The Violence Worker!

Not All Are Heroes

I'm going to commit a bit of heresy in this post. 

I'm going to agree (mostly) with an NYT op-ed by William Deresiewicz.  Almost every blog post I've read around the blogoshpere is deriding Mr. Deresiewicz  and accusing him of gross disrespect toward the people in the military. Mostly by quoting this paragraph:

The term most characteristically employed, when the cult of the uniform is celebrated, is “heroes.” Perhaps no word in public life of late has been more thoroughly debased by overuse. Soldiers are “heroes”; firefighters are “heroes”; police officers are “heroes” — all of them, not the special few who undoubtedly deserve the term. So unthinking has the platitude become that someone referred to national park rangers on public radio recently as “heroes” — reflexively, in passing — presumably since they wear uniforms, as well."

Most people are missing the point in his essay which is basically arguing that we are perhaps over using the word "hero". If you just read that one paragarph on a blog somewhere, you would have missed this paragraph"

There is no question that our troops are courageous and selfless. They expose themselves to inconceivable dangers under conditions of enormous hardship and fight because they want to keep the country safe. We owe them respect and gratitude — even if we think the wars they’re asked to fight are often wrong. But who our service members are and the work their images do in our public psyche, our public discourse, and our public policy are not the same. Pieties are ways to settle arguments before they begin. We need to question them, to see what they’re hiding.

Mr. Deresiewicz goes on to note that there are incidents when our troops have turned in less than stellar performances such as Abu Ghraib and the murders committed in Afghanistan by a few members of the 5th Stryker Brigade.  That's fair, I suppose.  All idols have feet of clay.  The military demands and expects the absolute best of its personnel, and unfortunately, that standard is not always met.

To be sure, I disagree with some of his conclusions such as fighting Iraq to a stalemate.  I'd say we did considerably better than that. It also reads with a bit of a condescending tone.

The point to be made is this.  Not everyone who serves is a hero.  Most of us who have served will tell you that we are not heroes.  I was never shot at or suffered harsh deprivations.  The harshest conditions I faced were hardly what a combat soldier regularly faces.  I was in a small radar unit in Germany in the early 1980s that deployed, often for several weeks at a time.  We would live in tents, eat C-Rations, dig foxholes, carry weapons (sometimes with real bullets) and train to defend our little site,  but most of my time was spent on very well maintained air force bases.  That includes the US Army base in Germany near where my little radar unit was located.  My unit was mobile, but most of the time we were in garrison.  We had well stocked exchanges, commissaries and other facilities that made our existence quite civilized.  I did save one life.  It was in Guam and it was my future 13-year-old sister-in-law.  I saved her from drowning.  It had nothing to do with the military other than I was stationed there.  That doesn't even compare to what someone in combat faces every day.

We do need to respect those who volunteer to wear the uniform.  We should treat them with a bit more regard than normal.  After all, regardless of their job or where they are stationed, they wrote the proverbial blank check to Uncle Sam that may mean their life. Thanking them for their service might be a bit embarrassing, but I think it's entirely proper.  I might also take exception with his premise and say that those who have served honorably in actual armed conflict are indeed real heroes, regardless of their medal count.

Language and culture are tied together in the strongest of bonds.  These days, it seems we have to treat every situation with some sort of overarching superlative. Conservatives are Nazis, Liberals are Communists, Tear Party folks are terrorists.  We are all guity of it from time to time.  We need to understand, however, when you employ a label such as Nazi or terrorist, you are cheapening the evil that those terms were once used to define.  If everyone you disagree with is a Nazi, then real Nazis are just folks with whom you just disagree and not the total evil that they actually represented.  If every GI is a hero, then the guys walking around with a Silver Star and a couple of Purple Hearts could have e-mailed it in.

We need real heroes.  We do have them and, more often than not, they wear the uniforms of the United States Military.

VW

You Bet That Tommy Sees!

With the announcement that the DOD is being forced to save 78 Billion and I don't see any other federal agency required to find comparable savings, it reminded me of a poem I read years ago by Rudyard Kipling.  Also keep in mind that the Chinese have set themselves upon a course to be the preeminent military force in the world.

With all that in mind, I offer this poem by Rudyard Kipling for you to contemplate:

TOMMY

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
    O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
    But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
    The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
    O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
    For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
    But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
    The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
    O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
    But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
    While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
    But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
    There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
    O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
    For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
    But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
    An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
    An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

VW

Six Seconds To Live

What follows is a transcript of an excerpt of an  extraordinary speech given by Lieutenant General John F. Kelly USMC on November 13, 2010.  What renders it so is that General Kelly’s son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action in Sangin, Afghanistan only four days before Lt. Gen. Kelly gave this speech.  Lt. Gen. Kelly’s eldest child is also A U.S. Marine.

