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Common Sense Junction
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  1. Honor

    → Mudville Gazette | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:40 pm MST

    Click image for larger, legible version....

  2. San Antonio Hotel view

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 3:07 pm MST

    This is the view off our patio in San Antone. That sound you hear is beers being popped and prepping the battlefield for this evening.

  3. Tom Hanks should stick to making films

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm MST

    I'm not going to go on a rant about Tom Hanks recent remarks about why we fought the Japanese during WWII, but I do have a comment or two to make. He said: Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today? It is easy to make ignorant statements like that when you decide you need to make a political point. We see it everyday in the three-ring circus we call politics. Bending history to fit your ideological point of view is nothing new and there's certainly nothing so special about Tom Hanks that he's somehow above such nonsense. But he ought to know better, especially after making this new HBO miniseries about the Pacific war. My dad served in the Army for 36 years and was on Saipan, Leyte and Okinawa. Unlike Hanks, he actually fought the Japanese in some very tough battles - especially the last one. He never talked about it much when I was a kid, although when old friends would stop by at the posts where we were assigned, I'd hear some of the stories by getting myself in an unobserved position in the next room and quietly listening. I don't remember he or any of his friends ever reflecting the sort of attitude Hanks would have us to believe was prevalent then. Sure, they referred to them as "Japs", but not because they thought it was derrogatory or because they believed them to be "different", but because, well, that's what they were. The story I remember most concerned his time on Saipan. As he told the story you could tell the memory had an effect on him. He told about Japanese families - women, kids - jumping off a cliff to avoid capture ("Suicide cliff" in Saipan). You could tell he thought it was awful and it was clear in the telling that the memory was vivid. They'd brought in Japanese speakers to try to talk the families out of jumping, but the indoctrination and the culture were so strong that they jumped anyway. If you want to "annihilate" someone, you don't make that sort of effort to save them. If you consider them as "different" in the way Hanks intimates, such things wouldn't shake you as it obviously did my father and those he had served with. He said that the only Japanese captives they ever took were those who'd been either knocked unconscious before capture or were so badly wounded they couldn't avoid it. Certainly they were "different" in the sense that their honor and culture called upon them to do things American culture would never call on its soldiers to do. But that didn't make them less than human to my father. He certainly wasn't at all pleased with the way the Japanese treated prisoners of war and held a hell of grudge about that. But I got the impression that he considered the Japanese barbaric because of that, not less than human. He held them responsible for that conduct because they were human beings. And after the war, we shocked them with the most humane occupation imaginable and the rebuilding of their nation. The reason my dad and hundreds of thousands of other Americans fought the Japanese wasn't because they were racially "different" or worshiped a different god. Nor did they do it with the aim of "annihilating" them. It was because the had attacked the United States, were the enemy and that enemy had to be defeated. Period. My father and his comrades would have fought the Germans with the same ferocity they fought the Japanese had they been in Europe. Tom Hanks is a fine actor and an excellent film maker. But he should stick with what he knows. Deciding how those fighting the Japanese thought of their enemy isn't one of them. Making a film about them doesn't suddenly make him some sort of expert in that regard either. And, pretending to know what motivates those of us who fight our enemies of today is just as mistaken.

  4. Rebecca Cusey reviews "Green Zone"

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:23 pm MST

    Rebecca Cusey reviews Matt Damon's Green Zone: This film will appeal to people who hold Bush responsible for everything from masterminding 9/11 to their grandmother's halitosis. It offers up a neat, easy explanation for why we did not find WMDs in Iraq. If only reality were so simple. For the rest of us, this is another in a long line of movies that lectures the American public about the Iraq war. The checklist is all there. Gentle Iraqis being harassed and arrested for no reason. Check. Torture of an innocent person. Check. Menacing dogs and black hoods. Check. Chaos and deprivation in Baghdad after the invasion. Check. The feeling that Iraq was better off before the war. Check. There is no mention in this film whatsoever of 9/11. Nor of Saddam's refusal to let international inspectors do their jobs and look for WMDs in the months leading up to the war. Nor of the atrocities and horrors that Saddam and his Baathist buddies visited on the country. One suspects the script was written back before the election, when the eventual stability of Iraq was stil in doubt. There are all sorts of lines about democracy-building or peace in Iraq that don't seem as ironic as they were probably intended, now that the country has stabilized. Real history is just so messy. It's no secret that there were mistakes leading up to the war and in the execution of the war. The shame in this movie, however, is the fantasmic rewriting of history that will lodge in some willing brains as evidence that a conspiracy occurred. I'm off to buy stock in tin foil. I dunno. Maybe it's not all that bad. The trailer, after all, shows at least one enjoyable scene, in which Matt Damon goes down in the dirt after a palm-heel strike from one of the Harry Potter actors. Skip to the 30 second mark of this trailer for your moment of zen: Also, there's a longer version of this awesome scene out there somewhere, I found it yesterday when I was thinking about blogging it, but I can't seem to find it anymore. If one of you readers with better google-fu than I can find it, please let me know.

