To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and...1

 This is a noble goal.  However, the organization that started with such lofty goals, is now a lunatic asylum being run by the inmates.  How, given this headline:


can the UN call itself an organization that works towards promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction to sex?


I've said it before, but it bears repeating:  since the UN's inception, and chartering with the hopes that through the idea of a global communication and community, we would never again devolve into a state of "world war."  On that count, we've succeeded.  However, since its inception the world has had more small and regional wars in the last 60 years than it has, well, ever. 

Aside from taking up prime real estate in New York that could be put to better use as a toxic waste dump (or a much-needed starbucks or subway franchise) the UN has done little in the last half-century to remove or even limit the autonomy of tin-pot dictators like Castro, Pot, Quadaffi, Saddam, Chauchesku, or Arafat.  Instead, it has elevated their status, granting them credentials, inviting them to the US to speak, and funneling money either to or from them.

The US needs to get out of the UN--there is no benefit to us, the citizens, for our continued membership.  The UN definitely needs to get out of the US.  Let them relocate to Iran if they love it so much.


NO woman deserves this.  No human being deserves this.  (And the next time someone tries to tell me Islam is a religion which grew out of the Judeo-Christian teachings, remind them the Christ said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."  When you are told it is a religion of peace, answer with "No, it is a religion of submission."  Iran hides behind the petticoats of Islamic Fundamentalism to allow these types of "punishment."

I don't even think these tramps deserve to be stoned.  Aside from improving their looks, I don't think it would make them understand that Iran would immediately stick them in a hole up to their waists and toss rocks at them for showing so much skin in public.  It's like watching Jews campaigning for Peace with Hezzbollah or, come to think of it, Iran.

--Chuck

This weekend I'm going to shop for furniture. I'm going to Pruitt's.  (Last weekend, after the "evil immigration bill" passed, I bought a new bed from Sleep America.)  I'll probably stop by Spencer's to check out TV's.  Then I'm going to Bashas' or Fry's to pick up some big thick steaks and some veggies for dinner.  I won't forget the Shamrock Foods sour cream to put on potatoes.  Maybe some Kiltlifter to wash it all down.  And then the crowning glory will be a little Cold Stone for dessert.  You know what they all have in common?


I was raised in a blue state.  I know all about the whole "shop local" thing.  I can play that game too.  It's time for the National Arizona BUYcott. (List of Arizona companies)  If my state is going to have the cohones to do the job the federal government won't do, what could I possibly do but support my fellow Arizonans.

I moved in a hurry not too long ago due to a flood.  I have next to nothing as far as furniture goes.  I've been meaning to do this shopping for a while now.  Suddenly, I'm motivated.  I've got money and I'm not afraid to use it.

BTW, Pruitt's has already been run through a similar political meat grinder when they wanted to keep day laborers out of their parking lot back in 2007.   I also know that my friends say they have quality stuff and good prices.  I'd be shopping there even if there wasn't a boycott.  Actually, I buy from all of the aforementioned companies except Cold Stone regularly.  I just don't eat a lot of ice cream.  But I will for a good cause.

And I might even pick up some Arizona Iced Tea because those poor schmucks in Queens got caught in the (ignorant) crossfire.

~~Code Monkey

PS I wonder if I need to re-register any domain names.  Yeah, I get those through GoDaddy.

If only we were so keen to stop all manner of smuggling.
--Chuck

Marcus

I realize I couldn't win a web popularity contest if it was between me and Perez Hilton. But I know do this: of all the people in this world I've ever known, My wife Carren is the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful. She has the tender caress of a concerned mother, and the steel in her spine to tell a wounded husband that his self-pity isn't going to cut it because he has a family to raise.

Carren does many of the same things many other spouses do--she's a wife and mother, whether I am home or not.

But she does even more... She gets involved in the community, volunteering at the local VA and with On-base organizations. She volunteers to teach classes to new spouses and helps them in any way she can.  She works with Girl and boy scouts to help teach a generation of kids about things that matter--leadership, integrity, and honor.

While I was deployed, and even while I was recovering from my wounds, Carren worked on, and finished her master's degree in clinical social work, graduating with a 4.0 from the University of Pittsburgh. She then began working as a counselor at the local community counseling center. She's reached out to the spouses of other wounded warriors, giving advice, mentoring, or just being a friend for so many. It's not the same thing telling your friend from High School what life is like when your husband is in a near coma with all sorts of tubes coming out of his body, but another person who has worn that t-shirt can certainly lend the emotional support and understanding that you are looking for.

For all of her efforts, Carren is seldom recognized. Of the two of us, she is the introvert--the quiet, thoughtful worrier who loses sleep because she's worried about someone besides me!

My wife is a treasure to me, she's so very smart and talented, but her true weakness is for a guy who can barely dress himself without help every morning, and that was before I lost fine motor function in my left hand.

So, if you agree that my Mrs. is a true gem who deserves to be really recognized for her efforts, go here and register, then vote for my Mrs. as the Spouse of the Year.
It's not a simple "click to vote."  She'll need you to provide a picture (I've included some in this post, or you can use your own.)  You also need to provide 500-800 words on why you think she's the best Military spouse in America.  I appreciate what she does every damn day.  Could ya'll help me show that appreciation at a little bit higher level?
If she wins, they'll give her $5,000 (Which she can use, ideally, to fly her and the kids home for Christmas when I am deployed).
The grand prize winner receives a $5,000 cash prize (Which she can use, ideally, to fly her and the kids home for Christmas when I am deployed).  And will be flown to Washington, DC, for an award ceremony on Capitol Hill on Thursday, September 30, 2010.
 --Chuck
P.S.  She has no idea I'm doing this.

