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Thursday, March 08, 2012
Feetprints

--Chuck
Written at 3/08/2012 12:19:00 AM by Chuck.
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Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Remembering Lex
(May include some cross posts)

At Blackfive:
Subsunk - Godspeed, Lex
Pinch - Lex
McQ - God Speed, CAPT Carroll LeFon (Neptunus Lex)

At USNI:
Chap - Pardon Him, Theodotus: Neptunus Lex: Carroll LeFon
UltimaRatioReg - A Remarkable Man Has Stepped Into the Clearing; Captain Carroll LeFon USN (Ret.) 1960-2012
CDRSalamander - Neptunus Lex – Thank You and Farewell
LCDR Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong - Laughter-Silvered Wings and Chasing the Shouting Wind…
A Note from CEO Pete Daly to the LeFon Family

Susan Katz Keating: Neptunus Lex / Carroll LeFon: 1960-2012

At Argghhh!!!
Bill - There is a Universal Fraternity of Aviators...
The Armorer - We were bloggers once, and young.
The Armorer - Lex doing what Lex did best, and enjoyed the most. Flying.
FbL - Hole in Our World

Milblogging - RIP Milblogger Carroll LeFon (aka Lex) of Neptunus Lex

Bouhammer -  God Speed to a Warrior and a Milblogger

CDR Salamander - Neptunus Lex - Thank You and Farewell

AW1 Tim - One of our own

Grim - Sic Transit Lex

Steeljawscribe - Ave Atque Vale

Homefront Six - Fair winds and following seas...

Steve (The Woodshed) - Don't Blink

Taco (The SandGram) - Carroll “Lex” LeFon, you are cleared due West…

Teresa (Technicalities) - A Story Has Ended

Kanani (Kitchen Dispatch) - RIP Neptunus Lex: One writer pays tribute to another

Jonn (This Ain't Hell) - RIP, Lex

MaryAnn (Soldiers' Angels Germany) - Fair Winds, Lex

Cassandra (Villainous Company) - Lex

The Sniper -  RIP Lex

Mark Tempest (EagleSpeak) - Beat the drum slowly

caltechgirl (Not Exactly Rocket Science) - Fair Winds and Following Seas

FbL (Fuzzilicious Thinking) - Captain, Departed & The Hole in Our World

Navy Times - Crash kills pilot who blogged as Neptunus Lex

Soldiers' Angels - Captain "Lex" Lefon

Tailhook Daily Briefing - Neptunus Lex

U.S. Navy Aircraft History - Well, That Sucks

Carmichael's Position - Talk Among Yourselves

K-Dubyah (Little Drops.....) - Mourning...

Boudicca's Voice - Lex

James Joyner (Outside the Beltway) - Captain Carroll LeFon, Neptunus Lex, Killed in Crash

streiff (RedState) - Milblogger Neptunus Lex Killed In Plane Crash

Bookworm (PJ Tatler) - Another Light Went Out : Milblogger Neptunus Lex Died Yesterday

xbradtc (Bring the heat, Bring the Stupid) - RIP- Carroll LeFon “Neptunus Lex”

ALa (Blonde Sagacity) - In Memoriam: Capt. Carroll LeFon, Ret. a.k.a. Neptunus Lex

Sean (Doc in the Box) - Remembering Captain Carroll “Neptunus Lex” LeFon USN (Ret.) 1960-2012

Bullnav (Op For) - RIP CAPT Carroll Lefon, USN (ret), aka Neptunus Lex

LTC John (Miserable Donuts) - A Milblogger passes on...