  5. PA12 GOP: Burns over Russell

    → Mudville Gazette | 12 Mar 2010 | 11:29 am MST

    I follow elections when veterans are candidates. This one, for example: GOP chooses Burns for special election in 12th.Among 131 votes cast at a Republican convention held at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Burns won 85 and easily defeated the only other GOP nominee - William Russell of Johnstown, who had 46.That's John Murtha's seat, you may recall. "We have an opportunity to put a common-sense conservative in a seat that has long been held by a political insider," Burns...

  6. The Pacificsts

    → Mudville Gazette | 12 Mar 2010 | 11:15 am MST

    "I received my commission when I graduated Tufts in 1937," recalled Bill Hawkins, years later. "Shortly after this I went to work teaching Latin and English at the Milford Academy, located between Bridgeport and New Haven in Connecticut." Not very exciting - but I get the impression he didn't think the job would last: "This was the period when Hitler was trying to grab everything that wasn't nailed down. By the time he reached Poland, Great Britain and France said...

  7. Roundtable - USD-C Commanding General Terry Wolff

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 9:31 am MST

    We had a roundtable yesterday that I'm going to break out into two parts. Speaking was Major General Terry Wolff, currently commanding United States Division - Center. This replaces Multinational Division - Center (MND-C) and Multinational Division - Baghdad (MND-B), following the replacement of the last Coalition allies. MND-C was "the Surge Division" when it was created in 2007, with its major responsibility being to control the southern Baghdad Belts and the rural regions that insurgents were using to move and store accelerants. It was first held by the 3rd Infantry Division under then-Major General Rick Lynch. (UPDATE: I am corrected on the designation -- I hadn't noticed the change from "Multinational Division" to "United States Division" here, but it makes sense given that the last of the Coalition partners have redeployed. I regret the error; after several years of thinking about 'MNDs,' I didn't even notice!) All of this is interesting because, shortly after I went over to Iraq the last time, Greyhawk was asking me how much longer I expected MND-C, "the Surge Division," to last. I told him it already didn't exist in its original mission, because the Southern Belts had been handed over to a single brigade -- 2/1 AD -- which had been moved to MND-Baghdad. MND-C had been relocated south, to cover the redeployment of various coalition partners. Hawk and I expected MND-C to be stood down once that task was finished. Instead, it was the "Baghdad" division that went away. The "Center" Division has moved back to Baghdad, which it took over from the 1st Cavalry Division; and out into Anbar, which it now controls in the wake of the end of the Marine Corps' mission in Iraq. These were the two hottest regions of conflict when I first went to Iraq in 2007, with a Marine Corps Expeditionary Force and two full Army Divison Commands holding down on them. Now it's only one division, which has dropped a brigade since the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (2/1 AD's replacement) left without being backfilled. The Southern Belts, which needed a whole division just three years ago, now doesn't even need a dedicated brigade. That's the work of the 17th Iraqi Army Division, which is commanded by the highly competent Major General Ali al-Frejee (you can read about him as a BG in this article), in partnership with a number of strong tribal leaders. The roundtable contains quite a bit of interest, so I recommend you read through it.

