Ralph Peters has an editorial in the New York Post today, titled “SECRETS FOR SALE – CHEAP AND BY BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES.”

In the piece, he wonders if there is such a thing as honor:

After more than two decades in the intelligence world, I know a few secrets. Some would merit brief, trumped-up headlines. But keeping those secrets is a matter of honor.
[…]
What happened to honor? Among our elected and appointed officials? A sense of honor still prevails within our military and among hundreds of thousands of government employees. Honor still prevails in much of our community life. Many Americans beyond the Beltway maintain a strong sense of personal and professional honor.

But honor’s dead in Washington. And at “leading” universities (where patriotism, too, is beneath contempt). And in the media. Honor isn’t hip. It’s as pathetic as a powder-blue, polyester leisure suit.

He makes an interesting point: It’s politics, politics, and oh, yeah, politics. (Side note: and the ACLU wants to wipe the display or teaching of the Ten Commandments off the face of the planet…Why?)

A few months back, I was given a speech by William Bennett named “Does Honor Have a Future?” He gave it to the Naval Academy Mmidshipmen in Nov, 1997.

I think it’s worth your time to read those fine words, and consider where society and the practice of “honor” are headed.

Fun from the poster generator:

Yeah, it gives me a headache, too, even after all these years…

Ah, the Terminator Babe….

1781 – French Fleet defeats the Britsh Navy at Yorktown, VA.

Thanks to Comte de Grasse. later honored by the naming of the USS COMTE DE GRASSE (DD-974), was an integral player.

Capt Lex, enroute a permanent appointment with CIVPAC/LANT/Wherever, is up to his eyeballs in real world work (building resume entries).

He issues this tasking:

Insanely busy. Irrationally so. Firing on all synapses. Every sinew a-twitch.

Busy.

So. Talk amongst yourselves. As though you needed any encouragement from me.

Suggested topic: Close Air Support. How very hard it can be to deliver warheads on foreheads when those forehead are in close proximity to other foreheads whom you are actually trying to protect. And who need it bad, or else they wouldn’t be asking for you to drop 500 pound bombs over the top of them, because really, who needs the stress?

But only they’re locked in mortal combat, like. In the beatin’ zone, but with the roles of beater and beatee not yet clearly defined. But whose situation is not improved if in fact you mid-ID the target or otherwise drop short.

It made me connect two stories of my life from 20 years ago and almost 20 years ago now. Lots of details, but at the end of the real world operations in 86 off Libya, and as a result of playing out tactics later the same year, we (my staff) forwarded our report up the chain in early ’87. I know now, in the aftermath of all of that, the Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM) began a fairly quick exit from bag of weaponry for the Surface Warfare community.

It revolved around the same points as Lex asked us to discuss in his moment of high focus regarding Close Air Support during a “Danger Close” (more like “Danger ‘Coz We’re Grappling with Each Other”).

If you need to catch up, I talked about the operations in the vicinity of Libya (an how I never got to have a beer on DGAR) back in “A Journey Into History” series. Part I is here, and it has links to walk you to the end of the posts on the subject.

That group of posts highlighted a particular incident in March ’86, which was the outcome of the volumes of civilian (“White”) shipping that cluttered our surface picture. We didn’t have any TASM equipped units in any of the three battle groups that made up Battle Force “Z,” but we often talked among ourselves in the staff watch space, of how wonderful it would be to have the new “wonder weapon” at our disposal, how more mighty we would be on the bounding main….

This, too, was at the time I first met Adm Harry Harris, now of Guantanamo Bay and Detainee fame. I came to know LCDR Harry Harris, of the USS SARATOGA (CV-60) Operations Department, when he stopped a briefing to Adm David Jerimiah I was giving and said: “We can’t do that!” Me: Why not? Him: “We can’t have aircraft flying on an alerted target!” Me:… That, readers, is fodder for tomorrow’s Ropeyarn Sunday “Sea Stories” and Open Trackbacks. Now, back to my regularly scheduled ramblings:

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Got lucky last night and my friend couldn’t go and see the free preview, so I got his tickets…

Well done movie, and they made it a point to hire good advisors for the film. I’m a reality based guy, so detail makes it better in my opinion.

Quick overview: You’ll find yourself immersed in the story and feel like you’re in the bird or on the hoist during the action scenes. If’ you’ve been to a military school, you probably will feel some old feelings coming back and maybe identify with those students or instructors in the movie.