DrewM. (Ace) - Captain Carroll "Lex" LeFon (USN, Ret)...RIP

Updated 3/8/12

Laughing Wolf - Into The Light: Neptunus Lex

®Evil - CyberWake for Neptunus Lex: Open Comments & Lex, domino optimo maximo

Matt Gallagher - Life, and Death, on the Fringe

USNI - A Personal Note from SecNav Ray Mabus on the Passing of Neptunus Lex

War News Updates - God Speed Neptunus Lex

Parrothead Jeff (Parrothead Jeff & Friends) - Prayers For Captain Carroll “Lex” Lefon and For the Lefon Family

Suburbanbanshee (Aliens in This World) - The Price of the Sound of Freedom

John (Brown Hound) - Neptunus Lex Crosses the Bar

Bryan Strawser - Neptunus Lex, Departing…

Da Goddess - A Heavy Heart Bids Farewell To Lex

Brigid (Home on the Range) - Neptunus Lex

WeaponsMan - RIP, Carroll "Neptunus Lex" LaFon

Pinch (Blackfive) - One Last Tribute to Lex
Written at 3/07/2012 07:16:00 AM by Code Monkey.
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Fair skies and following seas
It is with a heavy heart that I report the death of longtime friend and fellow milblogger Neptunus Lex.

Lex was an aviator, a fighter pilot by trade, a milblogger, a husband, and a friend. Lex was killed when his plan crashed this morning. Lex was an integral part of Project VALOur-IT, and was often either the team captain or member of the Navy Team.

From his last blog entry:
"It’s funny how quickly you can go from “comfort zone” to “wrestling snakes” in this business.
But even snake wrestling beats life in the cube, for me at least. In measured doses."

I cannot bring myself to write a long eulogy for a man who deserves far more eloquent words than I can give.

Fare thee well, Lex, you will be missed, the skies are a little emptier today, and the world is too.
My deepest sympathies to Mrs. Lex and his family.

--Chuck
Written at 3/07/2012 06:22:00 AM by Code Monkey.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2012
I don't think this is what they wanted...

Received this in the mail today:

 

Collegiate Nation invites military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to write blogs

 

As American military operations in Iraq have ended and other soldiers are returning from Afghanistan, Collegiate Nation, the nation's only student-exclusive social site that has banned all ads and all tracking, announced today its desire to hear from U.S. military veterans attending college or trying to enroll. The company is inviting blog posts from military veterans who, after serving their country, are doing everything they can to transform their lives by pursuing higher education goals.

 

"We want raw depictions and reports from the ground up on the realities facing our veterans on America's college campuses," said Evelyn Castillo-Bach, the founder of Collegiate Nation.

 

While Collegiate Nation is known as a community of students who want to connect with other college students with real privacy without being tracked, the site also has a blog section where students can post anonymously or use any name they wish. "We want to make sure that all college students and especially our returning military on America's college campuses have the freedom to freely express themselves, uncensored, so we can learn from them about the realities of their lives," said Castillo-Bach. Students posting blogs on Collegiate Nation have the option to share their blog posts with their college friends only or to post their blogs so the entire world can read it.

 

So I've come up with a series of article ideas for their consideration:

 

 

Post #1:  Why it's pathetically easy to steal any woman away from her pansy-assed-never-done-a-damned-thing-in-his-life-boyfriend.

 

Post #2:  Why "rip off your head and piss down your throat" is NOT a real threat, despite what any University Academic Behavior review board says.

 

Post #3:  The post-9/11 GI Bill, or why I learned to stop worrying about paying for college and love killing people.

 

Post #4:  You want fries with that?  Why do college students with zero experience in the real world believe they deserve better (or anything.)

 

Post #5:  Why being a 21-year-old freshman with a car is SO making it easy to get your 4-year high school girlfriend to go down on me.

 

Post #6:  Have you ever met the ether bunny?  You will.  And 7 other dorm-friendly pranks.

 

Post #7 18 hours a week is not full-time when you're used to working 18 hours *per shift.*

 

Post #8:  No, Doctor Smith, people will not stop hating America if we just ask them how we can be better for them.

 

Post #9:  Yes, the "Black Student Union" is racist, when you get right down to it.

 

Post #10:  The department of Wymyn's studies:  the happy hunting ground for coeds with daddy issues who will soon be unemployable.

 

Post #11:  Who's gayer, theater majors, art majors, or music majors?

 

Post #12:  I don't care how many times you've taught Psych 101, my PTSD isn't something I'm going to talk to you about (unless it'll get me out of finals.) *This one worked, actually, in 1993, before I had PTSD!

 

Post #13:  Editor of the Campus Newspaper?  Wow, you must really want to make a *difference* in the world!