  8. Someone You Should Know - COL Rick Welch

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am MST

    I had the honor of working with COL Rick Welch, US Special Forces, from time to time. He's been in Iraq literally for years -- divisions come and go, but the tribes won't let him go. I asked MG Wolff if he were still around, and this is what he said: Rick is -- Colonel Rick Welch is a national treasure. What you -- what everyone there needs to understand is that over time, we have gotten a lot smarter about the complex human terrain that dominates the areas which we operate in. I would tell you, from being here in '03 and then coming back in '06 and now back here in 2010, that's been the biggest change. We have begun to get it. We recognize that it isn't -- you know, that there are a lot of reasons there are insurgents out there, and the insurgents often are out there because of a problem or what I call a beef. What Rick Welch does so well for us is he's our reconciliation guy, our reconciliation chief. And Rick has developed superb relationships with all of key tribal leaders, certainly in Baghdad province, out in Al Anbar province, and then he knows most of the key (paramount ?) sheikhs that operate in Iraq. What most of you understand already, but I'll state it again, is that most -- you know, in Iraq there's a government, but underneath the government there's family, clan, tribe. Tribe is hugely important in the Sunni areas. It's a little less important in the Shi'a areas. That's Wolff's opinion. But it -- but it is the fabric or the mosaic in which this society is interlocked and interwoven. Often, security problems are inter- tribal; sometimes they -- sometimes they are between tribes. And in this -- in this country, outside of the key cities, often the tribes resolve these problems themselves. The insurgency out in Al Anbar, in the Sunni area, a lot of it had to do with al Qaeda moving in and making deals with the tribes, but then, over time, basically -- you know, basically going back on those deals, and then trying to terrorize the tribal leadership when al Qaeda decided to change the deal. Sometimes it was because of the tribes refusing to allow their daughters to marry al Qaeda, or these arranged marriages. Other times, it was because it was economic, that al Qaeda was trying to extort things or do other things that undercut the tribes. What Rich Welch does is, he helps us work our way through that. So if we're trying to get a sensing on -- if you will, of the Sunni street at the senior tribal level, Rick helps us do that. We sit down and we talk with senior Sunni sheikhs in Baghdad province. We do this with the -- a thing we call the Baghdad Belt Council, where I and senior folks from my team meet with a lot of these key sheikhs from many of the areas just outside of the city. Out in Al Anbar, we often meet with the paramount sheikhs, which are their major -- they are major figures out there. And you just can't ignore them, because they are another piece of this complex society. To tie all this up a little bit, our young captains, lieutenants and noncommissioned officers get this stuff. They understand this complex mosaic that resides out there in the battlespace, that they're partnered with with their Iraqi security forces. The ISF, the senior ISF leaders get this, because they come from that. They come from that -- this society. So again, there are many ways in which you deal with the security situation. It's more than just putting forces on the ground, or rooting out terrorists or insurgents. It also has to do with figuring out what the nature of the problem is and then at times trying to see that Iraqi tribal society is connected to -- if you will to their governance at the many different levels. COL Welch is one of those who made this mission work. He's got a good heart, and he approached the tribal leadership with honesty and honor. They responded.

  9. NOT Forgotten nor Faded

    → BLACKFIVE | 12 Mar 2010 | 8:24 am MST

    A review of the new Pacific series on HBO in the NYT today includes this line:''Those battlegrounds became famous, but they have since faded from the collective memory in a way that the Normandy invasion or the London blitz have not. This is an overdue but fittingly painstaking and lavish tribute to men who were never supposed to have been forgotten.'' Forgotten? Faded? Not by far. Not by those who have duty in their blood. Not by those who pass over the footprints at Quantico or San Diego. Not one of these have lessened what was sacrificed at these Pacific battles and struggles. Maybe 'forgotten' by those who can live better lives now due to those sacrifices. Maybe 'faded' by those who can sit in judgment of those who serve; those that have no sense of duty or honor and don't understand how this is passed from one generation to another. No. We remember. We understand. THIS is what separates us from the fools.... We have been having discussions around Tom Hank's comments recently where he said our treatment of the Japanese was because they were 'different'. If what he said was accurately portrayed at that link, it, too goes to show that those who have never served, never understand. No matter WHAT other activities they do...Wolf

  10. Naval UXO Disposal - English Style

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 12 Mar 2010 | 8:23 am MST

    Seven decades have come and gone, and the Royal Navy is still protecting English shores from Hitler's evil designs.

  11. Playboy Bunny

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 12 Mar 2010 | 7:14 am MST

     Sometimes, it doesn't translate well....

  12. Today's Medal of Honor Moment for 12 March

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:59 am MST

    There are three Medals awarded for actions on this day, one during the Korean War and two during Vietnam.  All were posthumous.Korean War*WOMACK, BRYANT E. Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Company, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Sokso-ri, Korea, 12 March 1952. Entered service at: Mill Springs, N.C. Birth: Mill Springs, N.C. G.O. No.: 5, 12 January 1953. Citation: Pfc. Womack distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Pfc. Womack was the only medical aid man attached to a night combat patrol...

  13. Story Time- Typhoon parties and best friends

    → BLACKFIVE | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:20 pm MST

    Ahh the good old days of drunken debauchery, well I shouldn't say the good "old" days as I still debauch professionally. As Matty mentioned we are launching on San Antone although I expect the Soldier's Angels will throw a party somewhat more refined than the one in this tale.

