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

Category: Support the troops

  • LTC Chessani cleared!

    My email box is filling up, Rush Limbaugh’s talking about it, it’s all over the news, so I guess I’d better tell ya’all (CBS News link);

    A military judge has dismissed charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis.

    Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges Tuesday against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after defense attorneys raised concerns that a four-star general overseeing the prosecution was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.

    The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled, but Folsom excluded Marine Forces Central Command from future involvement.

    There were 9 Marines charged and we’re down to one Staff Sergeant. I wonder if Murtha is writing his resignation.

    UPDATED: My post at Eagles UP! Talon deals with this subject and Murtha.

  • Flag Day in bitter West Chester, PA

    My buddy Skye from the blogs Midnight Blue and Flopping Aces has been pestering me to come up to West Chester, Pennsylvania to cover her pet project, the Victory Group that counters the Chester County Peace Vigil, so I finally relented (I hate driving back into DC after the peace and tranquility of Real America) and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m sure most of you remember that Skye was the blogger attacked by a member of the “Peace” vigil last month, but that hasn’t stopped her from being there every Saturday.

    So when Thus Spake Ortner and I met up there, we estimated there were probably 200 bitter, patriotic Pennsylvanians clinging to their flag, their guns and their faith facing about forty enlightened beings ready to surrender their safety and well-being for the sake of world peace. Guess which group is which of these two pictures;

    All of the old hippies were out with their tired bumpersticker politics;

    It’s no surprise that the peace movement in West Chester would hijack the image of West Chester’s favorite son, Smedley Butler, and quote from his writings in a socialist magazine;

    And more timely slogans;

    Of course, you can’t put a whole Supreme Court decision on a sign or in few enough words that a Leftist could pay attention all the way through – it’s just easier to call the whole thing illegal.

    Apparently the pro-Victory side are uberpatriots;

    I wonder to what lie she’s referring. Maybe the lie that the Left is patriotic and supports the troops. What the Tibetan flag had to do our Flag Day, I’ll never know.

    But luckily there was a bunch of people on the spot to raise my spirits again;

    Did I mention they had bagpipes?

    I think TSO almost wet himself.

    After the good guys sang the Star-Spangled Banner and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, the hippies figured their job was done and streamed off down the street pathetically chanting “Out of Iraq Now” in those weak little voices they have. In the meantime, we were treated to good food and beer at the Knights of Columbus Lodge up the street. There was speechifying, prayers and more bagpipes. And more Skye;

    I had a great time – usually I have to wait to see good Americans when they come to DC…but this time venturing out into the hinterlands paid off for me – I felt privileged to be surrounded by such dedicated and proud hardworking Americans.

    I threw together this video of parts of the event, so across America you can get the sense of how the bitter folks of West Chester, PA stand up to the malignant “peace” movement;

    [youtube OYi16QtMNHE nolink]

    I hope everyone understands that when I say “bitter”, I kid.

    And just so you know, when I got back to DC, I was stuck 6 miles from home in an hour-long traffic jam. Yay!

    UPDATE: TSO remembers the event a bit differently than I remember.

    Skye’s report is at Flopping Aces and Midnight Blue. From her group shot, I found TSO and me – well, the top of our heads, anyway. My head is the one that’s not reflecting sunlight.

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  • Happy Birthday, US Army

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    Tomorrow is more popularly Flag Day, but it’s also the Army’s Birthday. Both COB6 and I spent a large portion of our adult lives in the Army, so sometimes it’s easier to remember than our kid’s birthdays (I kid). Celebrations have already begun.

    From the Army’s website;

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    Photo by J.D. Leipold
    June 11, 2008

    Army and congressional leaders celebrated the Army’s 233rd birthday and the Army’s partnership with Congress yesterday at a cake-cutting ceremony on Capitol Hill. Secretary of the Army Pete Geren told the audience it was a great occasion to celebrate an institution, a partnership that is older than the nation: “It was really an adoption more than a birth because Soldiers were in the field laying siege to the British in Boston when the Continental Congress decided to create an Army on June 14, 1775 — they said, ‘those guys in the field; they are our Army.’” From left to right: Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Secretary Geren, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma.

