Do you agree with the people in this video who say this is a good idea? Or are you skeptical?
US Army Holding Training Exercises In American Streets
June 25, 2012 by 6 Comments
Memorial Day Through A Warrior’s Eyes
May 28, 2012 by 4 Comments
Originally known as Decoration Day until 1882, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of America’s war-fighters who died in the service of our nation. The origin of the day is uncertain, but it most likely started with Southern Ladies decorating the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers’ graves during the Civil War. Or it could have started with the random organization of groups to honor the dead in several locations around the nation on both sides of the War. The Civil War tapped the need of decent people to honor their side’s dead as well as their loved ones who had fallen for their cause.
The first official proclamation establishing the day was from General John Logan on 5 May, 1868 and was first observed on May 30 of that year, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The Northern states were the first to observe Memorial day on the last Monday of May; Southern States honored their dead on separate days until the end of World War I. After the Great War, Memorial Day changed from a day to honor the fallen warriors of the Civil War to one of remembrance of all Americans who died fighting for our nation.
Flags
The placing of American Flags on the graves began with the Boy Scouts at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in 1951. Later, the 3rd U.S. Infantry would place flags on the graves of the fallen at Arlington and maintain a constant vigilance to ensure the flags never falter. Nationally, American Flags will be raised and flown at half-mast until noon in remembrance and raised to full mast for the remainder of the day.
Tradition
Traditional observance has diminished somewhat over the years; far too many Americans have become complacent about remembering what made us and kept us free. Many of the graves of the fallen are being ignored, and most people don’t know the meaning of the flag being flown at half-mast. Outside of many military communities, the fallen are forgotten until the war-fighters are needed to fend off another threat to our nation. Soon after, however, people forget our war dead once again.
Too many Americans take Memorial Day for granted as another day off. Like Christmas, Passover, and Easter, the true meaning may be forgotten because it is not being taught to our children by our generation.
For those who know and observe this day of remembrance, may God bless you and keep you close.
How You Can Help Take Back Memorial Day
May 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
This Memorial Day, many Americans will hit the lake, light up the grill, or take a family drive to enjoy the good life so many of our soldiers have fought for and died to preserve.
This year, however, thousands from across the nation and here in Texas will sacrifice their own personal comfort by taking up a challenge to remember our wounded and fallen servicemen. Throughout the month of May, they will “carry a load” by walking along five-mile stretches from New York to Texas to raise support for several worthy veterans’ causes and help reclaim the Memorial Day holiday.
The Carry the Load National Relay, co-founded last year in Dallas by former Navy SEAL Clint Bruce, consists of 350 five-mile segments covering 1,700 miles. This year’s relay began May 1 at West Point, N.Y. and is scheduled to end in Dallas May 27-28.
The goal, according to event organizers, is “to carry the load for others, to carry more than you think you can, further than you think you can.” And they hope that this year, 500,000 will answer that call by taking either a minutes-long walk or a 20-hour, overnight trek.
Since this is an event open to all ages and abilities, participants are allowed to simply take a short stroll with a few items in hand – such as a photo of a fallen hero or an American flag. But others will “ruck it” with a heavy field pack for the full 20 hours.
My longtime friend B.J. Bjorklund is determined to hike overnight for the whole 20 hours in Dallas. He will carry with him the names of his fallen classmates – nine U.S. Air Force Academy classmates who lost their lives during the Vietnam War – as well as his generous sponsors.
B.J. wrote me: “Let’s not let Memorial Day become just another day off or a day for a mattress sale.”
A major beneficiary of the Dallas relay is Heroes on the Water, founded by Jim Dolan, a fellow Air Force Academy graduate of B.J.’s. Heroes on the Water helps disabled returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan stay active by kayaking and fishing. Another beneficiary is Tip of the Spear, which provides support for those involved in U.S. Army and Navy Special Operations and their families during times of need.
