You all are aware that we are seriously vulnerable right now in regards to National Security, right? You know that Congress left to party and have a great time before renewing the Protect America Act, right? You know that there are no protections in place for companies that help track down terrorists, right? You know that of the 29 Senators that voted against extension of the Protect America Act, 24 took monies from trial lawyers that have sued companies helping to track down terrorists, right? You know all this because our friends in the media make it a point of sharing with you the importance these issues have in relation to our National Security, right?

Sure … right … I know they haven’t, too.

It is sad that the media and Washington’s elite continue to spin their untruths about the Protect America Act. While spinning all this muck, they continue to threaten our security. Just remember, they are doing this for another vote that will net them 4 more years sucking money from we, the tax payers! This is all about their ego, money for free, and power to tell you what they think is right - because you are too dumb to know. Yep, government knows best, we the people are sheep, and things like National Security are too far above our heads to grasp.

There is someone out there that hears your concerns and is aware of how you feel. They have published results from a poll to see just what you all know, and just how far off Washington’s elite and the media machine really are on knowing you, the American people! American Solutions for Winning America asked the Polling Company to cover three key areas: the Protect America Act, protection for companies that help track down terrorists, and the self-interests of Senators who took money from trial lawyers that sued companies that helped track down terrorists. Let’s take each one as a separate issue as well.

In regards to our immediate National Security being at risk, the Protect America Act was due to be renewed a short time ago. Well, our elected free loaders Congress decided to take 12 days off instead of voting to renew the Act. Yep, the “all about me” crowd decided to leave us all exposed instead of doing what is right and maintaining a strong front against terrorism (like this is nothing new, I know). So, the Polling Company asked we, the people, did we think it was right for Congress to leave to party and whoop it up for 12 days before voting to renew the Act. Here is what we, the people, have to say about their deplorable conduct:

Was leaving on a 12 day recess without renewing the Protect America Act best for our safety?

• Should have renewed the Act before leaving: 71%
• Republican: 83%
• Democrat: 63%
• Independent: 68%

As you can see, across the board, everyone says they should have actually renewed the Act. Of course, no one in the media cared to tell us what we already know. They just continue to sweep this under the rug even though OVERALL, more than 60% of we, the people, wanted Congress to DO SOMETHING RIGHT!!!

Moving on …

There is a very important facet to the protection of our beloved country. I fought for our country to continue to be free, as many of you have as well. I also believe that to maintain a strong front against terrorism, one must enlist all resources capable of supporting the effort. This includes those in the private sector, companies, that have a myriad of ways and opportunities to help our government track down terrorists. However, these brave folks in these companies have little to no protection at all from freak-fest lawsuits! These brave souls are out there, with no one to watch their six, and they get routinely stabbed in the back for keeping us safe. Well, how do you all feel about this, and is the media and Washington’s elite share your concerns? Well, here is what we, the people, have to say about this:

If a company helps the government track down terrorists, should these companies be afforded protection from lawsuits?

• Agree with protection against lawsuits: 75%
• Republican: 89%
• Democrat: 65%
• Independent: 77%

Again, the media and Washington just don’t see it. We are greater than 65% behind those companies that help to track down terrorists! What the heck is going on, anyway? Self-aggrandizing politicians and media twits are twisting this against us, and we need to spread the word - they need to tell the truth, now.

Moving on …

Did you know that there are a sizeable amount of lawyers out there that make money from suing companies that help track down terrorists? Did you know that from the money awarded in these cases, $1.5 Million went to our US Senators and other political causes? There were 29 Senators that voted against the extension of the Protect America Act. AND, 24 of those 29 took money from these 66 trial lawyers that donated this $1.5M!!! Yeah, these free-loadin’ Senators who already get paid way more than they should be, also took donations from the trial lawyers suing companies that have helped to keep us all safe!!! Plain and simple this shows that Senators are willing to put their own self-interests over the safety and welfare of all of us - we the people. Yeah, I can just hear the media and Washington’s elite providing us this powerful bit of news, what about you? Well, as before, here is what we, the people, have to say about this:

Senators put their own political self-interests above National Security - and take money from trial lawyers who sue companies that help track down terrorists

• Agree Senators put their own political self-interests above National Security: 58%
• Republican: 74%
• Democrat: 48%
• Independent: 61%

OK, so here is where you can see the true colors of the Democrats polled. If you give them a mulligan, you can still see that greater than 60% of we, the people, know that Senators only care about their own political gains and really care less about our National Security.

