Personally, I would have needed no extra inspiration to take a flight...



More information at The Collings Foundation - Wings of Freedom

~~Code Monkey

Home of the poor boy--which is a double cheeseburger.

Poor boy... I don't think it means what they think it means.

Chuck Ziegenfuss
oderint dum metuant
let them hate us, so long as they fear us
MoλΩn λáßξ--come and get them

This isn't just another soldier. This isn't just someone I knew. This wasn't a friend.

This was one of my men. One of my boys.


Sergeant collected school supplies for Iraq children

The Associated Press

After watching Corey E. Spates through his first tour in Iraq, Army Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Lowe sponsored him to become a sergeant.

When he went in for the test he had to answer 35 questions. “He only missed one. I was so proud of him,” Lowe said. “Ever since he put his sergeant stripes on, he’s been excellent.”

Spates, 21, of LaGrange, Ga., was killed Feb. 10 2008 in Diyala province, Iraq, when his vehicle hit an explosive. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

Within months of his arrival in Iraq, Spates asked his mother for help.

“Everywhere his platoon went, they saw children who had nothing. They had no soccer balls, no school supplies, nothing to occupy them,” said his mother, Joy Thomas. “Originally he wanted me to collect soccer balls for the children, then after he thought about it, he decided he wanted school supplies for the Iraqi children.”

During a 30-day leave, Spates ate dinner at Pizza Villa and met a brown-haired waitress that captivated his heart. Celeste would become his wife.

Spates was such an avid Georgia Bulldog fan that his family requested everyone wear black and red for his funeral.

Labels: Damn, Family

Seidel asked some valid questions re: my weight loss post. I'll answer them here.

I was just checking through your blog and came across a random photo of Bekele (the 'weak' little long distance runner).

I just wanted to point out a few things and ask a few questions.

1) While Kimbo Slice is probably a better fit for most types of combat I am guessing that Bekele would actually be an excellent soldier physically. Not only can he run 5minute miles for probably around 40miles at a time (really) , but he spends ~3-4hours/week lifting weights and is extremely strong. I don't know his exact numbers, but I can say that I know several far inferior long distance runners who weigh 130-150 and can bench 180-200lbs.

What kind of strength do you think is most important in combat? In your experience do you find a certain type of physique is most useful?

2) 6-0 194lbs is not a long distance runner's build. Many people like to think they are 'strongly built' but they are honestly just fat. Someone who is 6-0 200lbs with 25% body fat would be stronger, have better endurance etc if they lost 40lbs and got down to 160lbs with 5% body fat and the same muscle mass.

Do you find many soldiers have body fat %s above 15% or so? What do you think of this?

3) I am curious about the kind of fitness routine soldiers typically follow, what kind of stuff do you guys do?

• Yes, most soldiers are above 15% body fat.
• In combat, stress burns fat. Fat stores water and helps insulate organs against heat and cold.
• Fat is what the body converts to energy when food becomes scarce (Bastogne), or when the body can't keep food down--like when fighting dysentery.
• I've never had to run one mile in combat, let alone 40. Sprints are often useful in combat, and we try to keep those to 3-5 seconds in length.
• Ever seen a guy who is 130# try to carry 85 pounds of gear? They tend to drop from exhaustion in about an hour.
• A 130 pound encumbered soldier wrestles with 130 pound unencumbered insurgent. Insurgent wins, usually. Hilarity does not ensue.
• Fat has another great quality: it keeps you warm in harsh environs.
• I give a tinker's damn what someone can bench--it's likely the WORST measure of fitness you can imagine.
• The Army has revamped its physical fitness regimen to include a lot more core strength and conditioning vs just distance running.
• 194 is the limit of my "allowable" weight. The target for someone my height is around 175-180. At that weight, I find myself constantly tired and hungry.
• I am not built like a long distance runner, but can run long distances. Doesn't mean it makes any sense to.
• Endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph, doesn't matter to me if the guy is a good soldier. Best tank driver I ever had was near-obese. Best loader I ever had was skinny as a rail. Soldiering is in the six inches between the sternum and the spine, in the heart.
• Fat people are harder to kidnap.