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    Photo by Terry Goodman
    June 13, 2008

    Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston reads the Army Birthday Children’s Storybook Thursday to about 20 children at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Child Development Center at Forest Glenn, located in Silver Spring, Md. After the reading, Preston and two of the children blew out candles on the official “Army birthday” cake followed by the singing of the Army Song. The Army Birthday Children’s Storybook was written for children by Army Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command to help Army children understand the importance, history, contributions and sacrifices their parents make.

    SMA Preston’s Army Birthday message;

    [youtube ViAY10B1ENY nolink]

    The President’s message on the occasion;

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    The Soldiers Creed;

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    Everyone who has ever served in the Army and earned an Honorable Discharge is my brother. These folks who have given their lives for our country while wearing Army boots are never far from my thoughts, neither are those who are trying their boots on for the first time.

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    Tomorrow I’ll be with my blog buddies Skye and Thus Spake Ortner celebrating Flag Day in West Chester, PA on the outside, but the Army’s 233 years will be in my heart.

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    Last year’s post is here.

  • Walter Reed troops’ Amazon wish list (Bumped and Updated)

    From Ace of Spades, we get the Amazon wish list of troops recovering at Walter Reed.

    The movies and games are part of a larger effort by CAUSE, a group founded in 2003 by 4 West Point grads who had served together in Vietnam. The idea behind CAUSE is that morale among active and recovering soldiers and Marines can be dramatically improved through R&R activities. At Walter Reed, CAUSE has facilities at the Mologne House, which is an outpatient dormitory for personnel and their families. The CAUSE library carries DVDs, as well as video games and equipment and is open to anyone at Walter Reed, free of charge.

    My goal this summer is to try and fulfill the wish list…

    And please feel free to pass this link on for others to contribute and for those of you with blogs (you know who you are), please consider publicizing this effort.

    It’s cheap and easy so do it.

    UPDATE: A commenter at Ace of Spades added the wish list for troops at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston.

  • Semper Fi, Jack

    Back in April, I wrote about Jack Lucas who’d joined the Marines at 14 years old and was awarded the Medal of Honor at the age of 17 for actions on Iwo Jima. He succumbed to cancer today. He absorbed the blast from two Japanese grenades to protect his friends and then lived for another 65 years. Tip one up for him today.

  • Another Haditha Marine Acquitted

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    It’s no surprise, really. one after another, the Marines have been found innocent or the charges dropped. But here’s the latest story emailed to me by Rurik;

    U.S. military jury acquitted a Marine intelligence officer Wednesday of charges that he tried to help cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis.

    Cheers erupted as the seven-officer panel cleared 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who was the first of three Marines to be tried in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi deaths linked to the war. The verdict came just five hours after deliberations began.

    So let’s recap the events over the last few years. In May, 2006 Congressman John Murtha says in an interview;

    …that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that “there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

    Then Steve Gilbert at Sweetness and Light discovers that Murtha was actually briefed AFTER he gave the interview.

    Asked about this in the interview, Murtha said the information came from Gen. Michael Hagee, the commandant of the Marine Corps, in a one-on-one conversation the day before Hagee made a trip to Iraq. Hagee did not use the term “in cold blood,” he added.

    Col. Dave Lapan, a Marine spokesman, disputed Murtha’s account.

    He said the commandant did brief Murtha about the Haditha incident. But he said that was on May 24, a week after Murtha made his public comment. The next day, May 25, Hagee left for Iraq, he said.

    So Murtha made the statement hoping for the results to follow his script – which is why many of the prosecuting lawyers in the case have reported unprecedented pressure to get convictions. Not just targeting the Marines on the scene, Murtha hoped to lasso in a whole bunch of uniformed people so he could blame it on the administration;

    “Who covered it up, why did they cover it up, why did they wait so long?” Murtha said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We don’t know how far it goes. It goes right up the chain of command.”

