From THE Mrs. Greyhawk;
The film maker says;
Don’t give us a hard time for this, please? We’re just a few good men trying to enjoy ourselves and get this deployment over with. No one is gay… that we know of. Not that there is anything wrong with that! (political correctness) As a young aspiring film maker I was forced to release this early due to our friend in Afghans high school lip sinked music video. You know you love it. Enjoy it. Spread it. Live it.
Recently Travis Bishop commented on a post about him a few days ago. One thing that he did bring up was the group called Disposable Warriors. Now don’t let the name fool you, this website is very different from it’s alleged counter parts that Travis linked it with in his post.
The person running the show is Former Sgt Chuck Luther He has been working with those with honest to good real issues and really seems to care about the each person. In his recent case shows that it working with Private First Class Jacob Wade He went AWOL during mid-tour leave. While while I still think AWOL is never the right thing to do, it is more sympathetic then others.
He said he made the decision after dealing with the effects of what he witnessed and experienced during his first six months in Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division.
“Riding through town we got attacked,” he said. “I had a grenade go off five feet behind me, and only one other soldier that was with me made it into the truck, and we thought everyone was dead.”
So Chuck talks about how to face this challenge and this is the real difference.
“We have a large amount of AWOL cases; the rest are soldiers that are currently there that possibly if nobody intervened they would go AWOL,” Luther said.
He said he has handled more than 175 cases across the country so far with more than 70 active cases.
“It’s not something that can’t be taken over and fixed,” Luther said. “But there is help out there, and AWOL is seriously the last resort, and it shouldn’t ever get to that point.”
That is just it the real divide over who wants to help the person or help their cause. Something we already know about you James.
I read stories like this and I figure America is gonna be alright after all;
“I wanted to find a project that was really close to my heart and for Memorial Day,” Reina told Jennifer McCannon’s seventh-grade language arts class during a presentation in January.
After speaking with Stanko, Reina learned that 11 military veterans buried in Steamboat didn’t have headstones.
She decided to raise money to pay for headstones, like the ones issued by the VA, to replace the white crosses. Reina wanted to make sure the veterans buried in Steamboat without headstones weren’t forgotten.
“It honors them, how they died — sacrificing their life and helping our country,” she said.
So with the help of a local American Legion post commander, she’s raised $1200 of the $1500 they’d need to mark the graves of heroes. Read the rest of the story.
The Armorer reminds us that the Vietnam War ended 35 years ago today.
I was in jump school at the time, I think I graduated the following week because a week after that I was a 128 pound 5 jump chump drawing ammo at Hunter Army Airfield for our aborted preparations to rescue the Mayaguez from the Khmer Rouge – the last US operation related to the Vietnam War.
At that time, nearly every enlisted soldier above the rank of E-5 was a Vietnam veteran among infantrymen. Every officer above the rank of captain had a combat patch on their right shoulder. Their experiences in Vietnam added color to every training operation with real life lessons. They were the ones who remained to train us newbies, to make sure that what happened to them would never happen to us. They stayed with the Army even though they were mischaracterized by the popular culture, they continued doing their duty and few ever mentioned their cultural enemies on the Left.
I was fortunate in that the 1/75th Infantry was populated with the heroes of Vietnam – everyday was like some sort of class reunion when the very best soldiers of that era relived their multiple tours of the war with their old classmates. Some had earned battlefield commissions and then gave them back when the Army started drawing down. More than few kicked my young ass with legs that were held together with pins. Most are now remembered in the Ranger Hall of Fame.
The Vietnam veterans didn’t lose their war, yet they shouldered the blame for it silently. Their real victory is in the wars that we’ve fought since. There are soldiers walking around today that live because the Vietnam veterans didn’t abandon the country that largely abandoned them. I count myself in that number of troops who are alive because of the Vietnam veterans that taught me to soldier. That is a debt I’ll never be able to repay.
This latest generation of veterans, from our more recent wars, have taken the cue from the Vietnam generation and serve in difficult times. My generation is lucky to have been bracketed by these heroes.
Court: Cross doesn’t violate separation of church and state
The Supreme Court has ruled a white cross, erected as a war memorial and placed on national parkland in the California desert, does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.The 5-4 majority concluded Congress acted properly when it tried to transfer land around the Mojave Memorial Cross to veterans groups, an effort to eliminate any Establishment Clause violation. A federal appeals panel had blocked that property swap.
At issue before the justices was whether the display fundamentally violates the first ten words of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
I was working on my other case today, but this is a big win. I played a very meager role on this, but it pleases me to no end.
Jonn Added: Some TAH background on the story from May and August last year. TSO is too modest – his contribution was more than he’ll admit.
TSO Added: Here is the money shot that is easily read by non lawyer types:
The District Court did not attempt to reassess the find-ings in Buono I in light of the policy of accommodation that Congress had embraced. Rather, the District Court concentrated solely on the religious aspects of the cross,divorced from its background and context. But a Latin cross is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs. It is a symbol often used to honor and respect those whoseheroic acts, noble contributions, and patient striving helpsecure an honored place in history for this Nation and its people. Here, one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten. Respect for a coordinate branch of Government forbidsstriking down an Act of Congress except upon a clear showing of unconstitutionality.
BTW- That is almost exactly what Tim said in the comments, so maybe I will ask Obama to name him to the Supremes.