Chicago Violence Sparks Nat'l Guard Request

Vets Donate Lawsuit Award to Charities

We at YouServed try our damndest to raise money for SA. I know you guys all know this, and that was evident by the over $600 we raised in less than an hour the night of the dinner at the milblog conf.

Every week we auction off great things on the stores.ebay.com/userved ebay auction site. This week we have Eric Blehm's awesome book, The Only Thing Worth Dying For and a signed copy of Angry Clouds by the band Bridge of Sighs. I don't understand if so many people were willing to drop $5, $10, $20 on raffle tickets for a chance to win some prizes, why are they now motivated to make a bid (even a ridiculously small one) on some great items where all the proceeds go to SA? I mean, even if you get outbid as least your bids help drive up the price and get more for SA. What is the worst that could happen, you spend a few bucks on a book, t-shirt, CD, etc. that you may find you like. And if you don't then you can give it as a gift to someone or better yet, put it in a box to a trooper overseas who would probably really appreciate it.

Yes an iPad is awesome, but that is a rarity and we have auctioned off so many other things for next to nothing. That is great for the winner,,,,but not great for SA.

Do Marcus and I need to come around to each of your houses every week and harrass you to bid like we harrassed you the night of the dinner?

Like I said that night "If you don't love SA, then you don't love America" or my other good one "Even the chick from IVAW bought tickets, why aren't you?"

--Troy

	Stress. The stress from deployments, homecomings, moves and other changes can affect you and your family. TriWest Online Care gives you confidential, simple and free ways to connect with counselors who understand the issues you might be facing. Call, click and chat today. Want to learn more? Read about how stress can affect families and relationships.

Andrew Diabo posed as a Marine combat veteran, until he was exposed by a real one. For more see http://www.thesandgram.com

Hat tip to the always fabulous Greyhawk over at Mudville for the video.

Why do I think that something will be lost if The Pop-Up Book of Phobias is read on a Kindle?

(And I was thinking of this book after reading this post by TSO.)

~~Code Monkey

The latest and greatest You Served auction... I really never thought it would get much better than CJ and I shaving our heads. I'm VERY happy to say I was horribly wrong.

http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2010/04/27/this-week-on-ebay-rage-company-and-a-surprise/

And here is the article for those too lazy to click (I know I'm too lazy to click half the time and wait for stuff to load, especially at work).

Rage Company Cover

On Thursday 29 May, after the conclusion of our current auction, we will be listing Rage Company, A Marine’s Baptism by Fire (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) by Thomas Daly. The auction will run for one week and will conclude on the afternoon of 6 May, just a few hours before I interview Tom on You Served Radio. But what is this surprise? Keep reading! CJ and Troy don’t even know about it yet!

Rage Company chronicles Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in their deployment to Ramadi, Iraq from November 2006 through April 2007. Readers of A Soldier’s Perspective will recall I was deployed to Iraq from February through September 2007.

Surprise? Yeah, I’m getting there. Hold your horses!

I am currently reading Rage Company, and it is making me remember a lot of things I heard during briefings but had forgotten about. I won’t get much into the book right now since I plan to write a full review after I finish reading the book and Tom comes on the show.

Okay, I’ve made you hold your breath long enough. I’ve been working with Tom’s very lovely publicist, Callie Oettinger, over the last week on a very big something special to go along with the hardcover edition of Rage Company that will appear on the You Served auction block to benefit Soldiers’ Angels. The marketing department of Rage Company’s publisher, John Wiley &; Sons, has agreed to donate one Apple iPad to this week’s auction. The winner of Rage Company will also receive an Apple iPad!

The full details of the auction will be announced Thursday and a link to the auction will also be published at that time. Until then, start hyping the auction to your friends and family! Remember that all money raised from our eBay story goes to benefit Soldiers’ Angels and the amazing work they do to benefit all of us serving our country.

Marcus

When I think back on the greatest year of my life, I think the thing I'll remember most fondly are the times I've spent with my friends.

I've been given another opportunity to hang out with them this morning, beginning at 0630.  This will, of course, be my eighth or ninth "random" urinalysis testing since school started in August.  That means, on average, I've somehow managed to provide the Army with a quart of my urine over these last nine months.

I can only hope that my next assignment will have a Battalion commander who is as interested in my piss as this one.  Okay, the recorded message you get at 0450 begins with "By order of the battalion commander., you have been randomly selected to come in to work in an hour and a half, and to then pee in a tiny bottle while a stranger watches you do it."  Or something like that.  Like I said, the meds are trying to wind themselves down at this point, I'm not fully awake, and I have to pee really bad because someone woke me up to tell me to come pee... in an hour and a half.

At this point I would rather be charged with SOMETHING instead of just being woken up a couple hours early to enjoy the hangover from the pain meds and sleeping pills.  I usually get to sleep through the tapering off of effectiveness, which is remarkably like going out and really tying one on, then staying awake until you sober up--completely.  You're tired, your head hurts, and someone won't stop bothering you about filling little cups with pee.

This is SO going in my CGSC novel/screenplay.  I will, of course, be played by either Daniel Craig or Kevin James.  It all depends on how many nude scenes I put in it.
Seriously though... Eight times in nine months?  How is this random?
--Chuck

By now, several people have emailed me the various newswire reports of the goings on at Fort Carson.