    Actually, fatboy, you didn’t even know if there was any crime at all, did you? Hence the pressure you applied to prosecutors. Now when I call Murtha’s office for a response, they just hang up immediately. I wonder why.

    Heh. Found this while I was researching the links here. You all know this guy confronting Murtha, you just don’t know that you know him. He comments here from time-to-time.

    [youtube nMkewjF9M08 nolink]

  • Army torments soldiers, Part II

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    This Washington Post story is really sticking in my craw. If you’ll kindly look at the photo above, you’ll see a picture from Yahoo Maps. The crosshairs are on Martin Army Hospital. North of the hospital is Columbus, GA. The buildings to the east (your right) across the highway are the PX and Commissary. The buildings southeast and southwest are family housing (where I lived) to the west is the horse stables. Now where is the firing range “across the street…200 yards away”?

    I’ve emailed Ann Scott Tyson, the author of the Post article earlier this morning. I passed out from holding my breath awaiting a reply, so I stopped doing that. Instead I called the Fort Benning Public Affairs Office and spoke to Monica Manganaro. She tells me that the Warrior Transition Battalion is not located near the hospital, as Tyson claimed. It’s on Reagan Court near Building 4 (Infantry Hall for all you grunts),

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    Infantry Hall is that long building in the center top of the photo . The barracks of the WTB are in the lower left corner. Yes, there are firing ranges, but Ms. Manganaro tells me they are only M16 and M4 ranges and are not used often at night – The ranges are generally used 8 am – 2pm (although there is occasional night firing).

    The nearest machinegun range is 2km away and the nearest mortar range is over 3km away. She also explained that the quarters are only temporary. Fort Benning is in the process of building a new $42 million complex for the Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) near the Officers’ Club.

    She also told me that some soldiers have complained in the past about the noise from the nearby range, and they’ve been moved to another set of barracks away from the noise. She mentioned a case where a soldier complained but declined to be moved. There are monthly “townhall” style meetings where soldiers are allowed to air their complaints about the facilities and there are two civilian ombudsmen who report directly to the Department of Defense for soldiers to talk to if they’re wary about complaining to their chain of command.

    Ms. Manganaro told me that she told Ms. Tyson all of this but she said it seemed Tyson already knew how she was going to write the story.

    Now, what made me do Part II of the story is the comments on the Washington Post article. Comments like these;

    ridagana wrote:
    I’ve seen too many soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Their IQ is about 80, they love to brag, show their weapons, even in the office sitting at the computer they carry their guns, bulletproof vests and helmets, etc. while other folks like me sitting right next to them just have regular cloths and no guns. They can not communicate at random or discuss a variety of issues and perspectives. They either take orders or they give them. This goes all the way from a 19 year old soldier to a 4 star General. Certainly they get mentally sick when shot – quite frankly they already were mentally shaky the day they were born. The problem is integrating them with regular society both while at war but most certainly when back with society.
    6/3/2008 11:40:21 AM
    Recommend (2)

    wgriff3245 wrote:
    As a Vietnam Era vet, I shudder everytime someone says “The best and the Brightest”. You go into the army to either avoid jail and working at Mc Donalds. This also applies to the upper eshelon. This is just another example of the mentality of the leaders of this country. They are all idiots.
    6/3/2008 10:36:58 AM
    Recommend (2)

    hotezzy wrote:
    If this isn’t the stupidest thing I have ever heard — you place wounded soldiers trying to recover from PTSD (usually resulting for bomb blasts and the sights and sounds of war and death) in a facility about 200 yards from the Army firing ranges so they can hear that each and every day. Is this what their doctors recommended as an appropriate treatment plan for these soldiers??? If so, then they definitely need to be stripped of their medical licenses. No medical, rehabilitative, or recovery facility should be anywhere near a firing range and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that fact. But once again the soldiers who go to war and get wounded are pretty much tossed aside once they get wounded physically and/or mentally in regard to their care and treatment upon their return to this country as we can see with the care that went into this decision. But I am sure it was some general’s dumb decision resulting in building this facility in the worst possible location on this planet, but rank doesn’t ususally result from great intelligence just butt kissing of the highest order.
    6/3/2008 10:20:36 AM
    Recommend (2)