The relay also honors law enforcement officers and firefighters for the work they do in keeping us safe. Two other groups supported by the relay include the Assist the Officer Foundation, which provides counseling to ill and wounded police officers and their families, and the Friends of Dallas Fire and Rescue, which promotes fire safety.
The Dallas opening ceremony (and the official end of the national relay) begins around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at Reverchon Park (3505 Maple Ave.). A closing ceremony is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, May 28, at the park. There’s no entry fee for participants or those cheering on the walkers.
What better way to give meaning to Memorial Day than to join together in remembrance of those in uniform who have carried the load for us? As a Vietnam veteran, I especially remember on Memorial Day the more than 57,000 of my fellow American soldiers who gave their lives during that war.
To sponsor a walker in this year’s relay, or learn more about the relay, visit www.carrytheload.org.
Tom Pauken is Commissioner Representing Employers for the Texas Workforce Commission and a Vietnam veteran.
Media Contact: Lisa Givens 512-463-8556
The Texas Workforce Commission is a state agency dedicated to helping Texas employers, workers and communities prosper economically. For details on TWC and the programs it offers in coordination with its network of local workforce development boards, call (512) 463-8556 or visitwww.texasworkforce.org.
Breaking: Obama Wanted To Blame The Military If Bin Laden Mission Went Wrong
May 7, 2012 by 12 Comments
When he was asked about his “fears” of being seen as the new Jimmy Carter if the kill bin Laden operation failed the way Carter’s Operation Eagle Claw had, Barack Obama didn’t hesitate in his answer.
“I thought about it,” he “admitted” as he acknowledged there would be “political ramifications” that could ruin his chances of reelection if the bin Laden mission had been a disaster. Nevertheless, the Prince of Frauds stressed, “There were doubts voiced in the Situation Room. But there was no doubt in my head.”
According to the “official narrative” Barack Obama was the one who fought off the fears of a political disaster voiced by other “less courageous” Democrats and “did the right thing” without regard for politics. What a man! What a leader! What a liar!
Now he’s Ike
As long as we have been plagued with this fake, Obama has tired to convince us he was someone else. Being an empty suit and basically the creation of political operatives will do that. Remember when he was FDR for a while? Then he was Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt? This time the Prince of Frauds is trying to be Dwight Eisenhower – not as president but – as Commander in Chief of the D Day invasion of Europe. Didn’t that blithering fool Joe Biden try saying that (he stopped when people wouldn’t stop laughing)?
Comparing the pusillanimous Obama to an actual man, any actual man, is bad enough but making him out to be equal to Eisenhower is outrageous!
The only commonality Obama and Ike have in regards to commanding a military mission is that both were prepared to point at the guilty party in case the mission failed.
Eisenhower was prepared to take the blame as evidenced by a note he wrote before D Day. Eisenhower wrote:
“The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”
On the other hand , according to an op-ed from former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Obama had his lawyers draw up a memo blaming the courageous SEAL Team if the mission had failed.
The Prince of Frauds never takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong on his watch. Nothing he touches remains undefiled.
By Kevin “Coach” Collins, Coach Is Right
To read more use these links:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577374552546308474.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Obama’s War On Our Veterans
April 25, 2012 by 16 Comments
The Democrat habit of appointing “good Democrats” to positions, without regard for the required administrative skills it calls for, is hurting almost 900,000 disabled veterans.
The incompetence of Barack Obama’s Veterans Affairs Department has created a bureaucratic nightmare in which more than 65% of its disability claims sit on someone’s desk for more than 125 days. On top of this, 16% of the cases that are brought to resolution are done so in error, according to veterans’ advocate groups’ testimony to the House Veterans Affairs Committee last week.
The V.A is totally underprepared for the predictable increase in disability claims caused by stepped-up fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current projections of a 1.2 million case backlog and an extra 50,000 cases a year present a sobering scenario in light of the so-far failed administration of V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki, a Hawaiian Democrat and retired Army General.