Being built like you grew up on the Serengeti being chased by lions on your way to school doesn't do any favors for you when wearing a uniform. Being able to physically dominate your adversary, without needing a gun to do so, is critical. Hand to hand combat happens. When it's time to sink a bayonet somewhere between someone else's second and third rib, the sight of you charging at them, screaming with rage, should cause them to lose control of bladder and bowels. That doesn't happen if you are a svelte 140.

--Chuck

Labels: Support the troops and their mission

As a "doctor/clown," I have traveled the world over to bring the healing power of laughter to children and adults in virtually every corner of the world -- from Afghanistan, to Bosnia, to Haiti. Right now, there is a group of children who are really in need of healing -- the children of the Gaza Strip. Please help me bring some healing and laughter -- as well as playgrounds, sports equipment and medicines -- to the shattered young lives of this war-torn region.

The 1.5 million people of the Gaza Strip (more than half of them children) have had their homes destroyed, their playgrounds crushed and their schools gutted in the recent Israeli attack on this small, crowded corner of the world. Their borders -- both on the Israeli and Egyptian sides --are closed, making it impossible to rebuild.

For the first time ever, we'll be part of a coordinated effort to push open the borders by land and by sea! On June 5, I will join CODEPINK: Women for Peace, the Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel) and more than 100 American and Israeli peace activists -- Jews, Muslims, Christians and everything in between. We will set up an encampment on the Israeli border calling for a lifting of the siege. We will be joined by over 150 people trying to enter Gaza through Egypt and others coming by sea.

So what we have here is a douchetastic doctor, who is joining forces with the fuschia fucktards ™, to go to Gaza and help treat sick kids and rebuild roads, schools, Churches Mosques, and mortar pits Playgrounds.

Hey Patchouli, if you really want to help these kids, how's about convincing their dads to stop firing rockets into Israel? That would very likely "end the violence." Are you taking Medea "Medusa" Benjamin and Cindy "Nucking Futz Opportunist Attention Whore" Sheehan with you? If you are, could you leave them there? Another tactic you could use would be to threaten Israel with a sit-in in front of their bulldozers. That worked for her (even better than we expected).

C'mon Patches, Robin Williams made a movie about you that made you seem likable, even honorable. Do you really have to go this far off the deep end to try to regain you "buck the system" cred? Cause this isn't working, fella. You are getting attention, but I don't think your hospital/clown college will see many donations coming in from Americans who support Palestinian terrorists.

--Chuck

Labels: Asshats and Douchebags, In the news, stupid is as stupid does

The Warrior Legacy Foundation protects and promotes the reputation and dignity of every American veteran.

Our Tenets are:

I. Defend the Defenders

(through advocacy and policy influence, we will enhance our warriors ability to fight and win)

II. Care for the Wounded

(we will never stop fighting for dignified and complete care of our wounded troops)

III. Honor the Sacrifices

(we will never forget the Fallen and we will honor the sacrifices made by military families)

Ever thought about joining the VFW? AMVets? IAVA? VFF? American legion? The issue I have with all of these organizations (and many others) is that they claim to be non-partisan, and then, when the mood suits them, they become partisan, and start advocating for other things that have nothing to do with their original intent (Like the AARP, which originally started out as a group-life insurance policy, and then became a voting bloc which is driving us to national poverty because it so staunchly defends social security, because apparently, the only people in the greatest generation who could do math have already died.)

I digress. This is something that is going to be big. A national organization founded on simple principles. Three simple ideas, which are the basis of what other groups should've been focusing on.

You, even you non-veterans,can join the WLF and spread the word:

One unapologetic message with millions of messengers.

Veterans make the community in which they live a better place.