• Synopsis: Soldiers in the WTU are strung out on pain pills, heroin, and booze. The chain of command is harsh and uncaring. The doctors are clueless pill pushers. The troops aren't getting the help they need, and are getting lost in the system, and family members are incapable of getting them help.
• Opinion:  The Times article was definitely slanted, and agendized.   Of the soldiers and family members in the WTU, there were no success stories.  There were no heroes, only poor, sad victims and ignorant, harsh leaders.  It pisses me off beyond belief that the default view of warriors is muscle dragging, booger-eating savages, and the default view of the wounded is helpless, pitiable cripples, and the default view of their spouses, in either case, is of miserable, pitiable people who must be cared for.

Analysis: I'm going to caveat this by saying that the NYT isn't exactly my favorite birdccage liner. As a matter of fact, it's the last place I would look for facts about anything military.

There is no "fix" for PTS or Traumatic Brain Injury.  It's hard to diagnose, and even harder to treat.  What works wonders for one is like giving tic-tacs to another.  (Same thing happens when I take Ambien.)  The docs are issuing brain candy to remedy everything, because brain candy is like the spackle that fills in the cracks of the depression.  It doesn't make you any happier, but it makes you care less about not being happy.  The brain candy makes you think different.
Soldiers take the pain/brain meds, and make sometimes really bad decisions.  (Guess, what?  Some Soldiers make bad decisions when they aren't taking really strong drugs.)  They mix booze and pills, a REALLY bad decision (I do so very rarely, admittedly, but not with the really strong pills, and only after a very long time learning the effects of the pills that I take.)  Left to their own devices, some Soldiers will readily make a bad choice over a good one if it seems like a good idea at the time.  I admit, I've gone down that road (bad decisions) a few times myself.
The Docs aren't necessarily doing much to get them off the addicting and brain-chemistry-altering drugs and narcotics--like putting them on methadone, which has all of the analgesic qualities, without the "high."  There are, believe it or not, several good reasons for this.  Sometimes, meds take time to work, and uptake varies by medication, and  by person.  Meds react differently in people.  Whereas some people can have a shot of morphine and sail away on memory bliss, I can get hits of morphine until my breathing stops, but still be in pain (been there, done that, not really fun.)  Also, people can have drastic reactions when they come off of meds--especially the brain-chemistry-altering kind.  Detoxing is one of my least favorite things.  All things considered, I'd rather have a full-body skin graft that detox from opiates again. Last time, the Mrs. was so scared she hid all the guns in the house, because she was afraid I'd suck start a pistol because I was so utterly miserable.  The thing to remember is that the doctors really truly do want the Solders to get well--but they don't have a magic bullet, magic pill, or one size fits all treatment.  It's a process, and a long one at that.
The chain of command can only do so much--especially if the soldiers aren't living in barracks.  Spouses are woefully untrained and uninformed in how to deal with their service members, and who to call for help.  Spouses of wounded troops are sent off with a bag of pills, a box of bandages, creams, ointments, potions, tape, and tubing, shown how to change bandages on their "patient," how to help with physical therapy, and handed a card for Army OneSource.  They are then asked to be part nurse practitioner, part medical assistant, part therapist, and full-time spouse.  Their soldier just want to be well, be strong, be the person they were before.  In some ways, it's worse when the spouse "helps."  They are trying to be SO careful, because they don't want to hurt their wounded Soldier.  The Soldier is trying to put up a brave facade, but it's friggin' frustrating.  Strife, not hilarity, ensues.
The chain of command has to instill discipline and military order.  It. has. to.  Sometimes the drill sergeant is exactly what Soldiers need to remind them they are Soldiers.  Other times require more gentle approaches.  Although the WTU must account for every soldier by first call (usually 0600), there are ways to do that without having a formation.  (Back in the dark ages of Wounded Warrior Care, 2005, they had all of us cripples stand (or sit, if you were in a wheelchair) at 0800 at Walter Reed.  I did that once.  After the "Platoon Sergeant" failed to show up, I dismissed the formation, and told them there would be no more formations.  Asshattery ensued, but in the end, there were no more formations.)  An in-ranks formation at noon would serve the same purpose, or even a "physical check in" with the training room/1SG by noon would also serve that purpose.  Even better if their leaders have a list of appointments they need to make, and can ensure they have transportation (I relied on the wife network, but a phone call would have had someone from my unit picking me up post-haste.)  Better still, their leader looks them in the eye, asks them how they are doing, and listens to them, every single day.  The leader then takes responsibility for fixing any problems the soldier mentions.  Even better, the leader meets, calls, or other wise engages with that servicemembers' spouse to get the unvarnished truth about how the soldier is doing.
As far as pulling duty goes,  Soldiers in the WTU pulling CQ or Staff duty is bullshit, and should NOT be happening, especially if even one of their meds "may cause drowsiness."  Have the Cadre run staff duty, make the floor checks, and handle issues--it's one of the reasons they get the extra pay.  However, having no responsibility but "get well" isn't always beneficial to the soldier's mental health.  It's a delicate balance between what the soldier can do, and what the soldier should do.  We all want to "do," even when we can't.
THE WTUs need to have an on-call cadre of shrinks, too.  People who work directly for the WTU, not people who see any other patients. 
If illicit drugs are a problem, UCMJ is the answer.  WTUs are there to help soldiers.  Find the dealers, find the users, and toss them in jail, then out on their ass.  Illegal drugs have NO place in the Army, and their use along with prescription drugs is deadly.  It sounds harsh, but none of these guys is so mentally incapacitated by their scripts that they seek out heroin, too.  Heroin is being given to them, to string them along, and then sold, to string them out. No one is sticking a needle in their arm, they do that themselves.
Finally, if the soldier wants out, right now, then accommodate him, but make him aware that it may result in his benefits taking LONGER to kick in.  If the soldier wants to get back to his unit, back to work, then have the docs check him out, and if they say yes, let them.  If they say no, or "not sure" or not ready," they owe it to the soldier to give them goals, and a time line.  If the answer is "never," they owe them that as well.