  14. In which the Uber Pig learns some new slang

    → BLACKFIVE | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:37 pm MST

    Too funny: Clarke says that Massa's roommate, Tom Maxfield, was also assaulted. "Tom lived on upper bunk," Clarke say. "When you're on ship, you're almost exhausted 24-7. So a lot of times you sleep with your uniform on. Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do--you never crawl up on somebody else's bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him." Ron Moss also confirmed hearing this story from Maxfield. Maxfield did not return calls and messages left for him--I'll update if he does.A couple of observations: 1) I'm not sure exactly what snorkeling is, in this context, though I can kind of guess. Kudos to the Navy for having such awesome slang. 2) Reading through some of these allegations, I'm a little disappointed in the Navy's officer class. Someone gropes you, and it bothers you enough that you tell the story of the groping to one or more of your fellow officers but don't bring it up the chain of command, I say the problem is with you. You should not be a leader of men. Or of women. Or of lemmings off of a cliff. 3) If DADT is ended, the Navy will have to do a much better job of making sailors understand a) that stuff like this is improper and b) it is their duty to report it. If officers behave like this (and are cowed like this) then what must it be like for the enlisted who have to work for them? Fail. -- UP

  15. How the Government Extinguished Silicon Valley

    → Winds of Change.NET | 11 Mar 2010 | 7:23 pm MST

    Over at The Futurist, "GK" laid out the 4 Horsemen in January 2009. All elements remain in place. Meanwhile, the Wall St. Journal notes that VCs are having a difficult time. They may have avoided...

  16. Change

    → Mudville Gazette | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:27 pm MST

    The New York Times, 2005 edition:Uproar in House as Parties Clash on Iraq Pullout Republicans and Democrats shouted, howled and slung insults on the House floor on Friday as a debate over whether to withdraw American troops from Iraq descended into a fury over President Bush's handling of the war and a leading Democrat's call to bring the troops home."You guys are pathetic!" yelled Representative Martin Meehan, Democrat of Massachusetts. "Pathetic." The measure to withdraw the troops failed in a...

  17. Feeling Gravity's Pull

    → Mudville Gazette | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:29 pm MST

    Well, everything's gotta be something: "Third Army is the Department of the Army and Central Command logistical center of gravity for Responsible Drawdown from Iraq." I'm actually all for responsible drawdown from Iraq. But should military agencies/organizations adopt descriptions that sound that damn much like presidential campaign slogans? I'll go with "no" on that one. I guess if they're ordered to do it they do it, but there's something creepy and Orwellian about putting it on the letterhead. (Or this.)...

  18. A round for my brothers & sisters in arms

    → BLACKFIVE | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:08 pm MST

    H/T Attackerman Sen. Jim Webb thinks after a long day dodging IEDs and jihadi clowns a troop ought to be able to drink something more than an O'Douls. I find it hard to disagree. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam veteran and former war correspondent who now chairs the Senate panel that oversees military personnel policy, seemed to endorse the idea of letting troops in war zones drink alcohol as a way to relieve combat stress.... One thing worth investigating, Webb said, is whether a ban on alcohol consumption in the war zones — which he said is primarily a nod to host-nation sensitivities — should be lifted. Webb said stress relief is handled differently in every culture and suggested that U.S. commanders should reconsider allowing “alcohol for stress relief.” None of the defense or service witnesses commented on his suggestion. To extend and clarify my support, this would need to be when on something like a pass and only in the rear w/ the gear.

  19. Blackfive, Uncle Jimbo and Laughing Wolf Invade a Foreign Land

    → BLACKFIVE | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:20 pm MST

    We're heading to the great state of Texas (San Antonio) to have a Soldiers Angels BBQ with some wounded troops for the Soldiers Angels Salute and Celebration. I think we are chaperoning the guys from Ranger Up (well, Jimbo too). There's a few celebrations in there, as well. If you're an Angel, we hope to see you there.

  20. Salty tales from stormy seas

    → Mudville Gazette | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:35 am MST

    "This seemed like a personal dispute that didn't have much news value and was, furthermore, impossible for me to adjudicate." Guess something must have jammed the ol' newsman's radar. Now? Well damn, look at the quotes a few phone calls turned up. "Oh yeah, he was constantly fondling the boys." Doesn't much enhance the "witch hunt" stories re: don't ask don't tell, but I'm sure there's an explanation for that, too....

  21. From the Front: 03/11/2010

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:15 am MST

    News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

  22. Geek Fun

    → Winds of Change.NET | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:11 am MST

    Geek rap, part 2 (Part 1 was the Keynes/Hayek video).

  23. My Facebook Status

    → Winds of Change.NET | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:00 am MST

    ...says it all: Marc Danziger is doing errands with Biggest Guy and chatting. Parent bliss. Back soon. -...