--Chuck

Labels: Support the troops and their mission, wounded troops

Via Wildthing:

You DON"T cross the line at the Tomb of the Unknown. These guys take guard duty very seriously, and the guy who doesn't take themn seriously, or honor that patricular piece of hallowed earth, deserves a new belly button.

Luckily, he smartened up and backed off.

Anyone want to bet how long the flash to bang is on libtards saying how these mindless robots need to be controlled better, lest they actually hurt someone?

Labels: Support the troops and their mission

This. scares. me.

James Carville scares me, mostly because he is scary smart, but still fails to use logic and reason to come to conclusions.

What scares me most, is that he's clearly outlines democrat goals in his title.

We are not subjects, we are citizens. We shall not be ruled.

And neither shall our children, not ever.

--Chuck

Labels: Asshats and Douchebags, conspiracy

There is a segment of our population in the United States that does not receive their due acknowledgment and respect on a regular basis. I'm not talking about some disaffected social class or an obscure party, I'm talking about our veterans. Citing the famous creed of couriers in the ancient Persian Empire: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The same and more can be said for those who have served our country in some military capacity. However, these men are delivering a lot more than mere postage. What the US soldier offers is freedom, justice, and security. If it were not for our military we might very well live in a totalitarian state run by the Nazis. If it were not for our military, much of New York City's skyline would be demolished. If it were not for our military we would not enjoy the amazing economic prosperity and opportunity that we do abroad. We owe these valiant public servants an enormous debt of gratitude for selflessly giving of their time, talents, and often lives for the safety and liberty of this nation.

That being said, I wanted to promote a cause that I find not only admirable, but wholesome, worthwhile, and fun. Here's the press release for this year's National Memorial Day Parade:

"NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE IN DC MAY 25TH

DC SCHOOL MARCHING BANDS, GARY SINISE, MILITARY BANDS,

ERNEST BORGNINE, LEE GREENWOOD

WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Memorial Day Parade presented by the American Veterans Center will take place Monday, May 25, 2009 at 2:00 PM Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets NW.

Join more than 250,000 Americans in honoring those who have served and sacrificed in the fifth annual National Memorial Day Parade. Marching bands, veterans units, and uniformed military personnel from around the country will march down Constitution Avenue in the largest Memorial Day parade in the nation. The parade will feature a special tribute to the U.S. Navy, and include Navy vet and Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine, fellow actors and veterans' supporters Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna, and music star Lee Greenwood. Also participating is Edith Shain, the nurse from the famous World War II “V-J Day in Times Square” kiss photograph. For more information, visit www.nationalmemorialdayparade.com.
For nearly 70 years, Washington, DC—our nation’s capital and headquarters of our military—was without a parade on the Armed Services’ most sacred day. In 2005, the American Veterans Center decided to bring this great tradition back to the nation’s capital by creating the National Memorial Day Parade. While each war and each branch of the military is honored in full, each year the parade highlights one branch of the military. The 2009 National Memorial Day Parade will have a special focus on the Navy, with distinguished Navy personnel throughout, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Michael Mullen as reviewing officer. The parade will be televised live to our service members around the world on The Pentagon Channel and locally on NewsChannel 8."

I urge all those who can attend to do so. Remember it's on the 25th of May at 2:00pm. It will be a great event for friends and family.

A hat tip to LaughingWolf, whose prose I've stolen for everything before the jump.

Back in 2006, the news was full of a horrific story: a convoy deliberately targeted by a complex attack. This Iraqi convoy was carrying reporters, and according to a number of reports, it may well have been the reporters that were the focus, for what better way to ensure coverage? And coverage it got, to the point that it generated some ill-will and backlash for Bob Woodruff got coverage in spades, coverage that few Americans or Iraqi's got even a small fraction of.

At the time, Blackfive said:

Pray for the recovery of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt. I'm sure that they won't ever forget who saved their lives.

More prescient words he may never have spoken.

Bob Woodruff did survive, and both he and his wife are very well aware that he is alive because of our troops. Our troops who risked their lives to get him, give him aid, and get him out. Our troops who treated him as they would one of their own, until such time as he could be put into civilian care. Please trust me when I say that Bob and his lovely wife Lee will never forget those who saved his life, nor will they ever forget our wounded.