I've never commanded a WTU, never even been in one (they came to be after I'd left Walter Reed.)  The challenges the leaders face are different than the challenges in any other unit.  I find it laughable that a kid with a camera and a journalism degree has the gall to question how the leadership commands that kind (or for that matter, any kind) of unit.

I'm not a shrink, nor am I a therapist.  I'm just a simple soldier who loves what I do, and loves those with whom I serve.  I want to see them well and healthy, and if I can't have that, I want to see them well cared for.  I am not alone in the Army, the commanders of WTUs all want the same thing.  These people are selected, not assigned.  They are not put in the job because they've failed elsewhere.  Their mission, and the mission of their charges, is to get well, get better, get back to work, and above all, live the Army values and Warrior ethos.

--Chuck

"Speaking from whence one does not know."  It's a nice way of saying "talking out your ass."  In any case, it's what I think when I hear most non-professionals (journalists, writers, and other media folks) as well as junior officers and enlisted talking about strategy.
Sure, they may have an understanding of the word--it describes the overall plan for doing things.  But strategy isn't tactics.  Tactics is the 50-meter fight.  The "why and how" and the ways and means in tactics are pretty easy:  set a base of fire, move your assault team into position, assault through the objective as your support lifts or shifts its fire.  Establish security on the objective.  Consolidate all forces on the objective.

Defensive tactics are about as simple.
Strategy, however, is a bit harder and requires a MUCH longer view.  For instance, in WWII, the taking of North Africa was hard.  (If you've never heard of Kasserine Pass, go read about it.)  Had we not had strategic plans, it would have stayed nigh-on-impossible.  What we realized, and what eventually won North Africa, was that it was the German and Italian lines of communication and  lines of logistics that had to be cut--and that meant owning the waters of the Mediterranean, and ports along the coast, which would eventually weaken the Nazis by isolating their ability to repair or replace damaged and destroyed equipment and personnel, and allow our forces to overwhelm them.  Some people would question putting the emphasis on Naval forces in the Med while the "fight" was on the ground, in North Africa, but it was clear they didn't understand the strategy behind why we were doing it.
One of the ways we use to build an Operational picture, for framing the problem(s) and developing a plan, is something we call operational design.  It is a construct used to help us understand the problem(s) we face, internally and externally, and the other critical factors that may bear on the problem. 
Operational design begins by problem framing, with the first step being to establish the strategic context of the problem.

What is the history of the problem? What is its genesis?
Who are the parties interested in the problem and what are the implications of likely outcomes?
What caused the problem to come to the fore?
Why is this emerging problem important to the nation’s strategic leaders? Particularly consider factors such as:
Are national interests and ideals at stake?
What are the domestic political considerations for taking action?
What are the economic considerations of action?
Are there treaty obligations that require or block the ability to act?
Why do strategic leaders believe this problem requires a military solution?
To this, we might add in even more fundamental questions regarding the nature of the problem in Afghanistan:
Who are the enemies? What are their goals? Where are they located? What threat does each group pose to the United States? What effect does ISAF involvement in Afghanistan have on them?
So you see, the problem is FAR more complex than most people understand when they speak of strategy and policy.  We don't, in general, make a habit of explaining our answers to these questions to every soldier in the Army.  Quite frankly, the first time I was introduced to operational design was here at the command and general staff college, and it took over a week of explaining the details and intricacies for it to begin making sense.  I'm a no rocket surgeon, but I'm also not Lenny, looking for bunnies to pet; this stuff took time to absorb and understand.  Even then, it is only through repetitive use that we began to understand how to use Design.
The "we" I mention is a group of over 1000 Majors, 90% of whom are combat veterans, 60% of whom are multiple tour combat veterans, all of whom have commanded companies and led platoons, been responsible for hundreds of soldiers and millions of dollars worth of equipment.  Included in our ranks are Majors from other (lesser) branches of the service, Foreign Officers, and "Other Agencies" from our own government.  The stuff we do here is hard. 
I question the understanding of people who say our strategy in Iraq or Afghanistan is wrong, or failing.  I question those who try to bring into question the Generals in command of these operations, because it is these same Generals who designed this construct for understanding a problem.  I will grant that there may be a few bad generals out there, but they are the extreme exception to the norm.  It's not exactly a job anyone can do, unlike tapping away on a keyboard and standing in front of a camera (or behind one).  Generalship requires years of training, decades of experience, and a lifetime of learning.  Quite often, the General IS the smartest guy in the room.  More often than that, a General has selected subordinate officers who he has determined are highly competent in their fields and are also extremely intelligent.  Not every staff officer is a superstar, not every officer is a genius.  (Hell, they promoted Me, so it can't be that restrictive.)  But we all share the commonality of wanting and trying to do a good job, wanting and trying to excel and knowing that our actions and performance directly impacts the lives of soldiers.
It just doesn't hold water with me, knowing all the work that goes into designing strategy, when a sophomoric neophyte says that the strategy is all wrong, that we are losing, that our Generals are incompetent.

--Chuck

One of the few things I hate more than driving a crappy car is being lied to.  (Okay, Cars don't really mean that much to me, unless I'm driving cross country in a econo-box.)  But being lied to, really, really grinds my gears.

Wanna know what's gotten me so hacked off?