The story line is not unlike many of us have seen. Elite school, hard to get into, with young hotshot who’s already decided to tear up the world in the style of “Maverick” eyeballing the other pilots and the TOPGUN trophy during the CO’s welcome message. IN this case, the guy who holds the records is standing in the back of the room.

The movie begins with a rescue on a storm swept night int he Bering Sea that doesn’t go well. Very badly, as you might imagine, and Senior Chief Randall gets home alive, but badly shaken, so they send him off to the Rescue swimmer school to work things out. AN Ficher is the kid with the attitude, and can back up his ability in the water, but, of course, lacks the understanding that it’s not some sometime game he’s getting into and Kevin Costner (Randall), via a tough mentoring program, brings him along.

The school scenes are believeable, complete with an Instructor insurrection, when “their way” is modified by the new SCPO shows up and puts a dose of reality into the methods of training. I’ve seen this before in the real world, too.

The story line is great, the photography stunning and the scenes during the flights will keep you pumped up, as the Jayhawks skim the boiling seas under nasty, dark, cloud filled skies.

It’s a 2:15 long movie and go easy on the large cokes, so you don’t have to miss any of the action, but if you need a break, skip the “squid” bar scene and dno’t miss the rest.

I’ll say this, it sure helps you gain a better appreciation of what our young men and women in the Coast Guard face when they make it throught that school and head out to the CG Stations worldwide as lifesavers.

More data here on the history of the USCG Rescue Swimmers from the USCG website here.

From Despair.Com, a DIY demotivator poster generator.

Example of demonstrated creativity:

Thank you, Dave in Texas, for encapsulating our collective endeavours!

Click here and have fun!

I’m looking forward to the cynicism that will be produced!

Trackbacked to:

Dragon Lady’s World

Bear with me for a few paragraphs, for I need to lay a foundation for my point, before I dive it.

I’ll admit, the public discourse is wearing me out. Quite honestly, it sickens me to listen to talking head after talking head, or products of the American public education system of the last two decades respond to serious questions with what their opinion is. I don’t want an opinion when there’s truth to be had. The public educational system, however, has convinced people they need to respond to their feelings.

Hence, idiotic polls by agencies like CBS with this report as the outcome: “Poll: A Split On Confronting Terrorism”. About a year ago, i spent some valuable time blogging about the difference between truth and an opinion. It’s in the junior blog somewhere, and it applies here, but I don’t have the motivation to dig it up just now.

Of course there will be differences of opinions in how to execute a war fighting strategy and, in lower levels, tactics of same will be addressed.

Peopel with high school educations feel empowered to call into talk shows and tell people who spend a better part of their waking hours studying the issues, and try to tell the host that the President is killing innocent people, he knew there were no WMD and he sent popel there anyway.

Give.me.a.break. I didn’t have my “awakening” until the taxpayers sent me to 9 months of Command and Staff college. Not to say everyone needs an MA to speak on the topic, but it would be nice if they bothered to pull the iPod ear pieces out of their ears during the waking hours and took some time at the public library or local meag bookstore, doing some reading on the topic, before pretending they know what’s going on. I wish they’d do the wise thing and recuse themselves, much as is done in the legal system, if you are in a position to bias the outcome because of what you do/do not know.

My evidence is shown here, from the CBS article:

THE U.S. WILL BE SAFER FROM TERRORISM IF IT…

Confronts terror groups and states in the Mideast: 47%
Stays out of other countries’ affairs in Mideast: 45%

Just what, pray tell, do these valient individuals base their response on?

Which brings me to another point of ranting: Why can’t our leaders do it, if the other leaders are (or the reverse case)? A few days ago, the President mentioned, to a group at a meeting that he wondered if the US was going to have a 3rd awakening. This drew comments from the press, and they feigned fear of a “theocratic” government. Frst off, people need to chill out. Second off: Presidents of Iran and Venezuela stood before the world and prayed, one in the style of his Catholic heritage, the other in the Islamic faith. Not a peep out of the press, in fact, it looks like it was purposely ignored, so the press could always claim “plausible deniability” for the time being.