They also realized that they are in a unique position. The media frenzy that surrounded him and his injuries was no surprise to those who study people. In short, things are rarely real unless they happen to someone we know; then, it hits home in spades. An intellectual awareness and even understanding is one thing, but when it hits home it hits the heart. What happened to Bob Woodruff hit home with people who had never before been hit in the heart by what was going on.

Bob and Lee simply could not sit by, for they had to do for those who were wounded. So, the Bob Woodruff Foundation was born and with it ReMind. This is not a re-invention of the wheel, for what is done is to raise money that goes to the organizations that DO for our wounded, our troops, and their families. Bob and Lee reach audiences that we in the military blogosphere don't, and have gotten them involved to support those who need it most -- our wounded.

Today, we all work together as ReMind starts Tweet-To-Remind, a campaign to raise $1.65 million for that effort. The idea is fairly simple: Today, 12 May 2009, put up a post or tweet the answer to the question "Who is Your Hero?" Then, if everyone participating and everyone who reads donates $5.25 (or more), guess what could be done in a day? So, who is your hero?

In many ways, mine are all those who serve, open or black. But, I want to list some special heroes for you, for they paid the ultimate price for what we have today.

My Heroes:
Interestingly enough, When I thought about my heroes, the first person I thought of was my son, Creighton.

When I deployed, he'd just turned five. We'd previously discussed my deployment in terms he could understand. There are bad people hurting other people, and who want to hurt us. I am going to go stop them, even if it means killing them, so they can't do that. They may kill me. Good guys don't always win.

When I was wounded, he was all of five and a half years old. My daughter was two, and vaguely remembers this time, but he's old enough to remember it well. Throughout the time I was in the hospital, and all the times since, my son has amazed me with his resiliency.

Just this year, when his school was trying to hammer diversity into his head, he exclaimed that he hated muslims. The teacher tried to tell him he was mistaken, that he couldn't hate people he didn't know, that he was wrong. Pounding on the desk, he shouted, Yes I do. I hate them all. They tried to murder my dad."
That's when I realized just how scared he must've been on that day in June 2005.

For a five year old boy to go through something like that and still be a well-adjusted and normal kid shows a tremendous amount of personal courage.

Other heroes:
SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, 1947-2000 RVN 1968-69, Medic, 1st Infantry Division

CPT Joshua Byers, Fox Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, Fort Carson, Colorado. Died on July 23, 2003

CPT Daniel Eggers, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Died on May 29, 2004.

LTC Gary Derby, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Feb. 9 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

1SG William "Buzzsaw" Magaw, USA Retired, 53, died Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart.

I'm trying to lose about 20-30 pounds. Not that I'm fat, but the Army has a funny idea about what a good weight for me is. According to Army standards, since I am between 71 and 72 inches tall (5'11-6', based on how bad my back feels) I am authorized to weigh between 194-200 pounds, based on my age. I can also be up to 24% body fat, as determined by some voodoo scale based on the ratio of my neck circumference to my belly circumference.

(By the way, if I were female, I could be 34% fat, but only weigh 183-188.)

Now, there is flexibility built into the army weight control program. For instance, it is a commander's program, meaning it is a tool for a commander to use at his discretion. However, the big green machine is ridiculously hung up on the whole height/weight nonsense, and seems to really embrace the idea that soldiers should all be built like long-distance cross country runners. For comparison, not a single offensive line player in the NFL would pass the standards.

Who would you rather have in your infantry platoon?

Yeah, me too.

Back to the original topic, I've gotta drop some pounds, from my currently strapping 206 down to (at a minimum) 194, and ideally 176 (so I can go back to my steady diet of cheetos, donuts, and all things deep fried. The best medical advice calls for diet and exercise. That's great, except I am very limited in the aerobic exercise I can do. Running/jogging is out. Grafts in the wrong places limit that ability. Swimming requires a pool, which I don't have access to. Biking is really fun, but distance and time limit me on that one, plus the dearth of safe areas to ride here. (PA has lots of roads, and even more really shitty drivers.)