GM.  I got an email from them a few days ago, touting how they'd paid off their bailout, five years ahead of schedule and with interest.  Last night I saw a commercial with their smiling CEO walking through a stylized car factory and making the same claim.  But the TRUTH, the plain, unvarnished, un-equivocated and WHOLE TRUTH, is that they didn't repay anything, they took money from one pot of TAXPAYER money to put into another pot of TAXPAYER money.  In effect, they paid off their loan from the taxpayers with a credit card issued by the taxpayer.
"I think the one thing that a lot of people overlook with this is where they got the money to pay back the loan. And it isn't from earnings. ... It's actually from another pool of TARP money that they've already received," he said Wednesday. "I don't think we should exaggerate it too much. Remember that the source of this money is just other TARP money." --Neil Barofsky.

"It appears to be nothing more than an elaborate TARP money shuffle," said Senator Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a letter Thursday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Vice President Biden on Wednesday called the GM repayment a "huge accomplishment."

Yeppers.  Take money from the taxpayer, spend it, then take MORE money from the taxpayer to pay back the first debt, and tell the taxpayer you've repaid him.  Maybe next the CEO of GM can come over to my house and piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. What pisses me off the most, is that our Administration is telling its citizens and taxpayers that GM is doing great things, when in fact, they simply are playing accounting games.  I'd rather my government was an honest broker, who called out GM and said "wait just a damn minute.  You are full of crap, and you STILL OWE THE PEOPLE MONEY."
GM can't tell the truth about its finances to the very people who they borrowed from.  Why would I trust them to build a quality car and stand behind their product?  I urge you:  dump your GM cars, GM stock, and never, ever buy anything with their trademark again.
If you still don't get it, go dig a hole in your yard, and scatter the soil.  Then, dig a second hole, and use that soil to fill in the first hole.  When your wife asks you why there's a hole in the yard, get the CEO of GM to come explain to you that there is no hole, it was filled in ahead of schedule, and with interest.

--Chuck

To me, the global media outlets who reported negatively on this issue all did so with a mixed combination of arrogance and ignorance. They discuss the issue, not in the context of an officer’s decision making process, but in the most controversial manner possible because, well, at the end of the day…it sells.

Here’s my take on what happened.

Go RTWT

--Chuck

The reporter says, "Joining the military may seem like a drastic way to become a US citizen but not for these men..."

Personally, I might have not have used the word drastic.  To me, drastic is having to chop off your foot that's stuck under a boulder so you can get out of a ravine that's about to fill with water from a flood as vultures circle overhead.  It's got such negative connotations.

In a time when so many people want something for nothing, it warms my heart to hear of people who are willing to work hard and give of themselves for something they will value.  I think their military service is a measure of how much these men wanted to not only become US citizens but give back as well.  And I thank them for it.

~~Code Monkey

You're so vain
You probably think this war is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this war is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Go RTWT at the Castle.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I'm just a geek in the civilian world. I've never been in the military and it's pretty safe to say it won't happen in this lifetime. I'm only in the milblog world as an observer and enabler. Sometimes I pipe up with geek rants but mostly I just listen and try to learn.

Take from the following what you will:

Today I went into work knowing that all my big projects got pushed back a couple of days by hackers. Unwelcome and unexpected open FTP ports, my partner in crime and I had a bunch of computers to format and rebuild.

I had some choices. I could run around and tell everyone what the story was on why some users didn't have computers at their desks when they showed up this morning. I'd be talking to people who don't know jack about network security and wouldn't understand much of what I said. They would probably just think less of the users who had vacant spaces under their desks, but everyone would hear a story about why we were doing what we were doing, even if they didn't understand it 100%. Might even get a little pity out of the deal...

...or I could just mumble "viruses" as we got back to dealing with the problem at hand. That they would get. After a few years of what I've taught them, they should understand it isn't a scarlet letter. They would move on as would I. The computers would be rebuilt, the users wouldn't be made out to be hapless victims (or worse yet, asking for it), and a lot less time would be wasted than if I'd gone the other route.

There are times in life where you shouldn't need to spill every detail of the back story to make your own actions seem justified. Discretion really is the better part of valor. All I needed today was to get to work trying to fix a problem. Making it personal wouldn't have helped a damn thing.

~~Code Monkey

I bring the blanket and hand it to MaryAnn. She shows it to him, and immediately it is the answer to all of his problems. He tells her exactly how he wants the blanket placed. She feeds him crackers and water while he struggles with the effects of powerful painkillers. We are there for well over an hour, and all he can see is her. MaryAnn later tells me that he will not remember it. He may not remember Landstuhl at all. But in that moment, she was the only one in the world for him. The next morning, as he is readied, or “packaged” for transport, there are only two things he is concerned with; his iPod and that blanket.
It was an incredible act of love, but to MaryAnn, it is just what she does. She puts the same love into organizing the stock room or folding sweatshirts. She is not the only Angel. She is not the only one who cares.

Go Read the Whole Thing Here.

I am humbled to call MaryAnn my friend, and yes, I do remember her.
If you only forward one email today, it should be her story.
--Chuck

The Battle of Britain is to be Tweeted, in real time, by using the diaries of those daring young men in their flying machines of the RAF.  Excerpts from the diaries will begin mid-day Friday, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
You can follow the tweets here.
From the UK Times:

The first tweet will be transmitted at midday on Friday, 70 years after Group Captain Bader was deployed to 222 Squadron, and continue until October when the summer bombardment came to an end.

In total the details of 605 diary entries, all taken from the Operational Record Books in the National Archives at Duxford, will be tweeted.

Examples include a tweet on June 1 at 4.20am, which will read: "Red 5 (Flight Sergeant UNWIN) climbed underneath one of the enemy aircraft and gave a burst of five secs at an opening range of 150 yards. It blew up over his head."

On June 19 at 2.25am, that will be followed by: "Flight Officer PETRE saw his tracer hit one engine which poured out volumes of black smoke.

