This is a must see video of the WVU Marching Band and its tribute to the Armed Forces.

This is truly a great tribute. Thanks to the talented folks at WVU for honoring the brave men and women who serve and who have served this great nation.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.

I had the solemn honor of being on an aircraft today that was carrying one of our fallen heroes. His escorts were on board our plane. When we landed in Atlanta we were asked to remain seated until the escorts left the plane.

Everyone on board remained seated and quiet as those men gathered their belongings and left to do one of the hardest jobs a service member has to do. It is an honor to be on a funeral detail but one we hope never to have. We would rather do that for an aged veteran who lived a long life.

I was proud that everyone remained seated and allowed those heroes to leave unmolested by the surge of people that happens when a plane empties.

I went inside and was able to look out of the window where I saw two people holding a flag or guidon but my view was obstructed so I could not make it out. I also saw the American flag and workers standing with their hands over their hearts.

A special carrier pained in red, white, and blue was in place with the words “Some Gave All” inscribed on the back. As the flag draped casket was coming down the conveyor I stood at attention with my hand over my heart. Soldiers (the fallen hero was Air Force) from an Army unit were there and stood and saluted. Many people around us saw what was going on and when they realized what was taking place, they stood. Men removed their hats and all of us who stood waited until the hero was placed in the special carrier.

I was very unhappy with a number of people who knew what was going on but chose to read their papers and play with their electronic gadgets. They looked at all of us, looked outside to see why we were doing what we were and carried on as if nothing was taking place.

No matter how one feels about war or the military the fact remains that our fallen heroes deserve our respect.

Reading the paper or playing with an electronic gadget is not a sign of respect.

You people, and you know who you are, should be ashamed.

And for those of you who showed respect, I will take the liberty to thank you on behalf of the family and friends of that fallen hero.

I took two pictures of the carrier and I think I got the Flag draped casket in one of them. I will not post that out of respect for the fallen and his family.

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.

Though the outcome is in little doubt…

General Stanley McChrystal, the man Barack Obama hand picked to lead the war effort in Afghanistan, is on his way to the White House. He was summoned there by a very angry Barack Obama who was blindsided by a Rolling Stone article given to him late Monday evening by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

In the article, McChrystal and unnamed aides are quoted saying disparaging things about Obama, Biden and host of regime characters who are involved in the Afghanistan conflict.

McChrystal evidently allowed a Rolling Stone reporter to shadow him and his staff for about a month. The result was a story with quotes that are less than flattering.

What was the General thinking?

The reporter’s ideologies are left wing so it was unlikely that he would overlook anything that might be disparaging to Obama and his regime. Regardless, no reporter should have been allowed in because that is asking for trouble. Some of the things quoted could have context that is less disparaging and been made in a joking manner but that would not be accurately portrayed in any article. The things said are best left behind closed doors and kept among those who serve, joking or not.

McChrystal is a professional soldier and he should have known better. He and his people were wrong for publicly saying what they did and unfortunately this will end up costing the General his job. The rumor mill already indicates that he has tendered his resignation and though Obama does not have to accept it, the writing is on the wall.

Perhaps Obama called him back to DC to discuss this face to face but I think the fact that he was called back is a pretty good indication that he is not returning. If McChrystal is prudent, he brought all his gear back with him.

I can’t excuse what took place and what was said because it was said publicly and the entire incident undermines the command structure and the confidence in our military and civilian leaders. It was unprofessional and it commands a severe response. It pains me to say that because McChrystal is a smart guy who is needed in the war effort but he stepped on it big time.

There is an outside chance that Barack Obama will censure McChrystal, not accept his resignation and send him back to Afghanistan but I see this as very unlikely. That same rumor mill indicates that possible replacements are already being discussed.

Military people have all kinds of things to say about various leaders among themselves and that is where their comments should stay. In public the professionals in our military need to support the chain of command and ensure that the orders of their leaders, military and civilian alike, are carried out and that they project the appearance that they support those in charge of them. If they cannot support their leaders then they should resign (if they are officers) or not reenlist when their time is up (for enlisted).