Look, the fence isn’t the only thing we need for our own protection. But, wouldn’t you say we all need some protection from our own elected officials and the main stream media? Really, these people are DANGEROUS to our own safety!

Think hard when you vote … bigger changes are needed … I’m gonna keep up on what American Solutions for Winning the Future … you should too!

If you are interested in helping American Solutions, or you are interested in the full data collected from their most recent poll, contact me: Fix4RSO :at: FIX4RSO :dot: com

Ah yes, we now have another back-N-forth issued from within our own borders. This NIE Report, which no one has even read yet, makes more trouble than it is worth. In fact, I believe that this latest NIE Report gives more ammo to scary world leaders like Putin and Ahmadinejad. And now, with “insightful?” commentary from StratFor’s writer George Friedman, proof is now up front that we’ve got a bigger problem listening to the likes of the NIE Report which has little HUMINT data.

Here, these two paragraphs just got me to sit up and read this article carefully:

With this announcement, the dynamics of the Middle Eastern region, Iraq and U.S.-Iranian relations shift dramatically. For one thing, the probability of a unilateral strike against Iranian nuclear targets is gone. Since there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program, there is no rationale for a strike. Moreover, if Iran is not engaged in weapons production, then a broader air campaign designed to destabilize the Iranian regime has no foundation either.

The NIE release represents a transformation of U.S. policy toward Iran. The Bush administration made Iran’s nuclear weapons program the main reason for its attempt to create an international coalition against Iran, on the premise that a nuclear-armed Iran was unacceptable. If there is no Iranian nuclear program, then what is the rationale for the coalition? Moreover, what is the logic of resisting Iran’s efforts in Iraq, rather than cooperating?

The second sentence in the second paragraph is where you should all begin to sit up and take note. If you believe that that sentence leads you to believe that we are wrong for being watchful when it comes to Iran’s nuclear weapons development program, I weep for you …

Be very careful, people - this isn’t just Israel we are talking about. In today’s world, Pearl Harbor is now your own backyard. Weapons can be delivered farther than a series of aircraft that can only reach the Hawaiian Islands. And we are only 2 days away from that ill fated day … take heed.

My older sister sent me this snippet - she knows Teddy and Winston are powerful, insightful, and also quite with the times even today:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

Gotta tell ya - heard any of the candidates today stumble into words so powerful and true?

[nope - too affraid of going back to when Europe hates us more than now is DANGEROUS, eh?]

It’s true, no one wants to have to memorialize anyone that has given the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. But when our brave men and women serving their country,our country, have fallen while performing their duty, they shall be given the respect they deserve.

[DVIDS — USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth]

“Command Chief Master Sgt. Scott Dearduff briefs Chief Master Sgt. Rudy Lopez and Air Force Surgeon General James Roudebush on the Fallen Airman’s Memorial which was created to honor the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen that have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Balad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 26. Roudebush came to Balad to meet with 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing leadership and asses the efficiency of the air medical operations in the region.”

Thank God men like these are there to ensure all the fallen are given the respect, praise, and support they and their families deserve.

Now, to those who expend their breath trying to convince us they support those who protect us all, I believe they cheapen memorials such as these. It saddens me when I have to listen to the spew-ridden, soulless, vote-gettin’ politicians, and their cabal of Satan-forgiving main stream media types, trying to make us all believe they support the troops. If you truly inspect the record of those doing this unholy deed (lying to us all) you can see they have quite a history that contradicts their glowing statements of today.

