Author Archive

VALOUR-IT Site/Link Updated! Fix Your Links!

March 19th, 2007 by xformed

The Valour-IT site has been updated and if you link there, please find some time (quickly) to update your blogrolls/sidebars/etc…

If you are unaware of what I’f talking about, it’s a project to get laptops with voice activated software into the hands of our injured troops at the major medical facilities, so they can continue to keep in touch with family, friends and their units.

The link is now: http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=project-valour-it

Get to work!

Category: Charities, Military, Public Service, Supporting the Troops, Valour-IT | Comments Off on VALOUR-IT Site/Link Updated! Fix Your Links!

JACK ARMY’s “A Day in the Life” of My FOB

March 19th, 2007 by xformed

A chaptered story told on many blogs starts here and continues here:

Chapter 11

Chapter Twelve: Great Americans
We have a great team assembled at my FOB, which could be considered unusual. My commander didn’t get to hand-pick his team, whether the members that came from our parent unit or the various attachments, some of which came from within our brigade and others from Reserve units or even other branches. The guys here take their jobs seriously and many take the initiative to find ways to support the mission despite an occasional lack of support or other challenge that may keep us from using “conventional” means to get the job done.
I am excited to have had the opportunity to serve in this position. I have grown professionally because of it. More than I thought I would, which is an unexpected surprise. I am a lucky man in this respect.
I would like to thank the folks working here at FOB X with me. These are truly great Americans. I look at all these troops and am amazed, not only at the tremendous effort they put forth under crazy conditions sometimes, but also because these are people that could be doing anything but putting their lives on the line for Iraqis. And yet, here they are, volunteers each and every one, working hard, sweating, laughing, crying, sometimes bleeding for something that is beyond day-to-day comprehension, something that transcends the individual and actually makes a difference in our world. I am privileged and honored to serve with such selfless and open-hearted people.
The irony is not lost on me either, how we are ready to kill those that would threaten us but we are dedicated to making life better for normal Iraqis who just want a taste of what many Americans take for granted: freedom.

Category: Army, Blogging, History, Military, Supporting the Troops | 1 Comment »

Light Blogging – Off to the Races….

March 16th, 2007 by xformed

Gator Nationals NHRA Races
Guys weekend away coming up, listening to ear shattering noise and smelling burnt rubber and nitro fumes (from a distance)…

As a result, I’ll be “offline” and hoping the Army team makes the finals in all categories…they smoked everyone last year.

Tony Schmacher
At dinner on the way back, we got to talk to “The Sarge” and he autographed one of the guys shirts. Last year and the year before, they also gave the oath of enlistment to a platoon sized unit of new soldiers, and the, of course, got a standing ovation…

See ya next week…

Category: Army, Blogging, Military | Comments Off on Light Blogging – Off to the Races….

Irena Sendler – A Real Hero of the Holocaust

March 15th, 2007 by xformed

I found this on Little Green Footballs yesterday afternoon and see it has made it’s way to Cdr Salamander’s blog, too.

Irena Sendler
A Polish woman, Irena Sendler, saved 2,500 Jewish children between 1940 and 1943, before she was arrested by the Nazis and then tortured. She never gave up the names of the children. 2500. Think about it: 2500 lives snatched from the jaws of certain death, by a woman, who was not Jewish, and knew full well of the penalty for such rescue work. 2500 people, many of who, by basic demographics, have had generations flow from them, which would have otherwise been truncated forever. She is still alive and was honored in Warsaw by a ceremony the 93 year old woman was unable to attend. The Boston Herald has a detailed story of this woman’s heroism:

WARSAW, Poland – Irena Sendler saved nearly 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis, organizing a ring of 20 Poles to smuggle them out of the Warsaw Ghetto in baskets and ambulances.

The Nazis arrested her, but she didn’t talk under torture. After she survived the war, she expressed regret – for doing too little.