McChrystal and his staff failed the test when they decided to make disparaging comments to a reporter.

General McChrystal has not denied anything reported in the article and I can’t find anything that was said that is untrue. The problem is he and his staff made the information public.

Not a smart move and one that will likely cost him his career.

I would like to give McChrystal and his staff the benefit of the doubt and see what he has to say about the article when he meets with Obama. I am sure he has been silent about the issue because he was ordered to keep his mouth shut but I doubt anything he can say now will change the course of events that will take place later today.

Related articles:
Telegraph UK
Politico
WSJ

Never surrender, never submit.

Today is the day we honor those members of the military who gave their lives for this country. Let us be happy that such people existed.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
– Speech at the Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston Massachusetts (7 June 1945), quoted in Patton : Ordeal and Triumph (1970) by Ladislas Farago [Source]

Related:
A National Disgrace

Never surrender, never submit

Barack Obama made it clear that the war in Afghanistan was a war of necessity and that the war in Iraq was a war of choice. He said, time and again, that he would fight the war in Afghanistan and that it was necessary. Obama’s hand picked commander has submitted a request for the support he needs to fight and that request includes more troops. All of the sudden the war of necessity is not so much so. The request was sent to the White House nearly 80 days ago and no decision has been taken.

Obama is pondering what to do and has stated that he wants to see how the recent Afghan election pans out with either a run-off or co-governance before he decides on sending troops. He is deliberating and giving it thoughtful consideration. At least that is what the White House wants us to believe.

The only thing that Obama has taken his time on since taking office is selecting a family pet. It took him six months to select a dog. He gave it careful consideration.

The stimulus had to be passed immediately, the health care take over must be done now (even though the only thing that will take effect before 2013 is the taxing part of it), the cap and trade bill must be done now as, it would seem, must every other item on the Obama hit list. He wants all the things done by the end of the year and this is an extension of earlier deadlines. The simulus was rocketed through Congress because Obama said now and the Democrats did it now. Then it sat on his desk for four days while he went on a date with his wife.

He is pushing for his agenda items to get through at the speed of light but he is stifled by some Democrats who are worried about their jobs.

The support of the troops in Afghanistan is quite another thing though. Obama received the request nearly 80 days ago and has been stonewalling his commander and the troops. Secretary Gates says we need to act now and not later but Obama is quite busy wetting his finger and sticking it out the window to see which way the wind is blowing. His assertions about the war of necessity and his repeated assertions that this was a war we needed to win have hamstrung him because he would dearly like to appease (he did win a Nobel for that quality) his base and withdraw in defeat. That is what Democrats do.

But he does not want to be seen as a person who trumpeted the war in Afghanistan and vowed to support the troops only to let them down. He does not care about letting them down, he just does not want it to appear that way. So instead of being the Commander in Chief (a job he has no experience to do) he is waffling and stonewalling. He is looking for any reason not to honor the request of General Stanley McChrystal, the man he hand picked to run the war. Obama would love nothing more than to find some reason, any reason, to dishonor our troops so he can appease his leftist loser base.

Obama would not look so bad if he had taken the same stance on Afghanistan that he took on Iraq but he went the other way. He told us it was the war of necessity.

What he needs to do is act like a man instead of the weaselly, limp wristed, metrosexual that he truly is. He needs to man up and honor his commitment to the troops and to the war. He needs to stick to his word and win the war of necessity not only because supporting the troops is the right thing to do but because he told us he would. He needs, for once, to keep his word.

But then again, all Obama promises come with an expiration date.

I loved my 24 years of service to this country but I would not serve in the military under this so called man. He is fortunate that he is wrecking the economy because that has driven enlistments up. People join the military when times are tough because it is a job and it pays. If he had not wrecked the economy and caused such high unemployment then the services would have trouble recruiting.

Who would want to serve under this wishy-washy man? I can’t imagine any of our service members staying in with this guy abandoning them. And it is a certainty that the liberals who support him will not join to protect this country (they will wait for Obama bucks to make ends meet). They live under the blanket of protection provided by better people than they and they like it that way. If Obama does not act like a leader and do it soon then he is going to harm the military worse than Jimmy Carter did.