  24. I understand (don't agree with, but understand)..

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 11 Mar 2010 | 6:53 am MST

    ...why the IRS feels the need to have shotguns for their ASSWIPR* teams.  But, I don't understand the need for the Department of Education to have combat shotguns. Of course, I'm not all that sure I understand the need for a cabinet-level Department of Education, but that's a different rant. Hey, I thought we were all about zero-tolerance when it comes to guns in education?

  25. The Watching Place

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 11 Mar 2010 | 6:44 am MST

    The silence in my house reminds me that I was never alone, even though there were times when it felt like it. Not while my battle buddy was there to stick a cold nose on my shins when I least expected it, or snuggle contentedly in my lap as I dozed on the sofa in the evenings. Or steal my blankets. There is nothing worse than a cold, wet nose on your shins. Except, perhaps, wishing you could feel that icy cold nose just one more time. Cassandra, over at Villainous Company, has suffered a loss of a family member. There's plenty of steak and blankets to steal at Piddler's Green, Sausage.  You'll have new friends - Mojo, Little Girl, Shadow, Ninja, Bella, Sadie, Rest Stop, Gabby, Mickey, Sebastian, Little Guy, Whiskey...  and others.  They'll show you where the good spots are to score a steak from the guys at Fiddler's Green, and who knows how to do a proper tummy rub or who plays a good game of tug-o-war.. They'll show you where the Watching Spot is, so that, every now and then, when your Family is asleep, you can watch -- and if you're very careful, you can lick an ear so softly, they'll think they only dreamed it... Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance sing a soul to the Great Hunting Ground and Tennis Ball Chasing Facility at Piddler's Green

  26. SHORAD*

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 11 Mar 2010 | 6:36 am MST

    Yer doin' it wrong.Yeah, I know they're really RPKs, but hey, it scans better this way.*SHORAD: SHOrt Range Air Defense....

  27. Today's Medal of Honor Moment for 11 March

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 11 Mar 2010 | 6:05 am MST

    There is only one Medal awarded for actions on this day.  The recipient lived to receive the award.Vietnam.  Gunny Kellogg was *glad* on that day for all the mud.KELLOGG, ALLAN JAY, JR. Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (then S/Sgt.), Company G, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. place and date: Quang Nam province, Republic of Vietnam, 11 March 1970. Entered service at: Bridgeport, Conn. Born: 1 October 1943, Bethel, Conn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon sergeant with...

  28. "The Gentleman from Massachusetts..."

    → Mudville Gazette | 11 Mar 2010 | 5:56 am MST

    "I'm sorry... from Rhode Island, for three minutes": On an odd side note, this "Moxnews.com" ("unfair and biased") Youtube-hosted video can actually be found embedded in the Fox News story on this topic. "There's two press people in this gallery," he shouted. "We're talking about Eric Massa 24-7 on the TV? We're talking war and peace, $3 billion, a thousand lives -- and no press? No press? "You want to know why the American public is fit? They're fit because...

  29. The way we were

    → Mudville Gazette | 11 Mar 2010 | 5:00 am MST

    The New York Times, March 10:The question the American soldiers ask as they board planes for home after seven months in the desert is the same one that worries the politicians that live in the region as they turn from preoccupation with military problems to the concerns of civil life. Will we have to do it all over again? Will we have to find the money and the will, they ask anxiously, to assemble half a million troops to turn...

  30. In Denial: Global Warming Hoaxes Dismantled

    → Winds of Change.NET | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:31 pm MST

    The Weekly Standard does a very good job documenting all of the scandals and forced retractions by the IPCC. As you might expect, there are rather more of them than have been published in the...

  31. We Had to Destroy the City in Order to Save It

    → Winds of Change.NET | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:23 pm MST

    Yeah, well, Vietnam was a mess, and... wait, what? This isn't about Vietnam? This is the Mayor of Detroit talking? And you think he may actually be right? Hooo boy... On the other hand, this...

  32. Artificial Intelligence: The Mauldin Test

    → Winds of Change.NET | 10 Mar 2010 | 5:36 pm MST

    From John Mauldin's investment newsletter. I thought this rang true (link added): "One participant [at the 7-day Singularity University event] suggested that in the future, as we get closer to true AI, computers should be...

  33. Gates Visits Soldiers at Sharp End of Conflict

    → Stryker Brigade News | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:08 pm MST

    By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan, March 9, 2010 – A white-painted blast wall standing in front of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, headquarters here bearing the names of 22 fallen soldiers was a...

  34. Don't turn out the lights

    → Mudville Gazette | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm MST

    What a happy headline: Former soldier finds new mission fighting for veterans on home front.Mike Flaherty served two tours in Iraq, and he wears an "Iraq Veterans Against the War" T-shirt. His actions aren't incompatible, and he has a simple explanation for those who disagree: "Our organization has the courage to resist." But Flaherty's focus of late has been to develop green jobs for veterans.You can almost hear the creepy, robot quality as he recites the motto:"Our mission is to...