One thing that I have found diet-wise that really seems to work for me is the Adkins diet. Sure, it's kinda hard on the body, but my body is the stupid one holding on to the fat, so I figure it needs some punishing. Adkins is really simple. Cut all carbs out of your diet for three weeks. Your weight will plummet, and then you gradually add carbs back in to your diet untl your weight stabilizes, or until the weight loss slows to only a few pounds a week/month, while you continue to eat some carbs. Plus, you can eat as much as you want (steak, egges, bacon, chicken, green veggies, pork, ribs, butter, milk, all thinkgs protein.) but no carbs. This means I crave bread, fruits, crackers, chips, ceral, rice, oats, etc. The really hard thing for me is crunchy snack food. I really like chips and crackers.

My salvation, while searching for the zero-carb crunchy snack food, is pork rinds. Crunchy beyond belief, salty, slighty smoky, bacon-flavored. Nom nom nom.

And diet soda. You'd be surprised how switching from regular to diet can seriously affect your carb intake. But I likes the fizzy waters, so I get used to artificial sweeteners and enjoy them. For the recod, diet coke differs from diet pepsi as battery acid differs from lighter fluid. Both are awful. Coke Zero is meh, but Coke Cherry Zero is passable. What is surprisingly tasty is the diet rite selection of sodas that contain Ø calories, Ø carbs, and (since I drink a lot of them) Ø caffeine.

But here's where diet, lifestyle, and selection collides:

Last night I was watching "Cops" while drinking Diet Rite White Grape soda and eating Pork Rinds.

I am a wife-beater t-shirt away from being on Springer.

--Chuck

Today is my 12th wedding anniversary to the most wonderful woman in the world. I don't deserve her, and she certainly doesn't deserve to have me inflicted upon her daily, but she puts up with me, and I have yet to find my stuff in a burning pile on the lawn.

Other than that, a quick joke before our date:

Masochist: "Beat me, whip me, make me bleed!"
Sadist: "No."

Mesa soldier's song aids USO charity

It was around Valentine's Day several years ago when Chief Warrant Officer Mike Leoni's military unit suffered its first casualty.

Unsure of how else to cope with the loss, Leoni turned to the only thing he knew would express his feelings: music. Picking up his beat-up guitar, he began composing a song for his wife back home in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Leoni, a 1990 graduate of Mesa's Westwood High School, said he'd never written a love song before, and it was the first acoustic song he had composed. He sent it to her via satellite e-mail as a Valentine's Day gift, singing "You are not alone, I'm fighting my way home ... don't waste your tears, I feel you with me."

Leoni and his band, Romeo Falls, have recorded the song, "Wasted Tears." In partnership with the United Service Organizations, the song is available for purchase online, with proceeds going to the North Carolina chapter of the USO.

...

The song, which Leoni said is meant to honor the "unbreakable bond between our soldiers and their loved ones on the home front," was an inspiration, and Romeo Falls decided to record it. On a whim, Leoni contacted the North Carolina United Service Organizations to see if the song could be used as a form of fundraising.

Because the organization is a self-sustaining chapter and gets no direct money from USO in Arlington, Va., Leoni wanted to make the song available online. Each time the song is purchased from iTunes or Rhapsody, Romeo Falls will make a donation to the organization.

"His generosity floored me," said John Falkenbury, president of the USO in North Carolina. "We need all the help we can get because we do so many programs: Traditional outreach programs, support for families left behind or that may be struggling. We do much more than just entertainment."

You can listen to the song on Romeo Falls' MySpace Page and purchase it at iTunes or Rhapsody.

Genius


Don't even get me stared on why the ACLU defends the contituiton as individual rights, except for #2.