It might take decades to get the nation’s military strong again.

Obama, man up and take a decision. Do the right thing and support the men and women who were sent to war by the US government. You (the government) sent them there, now support them.

Also:
al-Reuters

UPDATE: What has Obama done since the request for troops was submitted.

Obama was out doing his Memorial Day duties and he laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. He also had a wreath laid at the Confederate Monument. This is something that he was urged not to do as some groups of people want the tradition stopped. As a compromise Obama had a wreath placed at the monument for blacks who fought in the Civil War.

Why is it that some people cannot get it through their heads that the men who fought and died as members of the Confederate Army were as patriotic as those who fought for the Union. The men of the Confederate States left the Union because of state’s rights. The issue of slavery was NOT the reason for the war. Slavery was but one issue in a host of them dealing with state’s rights.

The Southern States seceded from the Union based upon the agreement that all states entered the Union willingly and could leave it if they wanted. The South was getting the short end of the stick and they did not like it so they went left the Union.

The flag they used was based upon the Union Jack and though it has been associated with racism and slavery it is nothing of the sort. Only small minded, uneducated people believe that flag is a symbol of racism. It is a symbol of people who were tired of an abusive government and who wanted the states to have the rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

The war of Northern aggression was a war designed to force states to comply with what the government wanted regardless of what the people from the states wanted. The federal government attacked former states and former citizens of the US in order to force them to comply with the wishes of big government.

Slavery was a terrible and inhumane thing to do. It was legal at the time but that does not make it any less inhuman or wrong just as it is no less a murder (inhuman and wrong) to abort a baby just because the law does not define a fetus as a person. However, slavery as an institution was on the way out in the more developed nations. The others ended it without bloodshed and it would not have lasted much longer here even without a war.

The war was waged over state’s rights and slavery was a part of that. To get upset because we honor great people who fought for what they believed in and, I might add, were defending themselves against unprovoked aggression is to ignore the history of this country. Lincoln started the war. The South would have been very happy to secede and be done with it. They were compelled to respond with force because they were attacked.

It is right and just to honor those men just as we honor any others who have died in the service here. After all, they are buried in a national cemetery or does some group want to dig them up and move them as well?

The monument and the wreath are appropriate.

Any group that does not think so dishonors the memories of those who are laid to rest in that most solemn place and dishonors what they truly fought and died for.

Source:
ABC Political Punch

On April 9^th the Maryland National Guard put out an FPCON (Force Protection Condition) Advisory regarding the upcoming Tea Party Protests. The Advisory came out just about the same time as the DHS report on rightwing extremism and from the sounds of the Maryland Guard report, the same people wrote them.

HEADQUARTERS, MARYLAND ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
13620 Meuse Argonne Circle
Camp Fretterd Military Reservation
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136

JFHQ-MDARNG-G3 9 April 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Planned TEA Party Protests (FPCON Advisory 09-004)

1. (U) This Maryland Army National Guard (MDARNG) Force Protection advisory is in response to a nationwide planned protest activities scheduled for April 15, 2009. Although there is no known direct threat to MDNG facilities and MDNG members, they may become a target of opportunity during plan protest activities throughout Maryland.

2. (U) FORCE PROTECTION CONDITIONS.

a. (U) USNORTHCOM FPCON baseline for the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada remains unchanged at ALPHA.

b. (U) MDARNG is not recommending a FPCON baseline change at this time.

3. (U//FOUO) SITUATION: Numerous entities have formed recently to express displeasure/anger over recent federal/state government actions: more taxes, increased spending, higher deficits, a surge of borrowing to pay for it all, bailout of the financial institutions, and etc. This movement can be identified by different variations of “TEA Party” or “Tea Party.” Past “TEA Party” events have been peaceful. There was a “Tea party” event at Solomons, Maryland, on March 22, 2009. “TEA” stands for “Taxed Enough Already.”