In response to the cold facts of his failure, Shinseki did what any good Democrat does; he promised better results by some future date. He told his critics he would have 98% of his agencies’ disability claims settled in less than 125 days by 2015, when he should be long gone.
The failures of the Veterans Benefit Management System (VBMS) to properly care for those who have been injured protecting our freedoms cannot be blamed solely on Shinseki. As is the case whenever any good and upright undertaking is malfunctioning in Barack Obama’s America, the Faker in Chief is at the root of the problem. While Obama has spent wildly hiring thousands of new IRS agents to make us knuckle under to his Obamacare scheme, he is grossly underfunding the VBMS. The VA has requested just $92.3 million for 2013 in spite of having spent a total of $343.6 million in 2011 and 2012.
It’s easy to see where Obama’s priorities are, and they are not with caring for the veterans who have been disabled in the service of our country.
Photo credit: familymwr (Creative Commons)
Can The Military Handle Latest Photo Scandal?
April 21, 2012 by 6 Comments
The outrage over pictures taken by soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division has gone viral.
The president has weighed in on yet another matter when he sent his spokesman Jay Carney to address the behavior of the soldiers: “The conduct depicted in those photographs is reprehensible,” Carney said. “Those responsible will be held accountable.” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has made a profuse apology for the photographs.
I am in full agreement that irreverence toward the deceased is vulgar and inhumane. But I am also reminded of Civil War General Sherman’s quote that emphasized the barbaric nature of war: “War is hell!” Is it fair to apply the same standard of justice and civility for those who are living in this hell? Do the reactions and responses of our politicians indicate that winning a war in which they are willing to sacrifice young lives is far less important than protecting their own political image?
Have the critics experienced the “hell” that is war? It’s easy to apply a justice system formed for a civilized population and apply it to the savagery of the hell that is war. Perhaps the action of the soldiers was “indefensible,” and perhaps they used poor judgment. But a demand for perfect behavior seems unreasonable, considering the fact that many of our young defenders are enduring the unbelievable stress of family separation and the horror of watching some of their comrades perish at the hands of an elusive enemy, an enemy they are taught to hate while being limited in their freedom to pursue and destroy.
I trust the leadership of the U.S. military to discipline its own members when they deem it necessary. I wish our politicians and our press would trust them also.
Again, the actions of the soldiers are unacceptable. But my observation is that the same people who are criticizing their activity are the same people who will defend the murder of innocent unborn infants. If it is wrong for soldiers to take pictures of the body parts of an enemy intent on destroying ‘satanic’ Americans, is it not even more immoral for abortion doctors to rip babies from the wombs of their mothers and hand the parts to their nurses and ask them to reassemble them to be sure all of them were retrieved? One of these activities is grossly immoral because it involves the murder of innocent humans.
Is The US Army Shutting Out One Of Their Own?
April 7, 2012 by 9 Comments
The lead attorney for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused murdering 17 Afghan civilians last month, has complained that he and his team are “facing an almost complete information blackout from the government.” Attorney John Henry Browne maintained that a government managed “information blackout” is devastating his investigation into the facts of Sgt. Bales case.
The broad outline of the crime he is accused of holds that the 38 year old Bales slipped into two villages on the night of March 11 and opened fire on innocent civilians, wounding six people and killing 17 others (nine children and eight adults.)
According to a spokesman for 1st Corps, Sgt Bales command, the investigation is “ongoing.” An e-mail sent from Major Chris Ophardt says, “The prosecution will provide the defense with evidence in accordance with the Rules for Courts-Martial and the Military Rules of Evidence. Within these guidelines the prosecution is and has been communicating with the defense.”
But this doesn’t satisfy Browne. He doesn’t see the case moving along in an acceptable manner at all. He told an interviewer that his team in Afghanistan has not been able to speak with injured survivors on orders from the Army’s prosecuting team. Worse still is the fact that Browne has learned that the prosecutors had spoken to them, and they have subsequently been released from Kandahar Hospital. Of course, they are now not available to be interviewed.