Lawmakers in Poland’s Senate disagreed Wednesday, unanimously passing a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground’s Council for Assisting Jews, of which her ring of mostly Roman Catholics was a part.

Poland’s goverment-in-exile set up the secret organization in 1942 to help save Jews from the Nazi-established ghettoes and labor camps.

Anyone caught helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland risked being summarily shot, along with family members. The resolution honored Sendler for organizing the ”rescue of the most defenseless victims of the Nazi ideology: the Jewish children.”
[…]

It seems to me, as I have seen others commenting around the blogosphere, that she is the very kind of person who deserves to be held up as a role model, and not these bored little rich girls we see splashed about the media.

I, for one, have faith that this woman will most certainly be greeted with “Well done, my good and faithful servant” when she leaves this life on Earth.

Go, read, and have a renewing of the mind with this story.

Category: History, Leadership, Public Service | Comments Off on Irena Sendler – A Real Hero of the Holocaust

A Great Annual Sporting Event is On!

March 15th, 2007 by xformed

Check this out!

I’m sure no one there is complaining about Global Warming….

Category: Scout Sniping | Comments Off on A Great Annual Sporting Event is On!

Just Where Are “We” Going?

March 14th, 2007 by xformed

Stream of conscious moment….

Imagine a world where any military member of the US Armed Forces should not have any thoughts of comments on “moral” matters.

So the Democrats and gay groups run General Pace over the coals for hurting their feeling about having sex. Some connected thoughts:

  • General Pace also said adultery is immoral behavior. I didn’t see any press releases from adultery advocacy groups, berating the most senior officer of the Nation and demanding an apology. What’s up with that?
  • General Pace sated nothing more than is codified in US Code and Executive Orders. Now, because it “offends” those who somehow think they have a right to do whatever they want, then demand the rest of us actually “accept” the whatever. So, sounds like we don’t want to follow the law anymore, because it hurts feelings. Wow, this line of thought has some real legs, doesn’t it?
  • I’m confused. The “world” seemed upset when Iraqi men had to parade around naked, and possibly there was some inappropriate use of chem lights one night at Abu Gharib prison. Weren’t the US Army, the military in general and the President raked over the coals for months on end for such immoral behavior? It certainly wouldn’t have been an issue if the soldiers, in their boredom, had exercised some critical thinking skills that night, all centered on whether it was moral or immoral to carry out their photographed behavior.
  • How about that little “incident” at Haditha? More hollering and conviction on the World’s stage of the media, as well as from the mouth of a Congressman, regarding the what has been called immoral behavior (even before the legal system has the through review allowed those military personnel charged) of the Marine patrol.

It sure seems the Democrats and their trained attack dogs in the media can try to force the military to keep from making moral decisions, yet, they don’t understand it is the moral judgment of men and women wearing the uniform on a moment to moment basis that keeps them safe, and prevents far worse things from happening.

On the other hand, maybe the intent is to categorize the areas in which military members are supposed to have or not have morals. This will lend itself to allowing “protected groups,” be they CAIR or homosexuals, or environmentalists, etc, etc, to dictate when there should be no passing of moral judgment. This, on top of helping feeling not to be hurt would also spawn economic growth, as “consulting firms” would rise to the challenge to provide seminars and training for those in uniform.

Maybe “they” just want no judgment about sexual related issues. Ok, get ready for good times rock and roll and don’t “you” dare complain when public officials are caught “in the act” during working hours, for….with that implied issue might come “morality.” Back to my oft used quote: “Be careful when you set a precedent, for you never know when you will have to live by it yourself.”

You either want the military with a moral compass, or have them throw it to the wind and then get what you asked for. The good part, is the ingrained foundational standards are what will keep a military from collapsing on itself into a bunch of ambivalent individuals, who are paralyzed into inaction by the voices who have no clue of the protection they receive from the very exercise of moral decision making.