 

Post #14:  On second thought, maybe it was a bit harsh to put the dean of humanities in a headlock when he corrected me for using the term "Sand Monkeys."

 

Post #15:  Not everyone on campus who wears a man dress should be patted down at gunpoint before entering the building, but hey, whatever works.

 

Post #16:  Every student who wears a burkha on campus is more confused than Jino, the Pilipino interpretive jazz dancer in my "Intro to Art" class.

 

Post #17:  Anyone on campus wearing a shemagh or keffiyeh on campus, who didn't actually get theirs in Afghanistan, should be water boarded.

 

Post #18:  Water boarding:  Not just for GITMO, also fun at Frat parties when someone tries to keep their girlfriend from going home with me.

 

Post #19:  Campus Student Conduct Review boards, or why I will no longer refer to the girls in my Wymyn's Studies work group as "Slampiece, Muffdiver & the One with the Moustache."

 

Post #20:  "Welcome to campus!  You daughter will be sleeping here!" and other fun signs to post on your lawn for freshman orientation

 

#21:  Occupy whatever you want.  I'm occupying your girlfriend.

 

--Chuck
Written at 3/06/2012 01:09:00 AM by Chuck.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Shave and a Haircut
So Not going to get a haircut from this guy.

Probably because he's also the guy who kills the goats.

--Chuck

Written at 2/28/2012 12:40:00 AM by Chuck.
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Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lies, Damn Lies, and statistics.

Statistics is 90% not knowing what the fuck you're talking about, and 11% formulas.


--Chuck
Written at 2/25/2012 01:31:00 AM by Chuck.
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Friday, February 24, 2012
Afghanistan goes full retard

I think I've become way to jaded to meet the Army's intent of providing hugs and kisses and pats on the head to people who are trying to kill us.
 
Way back in Ought 5, I deployed to Iraq actually hopeful that I was going to help build a safe, secure, and strong, free Iraq.  I was repaid for my efforts with an all-expenses paid, extended vacation to Washington D.C. where I received some of the choicest accomodations available in our nation's capital (Many Presidents and Generals have stayed there) and even had my wife and Mom accompany me for the many months I would reside in the lap of luxury.  The only caveat was that I would also spend the rest of my life with a daily reminder of all the effort I wasted, and exactly what islam was all about.
 
A few days ago, some soldiers were disposing of Korans at Bagram Air Base.  These Korans were being used by prisoners, who would write in them, and use them to pass messages.  That act, in and of itself, is defacing a Koran.
 
So defaced Korans are no longer seen as the word of god, because god is pnly pure and clean.
 
The soldiers did as they were told, and took boxes of religious materials to the incinerator.  Those boxes contained defaced Korans.  Once the soldiers saw what was in the fire, they reached in to save the Korans--burning themselves in the process.
 
Local National workers saw this, went apeshit, and went around screaming about destroying Korans--Korans you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, bought and paid for, to provide for prisoners, who then defaced them.
 
Here's where it gets fun. 
 
The Local Nationals (who, by the way are illiterate, and recognize *anything* written in Arabic as "Koran") go full retard.  They run home, get their other asshole buddies, and start a riot at the gates.  (Note to Afghan Security Forces:  See Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of, or Jordan, Kingdom of, or Syria, Kingdom of,  for Pro Tips on how to effectively deal with rioting retards in your country.)  That riot spreads word to other assholes, who then riot throughout the country.  They set fires, they attack coalition forces, they attack afghan forces, and the jihadis have a fucking field day.
 
Then one of the afghan security forces, our "Brothers in Arms" decides to turn around in a guard tower and shoot into a US compound, killing two soldiers.
 
You assholes write in Korans--which we failed to mention in the early press releases--so we destroy those korans in the same manner that you do.
You assholes riot, destroy equipment, and generally go full retard--we show restraint.
You assholes turn the guns and training we gave you on us--and again, we show restraint.
 
You assholes seeing a pattern here?
 
So I am still the ugly American.  I still look over my shoulder, I still have a plan to kill every afghan I see--especially the ones in uniform.  This isn't the first time one of our "partners" has turned his weapon against US troops--either distraught over Koran Burning, or Marines pissing on a dead body, or GITMO, or whatever their excuse du jour is.  And what do we do?  We turn them over to the Afghans for "justice," which usually comes in the form of a long prison sentence (5-10 years) or, more often, nothing.
 