At a recent press conference a frustrated Browne said, “These witnesses are now who knows where … people just disappear into the countryside in Afghanistan. They (prosecutors) actually promised us that if we sent people to Afghanistan … that they would cooperate and make witnesses available for us, and they obviously violated that promise.”
Why is this happening? Why can’t the Army act in an honorable way? Seventeen dead bodies “speak” for themselves – don’t they? What ARE the facts?
Photo credit: The U.S. Army (Creative Commons)
Marine Who Called Obama “The Enemy” Is Fighting For His Right To Free Speech
April 5, 2012 by 13 Comments
How many currently enlisted soldiers do you know who are openly criticizing President Barack Hussein Obama in public?
Marine Sergeant Gary E. Stein is one of them. Sgt. Stein is a recruiter based at Camp Pendleton in California. He has received glowing recommendations from his superiors. He has been a marine since July 15, 2003; five years later, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Stein is hoping to reenlist when his current term of service expires in just under four months from now, and he has asked for his current term to be extended until June 28, 2013 (this request is currently pending.)
He is the founder of the Facebook page called the Armed Forces Tea Party, which he formed in 2010 as an expression of free speech. The page currently has more than 26,000 followers and according to its description is ”in no way affiliated with the military, or United States Armed Forces.” He has spoken at several tea party events in southern California during the last two years outside of uniform.
Unfortunately, Sgt. Stein is facing dismissal from the Marines over some comments he has made about Obama recently, notably that the current occupier of the White House is “the enemy“. He also has said that he will not follow what he considers to be any “unlawful order” given by Obama. Stein believes that attempts to throw him out of the military are really about silencing his right to speak out against the president.
Subsequently, Stein has, with the help of the United States Justice Foundation, decided to sue Colonel C.S. Dowling, his commanding officer; Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the US Navy (and Dowling’s superior); The US Department of Defense; the United States Government; and Bridagier General Daniel Yoo, who has threatened Stein with dismissal. He feels that his First and Fifth amendment rights under our Constitution have been violated in the process of attempted separation from service with the Marines. Sgt. Stein insists that he did not agree to give up his right to free speech when he enlisted almost nine years ago.
According to the complaint filed on April 3rd in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Stein and his lawyers believe that “though the First Amendment may operate differently in the military and civilian contexts, the military must still respect a service member’s freedom of speech.” They also believe that the “Defendants are attempting to railroad (Stein) out of the Marine Corps, with an Other Than Honorable discharge, on extremely short notice…without due process of law” in contradiction to DOD Directive 1344.10 (which protects the US citizenship rights of all members of the armed forces.)
Over the past two years, Stein, along with three friends, used their Facebook page to voice their concerns about the direction America was going. They did not just criticize Obama; they also went after John McCain, the four remaining GOP presidential candidates, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The four were insistent that they were not commenting on issues of public policy as representatives of the US Military but instead as concerned civilians.
In April 2010, Sgt. Stein was asked to appear on Chris Matthews’ MSNBC program “Hardball.” Although he received permission from his immediate superior, he was asked en route to the set of the show to return to base immediately. Soon afterwards, Sgt. Stein was told that he was suspected of using government resources in updating his private Facebook page; he had no problem temporarily taking the page down while they reviewed the matter. Subsequently, Stein was encouraged to include the disclaimer about expressing strictly personal views. He was never actually asked to take down the page.
From November 2010 through March 12 of this year, none of Stein’s superiors tried to restrict or censor his views in any way, shape, or form. He also never encouraged any of his fellow soldiers to disobey any particular orders issued by any superior officer or to carry out any unlawful acts themselves. Sgt. Stein was never told that he was “walking on thin ice” or doing anything wrong by expressing his views as a civilian.
Suddenly, on March 21, Stein was told by his commanding officer (Dowling) that he was recommending that the Sergeant be discharged from the Marines because of “alleged misconduct” that was “prejudicial to good order and discipline.” The notification itself was brief and rather vague. Essentially, it was an ambush.