    loewsing wrote:
    That’s what you get when you have these chickenhawk, armchair, spend my all tax dollars republicans in power. The country is broke and they want to bring down veterans. It’s amusing to see republicans with their support the troop banner on the back of the luxury automobile. What a bunch of cowards.
    6/3/2008 9:59:41 AM
    Recommend (4)

    mhoust wrote:
    Let me tell you something about PTSD and the military hierarchy. Even today, most of the people in the chain of command are, at best, clueless about PTSD; and most of the rest are outright derisive of it or deny it exists. The only fortunate thing for them is that most sufferers of PTSD are not malevolently violent; otherwise there would be a heck of a lot of dead officers, and maybe a few politicians.

    These men, and women, are hurt. They are crippled. But because their wounds are not visible and in your face, denial of the problem is rampant.
    6/3/2008 8:12:02 AM
    Recommend (6)

    OldProgessivefromWisconsin wrote:
    Just one more example of the crass disregard the U.S. Military has for those who have served to the last inch of their lives. Holding them in a continuing nightmare of gun fire while they attempt to recuperate is something only Satan could think up. Well, I guess they say war is Hell. Will these poor souls never be released?
    6/3/2008 7:02:51 AM
    Recommend (4)

    Deadline wrote:
    PTSD soldiers shouldn’t be even allowed to handle weapons. I know it was just a movie but Full Metal Jacket is very plausible I think. Wouldn’t surprise me if someone with severe PTSD snaps one day while handling weapon. It’s already happended in Iraq but could almost as easily happen here at home.
    6/3/2008 4:18:21 AM
    Recommend (5)

    And after I left my comment criticizing the commenters for swallowing the WaPo story without questions, the response was;

    DEFJAX wrote:
    99% of the idiots complaining about this article have never been anywhere near combat and are nothing more than tough talking cowards.

    ..
    6/3/2008 1:50:54 PM
    Recommend (2)

    shipfreakbo214 wrote:
    defjax comment
    I applaud your comment, these back room soldiers making comments they know nothing about. When I was in the Army we called them draft dodgers, they love there country but wont fight for it.

    Their only combat experience is from playing video games and their understanding of soldiers comes from watching Hollywood’s versions and they don’t listen to anyone who gives them reasons to think differently. Well, that’s Washington Post’s audience.

  • Cluster bomb treaty

    According to the Associated Press, 111 nations have pledged to abide by a measure that bans cluster bombs from warfare. The AP article headline reads “111 nations adopt cluster bomb treaty, but not US“.  Reading down further in the article, one finds that the US isn’t the only nation who didn’t sign it;

    Twelve days of negotiations ended after diplomats from scores of nations delivered speeches embracing the accord. It requires signatories not to use cluster bombs, to destroy existing stockpiles within eight years, and to fund programs that clear old battlefields of dud bombs.

    However, the talks did not involve the biggest makers and users of cluster bombs: the United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan. And the pact leaves the door open for new types that could pick targets more precisely and contain self-destruct technology.

    In other words, the 111 nations that approved the treaty probably don’t even have an Air Force that they can use to deliver the munitions. It’s like non-smokers regulating smoking.

    They hope to discourage other nations from using them using some sort of international peer pressure;

    Norwegian Deputy Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide, whose nation launched the negotiations in February 2007, said he was confident that the treaty would discourage the United States, Russia, China, Israel and other proponents of cluster bombs to use the weapons again.

    “The reality is that states do care about not only the legality of their actions, but also the perceived legitimacy and appropriateness of their actions,” he said.

    The United States has used the cluster bombs sparingly and only against armies in the field, however the nations who are lucky enough to live under the umbrella of the protection of US military want to distance themselves from the application of US military might. But cluster bombs save US troop’s lives. That might not seem like a big deal to some linguine-spined diplomat from Norway.

    I drove my Bradley over a cluster bomblet after the Gulf War – it took a week for my driver to get over the shakes.