I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are…about the quality of the steel in their backs…about the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans. Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 “The Walking Dead,” and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America’s exist simultaneously depending on one’s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: “Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.” “You clear?” I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: “Yes Sergeant,” with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, “No kidding sweetheart, we know what we’re doing.” They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way-perhaps 60-70 yards in length-and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck’s engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn’t have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event-just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I’d have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, “We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing.” The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured…some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, “They’d run like any normal man would to save his life.” “What he didn’t know until then,” he said, “and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal.” Choking past the emotion he said, “Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did.” “No sane man.” “They saved us all.”

What we didn’t know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: “…let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.” The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.

It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were-some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines’ weapons firing non-stop…the truck’s windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers-American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe…because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread should width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty…into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight-for you.

We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away. It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the “land of the free and home of the brave” so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm. God Bless America, and…SEMPER FIDELIS!

An Axe To Grind

Amy Hagopian seems to me to be an intellectual fraud.  That's about the only way you can describe her and her current research conclusions.  She hates the military and recruiters in particular.  When she was the PTSA president at a Seattle High School, she led an effort to have recruiters removed from campus.  Now she's an associate professor at the University of Washington (Our tax dollars at work).  She recently co-authored a research paper comparing military recruiters to child molesters.  Essentially, this is a research project set out prove her foregone conclusions.

Co-author Amy Hagopian, an assistant professor in the Department of Global Health, writes that young recruits have the greatest number of mental disorders in the U.S. military — ranging from alcohol abuse to post-traumatic stress disorder. Meanwhile, in a recent period, there were 26 percent more suicides among the youngest veterans, with young military women having the highest rate of attempted suicide.

This evidence led Hagopian to conclude that military recruiting in public schools is in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, Hagopian compares the behaviors of military recruiters to that of sexual predators.

Hagopian says recruiters use tactics to gain acceptance into school communities, including but not limited to: chaperoning dances, tutoring students, coaching football teams and riding buses, which she likens to those of sexual predators.

It's darn convenient when your "research" proves your expected result.  Why anyone would put any credence into something like this is beyond me.  It is sort of like saying garbage smells like flowers and your main place of research is the dumpster behind a florist shop.

Did she cherry pick her proof? I don't know.  Is she correct in her conclusion?  I doubt it, but again, I haven't seen it and I doubt she was looking to disprove her own long held beliefs.  What I do know is that to compare good and honorable men and women recruiting for a good and honorable profession to the lowest scum in our society is particularly ugly.  I know that she is just comparing methods and recruiters do "groom" to a certain extent.  Most salespeople learn to do that.  Her sole purpose was to slam recruiting and she did what she set out to do.

Fortunately for Ms. Hagopian, it is the very people she seeks to slander that allows her the freedom to do what she does.  Irony, that.

VW

It's About Time

Military recommends Medal of Honor for living recipient.

WASHINGTON — The military has sent the White House a recommendation to award the Medal of Honor to a soldier for bravery in Afghanistan, which could make him the first living recipient since the Vietnam War.

The soldier ran through a hail of enemy fire to repel Taliban fighters in a 2007 battle, saving the lives of a half dozen other men, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. They declined to name the soldier and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is still under consideration for the honor.

There is concern, officials say, that early disclosure could place political pressure on President Barack Obama to approve the medal or could cause embarrassment for the soldier if it’s not approved.

The nation’s highest award for valor has been awarded only six times in the nine years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq — and all were awarded posthumously.

All I can say is, it’s about time.   Having read numerous citations coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan for recipients of the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, and Navy Cross, I often wondered why these weren’t Medals of Honor.     I always felt it was a shame that the only way bravery above and beyond the call of duty was only recognized if the military member died on the battlefield.

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial day is a day we set aside to remember the lives of the men and women who served this great country in a uniform.  Unlike most civilian jobs, military people often serve in remote places and under the harshest of environments.  Most people work a 40 hour week, but a GI is often asked to work a 40 hour day -- or more! 

Today is the day we remember those service members who have passed on before us and especially those who gave their lives in combat.

Yesterday, we went out to the Orting Veteran's Cemetery to help place flags near the headstones.  We didn't get the chance because a bunch of folks came early and did it all before we got there.  Believe it or not, we arrived only 15 minutes later than the time given to me by the guy who was heading this up.