As mentioned earlier, Stein is fighting an “OTH” discharge. This characterization is “the worst possible mark on a service member’s record that can be imposed” short of being court-martialed. It would strip him of most if not all of his military benefits and would be a black spot on his record, following him for the rest of his life and impacting his ability to make a living in the future.
To make matters worse, the notification required Stein to respond within two days; it was served to him during a period when the defense military lawyers (Judge Advocates) on his base were at training and therefore would leave him without anyone to consult before he had to file his response. He responded promptly, and the defendants in this case scheduled a hearing to take place only nine days after the notification was first served. Although he and his civilian lawyers were able to postpone this hearing until April 5, subsequently they were denied more time to prepare for the hearing every time they made such a request.
According to the complaint, Stein and his lawyers have claimed that they ”have had insufficient time to prepare for the hearing on the Notification, the results of which may severely prejudice Stein with respect to his continues military career, future employment, and other important aspects of his life.”
Sgt. Gary Stein and his lawyers want the Court to declare that his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by the defendants. They argue that the defendants’ interpretation of certain DOD rules led to the violation of his rights. Stein would also like all dismissal proceedings against him to cease; alternatively, should this request not be granted by the court, then he at least would like to be given more time (at least a month) to prepare for his hearing. Finally, Stein wants the defendants to pay his attorneys’ fees and for the expenses he has and will have to endure to settle this legal matter.
Photo Courtesy of Gary Stein via AP.
To watch the original CNN video about this story, click here: http://www.westernjournalism.com/marine-calls-president-obama-the-enemy/
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Sequestration: Say Goodbye To Our First Line Of Defense
Between Leon Panetta’s unconstitutional order that combat units be opened to women and impending Sequestration this week, America can kiss goodbye its military superiority and ability to fight wars effectively. As readiness goes, so goes our security both at home and abroad.
The top military brass is already under pressure to show diversity and prove it doesn’t discriminate. Indeed, that is now its foremost mandate, not military readiness. With the repeal of laws barring women from combat units and special forces, they will now be forced to prove they’re giving women a “fair” shake by discriminating against more qualified men, since no comprehensive testing was done to prove women can make it through their training. (And the only two we know of who attempted such, two in the Marine Infantry Officer course, failed in the first day and the first week of training respectively.) It won’t matter that the women can’t make those standards that most of the top men in every branch can’t achieve.
It will go something like this at the officer level: “Suzy-Q failed the training? You’re up for promotion, aren’t you? Take another look at Suzy-Q.” And from DOD to the top brass: “We expect X% pass rate for females. Anything less will be seen as discrimination. Next year’s budget will reflect the success of this program. Understood?” The military will have to lower the standards of its toughest units in order to fill quotas of women to show they’re not discriminating.
Under Sequestration, equipment isn’t the only thing on the chopping block. Personnel will be as well, and all will have to prove their value in the positions they hold or want to hold. With the conflicting directives of cutting fat vs. compliance with female quotas in the combat units, it is qualified and experienced men who will be purged first. Combined with the inevitably lowered standards in these units to accommodate women, it is combat readiness that will suffer the most.
Cutting spending is vital for every department of government, including the military. The Marines have always been in the lead when it comes to working with the least, then cutting even more. With so many other ways to cut the excess – from non-vital programs like the National Endowment for the Arts to stopping the fraud and waste so pervasive in government programs from Social Security to Medicare – Sequestration is totally unnecessary. But this was Obama’s idea, and it put the military in the cross-hairs from the start. It’s easy to see why. This administration thinks the military is too masculine, too white, too conservative, and too straight. They’ve repealed DADT, opened the toughest units to women who can’t make it through one week of their training, and sold our equipment to our enemies. This is just the next phase in destroying the last bastion of merit and strength our country has against enemies both foreign and domestic.