What we should do, in a just world, is round up this retard, his imam, his villiage elders, and every male adult in his immediate family, and shoot them in front of him, one by one.  He's already a terrorist, we shouldn't show him any mercy.  Then we should castrate him, and every male in his extended family.  Kill the weed at the root, as it were.  There are multiple ways to attack an insurgency, this one is particularly difficult, as it is driven by a perviersion of religion, coupled with poverty and no real national identity, extreme illiteracy, and no real internal solution for any of those problems.  We can build all the schools, hospitals, roads, mosques, airports, playgrounds, and civic centers that every town can hold, and we won't win them over.  We can train out afghan partners about civil rights, human rights, keeping peace, working for the people, but it won't erase genetically ingranied hatred between pashtun and tajik.  We can follow every tenet of the counterinsurgency stratetgy to the letter, and you'll still have hundreds and thousands of people willing to riot at the drop of a hat, individuals willing to turn their weapins on their partners, and a government rivaled only by Chicago for corruption and graft.
 
There's only one way to be sure to fix the afghan problem:  Nuke it from space.
 
--Chuck
Written at 2/24/2012 05:32:00 AM by Chuck.
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Scatological PSA
I just thought I'd share this tidbit of information:
 
If, aside from your morning coffee, you drink nothing else but razzberry crystal light for four days, it turns your poop dark red.
 
Have fun at your next proctology exam!

--Chuck
Charles W. Ziegenfuss
Oderint dum metuant
Let them hate us, so long as they fear us
Μολὼν λάβε--come and get it
عدنا الى الوطن لبلدنا ، الماعز يمكنك برغي
ಠ_ಠ

Written at 2/24/2012 04:56:00 AM by Chuck.
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Sunday, February 19, 2012
Three More Reasons To Love "Pin-Ups For Vets"
If you're not on Gina's mailing list yet, you don't know what you're missing. You can sign up on her web page. She's also on Twitter.

~~Code Monkey

Dear Pin-Ups For Vets  Supporters,

I want to say a huge "thank you" to all of you who donated calendars for our visit this week  to the Boise, Idaho VA Hospital & State Veterans Home.  It was a great visit,  and your donated gifts were such a special treat for our Veterans this Valentine's Day!

I received an e-mail from one of my contacts at the hospital after our visit:   "Thank you again for all that you do!  You truly made a great impact on brightening the day of our Boise veterans!"   I want to take that "thanks" and send it to YOU,  my incredible Pin-Ups For Vets supporters, who always step up to the plate to donate gifts for these hospital visits.   I want you to know that through you, we are able to make a big impact on the lives of thousands of  Veterans across the U.S.!

To see more pictures from this visit, check out the album on our new blog:  IDAHO VISIT



Introducing Our First Ladies'  "Pin-Ups For Vets" Shirt...


Our female supporters have been asking, "Where are your shirts for the ladies?"  We are so excited to announce our "You Take The Cake" shirt!  Check it out on our website: You Take The Cake Shirt !   OK, Gentlemen, here's a hint: This shirt would be the perfect birthday gift for your sweetie! This is one tasty gift! 

Pin-Ups For Vets Presents:  "The Hollywood Razzle Dazzle" !


Next Saturday night, February 25 at 9pm, we are hosting a fundraising event at The Colony in Hollywood, CA!  We are pulling out all the stops!  This event, sponsored by Classic Glamour Dolls & The Pin Up Magazine, will include performances by the Swing Dames and The Burlesque All Stars. The event will also  feature the glitzy "Miss Glamour Doll"  Pin-Up Contest, luscious desserts by Sweet Square, and a raffle with dazzling prizes, including a stay at a luxurious ocean front hotel, valued at $1,500! 

If you live in Southern California or know anyone who would like to attend, please check out this link for more information: The Hollywood Razzle Dazzle!   We hope to see you there!