  35. From the Front: 03/10/2010

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:45 am MST

    News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

  36. Rockin' the Milblogs

    → Mudville Gazette | 10 Mar 2010 | 8:11 am MST

    Now this is cool:Troop supporting rockers Saving Abel will be in town during the Milblog Conference and have volunteered to stop by the Friday evening Cocktail Reception for a brief, acoustic performance. A previous entry about the band here. Register for the Milblogs Conference here. And keep up with the latest news via the Fan of Milblogs Facebook page here....

  37. Massa on Beck...

    → Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys.. | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:52 am MST

    Beck at least apologized for the lost hour of your life:  "America, I have to shoot straight with you, I think I have wasted your time." Jonah Goldberg - the Blogfather: Just wondering if any of the Navy vets and career Navy men out there are starting to get peeved with Massa's explanation that his inappropriate tickle-fights and other gay(ish) hijinks stemmed from his inability to transition from Navy to civilian life. Tickle fights? I think even most gay men become a helicopter of fists when a fifty year old dude starts a "tickle fight." Yours truly, in a note to some Navy buddies: Beck's interview with Massa can be used as a recruiting tool by the other services. "Lookit this man, kid. He was a Captain in the US Navy. Sure you wouldn't rather join the Army/Marines/Coast Guard/Peace Corps/ACORN?"   Justin Hart at Right-o-Sphere: Tickle Me Massa Cap'n Lex, old sailor, old buddy, old pal?  Help a brother out - instead of doing a haka or something down there in the ready room prior to taking off for a strike, didja all really have tickle fights?  Heh.  Lex kinda took some of the fun out of the hate-fest with this post.  Damn high road. Update: Michael Scherer of TIME takes a moment to beat up on Beck...  I include that to be all fair and balanced and all.

  38. Secretary Gates Visits Stryker Troops in Afghanistan

    → Stryker Brigade News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:43 pm MST

    Decisive phase of Afghan war looms: Gates - Reuters Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a "decisive phase" in the war -- an operation to impose control over...

  39. Video: Press Conference Discussing the 2010 Iraqi Elections

    → Stryker Brigade News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:38 pm MST

    Lt. Col Darren Wright briefs the media on the role the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division had in the mission to integrate Iraqi security forces with U.S. troops to ensure safe elections. Parts 1 & 2....

  40. TNT Outlines Stryker Role in Iraqi Elections

    → Stryker Brigade News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:37 pm MST

    South Sound soldiers work behind the scenes in election - The News Tribune American troops should be out of sight from polling places today as Iraqis elect a parliament for the second time since the fall of Saddam Hussein. But...

  41. Jeff Jarvis at TED New York: "This is B.S...."

    → Winds of Change.NET | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:22 pm MST

    By which, he meant the whole TED format, and the format of his own talk. He goes on to draw parallels between that format, the current education system, and the "mainstream" media's failing model. On...

  42. Metafiler responses to: "How Do You Choose a Life Partner?"

    → Winds of Change.NET | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:19 pm MST

    Always interesting to see the responses.... My answer. Working, so far....

  43. DNA Confirms Jewish Roots of... Zimbabwe's Lemba Tribe

    → Winds of Change.NET | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:11 pm MST

    As the BBC puts it: "They do not eat pork, they practise male circumcision, they ritually slaughter their animals, some of their men wear skull caps and they put the Star of David on their...

  44. 'Astro-Squirrels' With Coconut Helmets

    → Winds of Change.NET | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:54 pm MST

    London's Daily Telegraph has the photo and short story: 'Astro-squirrels' use coconut shells as helmets. Really, anyone who has ever owned a bird feeder, and watched Gilligan's Island, has entertained serious suspicions of this sort...

  45. Recent Stryker Articles on DVIDS

    → Stryker Brigade News | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:19 pm MST

    DVIDS has a number of recent article re: the Stryker Brigades. Signal Soldiers Provide a Different Type of Communication Small Gift Creates Hope for a Better Future Signal Soldiers Have Unique Opportunity Security paved way to successful Iraqi elections; leaders...

  46. SPC Anthony A. Paci

    → Stryker Brigade News | 7 Mar 2010 | 6:06 am MST

    The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Spc. Anthony A. Paci, 30, of Rockville, Md., died Mar. 4 at Gereshk, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover. He was...

  47. Army Set to Redesign Stryker

    → Stryker Brigade News | 5 Mar 2010 | 9:15 pm MST

    FOB Tacoma - V-shaped hull for Strykers A change to the design of the Army's Stryker vehicle to make it more likely to withstand a blast from a roadside bomb should be coming soon, the service窶冱 chief of staff told...