Quite honestly, it’s becoming sickening to me that no one stands up and explains the statement is nothing more than what Federal statues and regulations already require.

If you don’t like it, gather many billions of dollars and get yourself elected, then try to bend the will of the people of the United States. It’s your right, it’s your option, and in this great land, if you are a native American, over 35, it can be yours, regardless of your background. If enough follow you, then you, too, can take a shot at actually doing something, rather than sitting back and sniping at those who have been placed in office to be in charge of such matters.

/rant

Category: Military | 1 Comment »

Ropeyarn Sunday “Sea Stories” and Open Trackbacks

March 14th, 2007 by xformed

The customer base is overactive this week, which is a good thing, but, cuts into blogging time.

Besides the superior trackbacks you readers might send, I refer you to a post I wrote after finding a comment on another blog. The title: “How to Bury a Hero” by (then) HM3 James Pell.

In the spirit of the movie “300,” some reminder from a modern day Spartan on how to lay your comrade to rest.

James, last I could track him down, made HM2 (Petty Officer Second Class Corpsman), but his email address wasn’t working. About 6 months ago, a friend of Marine LCpl Antoine Smith sent me an email after finding the post linked above, asking how to get a hold of James, so she could thank him. I sent out a few queries and was able to get a lead for her.

It’s all about connections and relationships, when you peel all else away.

Category: "Sea Stories", Blogging, History, Marines, Military, Navy, Open Trackbacks, Supporting the Troops | Comments Off on Ropeyarn Sunday “Sea Stories” and Open Trackbacks

Faux News: Congress Flexs Muscles: Change to Law of Gravity to Help Stop Global Warming

March 13th, 2007 by xformed

It’s almost like this could be in the WaPo or NYT any day now…

Dateline: Washington, DC March 14th, 2007

Congress, acting quickly on their success of changing when Daylight Savings Time goes into effect wasted no time in trumpeting their resounding success: The US is noticing a cooling “climate change” and Speaker of the House Pelosi wants people to know it was her push to change daylight saving time which actually accounts for the cooling seen last month as well, that made this happen.

To continue the trend is establishing a downward track of US temperatures, several House and Senate committees have been holding hearings on how a change in the Law of Gravity would further reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Initial response from the public has been over the top positive, says a new USA Today poll, showing a solid 92.7% of all those living in the US (includes, but did not identify by name and address illegal aliens responding) think it would be “a great idea” to reduce gravity by 25%, while another 5.2% would support the President signing a bill that had a long term reduction equal to 20%, implemented over a 10 year period, rather than a large cut all at once.

Harry Reid (D-NV), at a press conference to announce the bill he was sponsoring, the Unified Gravity Reduction Bill of 2007, told the fawning Washington Press Corps the change in gravity would reduce the amount of fuel needed for all sorts of transportation, therefore, a reduction of greenhouse gases would be achieved and the planet would once again find itself cooling off, possibly as early as August 2008, in time for all American citizens to see how once more, the Democrats have been real problem solvers, while the President did noting by try to make more pollution with his tax cuts, that encouraged economic growth and manufacturing.

While most Americans seem fine with this measure, “non-weight challenged” citizens voiced displeasure with the plan, one man outside on the Capitol steps, a short, skinny, buck-toothed redneck looking idiot, held up a handmade sign with this inscription: “Reduce Gravity and What’s Next? Slowing Down the Speed of Light?” In an interview off the record, this rube had the audacity to question the wisdom of such a great and obviously spectacular bill being forwarded by Congress. He must have been expelled from elementary school for carrying a licensed firearm and missed his environmental science lessons. He went on to say, if the trend caught on, since most Americans are “weight challenged” (his words of “d*** obese” have been changed as to not offend anyone who is too lazy to stop eating), if they chose to reduced gravity even more, he and the other skinny people would be the first to suffer “unintended consequences” by being blown away in a stiff wind. He went on to comment that fat people just liked the idea because their excess wouldn’t be pulled down so hard and for once in their lives they could claim “normal” weight values on such documents as medical insurance applications, while staying reasonable affixed to the earth, even in strong winds. Not stopping there, he said some of his weight lifter friends were complaining about how people who never had set foot in a gym would soon be able to lift like they have been all along, drawing a parallel to Barry Bonds taking steroids just so he could pound the ball out of the park all the time: It’s an artificial advantage and is an uneven playing field.