--Chuck

You're an 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He's coming anyway. And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses. And, he kept coming back.... 13 more times.....And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last August at the age of 80, in Boise, ID......May God rest his soul.....

I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a whole bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward beating the crap out of his "girlfriend"

Story by Richard Allen Greene, one of the handful of journalists I like.

Last summer, Phil Packer was told he would probably never walk again. On Saturday, he plans to finish the London Marathon.

He'll be the last one done. For everyone else, the race ended 13 days earlier.

Packer has been walking on crutches for two miles a day, the most his doctor will allow, to raise money for charity.

His goal: £1 million ($1.5 million) for Help for Heroes, a British non-profit supporting wounded veterans. Packer, whose full title is Army Maj. Phil Packer, Adjutant General's Corps, Royal Military Police, has been a beneficiary of the military-focused charity.On Thursday, an Army band, red-coated and bearskin-hatted, played in his honor as he reached the Tower of London, 12 days into his walk.

The marathon is only part of his project, he says. In February, he rowed the English Channel, and next month, he plans to climb El Capitan, one of America's iconic mountaineering sites. It's a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in California.

The idea to take on the three challenges for charity came to him while he was in a hospital for more than four months last year following a serious injury in Iraq, he says.

"I needed and wanted to be able to move on in life," he says. "I wanted to do something for other personnel who had been wounded.

"I don't want to be helped. I want to help other people. Not that I'm not grateful, but ... you know," he says, an apologetic smile forming as he makes his way up the north bank of the Thames River, along the marathon course. "I really want to be able to help people."

It is perhaps not a thought that would occur to everyone in Packer's shoes.

The 36-year-old was wounded in the aftermath of a rocket attack on his base in Basra, Iraq, in February 2008. A vehicle rolled down a sand bank, striking Packer "head on" and dragging him under it, he says.

"There was no one in it," he says.

He steps off a curb onto the street: Right crutch, right leg, left crutch, left leg.

"It was just one of those things," he says. "These things happen."

Packer's lower spinal cord was injured, leaving him with no feeling or motor control in his legs, and no bladder or bowel control.

"In hospital, I was told it was unlikely I would ever walk again," he remembers.

That he is on his feet, walking the London Marathon under his own power, he attributes to "fantastic medical support" from Britain's Ministry of Defense and National Health Service.

"So many improvements are being made" in medicine, he says. "It's an evolving process."

He has no idea whether he will ever be able to walk without crutches, he says, or for any great distance.

"I gotta see how it goes," he says. "Take every improvement as it comes."

Packer is far from alone; the six-year war in Iraq has disabled untold thousands of people.

Britain's Ministry of Defense did not respond to a CNN question about how many service members had been permanently disabled in the war.

In the United States, the Congressional Research Service reported in March that 31,131 troops had been wounded in Iraq. That figure is for battlefield injuries. Many more veterans were later diagnosed with some sort of traumatic brain injury, but it is difficult to determine an exact number because of how statistics are kept.

It's not clear how many of the injuries are permanent because the Department of Veterans Affairs does not classify some disabilities that way until 10 years after the injury, says Ryan Galluci of AmVets, a veterans service organization.

Statistics for Iraqis are even harder to come by. Estimates of the number of wounded range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Iraq's Ministry of Heath says one in four wounded Iraqis have lost at least one limb.

Under London's steel-gray sky, drivers honk their horns in support as Packer walks by. Construction workers stop and dig into their pockets to throw change into collection buckets carried by Royal MPs walking with Packer. And staff at the law firm of SJ Berwin line the road to cheer for him as he approaches.

With two days left in his marathon, Packer has raised about £560,000 (about $840,000), he says.

"I desperately need people to support me," he says.

Prince Charles is among those who have expressed support.

"You are, if I may say so, a credit to the Royal Military Police and to the British Army as a whole," the heir to the British throne writes in a letter posted on Packer's Web site, www.philpacker.com.

Packer is still a serving soldier and intends to remain one, he says.