Now, get this:

IN TREATMENT OF POWs, THE U.S. SHOULD…

Follow international agreements: 63%
Do what it thinks right, regardless of what other nations think: 32%

News flash: We are treating “POWs” (defined therein in the Geneva Coventions as military members of a nation). I wonder if they would choke in horror if they knew that illegal combatants (those who are not wearing said uniforms while engaging in combat) are subject to summary execution? I doubt it would happen, but the old line : “Be careful what you wish for comes to mind.” If DoD directed firing squads, the same 63% would howl, but it would only be a case of answering an importatnt question from their place of ignorance….I’m glad we have a man at the helm with more compassion and sense than to give them what they ask for, for they don’t know what it is.

As far as the part about worrying about what others think, it seems to be, in my experience and opinion, that those who got me to “outperform” my self-imposed standards didn’t get my love in several cases, until years later, when it became clear the value of their hard pressed teachings. Teachers, baseball, basketball and swim team coaches alike have had a place in my life in helping me achieve what was better, right and more successful. We didn’t get to where we are as a nation because we copied the Euorpean ways an means of governance and social interaction for a reason: It had failed our forefathers. And, in my great admiration, they did what today’s protestors of our government should do when persecuted: Pack ther possesions you hold dear and go and build the country you define by your protestations. It should be easy to figure out: Just don’t elect George Bush as your President and study him well, so you make sure whatever it is he does in a situation, you do the exact opposite, to remove any possible connection to the man you hate so much. Oh…in the stream of consciousness mode, this has great possibility for terrific satire potential, combined with analysis of what the most likely outcomes would be of no military, no oil, no greenhouse gas producing items, no aerosol powered deoderants, and only vegtables to eat, produced with the use of no pesticides…but I digress…

So…finally taking the long way around, the biggest bone I have to pick is those who act like they know what it is to be the final authority in matters of great gravity, the point of my title.
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Thought for the day:

“The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong.” – Winston Churchill

I don’t know, but I sure wish I did. Today, more “if you say we are violent, we will kill you” mentality from the Religion of Peace:

“Pakistanis protest, cleric says Pope should be crucified”.

Kool. I guess they sort of like some of the story of Jesus Christ.

In the face of the “rage riots” (I’m claiming this term!), I can’t for the life of me, figure why some people still insist it was a bad thing to put our treasure into spreading democracy. We had the stampedes that killed Muslims over the penning, by cartoonists, of likenesses of “The Prophet.” Cars burned by the hundreds during night riots in Paris and other parts of France. Muslims terrorists causing mass confussion during the hajj, where Muslims on their holy pilgrimage then, in the effort to save themselves, killed themselves. Those are but a few moments of insanity that show they are using very flawed tactics if the plan of the greater strategy is to take over the world.

It seems to me, in a democratic (well, actually, a representative republic) society, we just call each other bad names in the publically used news sources, as a way to voice our displeasure. I would think those not in power around the world, would cheer the onset of this style of government, for it certainly would increase their life expectancy. On the other hand, modern psychology points out battered wives return and average of 3-4 times, before they leave for good. Sad, but true fact of accepting the attitude of victimhood. I’m speculating there is much of this in some of the very countries who riot to see us die, claiming the right to attack the US based on what the southern Europeans began 600+ years ago (when the US did not exist, and before Colombus set out sailing West to the unknown), as they saw the choice was to die, or not go quietly into the night and the pages of history (that likely would never have been written if the crusades of the faithful Muslim warriors had succeeded at the beginning.

Also, it seems thre is a new job skill out there in the professional arena, where it’s easy to muster up workers for a multi day “rage riot” series. I wonder if anyone has already trademarkled “Rent-a-Riot?” Several poitns of discussion spawn from this, such as: Is it just the unemployment rate is too high in those countries? or…does it pay well enough for the few days, that you can subsist off the proceeds in the time between going out to risk a rubber bullet in the chops, or large concentration of CS gas? Do you get a bonus for places where the police are more agressive and actuarial tables predict violence will come your way more often?

I guess if I dug around the net, I might find the PD for the Operations staff for “Rent-a-Riot” International. It seems like that would be a fairly stable position in the long term (or until the 12th Imam arrives to the sounds of nuclear weapon detonations).

So what is the long term legacy of the Muslim faith? The Pope saw it, throught the eyes of men of the past, who struggled as we are, with those who would take up the sword (dull knife) to force conversion.

Just thinking….