4. (U) KNOWN LOCATIONS AND EVENTS: According various websites and open source information, planned protest locations and time on April 15 in Maryland are:

*Annapolis, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Campbell Park (Dock/Boardwalk), Annapolis Harbor

*Baltimore, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, The Inner Harbor

*Bel Air, 12:00 pm, Bel Air Courthouse Plaza on Main Street

*Cecil County, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Elkton Christian Academy, 144 Appleton Road

*Frederick, 3:00 pm, City Hall then march to Winchester Hall

*Cumberland, 12:00 pm, Baltimore and Mechanic Streets

*Havre de Grace, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Tydings Park Gazebo

*Salisbury, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Downtown Salisbury

*Westminster, 6:30 pm, Legends Cafe off of Route 140 in Westminster

*Washington DC, 12:00pm-2:00pm, US Treasury Department – National Stage; 11:00am-3:00pm Lafayette Park – Grassroots Stage (not MD)

5. (U) FORCE PROTECTION RECOMMENDATIONS:

a. (U) Full-time personnel (i.e. armories) and recruiters need to be aware their surroundings. Contact local law enforcement when feel threaten by protesters or protesters trespass into MDNG property.

b. (U//FOUO) Commanders at all levels should establish relationship with local police in order to understand the local threats. Keep family members informed. Talk to other service personnel to share information. Practice OPSEC. Don’t provide personal information to anyone you don’t know. Avoid high risk areas.

c. (U//FOUO) Commanders are encouraged to update alert rosters and review emergency evacuation plans/rally points. Ensure all facilities have emergency phone lists posted (i.e. FBI, FIRE, POLICE, HOSPITALS, EMS, ETC…). Be aware of and avoid local protests. Report all potential protest activities to your next higher headquarters.

d. (U//FOUO) Continue implementation of RAM and a review of policies and procedures, especially in regards to cooperation or assistance with local emergency responders.

5. POC is Antiterrorism Program Coordinator, –[redacted- at (410) 702-[redacted] or by e-mail [redacted]@us.army.mil
[Redacted LTC author's name]

DISTRIBUTION:
ATOs
MSCs CDRs
[Source: Southern Maryland Online]

I spent 24 years in the Army and 14 of those were with the Maryland Guard. In all that time I cannot ever remember seeing this kind of message regarding citizens and protests. The old timers certainly knew about the violence of protests because they served during the Vietnam War when those screaming for peace ran around blowing things up and attacking people.

I certainly understand the need to be prepared but I can’t help feeling that citizens were targeted as terrorists because they wanted to protest. The report talks about military members and armories becoming targets of the crowds. The crowds were mostly right wing people who do not attack armories or military members. Still, I realize the importance of being prepared.

However, hundreds of thousands of people protested peacefully. No reports of violence, no reports of arrests and no reports of vandalism.

But still, the military must be prepared. Unfortunately, these guys were not this prepared during and after 9/11. I never saw these kinds of orders for any other protests like when ILLEGALS all marched around on May 1^st and became violent. Never saw an FPCON Advisory warning about military members and armories being targets from the illegal immigration protest crowd.

But still, they need to be prepared.

For civil disturbance you jackasses. You have decided to treat Americans who are exercising their First Amendment right as terrorists. The Point of Contact for the Advisory is the ANTITERRORISM coordinator. If you did not think of the protesters as terrorists then why would you have the antiterrorism coordinator as the POC?

I served as a First Sergeant in two units in Maryland and I have to give some advice to these folks. You encourage units to update recall rosters and make sure that other contingent items are in place. All well and good but this should be at a high level of readiness at all times. If your recall roster is not up to date you are not doing your job. If any of the other stuff is not up to snuff then you are not doing your job. This stuff should be in a high state of readiness at all times. Armories have full time guard members so there is no reason for it to be out of date. If this stuff is not up to par then the First Sergeant needs to have his rear end kicked.

A piece of advice from an old soldier to the new:

It is easier to stay ready than to get ready.

I don’t know the names that were redacted but I bet I know the people. They should know better. Even if the antiterrorism coordinator handles all of this stuff as part of his duties, it is not smart to use that title when discussing who should handle citizens exercising their rights.