"I've still got a career in the armed forces," he says. "I'm going to go back to it." He has 16 years of service under his belt, including time as an enlisted man before he went to officer training school, and is, he notes with a rueful laugh, 20 years from retirement.

He's been asked to be an ambassador for Prince Charles' charity, the Prince's Trust, which focuses on helping young people, in addition to his life in what he calls "the disability community."

All that is making him wonder if he is spreading himself too thin.

"If you're going to channel your energy, you've got to have a plan," he says.
advertisement

But he is not daunted.

"I know people with disabilities far worse than mine who are achieving amazing things."

Recently, our son lost a little bit of his innocence. He's been asking questions about babies, especially the mechanics involved, and we figure it's better to get the information from us, especially since it gives us the ability to frame the discussion and control the narrative (Army FM 3-13, Information Operations). So we had "the Talk" with him. After answering his questions (and I had to really hold my tongue on the "When the semen comes out, does it hurt?" question.) (My initial response, "No. As a matter of fact, once you hit puberty, it becomes the focal point of your next 20 years." was edited down to "No.")


The best part, when all was said, done, and understood, his reaction was "it sounds gross."

Maybe we'l try this with my Daughter, when the time comes...

Oh Irony, thou art a harsh harpie!

An expedition team which set sail from Plymouth on a 5,000-mile carbon emission-free trip to Greenland have been rescued by... ...an oil tanker.

...and raise money for Soldiers' Angels by making your regular purchases! In honor of Military Appreciation Month, eBay is has made this "Spotlight on Servicemen and Women" month, and GoodSearch has made raising money by just shopping online or browsing the web even easier than ever.

Labels: Soldier's Angels, Support the troops and their mission

An incredible organization, “Homes for our Troops” is building an ADAPTIVE home for DJ! This is a wonderful organization and an incredible opportunity for DJ and Carlee! Since 2004 this nonprofit organization has built 40 specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans who have returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. These homes, and DJ’s home, will be built at NO COST to the veteran, but only with our help!!!! Homes for our Troops is looking for foundation grants, corporate sponsors and volunteers to make this project possible! Fundraisers are also needed! DJ’s dream has been to build a home for himself and Carlee that includes a therapy room and is fully accessible to him, I am so excited that this dream of his is coming true! Below is the link to DJ’s page on the Homes for our Troops website where you can donate or sign up to volunteer. There will also be a registration day for interested trades-people and volunteers to sign up to help build the home for DJ from 1-8 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday 5/7/09) at the Ramada Conference Center at 1450 S. Atherton St. in State College. There will also be a presentation given at 6:30 by project manager Rick Goyette. DJ will be participating in the presentation!

Please, please, PLEASE pass this along to anyone and EVERYONE you know. It is going to take A LOT of wonderful people stepping forward to make this the success that DJ deserves!!!!

Here’s the link:

http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=DavidEmery

Labels: Support the troops and their mission, Walter Reed, wounded troops

"The conservative blogosphere really should start a fundraiser to buy everyone at Daily Kos helmets to keep them from hurting themselves."

--Frank J

Being from Wester PA, and a die-hard stillers fan, I (naturally) hate all things cleveland. Especially the pumpkins (browns.) This made me laugh. hard.

Labels: Daily Funny, Fun, Spew alert, wounded troops

Labels: Fun, Individual rights

Driving something like this to the mall will cause people to run screaming into their homes, only to find out where the hell they can buy one.

Labels: Chuck for Prez

With apologies to A.A. Milne












































The Mrs. and I love the opening of CSI:Miami. Aside from the fact that David Caruso (Horatio Caine) and his Irish genes makes his appearance in the Miami sun look like a fork in a microwave, we absolutely love the one-lines he delivers at the beginning of the episode. Sometimes, we even pause the TV and try to out guess what he's going to say. For the record, I'm funnier than the CSI:Miami writers.

Several women who have deployed with North Dakota Army National Guard units in recent years have been selected to take part in a Mother’s Day event in Midtown Manhattan.

