok said, because his group does not have access to military personnel records. “We feel that clearly military investigators could.” But that certainly doesn’t stop him from blasting military members as a whole for being members of extremist hate groups.

    And, of course, there’s no solid basis of research upon which SPLC can rest their estimates of ““thousands” of extremists serve in the ranks”.

    “The one worry here is that enforcement of these regulations may be very uneven. It leaves the decision up to local commanders and we’ve really yet to see how that’s going to work,” Potok said. “The hope is that this clarifies that even advocacy of these kinds of ideas is not consistent with being in the military.”

    So apparently, Potok and the Pentagon are going to try policing thoughts, since “advocacy” is such a subjective concept. Only a Pentagon under a Democrat Administration could consider anything from Mark “Mighty Hairpiece” Potok and the SPLC anything other than hyperbolic crackpottery.

  • Murtha floats

    Ponsdorf and 1stCavRVN11B have been sending me articles on the Navy’s proposed plan to name a ship after the ample, rotting carcass of John P. Murtha. It seems impossible, doesn’t it? But nonetheless it’s true. So many good troops have lost their lives in service to this country in the last few years who actually deserve the honor, it’s almost disrespectful and disgraceful to roll this fat turd to the front of the line.

    The Washington Times editorial board writes, quoting our friend CDR Salamander;

    “This dishonors every Marine who will serve aboard that ship,” a Navy officer told The Washington Times. “And it sends a poor message to the acquisition community that politicians can have ships named after them just for sending pork back to their districts.” Milblogger “CDR Salamander,” who served in the Navy for 21 years, told us this was “a naked political move” and “nothing about this man will be inspiring to the crew assigned to the ship.”

    Of course, we expect nothing less from our newly politicized military which exists to fly the speaker of the house to campaign in her district.

    The Times continues with some possible nicknames for the ship;

    It’s doubtful that the ship naming will do much to honor Murtha. The brave Marines and sailors who serve aboard this vessel probably will refer to it only as LPD 26 or come up with a colorful nickname like “Porky Pig” or the “Fat Bastard” (the Marine favorite). Perhaps Murtha could still be useful in supplying the ship’s slogan: “Cold Blooded Killers.”

    I kind of like “bloated rotting corpse” myself. I’m sure Murtha would agree.