Do you honestly expect me to believe someone like Mike Wallace actually supports the troops? The same Mike Wallace that spent countless hours deriding and destroying those who served in Vietnam? The same, “man”, that put everything on the line to promote an agenda of destruction that to this day has roots so deep I believe continue to choke those who served so bravely and were sold a steaming bag of excrement. Just because they may have served, or may have taken the field of battle to report, does not excuse the destruction they have directed at us all.

Again, one can only take so much - and how much have you checked into the backgrounds of those that say, “I support the troops.”?

Alright, there are a few of us in the blogosphere that follow this crazy stuff. Yeah, I know, we’re like those Area 51-types that see something not really there, just behind that door. And, no, we are NOT all hopped-up on “acid” or “Mary Jane”! Force utilization and the changes and strides made over time are very real, and something that makes some folks just sit up and wanna read more.

Now, when one gets a missive straight from the core area of development in regards to warfare, and the act of prosecuting a war, ya just gotta dig a little bit deeper. This morning, in my regularly scheduled morning memo from the US Army, my inbox gets a jolt! The team at Stand-To! are covering a very germane subject termed battle command. To those of us working and writing about generational warfare, and this aligns with my 5GW posts quite well, their first installment entitled Battle Command - Part One has been posted to those within the US Army command structure - and some of us that read their site and get their daily e-mails.

If you don’t have the time to wander on over to Stand-To!, please take a moment and read their latest sidebar article:

“What is it? Battle Command is the art and science of applying leadership and decision making to achieve mission success. Battle Command leverages technology to achieve information and decision superiority. Battle Command systems enable leaders to gain knowledge to enhance the speed and accuracy of decision making. Battle Command provides Commanders and Leaders with the ability to see first, understand first, act first, and finish decisively.

What has the Army done? Recent combat operations highlight the criticality of beyond line of sight mobile communications, enhanced situation awareness, and synchronization of force application. Battle Command provides improved information systems to make visible actionable information and reduce the cycle time on key commander decisions. The Army has created a better common operational picture with enhancements made to Blue Force Tracking and Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2). With Joint Intelligence Operations Capability - Iraq (JIOC-I) the Army has integrated and fused intelligence that is relevant and timely within a specific geospatial area of operation for Commander’s and Leaders. Also, the Army has integrated unmanned Aerial Systems and their imagery feeds, and we have added Biometric enhancements to our Human Intelligence (HUMIT) data collection. The Army’s Joint Battle Command network has increased connectivity with JNN, putting more soldiers on the network with higher throughput, so that they are able to push more Command & Control information to Battalion. The Army also has experimented with collaboration tools such as Information Dissemination Management - Tactical (IDM-T) and Command Post of the Future (CPoF), and information systems similar to Combined Information Network Data Exchange (CIDNE) and FusionNet, which provide valuable information to Commanders. The Army has accelerated the fielding of critical Battle Command systems to standardize capabilities, ensuring interoperability of operational and tactical organizations. These capabilities improve joint interdependency as well as horizontal and vertical situational awareness to the platoon level. The Army continues to work with DOD agencies to bring the Joint community closer to a shared common operational picture.”

Now, what interests me very much is the threading together, within the major FBCB2 (Blue Force Tracking and Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below), of joint intelligence, information dissemination, and overall coordination within the command structure. This is where I have been leading us all in my 5GW posts. We are doing a better job and have made significant strides in these areas, but how does our use of 5GW differ from those of our enemy? In fact, how much of what we have done is being borrowed, or emulated, by our enemy. My next few posts are now going to be focused on those two very important questions.

For review, here are my 5GW posts, in order from oldest to newest:

Seems the family has a rift
We Blew Through 4th Generation Warfare!
Boundaries for the Fourth Generation
Clues to the 5th: Shorter Chains?

And, please check out as many resources that you can find where this subject, generational warfare, are being written about, and send on to me. I am a major consumer of this subject - a hobby ya might say.

Just about a year ago I wrote a short piece about the 447th EOD finding and destroying weapons caches.

Today, the same squadron has lost three airman, and another is seriously wounded. AF.mil has the short announcement, here. I’ll provide the text here inline because the most disgusting part of this is that it was a vehicle-borne IED:

“SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) — Three Airmen assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Division were killed Jan. 7 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while performing duties in the Baghdad area.”