ALSO: Allahpundit covered it here, and I think he misses a point in there that is important. Regarding Stevens approach, AP says:
I take his point — honoring Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist troops, etc, with a cross is rather insufficiently nuanced — but if the worry is observers feeling influenced by the display, how does Stevens justify the religious symbols on the headstones at Arlington? There’s theoretically no government endorsement problem there since servicemen get to select their own insignias, but (a) it is federal land and (b) seeing so many crosses associated with such valor, even with stars of David and crescents mixed in, is more powerful than some puny cross in the desert.
Actually, there are numerous “unknown” graves in federal cemeteries (mostly overseas) that have crosses over them. I always felt they would be the next target, since (contra what AP says), those buried underneath clearly did not “get to select their own insignias”. Also, the WWI memorial in Arlington is a Latin Cross as well. The ACLU always promised us when we asked than they would not go after gravestones, and everytime I asked if that included the unknown ones overseas, they were silent. I wonder why that was….
Also, you can read The American Legion’s press release here. (Disclaimer: I aided in writing portions of it.)
The whole Supreme Court enchilada below the jump;
(more…)
Once again there are stories being posted about the issue with suicide in the military and PTSD. Sounds like it could be good thing right? Yea I wish. More then anything it really reinforces that groups are willing to uses people in suffering as a means to a end. Case one is talking about 18 Veteran Suicides Every Day . It is not as bad as other that I have seen but still manages to bring in the politics.
I commend the VA for their efforts and for the lives they are able to save, but obviously much more needs to be done. They not only need to increase their outreach to include many veterans not currently receiving care, but they also need to increase the quality and effectiveness of the care they are giving (because five suicides a day among those receiving treatment is just too many).
Notice the quickness on pointing out a problem and saying that someone else should fix it. Kinda like watch your neighbors house burn making off hand comments about he should really need more water. If you not going to help, get out of our way and stop pretending that you are.
The next one is even worse. Yet in the comments and story it tries to make it sound that James Branum that he cares about his clients or can do his job without putting his “cause” first.
What this young man has had to face should be an outrage to us all. I hope that he will find his strength and begin to heal. I thank James Branum for his dedication to helping these soldiers find their way toward justice in the midst of the overwhelming intimidation that is the military culture.
Yea I had a knee jerk reaction too. But it get better with the next two replies to me.
Masterspork, with all do respect to having your own opinion, you nor thisainthell know what you are talking about. why don’t you come down to UtH coffeehouse and talk to some of James’ clients and people who have worked with James?
Masterporks,
Yes come talk to clients that got guilty charges. There are two that come to UtH daily. And they still stand behind James and the choices THEY made.
As for having a general understanding of UCMJ and how it works does not give anyone the right to slander people.
The problem with people like you all is that you always get your info wrong or make assumptions. All soldiers that we talk to know they can apply for CO for free. If they choose to ask an attorney for help and are low on funds there are great people out there that donate to help them. So there is nothing unethical that James is doing.
As for Travis we know the story so there is no need to comment on it.
Honey as we all know in the military community when you go up against the brass or institution it never goes well. You got two options… 1. You stay quiet and accept what they give you or 2. You tell them to go fuck themselves and get more time.
Well that’s to bad you can’t visit UtH maybe when you come back to TX you can see for yourself what we do.
So as a military blog with many members that had deployed with a few that have seen combat we collectively know nothing about how the military works. Still have not heard of any such people exist.
There is at least one guy that seems to be doing it right. From the group that he runs to help soldiers with PTSD and any issues that they are facing. Here is something that I got off of his Facebook group, Soldiers Advocacy Group.
More progress here at Ft Benning. Last week the actions of the Reduction Board were overturned and the rank that was taken from husband was restored. Again, this wouldn’t have happened without Chuck’s intervention. Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts from all of you. We aren’t done yet, but it is getting better!!!
Taking note James this is what success looks like.
I have been wanting to post about this all week. The 60th Engineer Company is a sister company in my last unit that left for Afghanistan in April of last year. One of the medics that went with them was with me at Basic and Ait. If I remember correctly he is the last original person from when I first got to the 11th Engineer Battalion that has not left.
I did not want to write about it too soon because of the delay in Kuwait and the million of things that could go wrong.
So in short welcome home.
Medals don’t make the hero
That is what a blog post by a author named Mark McCarter.
He talks about a Marine by the name Greg Suedmeyer
He did a tour in Iraq. When he got back to the states, he was at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was headed home to Huntsville from there last weekend.
Then, on Saturday evening, because a 71-year-old man was inexplicably going the wrong way on I-20 outside Atlanta, Suedmeyer was killed.
There’s the life lesson for us all on the fragility of it all, the “you never know” that sobers us all. You sign up to be a Marine, you get sent to Iraq, the odds slide against you. Bombs, rockets, insane insurgents.
Then you lose your life on a Georgia freeway because somebody is driving the wrong way. Your wife is at your side. Your dog is in the back seat. It’s not supposed to happen.
People like Skyler Tarquin Smith
He claimed that he had several awards to include two Purple Hearts. But seems he went AWOL before his unit deployed.
But here is the real reason that caused me to write this post. Also the caption for this next photo is so perfect that I cannot say anything better.
Why do we expose frauds and phonies?
Take a good look at this picture and then tell us a phony has a constitutional right – “Freedom of Speech” –
to say he earned a Purple Heart when he did not.
That says it all right there.