The cited article indicates that Col. Kohler of the MD Guard Public Affairs Office confirmed the memo. Sir, how about you guys get your heads out of the warm smelly place you are storing them (rectal cranial inversion) and realize that we are not the bad guys. We are not terrorists.

You would do well to discard that DHS memo and use some common sense.

After 9/11 the United States went after terrorists in Afghanistan and then moved into Iraq thus fighting a war on two fronts. The Democrats were up in arms. Remember how Afghanistan was the right war and that Bush took his eye off the ball in Afghanistan and allowed bin Laden to escape because he was focused on Iraq? Iraq was the quagmire, the new Vietnam, the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we wanted bin Laden all we had to do was follow GI Joe Biden into Afghanistan where his helicopter was forced down. Though it sounds good the reality is the chopper was forced down because of bad weather. It was snowing. The only thing Biden would find is Yeti.

Now that the sainted won is in control he has settled on some sort of draw down of troops in Iraq and he is beefing up the forces in Afghanistan, the right war, in the right place, at the right time. Or is it?

Now that Democrats have what they say they wanted, focus back on Afghanistan, they are changing their tune. Now Afghanistan is a quagmire.

“I can’t imagine any way I’d vote for it,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat and leader in the 77-member congressional Progressive Caucus. It would be her first major break with this White House.

Ms. Woolsey fears the president’s plan for Iraq would leave behind a big occupation force. She is also concerned about the planned escalation in Afghanistan. “I don’t think we should be going there,” she said.

Similar sentiments echo across the House. Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) said he fears Afghanistan could become a quagmire. “I just have this sinking feeling that we’re getting deeper and deeper into a war that has no end,” he said.

Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) dismissed Mr. Obama’s plans as “embarrassingly naive,” and suggested that the president is being led astray by those around him. “He’s the smartest man in American politics today,” Rep. Conyers said. “But he occasionally gets bad advice and makes mistakes. This is one of those instances.” Common Dreams

These statements are from people who are part of the party that claimed Afghanistan was the right war. This is where Bush failed to get bin Laden and where he took his eye off the ball. Though Resident Obama vacillated at first, to his credit, he is sending more troops and asking for more money to get the job done. This is something he said he would do when he campaigned and, for now, he is doing just that.

He will face opposition from his own party because now that they are in power and we have victory in Iraq (no thanks to any of them) they have decided that Afghanistan is now the wrong war as well.

It would appear that as long as Afghanistan could be used against President Bush in order to beat him up over Iraq, it was the right war. Now that we have won in Iraq and can refocus on Afghanistan that is no longer the right war.

I know that Democrats are in office and hold the majority and I know that the only thing they know about war is how to lose. They only care about winning one thing and that is elected office. Regardless of who is in the White House my attitude is still the same. There is only one way out and that is VICTORY.

Democrats should keep in mind that Bush won Iraq. Afghanistan now belongs to them. That was the war they wanted and that is the one they got and they will be responsible for the outcome. If they pull out and lose it will be on them.

Patton said it best. Americans love a winner and cannot stand a loser.

I have had a go around with several people who claim that Resident Obama is actually increasing Defense spending. It is true that Obama has increased the budget 4% but he took the war funding, which was not part of the Defense budget (it was funded from other sources) and placed it under Defense but the money did not go with it. This means that The DOD will have a budget cut.

As has been reported, the 4% increase in defense spending proposed by Secretary Gates is actually 4% less than what the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted; and, if taken alongside the fact that this budget attempts to fold in spending previously funded by supplemental war budgets, the supposed 4% increase is actually a $8 billion cut in defense spending. The Army is worst hit by folding supplemental spending into the base budget, as it was receiving the most ad-hoc funding for Iraq and Afghanistan. Ace of Spades

Ace goes on to explain this for those who care to look at it. It is easy to understand but in DC math this is considered a budget increase. It definitely is NOT.

While all the grenades are being lobbed around by the bumbler in chief, he continues to throw so many things at the public that it cannot keep up. On top of the economy, the omnibus, the trillions in spending, the 90% taxes to punish people whose contracts were honored, Iranian rockets, North Korean missilesm bows to kings, ACORN and the census, shooting pollution into the sky to cool the planet and all the other distractions, Obama is now ready to make millions of ILLEGALS into citizens.