  48. Embedded Reporter Reflects on Time With Strykers

    → Stryker Brigade News | 5 Mar 2010 | 9:11 pm MST

    The Associated Press: Analysis: Hard part in Marjah has only just begun KABUL (AP) — The hardest fighting is over, but the battle for Marjah is just beginning. The outcome of last month's military campaign was never in doubt. With...

  49. Avengers, ANA Take Historic Trip

    → Stryker Brigade News | 5 Mar 2010 | 9:05 pm MST

    Story by Sgt. Chris Florence KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Just a few short weeks ago a historic convoy traveled along two of arguably the most dangerous highways in southern Afghanistan and through several provinces to deliver a new fighting force to...

  50. Iraq Elects, Again

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 5 Mar 2010 | 6:27 pm MST

    Here we go again, for the third time since 2003, Iraqis are heading to the ballots to choose their representatives. It’s a little different this time. In some aspects it's a little less "interesting"... In December 2005 we walked from home to the voting center (which also used to be where I went to school as a kid) to a soundtrack of mortars and gunfire. Indeed, that ten minute walk was wrapped

  51. Home Is Where the Music Is

    → Stryker Brigade News | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:03 pm MST

    Story by Sgt. Chris Florence AFGHANISTAN -- Stryker Soldiers escape through their native tunes. For many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life and music has been a way for some Stryker Soldiers...

  52. A BigTest for 'Justice and Accountability'

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 16 Feb 2010 | 7:27 pm MST

    Earlier today, there were reports that thousands of protesters took to the streets in Diyala and Fallujah demanding that MP and senior member of Sadr movement Bahaa Al-Aaraji be prosecuted under the Justice and Accountability Law.Al-Aaraji infuriated the Sunni community when had made what many Iraqis considered inflammatory statements in a recent appearance on a TV show: "Shiites, who make up the

  53. Who is the Ban Targeting?

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 19 Jan 2010 | 7:27 pm MST

    Feeling the need to provide an explanation, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki asserted that the decision to ban 500 candidates from general elections is not targeting Sunni Arabs. He said that Sunni Arabs are more than necessary as partners in the political process and that their participation in the March elections is even more important than it was in 2005.Maliki told al-Iraqia TV on Tuesday night

  54. Justice?

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 18 Jan 2010 | 6:26 pm MST

    Several hundred candidates from about a dozen political blocs will reportedly be banned from Iraq's upcoming general elections in March.The problem with this decision is that it seriously threatens to pull Iraq back to the political and security instability of several years ago, when boycotts and political sidelining put the country on the road to civil war. The selective enforcement of law is

  55. Maliki's State of Law bloc to pay for campaign with member donations

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 12 Oct 2009 | 12:11 pm MDT

    The State of Law coalition, which is led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Da'awa Party is soliciting donations from members to finance the bloc's electoral campaign, Aswat al-Iraq reports. An official with the State of Law coalition said donation would be collected at a designated account with the Iraqi Rafidain Bank.This is the first time a major political bloc solicits donations from

  56. If your house is made of trash, don't kill the pigs.

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 20 Sep 2009 | 6:15 pm MDT

    Egyptians learned this, the hard way, heh!

  57. Thirty Mahdi Army commanders assasinated in Damascus

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:15 pm MDT

    Unknown gunmen assassinated 30 Mahdi Army commanders in the Syrian capital Damascus. The killings, made in the past few weeks, were all made "quietly, inside the victims apartments", said an unnamed source in the Sadr movement. The source added that among those assassinated was Laith al-Ka'bi, who commanded the Mahdi Army in the Palestine Street neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. The report adds

  58. One-time enemies become ‘brothers’

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:16 pm MDT

    An amazing story of two men, two wars and four jammed missiles: The moon was full the night of Jan. 17, 1991, and Air Force Capt. Bill Iuliano, an F-111 bomber weapon systems officer, was in the air. It was the second night of Operation Desert Storm, a U.S.-led combat operation in opposition to Saddam Hussein's forces."We were flying from Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey that night to take out

  59. Iraq Needs a Real Air Force

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 11 Sep 2009 | 5:19 am MDT

    Austin Bay and I have a piece today in the Wall Street Journal on Iraq's air force and air defense needs. You can read it here.