"At this moment he himself was caught in the searchlights and an explosive bullet from the enemy rear gunner hit his petrol tank and he was forced to jump from the blazing spitfire.

"He landed safely but was badly burnt about the face and hands."

 How cool is that?

--Chuck

I'll be writing a wrap-up of milblogcon 2010 later this week.

There's someting else to get my head around, namely, this:

That, my friends, is a 12.5mm bullet.  The incendiary kind.  The kind that, usually, when it impacts your nugget, you no longer have to worry about... anything.

This particular bullet, however, found itself embedded in melon of a member of an Afghan National Army soldier, after a firefight with some Taliban.

The man was taken to the only place in the world where you would expect he could be treated, if at all:  to a U.S. Army hospital.

The round could have exploded at any minute, killing the man and his entire surgical team.  The team worked for hours removing the round, which could have either ignited, killing the patient, or esploded, killing the entire surgical team.  The medical team wore body armor and completed the surgery, one of fewer than 50 such possibly explosive surgeries in the last half-century.

Next time you wonder if our soldiers forward get the best possible care, remember this.

--Chuck

Yes, this has nothing to do with anything, but you do have to admit, he's kinda cool.


~~Code Monkey

Labels: Bug blogging

This panel has been very interesting, more on official outreach to social media, and more on the warmening of the military to the idea of individual soldier blogs, not controlling the message, or the soldier, but in operating in an environment where anyone can say anything, about anything.  It keeps you honest.

PANEL: The View From the Top

1.) Jamie McIntyre (LineOfDeparture)
2.) Admiral J.C. Harvey, Jr. (USFleetForces)
3.) Price Floyd (Twitter.com/PriceFloyd)
4.) COL Gregory T. Breazile, USMC

There is a... woman (definitely not a lady) here who is a member of IVAW.  If you're interested, that's Iraq Veterans against the war.  Naturally, she is attending the milblog conference to gain understanding of all the good things our service members are doing in theater.  If we're lucky, she'll even burn a flag or two while she's here.
There's a word, a word which has no other connotation in the English language, which can be used to describe a female and is universally offensive.  It is a word that is universally offensive to women, and to many men, and a word which, if used, has so deep an offensive meaning that using it, in and of itself, even while its use is an apt description of the person directed, it is too offensive to subject my readers to its reading.  Its use is contrary to my behavior as an officer and a gentleman.

This... woman... did not burn the flag, but she is a proud member of the organization that has done so.  She is a proud member of that organization which has such grand leaders as Chiroux, Elaine Brower, and MULTIPLE stolen valor criminals as spokespersons. 

This... woman... is proudly sporting her ACU backpack on top of her large and well-padded rear-end.  I hate the military, but love sporting their gear, so because it gives me street-cred to say how evil the Bushitler McCheney Hailibuton war for oil is. 

Lemme put it in historical perspective.  If This... woman were a member of the Nazi Party, it wouldn't matter if she never killed a Jew.  She is a member of the party responsible for killing 6 million Jews.  This... woman is a member of an orgainization that supports soldiers going AWOL, that protests by burning flags, that supports the idea of "PTSD by-proxy," where its members claim PTSD from hearing stories other people tell about war--by extension, I have PTSD from WWII because I watched the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.  This... woman's organization routinely sponsors people whose claims of valor and service end with a background check and federal charges under the stolen valor act.

There's a word which aptly describes this... woman.  But you won't read it here.

--Chuck

Wounded warrior Soldiers conduct a practice match under the tutelage of Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit April 1, 2010, at Pool Indoor Range at Fort Benning, Ga. They are training for the inaugural Warrior Games, slated to be held May 10-14 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Photo by: Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO. (Photo by U.S. Army)

I woke up early, having gone to bed early after meditation and prayers last night. I had slept on my back, which generally isn’t a problem for me. What is a problem for me is that I cannot feel my right thigh, due to the skin grafts and nerve damage.

What this led to was my inability to realize that my right leg had fallen asleep. So when I stood up out of bed this morning, I immediately fell over, right on to my face, hurting my back. I have a keen awareness for when I’ve been beat, and decided that the milblogcon would have to wait; I was going back to bed, and would try again in a couple hours.

Two hours later, I awoke to a beautiful Northern Virginia Spring day, feeling like almost ten dollars, I got dressed and hobbled down to the conference. Now I am sitting in the opening speaker’s conference, listening to GEN David Petraeus’ canned speech, all the way from CENTCOM. I’ve been keenly aware of the warming of senior leadership to the milblogosphere. I met yesterday with other bloggers at the Pentagon, and we all engaged with the various services Public Affairs Officers, and even with ADM Mullen’s Public Affairs Maven, a Major who is participating in the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff internship program, an Armor Guy, who was handed the Chairman’s entire online presence and told to engage.

Also in attendance today is Gary Trudeau, the author of Doonesbury, Jack Holt, from the Pentagon’s public affairs office, members of the Golden Knights Army Parachute team (who knew they had a blog?) And many authors, bloggers, public affairs representatives from the various services. It is, literally, a packed house. Milblogcon 2010 sold out this year and the room is filled to capacity!

I am now sitting in the first panel, The Charitable Landscape. They are discussing the various charities and the roles of milblogs in particular that reach out to service members, their families, and the wounded.  I’ve heard of this kind of thing before.    (Follow each of the links for different charitable organizations.)

Labels: Four-time loser

Seems another middle easten male islamist is up to hijinks.
Over @ ace of spades and MicheleMalkin.com:
A man tries to smoke in john, when air marshal confronts him through door, says "I'm trying to light my shoes on fire."

Man is now claiming diplomatic immunity, has passport from Qatar.