Drudge is reporting that the New York Times will have a page 1 story tomorrow on Obama’s plan:

IMMIGRATION BILL THIS YEAR: Obama to begin looking for illegal immigrants to become legal, NY TIMES planning to lead in Page Ones on Thursday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE… Developing…

It is time to gear up for a big fight. We cannot allow millions of lawbreakers to become citizens. They broke the law and we need to get rid of them when we find them. We cannot afford to have these blood sucking leeches be rewarded for breaking the law. You get more of what you reward and if we reward these people with citizenship then we will get more and more ILLEGALS coming here expecting the same deal. The amnesty that was provided two times before was billed as necessary to take care of the problem and it would never have to happen again. Now we are looking at millions more becoming citizens, being rewarded for breaking the law.

I read somewhere that immigrant groups (the ones that work hard to help illegals) had John McCain at some meeting looking for his help on this issue. I remember that they all left without a warm and fuzzy feeling because McCain indicated they were on their own. I believe he told them that they made their choice by picking Obama and they needed to go to him for what they wanted.

If I am not mistaken, McCain was basically telling them that he put his neck out for them during the last amnesty debate and bucked his own party which ended up costing him political capital. His message was, I was there for you and in the election you overwhelmingly supported Obama so go ask him for help, don’t come to me.

If that is true then maybe McCain finally got the message. We need to be tough on this. Pay close attention because this is all about politics. Democrats want to increase the number of votes they receive and they can do that by rewarding ILLEGALS with citizenship. Any member who votes for this needs to be voted out of office in 2010. They need to know that is what their vote will cost them.

We will see how this pans out when the NYT publishes the article.

Related:
Flopping Aces

There was a recent comparison as to how Resident Obama was greeted by the troops and how President Bush was greeted. The troops were much more enthusiastic with Bush, golf clap warm for Obama. The left made the excuses, about being at attention (no clapping at attention by the way) and all that. The reality is that an overwhelming number of troops are conservative and vote Republican. Black troops voted Obama about 70% (compared to nearly 95% of the general black population) but over all the numbers were much greater for McCain.

The MSM and the Obama administration were well aware of the comparisons. These people scan the web looking for things that are unflattering to The Won. The MSM were certainly aware of the comparisons. So what do they do? Obama goes to Baghdad and the reports are that wildly cheering troops greeted him, blah, blah. The reporting made it sound like the troops were having orgasms because Obama showed up. MacRanger has a post up and he indicates that he received an email from a soldier who was there. It might explain a few things:

“We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.”

Take a look at the picture at AP and notice all the cameras are the same models? Coincidence? I think not.

The Obama propagandists got there, screened the troops, gave them cameras and then told them to hold them up (so everyone can see how many troops are taking pictures).

I saw raw footage of his speech (could not understand the audio) but the claps and HOOAHs for him were rather restrained. The enthusiasm is not what I would expect from an Army crowd.

I know that Obama would just love to have the troops on his side but most of them do not agree with him and they do not like what he is doing to their country. They will not support him in the next election and I am sure there will be more efforts to disenfranchise them (like went on in New York last week).

No matter. Resident Obama got his photo op. The MSM got its staged photos and can now make the claim that Obama is loved by the troops.

No, they respect the office but so far the reception for the man has been lukewarm at best.

I know he thinks he knows what he is doing but most of those 20 year old men and women have more leadership experience than Obama does and have experienced things in life he will never come close to.

Perhaps one day he will get the big, warm reception but not while he is apologizing to every country in the world and blaming America. Our troops are not too keen on folks who blame America for the ills of the world.

I figured most of them would leave the service if he won but I guess his Democratic buddies have helped him make the job outlook so bad that the troops have to stay in to keep getting paid.

The will continue to succeed (something Obama tried to keep them from doing as a Senator) despite the incompetent boob in the White House.

As an aside, Obama used a lot of phrases that Bush used. Did his speech writers decide sounding like Bush would be better for Obama?