  60. Presidency council criticizes Maliki over standoff with Syria

    → IRAQ THE MODEL | 7 Sep 2009 | 5:07 pm MDT

    Iraq's leaders seem very uncomfortable with what they consider a monopoly of decision-making by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.The Iraqi presidency council called for "containing the situation with neighboring Syria and for cooperation between the two countries to resolve disputes through dialogue and diplomatic channels".A statement released after the council's meeting in Sulaymaniyah stressed

  61. Blog World Convention Panel

    → Austin Bay Blog | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:52 am MDT

    I will be moderating a panel at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas at 12:15 pm Saturday, September 20th. (Las Vegas Convention Center. Go here for the conference schedule.) The panel is titled “The Blogosphere in Transition.” Panelists include Pam Spaulding (pamspaulding.com), Bridget Magnus (BridgetMangnus.com), Roger L. Simon (Pajamasmedia.com and rogerlsimon.com) and Rob Neppell (NZ Bear [...]

  62. Up the Ante Diplomacy: US and Poland go for Euro-Anti-Missile

    → Austin Bay Blog | 14 Aug 2008 | 3:35 pm MDT

    This via AP: Poland and the United States reached an agreement Thursday to base American missile interceptors in Poland, the prime minister said, going ahead with a plan that has angered Russia and threatened to escalate tensions with the region’s communist-era master. Speaking in an interview televised on news channel TVN24, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the [...]

  63. UPDATED: Texas Hold’em versus Russian Roulette = The New Eastern Front? Let’s explore an alternative military option

    → Austin Bay Blog | 13 Aug 2008 | 4:59 pm MDT

    Follow my blog posts and this week’s newspaper column and it’s clear that I’m looking at the diplomatic mid-term and long-term for resolution of the Russo-Georgia War. However, this morning I had “one of those conversations” about US and Western European military options—in the gym. Hey, these chats are occurring in defense ministries, in State Departments, [...]

  64. UPDATED: More on the Russo-Georgia Aftermath

    → Austin Bay Blog | 13 Aug 2008 | 7:36 am MDT

    Via StrategyPage. This week’s column. Also see this StrategyPage update on the GSSOP (Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program). UPDATE: Hat tip Instapundit. A comprehensive post from CharlesCrawford.biz which concludes with this thought: Does the objective correlation of forces favour those leaders who in a pre-modern way have a clear sense of what they want - and are [...]

  65. More on the dire diplomatic aftermath of Russo-Georgia War

    → Austin Bay Blog | 12 Aug 2008 | 3:54 pm MDT

    As I write this post news reports claim Russian troops have halted their main attack just short of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Perhaps Russian memories of the battle for the city of Grozny, Chechnya, play a role. In late 1994 the Russians attempted to drive Chechen rebels from Grozny, and failed miserably. The city fight became [...]

  66. And a nice review from Michael Barone

    → Austin Bay Blog | 12 Aug 2008 | 3:25 pm MDT

    The inimitable Michael Barone reviews the “convergence media” presentation of my interview with General David Petraeus. I appreciate the generous words.

  67. Two Short Book Reviews: Winkler’s “Nexus”, Nichols “Eve of Destruction”

    → Austin Bay Blog | 10 Aug 2008 | 3:29 pm MDT

    NOTE: I will eventually turn this post into a column. I have been intending to review Nichols’ book since March. I got to read Winkler’s book in galley and got a copy in the mail ten days ago. Two books published this year admirably reflect history renewed and history pending, Jonathan Reed Winkler’s Nexus: Strategic Communications [...]

  68. UPDATED: Russia’s Invasion of South Ossetia: The Kosovo Precedent In Play?

    → Austin Bay Blog | 9 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm MDT

    Consider the looming diplomatic argument. If protecting Kosovar Albanians elicits a NATO invasion, as it did in 1999, and in the case of South Ossetia Russian peacekeepers operating under international aegis were already on the ground and involved in the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict (which they were), what is the gripe? After Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of [...]

  69. Terror Connects to Crime In Iraq: Analysis by General David Petraeus

    → Austin Bay Blog | 6 Aug 2008 | 9:27 pm MDT

    Quick note: TheArenaUSA’s convergence media program featuring the entire interview with GEN Petraeus went on-line a short time ago. The response to the various Arena “beta” programs has been gratifying and thank you– the Korea backgrounder and the Over The Horizon: The Evolving Food Crisis seem to have been particularly well received. Thank you. [...]

  70. Turkey’s Constitutional Court Fines AKP

    → Austin Bay Blog | 6 Aug 2008 | 9:09 pm MDT

    I know this post comes a bit late. It’s old news by now: Turkey’s Constitutional Court did not ban the Justice and Development Party (AKP), it fined the AKP. The “judicial coup” did not occur. The AKP was accused of undermining Turkey’s secularist institutions. While working on an update for StrategyPage I read through a [...]



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