If he does have immunity, we should extradite him.  However, we should ask if Qatar will allow us to try him here first.  If they say no, fine.  If they say yes, then we
1.  Pull all of our forces out of Qatar (and there are lots of command and control guys there.)
2.  Tell the Government of Qatar that they may now enter the US only through Bangor, Maine, on official Qatar Gummint Aircraft, and are prohibited from flying elsewhere in the US.
3.  No Qatar citizens may fly in or into the US, either.

Totally respect immunity.  But it isn't a suicide pact, and if he was just joking, we don't need to deal with foreign government officials who aren't mature enough to not make jokes like that, on a US Aircraft, after already breaking our laws by smoking on the aircraft. 

Marshall should have shot him through the door.

--Chuck

//Updated//
I am behind ahead, but only just 1 votes away from losing. 

Also, please consider voting for Susan Katz Keating, for best US Reporter.  She also blogs @ http://www.susankatzkeating.com/
//Updated//
I need to keep the votes rolling in, so Ya'll need to keep the votes rolling in.  PLEASE VOTE, and I'd Appreciate it if you'd vote for me.  After all, if I can't win a simple web-popularity contest, why would I ever run for President?
I know many of my hard-core fans have voted (thanks, Mom!) but now is the time for you to encourage your friends to participate.  If not for me, do it for the children.

With less than 24 hours left in the Fourth Annual MILbloggies, I wanted to share some troubleshooting tips if you’re encountering any problems in voting.
How do I vote?
To vote in the MILbloggies, you must register (JP, and Milblogging.com, DOES NOT SPAM), activate your account, then sign in, and place your vote one time in each eligible category. You can place your votes here. If you have problems, talk to JP here: milblogging@gmail.com.

How do I vote?To vote in the MILbloggies, you must register, activate your account, then sign in, and place your vote one time in each eligible category.  You can place your votes here.

Since there are so many netizens running amok with nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) munitions, not to mention the even sexier CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive) weapons, I just wanted to categorically state that if attacked (and this means you, Nauru) "From My Position... On the Way!" will respond with all manner of weapons at its disposal, in random order.  You may get  100 Megatons of warmth added to your global-warming footprint, or I may just send a strongly-worded letter to the UN, or anywhere in between.  So tread lightly, this blog has many big sticks, and you can't plan your actions based on my reactions, because my reactions will be more schizophrenic than Syd Barrett and Mary Todd Lincoln's love child.
Now, would you rather pick on a blog with a stated defense policy like mine, or would you rather pick a fight with a blog which categorically states the things which it will not do if you attack it, regardless of the manner in which you attack it?
--Chuck

A veteran injured in Afghanistan stands on the runway during the Dressed To Kilt charity fashion show in New York April 5, 2010. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Erskine Hospital of Scotland and the Wounded Warrior Project.

I've voted for the
milbloggies, have you? http://bit.ly/QDjFB
A vote for US Army: From My Position... On the Way! is a vote for me, and America. It's like a patriotic duty. If I win, I promise to use my award to browbeat anyone who opposes service-members exercising their rights to keep America informed.
I'll also demand longer recess periods and seek new ways to fund field trips to the amusement park.

I am all set to go to the Milblogcon 2010.

I made sure I was arriving early on Friday morning, because there are some events I wanted to attend (which includes, as it turns out, a visit to the Pentagon to Welcome home Wounded Warriors. The same visit I made almost five years ago, just on the other side of the wheelchair. Also a trip to Bethesda, to hand out Valour-IT laptops and other assistance technology, including one for this young Marine.

Then I checked my itinerary from priceline.com.

My tickets now have me arriving at 9:30 PM, not 10 AM like had selected.

What. the. hell.?!

I called priceline to ask them to fix it. The first Bangladeshi I spoke to (after using gethuman.com to, well, get a human on the line) told me (and pay attention, this is important)

Bangladeshi: "Sir, I am looking at your contract page and the flight you selected is scheduled to arrive in DC at 9:30 PM on 9 April."

Chuck: "Yes, the itinerary you sent me is wrong. It does not reflect the time I selected. I made sure I was to arrive by 10 AM."

Bangladeshi: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "No, pay attention. This is not the flight I selected. It's not the flight I agreed to on the contract page."

Bangladeshi: "Sir, I am looking at the contract page right now."

Chuck: You mean the electronic one, the one that is generated by your system when you call up the reservation number?"

Bangladeshi: Yes Sir...

Chuck: "Well, I don't have a screen capture of the contract I actually agreed to, which has me landing in DC at 10 AM. That's what I agreed to, that is what I want. Priceline made the error, not me. I want priceline to fix it."

Bangladeshi: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "Can I speak to your supervisor?"

(five minutes, forty seconds later)

Chuck: "Hello, I have a problem and I really hope you can help me out here. The itinerary priceline sent me is wrong. It does not reflect the time I selected. I made sure I was to arrive by 10 AM, and the one you sent has me arriving at 9:30 PM."

Indian Supervisor: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "What, do you guys have that printed on your shirts?"

Indian Supervisor: "Sir, would you like me to change your ticket?"

Chuck: "Yes, I'd like you to change it to what it was when I paid for it."

Indian Supervisor: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "You aren't listening."

Indian Supervisor: "Sir, I am looking at the contract page now."

Chuck: "Seriously? Because your Bangladeshi friend looked at it too. He explained that it reflected the flight that is on my itinerary, and I explained to him that the flight on the itinerary, and the flight on the contract is NOT the flight I selected, and that I know which flight I selected. I want the flight I selected, not whichever one your dumb computer chose for me."