So we decided to walk through and look at the grave markers and reflect upon the sacrifices of the men and women buried there.

Mrs. VW and two of our granddaughters stroll through the rows.

They have veterans there from the Civil War forward.  

Ansel Brown enlisted at 18 in Grand Rapids.  He gave his home town as Detroit. The unit was formed in1863 and fought in Tennessee and North Carolina

Among the veterans buried in Orting is Sgt. William H. Sickles.  

Sgt Sickles was in Company B of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry.  He was just shy of his 94th Birthday when he died.  From Sgt. Sickles' MOH citation:

For action at Gravelly Run, VA on March 31, 1865.  On March 31st, with a comrade (Albert O'Connor), William recaptured a Union Officer from a detachment of 9 Confederates, Capturing 3 and dispersing The remainder.

Let us all take a few minutes this weekend and reflect upon the veterans that we've lost who served their country honorably in times of peace and war.

VW

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In the Air Force, single Airmen live in barracks, called dormitories, with two men or women to a room and semi-private bathrooms.   Jim and Kevin have been roommates since arriving on base last year.    They both work in different duty sections but have the same hours.   Although they’re roommates, they don’t hang out together  much as Kevin seems to have his own set of friends off base while Jim hangs out with his friends on base.   Even though they know some about each others background, likes, and dislikes, Jim doesn’t know that Kevin is a Homosexual; neither does the Air Force or any of his coworkers.  Because of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Kevin has kept quiet and goes off base to be with his gay friends.

The Democrat controlled Congress and President Obama have abolished the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and Homosexuals are now allowed to serve openly in the military.   Kevin suddenly announces to the Air Force that he’s gay.

What’s going to happen to Jim?  Do you have any idea the ridicule and remarks he’s going to hear from other GI’s at work and in the barracks?  After all, he’s roomed with a Homosexual for over a year.   They were alone, together, almost every night in that room.   Everyone now knows that Kevin had been watching Jim dress, especially after showering.  They now know Kevin was excited by the site of naked men and wondered aloud of Jim might be gay too.

Since Kevin announced his Homosexuality and with Jim being the brunt of cruel jokes, Jim’s duty performance has begun to rapidly diminish.   He’s gotten into a few fights at the dorms and no longer hangs out with his friends.   He’s contemplating getting out of the Air Force and moving back home where nobody knows his roommate for over a year was a Homosexual.   A promising military career has been destroyed.

I lived in those dorms and know exactly how those men will react to the above and for Jim's, it won’t be pretty.    It’s unfortunate but that’s the reality of life and Obama and his Democrats don’t care.

The Glory Days of SAC

Here’s a 3-part film on the legacy of the Strategic Air Command produced around 1963.    The film is 3 reels and the following reels will automatically open when its previous reel has ended.  Total time is about 20 minutes.  You can read some information about the film and its discovery here.

The Best

A sailor, a soldier, an Airman and a Marine got into an argument about which branch of the service was "The Best".   The argument became so heated the four servicemen failed to see an oncoming truck as they crossed the street.  They were hit by the truck, and all four were killed instantly.

Soon, the four servicemen found themselves at the Pearly Gates of Heaven.  There, they met Saint Peter and decided that only he could be the ultimate source of truth and honesty.  So, the four servicemen asked him, Saint Peter, which branch of the United StatesArmed Forces is the best?

Saint Peter replied, I cant answer that.  However, I will ask God what He thinks the next time I see Him.  Meanwhile, thank you for your service on Earth and welcome to Heaven.

Some time later the four servicemen see Saint Peter and remind him of the question they asked when first entering Heaven.  The four servicemen asked Saint Peter if he was able to find the answer.  Suddenly, a sparkling white dove lands on Saint Peter's shoulder.  In the dove's beak is a note glistening with gold dust.  Saint Peter opens the note, trumpets blare, gold dust drifts into the air, harps play crescendos and Saint Peter begins to read the note aloud to the four servicemen.

 

MEMORANDUM FROM THE DESK OF THE ALMIGHTY ONE 

TO:  All Former Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and Marines

SUBJECT:   Which Military Service is the Best

 

All branches of the United States Armed Forces are honorable and noble.

Each serves America well and with distinction.  Serving in the United States military represents a great honor warranting special respect, tribute, and dedication from your fellow  man.

Always be proud of that.

Warm Regards,

God

U. S. Air Force (Retired)

Bird Strikes

USAF effort to reduce bird strikes.

H/T:  Theodore's World