Lots of love,
Gina Elise
www.pinupsforvets.com
Written at 2/19/2012 03:44:00 PM by Code Monkey.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Things that Matter
Wisdom.  When God gave Solomon the choice of anything he wanted, Solomon asked God for wisdom, to better guide his people.  Thik about that--a man widely revered for his wisdom, wise enough to ask for wisdom when God gives him the brass ring.  Whether you believe in God or not, there's a great message here--that you are never as smart as you think you are, and that above all else, wisdom is the key to everything.  Not knowing the answer is not as important as knowing the questions to ask.  Seeing the depth of the problem is the only way to find a solution. 
 
Warm spring days matter.  The bleak days of the hasrshest winter eventually become spring, and those warm days with just a touch of chill in the wind remind us that we've lived through tough times, and made it through, but there will be tough days again.  We see life renewed, and we are reminded that life will end.  Also, warm spring days = bikini season is begining, and that's important.
 
Memories--we tend to remember the extreme good, and the extreme bad.  The good we remember even more fondly as time goes by, and the bad actually softens over time. 
 
Honest work.  I pity the person who has never toiled under the sun to raise a garden, or built something useful with their hands, or put in a hard day's work with a meaningful result.  There is something restorative to the soul in doing hard, honest work.
 
Faith.  Whether it's a judeo-christian god, the false prophet of the carpet-sniffing, or celebrants of the flying spaghetti monster, or even those who simply believe in themselves, faith is one of the most important things in our life.  I respect the muslim faith--not because it makes any sense, but because their faith drives them to pray five times a day.  A few minutes, several times a day, they clear their life of distractions and focus on one thing.  There's power in that.  Even if you took two minutes out from your day, five times a day, to contemplate your navel, how you could be happier, what you could do to improve your, or someone else's lot, and then applied action to that faith, you could move mountains.
 
Bubble Baths.  I don't take baths often.  I take bubble baths even less.  But I have taken them.  As a kid, bubble baths were a special, luxurious treat.  As an adult... well, they're kinda ghey for a man, unless he has company.  Unfortunately, they don't make bathtubs for two standard in most construction.  Total imersion in a warm bath is good for the body--completely relaxing, refreshing, and able to relieve stress in ways that rival the best masseuse.  Bubbles give you something to make mohawks with and cover up with when the kids invariably come in to harrass you.
 
Passion.  Whether you share a passion with someone, or are simply passionate about something, passion matters.  Passion gives us reason to live, it gives us meaning.  It is the olive in the salad--the thing that you muddle through the other parts of life to get to.  You have to find something (or someone) to be passionate about.  (Even if that means hiding in the bushes with binoculars.)
 
Puppies.  Cats are fun, but independent.  Puppies are totally dependent on you, they keep you to a schedule ("feed me or I'll lick your face until you wake up!  Take me out or clean the carpet!  Throw the ball!  Again!  Again!"  Like children, they depend on you for everything.  Unlike children, they generally listen and then do be thankful for what you give them.  Puppies force you out of bed, they force you to keep things picked up (the penalty being that anything on the floor is their chew toy) and they force you to exercise--either with them or chasing after them to leave the food on the counter alone.
 
Afternoon Naps.  Nothing is more sacred than the 20 minute-2 hour catnap in the afternoon.  Just closing your eyes for a minute, stretching out on the couch, putting your feet up on the desk, or crawling under the desk, is incredibly important for the soul.  Aside from making you more effective later in the day, it always gives me the feeling that I've gotten away with something.  Funny thing about the Army, being surrounded by type-A personalities, I am one of the few who willingly announce they are going to go take a nap.  There's no shame in it, but many of my peers (and superiors) have the mentality that they need to be 100% functional and working all day, every day, for 20 hours at a clip.  You can't make good decisions like that, and I think it's 1/3 of the reason Generals, who are usually in their early to mid fifties, tend to look like they are in their late seventies.  If we, as a military, just agreed to spend 30 minutes every afternoon, between 2:30 and 3:00, with our heads on our desks and our phones off the hook and computers closed, we'd get so much more done and make far fewer mistakes, and probably have fewer dumb ideas. 
 
--Chuck

Written at 2/17/2012 10:07:00 PM by Chuck.
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