Indian Supervisor: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "Do any of your relatives work as interpreters, because I think I know him."

Indian Supervisor: "?"

Chuck: "Lemme talk to whoever you send people to when you can't fix anything, since you are unable to anything but read the same script the first flunky read."

Indian Supervisor: "No problem sir, thank you for choosing priceline, and I'll transfer you over to customer relations."

Customer Relations Representative, located (I think) in Naruru. Anyway, I explain the problem to... it. I couldn't understand much through the accent, and the tone was so ridiculously androgynous I thought it might be a computer.

Nauruan CSR: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "Yeah, I got that twice already. Priceline screwed up. Can ya'll make it right?"

Nauruan CSR: "Well, we can cancel the ticket, and schedule a new flight for you, but we can't refund your original ticket, because we already paid that money to the airline."

Chuck: "Can I just deal directly with the airline?"

Nauruan CSR: "Absolutely."

Chuck: Click.


US Airways Representative: "No problem sir, we can change your flight, for only $150 and the difference for the new ticket."

Chuck: "Fine. I give up."


So, $746 later (in addition to my original $220) I will be in DC on time.


--Chuck

As I mentioned before, I really could use the "street cred" of winning the milbloggies this year in the US Army category.  I have managed to get nominated, (actually, thanks to Ya'll, I had the highest # of nominations.)

But nominations ain't votes.  I now need you to go here:
http://milblogging.com/votestandings.php?mode=branch
and click on US Army,
And Pick "From My Position... On the Way!"
Voting goes from now till Wednesday, April 7th at 11:59 PM EST.  So don't put it off, vote from home today, then vote from work tomorrow, and get your friends and work-friends in on it too.  I really appreciate it.

Thanks for all your support,


--Chuck

I love this picture--it says everything about the commercialization of Easter.


Jesus walks over to a crowd that is about to stone a prostitute, and he stops the crowd and says to them all “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone” at that a woman in the back tosses a stone.  Jesus looks over the crowd at the woman then yells "Mom, SOMETIMES YOU REALLY PISS ME OFF.”

What did Jesus said unto his 12 apostles as he was being nailed to the cross? "Don’t touch my Easter eggs. I’ll be back on Monday!"


Everyone thinks Easter is about the sacrifice.  Not. Even. Close.  It's about rebirth, acceptance of what is, and what we want it to be.

After all, I've proven that rising from the dead isn't that hard.  (Assuming you have a dedicated medical team.  Doing it in 33 AD, well, that is pretty good.)

And personally, I think Jebus has one hell of a twisted sense of humor.  Just look at my life.

Finally, for my Atheist readers, I give you this:















Happy Ishtar

From an ABC News article on April 1:

The federal government calls today National Census Day to mark the deadline for sending in your census questionnaire. It's not a hard deadline, though, and the government continues its publicity push to encourage more participation.

So far, of the 134 million forms that have been mailed to households, more than half have been mailed back. Today, cities across the country will hold rallies to encourage the rest of America to get its forms in.

The form specifically asks how many people are living in your household on April 1.  If I had sent it in on the day I received it, and then one of my friends fell on rough times and I offered them the spare bedroom, wouldn't I have (unintentionally) committed perjury?  If they wanted to know how many people were living in my home on April 1, why would they encourage me to send it in prior to that date?

I've read there is a penalty for providing false information on the Census, but I've also heard people are rarely prosecuted.  But still, do they want honest answers or did they want me to make it convenient for them?

~~Code Monkey

I've kept it to myself, but this year I've managed to get myself in a bit of trouble over my unvarnished, venomous opinions of malfeasance and idiocy in the gummint and media.

It had to happen sooner or later.

No, I'm not quitting.  You may have noticed the more toned-down posts, and that's why.  My very opinionated writing eventually resulted in a Letter of Reprimand from a General Officer.  However, through grovelling, apologizing, and sanitizing my blog (notice how you can't comb through the archives?) and with the help of many milbloggers, readers, and professional letters of reference, not to mention an astounding amount of help and confidence from my chain of command, I (narrowly) avoided having that letter of reprimand filed in my permanent record.

If I screw up again, the reprimand goes in my record--and kills my career.

This year, more than ever, it is important for me to get public recognition for excellence for my blog.  It lends itself to a LOT of credibility, not just as a blogger, but as a soldier who is frequently asking his chain of command for permission to attend conventions, meetings, etc. as well as giving me the credibility to continue blogging when I get to my next assignment, and eventually continue blogging from Afghanistan.  The Army is warming up to blogging, social media, etc., which they roll up into the term STRATCOM, or Strategic Communication.  Recognition as the Top Blogger in the Army can go a LONG way to official recognition of my abilities for good.

However, it is up to my immediate commander whether or not I can write a blog.  If he says no, then the blog dies.  I think it will be much harder for him to say "no" if the #1 Army blog author is asking if he can continue to publish.  (And no, I won't go underground, or stealth mode, or publish elsewhere through another blog if the boss says no.  It's dishonest, and I have always been completely, unashamedly, honest with you all.)

Which reminds me, since I think I forgot to tell you, Chuck's big adventure continues  in about a year when I go to Afghanistan.  With any luck, it will not be as harrowing as my last deployment, and will instead allow me to return home in an airplane with seats instead of stretchers.

Anyway, all that being said, I would greatly appreciate your nomination, and then your vote, for the Tip Army Milblogger for 2010 at Milblogging.com.  The nomination phase ends tomorrow, and voting then commences from April 4th to April 7th.  You'll need to register and login to nominate and vote.  Registration takes about a minute.

For more information, please click here, and to nominate/vote click here.

Thanks for your help (and please, get some friends to help too.)
--Chuck