“Operation: Birthday Cake,” a nonprofit partnership between Bake Me a Wish! and Soldiers’ Angels, will hand out 5,000 Freedom Cakes in Times Square to those who volunteer to “mother” a deployed service member. Another 5,000 cakes will be sent with hand-written notes to those serving overseas. As part of the partnership, Ladies of Liberty, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Squier Kraft and Friends of Island Academy, a New York City nonprofit, have joined forces with the Soldiers and their mothers or daughters to hand out the cakes from 7 to 9 a.m. May 5 in Times Square.

Ladies of Liberty is a team deployed by Soldiers’ Angels. The nonprofit group focuses on the needs of deployed female service members. Ladies of Liberty members who are North Dakota Guardswomen and will be taking part in the event include Sgt. Vanessa Mozinski, of Ardoch, N.D., and her mother, Gloria; Sgt. Amy Wieser Willson, of West Fargo, N.D., and her stepdaughter Molly, 15; and Sgt. Delicia Glaze, of Grand Forks, N.D., and her daughter Peyton, 8. Sgt.

Sara Braaten, of Hutchinson, Minn., and her mother, Barb, also will be taking part. Braaten previously served in the North Dakota National Guard and is now a member of the South Dakota National Guard’s Medical Command. Braaten, Mozinski and Glaze all deployed to Afghanistan with North Dakota’s 1-188th Air Defense Artillery, and Wieser Willson deployed to Iraq with the 141st Engineer Battalion.

The Guardswomen will be joined by Soldiers’ Angels National Communication Officer and Ladies of Liberty team director Shelle Michaels and her daughter Rebbekah McPherron, 13, of Grand Forks, and Squier Kraft, a Navy psychologist and mother of twin 5-year-olds who chronicled her seven months in Iraq in the book “Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital.”

According to an Operation: Birthday Cake news release, the partners “are creating a whole new paradigm on how to celebrate this national holiday (Mother’s Day), focusing on the role of non-traditional moms, and specifically those who play mothering roles for our nation’s Soldiers.

Labels: Soldier's Angels, Support the troops and their mission

"May No Soldier Go Unloved. May No Soldier Walk Alone. May No Soldier Be Forgotten. Until They All Come Home."

As an all out effort to support National Military Appreciation Month, held in May, Soldiers' Angels is asking Americans to show their appreciation for our military by adopting a deployed service member at www.SoldiersAngels.org.

This year more than any other, our service men and women need to know they are truly appreciated for their role in protecting and defending our nation’s freedom. It doesn't take much time to become involved with Soldiers' Angels.

To Adopt-A-Hero go to the website www.SoldiersAngels.org and click on the ADOPT button. Your commitment each month is simply a letter a week and a small package each month. Join our team. Our nation's heroes need you. Soldiers' Angels is the place to start to show your appreciation.




WHEREAS, The freedom and security that citizens of the United States enjoy today are direct results of the blood shed and continued vigilance given by the United States Armed Forces over the history of our great nation; and

WHEREAS, the sacrifices that such members of the United States Armed Forces and of the family members that support them, have preserved the liberties that have enriched this nation making it unique in the world community; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress, in two thousand and four, passed a resolution proclaiming May as National Military Appreciation Month, calling all Americans to remember those who gave their lives in defense of freedom and to honor the men and women of all of our Armed Services who have served and are now serving our Country, together with their families; and

WHEREAS, the months of May and June were selected for this display of patriotism because during these months, we celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day, Military Spouse Day, Loyalty Day, Armed Forces Day/Week, National Day of Prayer, Memorial Day, Navy Day, Army Day and Flag Day;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Patti Patton-Bader, Founder of Soldiers' Angels, do hereby proclaim the period May 1, through June 14, 2009 as a special time to show appreciation for our Military and proclaim it as NATIONAL MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH

Patti Patton-Bader
Founder, Soldiers' Angels

Labels: Project Valour-IT, Soldier's Angels, Support the troops and their mission, wounded troops