Not everyone is happy with this measure, which will benefit the entire world, even if the law is only placed in effect in America to begin. While 90% of the scientists are in consensus that this is a good thing to do, there are almost a full 10% who have taken a hard line of junk science saying mankind has no way to reduce or eliminate gravity at a whim or the placing of some ink on paper. It can be done for short periods, but they say it requires a significant expenditure of energy, thereby negating any savings of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Several well known scientists have refuted these types of statements, calling them part of the outcasts in the science community and labeling them as “reality physics deniers.”

Al Gore, was not available for comment, but his spokesperson said he was holding a conference with the Boards of Directors of the company he currently purchases carbon credits from before he makes any press releases on his position.

One organization that is heralding such a measure passing as “great news for us” is the United States Parachute Association (USPA). A boon for jumpers and pilots alike, getting to altitude will take less energy and jump ticket prices should start dropping, which, as the USPA Executive Director, Chris Needles, projects will “begin to increase our stagnant membership numbers, as jumping becomes more affordable for more people and experienced jumpers will love being able to put 25% more freefall time in their logbooks per jump!”

The United Nations Secretary General, while not yet making a full statement, has been heard discussing with his staff if this might give the US an advantage over the other nations of the world, further having the appearance the at the US is “going it alone, without testing this new idea in the Court of World Opinion.” He also has wondered out loud if this measure might be looked upon as a leadership in global environmentalism and actually be a good idea for the rest of the world to try. The ambassadors for both China and India were heard to be protesting that they might be subject to any such rules in a working group of the Security Council this afternoon, fearing it might somehow cut into their productivity and fight to reach economic parity with the US.

President Bush, the worst President in the history of the US, was asked about this new proposal during his press conference where he was falsely claiming how the Surge in Iraq was already quickly reducing violence and civil unrest, said he wasn’t sure what gravity current was rated at, once more demonstrating what a shrub he is.

Category: Humor, Skydiving, Technology | Comments Off on Faux News: Congress Flexs Muscles: Change to Law of Gravity to Help Stop Global Warming

Valour-IT: Monthly Reminder

March 11th, 2007 by xformed

V(oice) A(ctivated) L(aptops for) OUR-I(njured) T(roops), in case you need a briefing…

The program continues, providing assistance to those wounded and unalbe to use a keyboard, permanently, or while undergoing rehab. Laptops with voice activated software provides a link, that many of us take for granted, withour ease of access to the internet and a keyboard.

If you have a few spare doallrs, might you consider a donation now, and periodically in the future for this great cause?

Oh, and my ad for the project: 100% of the donations go directly to the cost of hardware and software. Not a lick of “overhead” or “administrative” cost burden this endeavor, for the rest is “all-volunteer,” just like our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and coast guards.

Category: Charities, Military, Supporting the Troops, Technology, Valour-IT | Comments Off on Valour-IT: Monthly Reminder

Sighted: 03/10/2007 and More Important Announcements!!!

March 10th, 2007 by xformed

“Second Place Failure”

Hmmm…gonna have to think about that one for a bit….

2007 MilBlogs Conference Banner
BUT! More importantly….Have you registered for the 2007 MilBlogs Conference yet? You snooze, you lose! Pony up your $40 now, before the first 100 slots are gone!….

Trackbacked @: Third World County

Category: Blogging, Bumper Stickerisms, Military, Supporting the Troops | Comments Off on Sighted: 03/10/2007 and More Important Announcements!!!

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