“Additionally, one Airman was injured in the explosion.”

This just brings up all sorts of ire in me. When public opinion makes the US Military second-guess their decisions, like protecting oneself from a suspicious looking oncoming vehicle, bad things happen. I just cannot stress how the media, politicians, and ex and current senior officers that gravitate towards a “softer stance” are actually placing our fine men and women in harms way. Add to that those that find appeasement and cut-N-run as viable options are just placing a round in the chamber themselves - in a weapon aimed directly at our brave volunteers.

Step back and think for a moment; truly, search your heart. Do you honestly believe that the rest of the world’s leaders want peace? Yes, the people that live under these iron-fist regimes most certainly want peace. But, they are not in a position of power. Therefore, what option is left for a country, and her citizens, but to use force until those that force themselves on the weak have been vanquished. I can count on just about 2 hands the number of peaceful countries, that have leaders that promote and work towards peace every day, and do not support terrorism or the act of subjugating their people.

Just remember, there are very few countries in Europe today that have such mettle.

I will post an update below, as we find out more information. In the meantime, please take some time to pray for all those in EOD and their families and friends. It is an important job, and one that saves so many lives.

God speed.

The Department of Defense announced Jan. 8 the death of three airmen who were killed Jan. 7 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while performing duties in the Baghdad area supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The airmen were assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Killed were:

• Tech. Sgt. Timothy R. Weiner, 35, of Tamarac, Fla.
• Senior Airman Elizabeth A. Loncki, 23, of New Castle, Del.
• Senior Airman Daniel B. Miller Jr., 24, Galesburg, Ill.

For further information related to this release the media can contact the Hill Air Force Base public affairs office at (801) 777-6634 or if after 5 p.m. MST, call (801) 777-3001 and ask for the on-call public affairs representative.

Sorry for the confusion, but AF.mil had the squadron as the 447th Civil Engineering EOD, and today’s annoucement states that it is the 775th Civil Engineering Squadron. I am unsure if this is a joint command or if the 447th EOD was in a FOB and assigned to assist the 775th, or if the initial announcement from yesterday was erroneous. I am attempting to contact an internal source to see if I can confirm - or I’ll just wait like everyone else and keep an eye on AF.mil.

Here is the update from AF.mil - and, yes, they were from Hill AFB but attached to the 447th while in Iraq:

“The Airmen were assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight. While in Iraq, the Airmen were members of the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.”

God Speed SrA Loncki, SrA Miller, and TSgt Weiner …

And, no, we’re not talking about snow chains for your car or those hanging swag light chains. The 5th is being marked by something very simple, and I’ll just drop a few breadcrumbs to get ya walkin’ in the right direction:

• JTIDS
• JSTARS
• TADIL
• MC2A
• MOP/DSHTW/Big BLU
• JSF
• JDAM
• HDBTDC Thermobaric Weapon
• Metal Storm
• MOAB
• NLOS
• RJ
• SWF
• UAV/UCAV/JUCAS

In the strategic and tactical execution of warfare, the above have enabled or will produce a tectonic change, uncovering the holy grail of warfare: the Shortened Kill Chain.

Really, the dialectically qualitative change has happened, you just need to read the simple signs. Several of the above I’ve seen on Future Weapons. And a couple of these I’ve had the honor of supporting on active duty. I believe that once you tie all the US Military services’ commands, infrastructure, tools, and weapons together you’ll start to see just how much the change is so very real.

More to come. (how ya doin’ so far, eh?)

UPDATE: added the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SWF) and Direct Strike Hard Target Weapon (DSHTW) as these two truly change the “response” of the enemy on the battlefield. In fact, in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the SWF was used and was VERY effective. Oh, and ya can’t leave out the MOAB - she’s got game!

UPDATE 2: added the Hard and/or Deeply Buried Target Defeat Capability (HDBTDC) Thermobaric Weapon, or the BLU-118/B. This is the cave-buster used in Afghanistan that was rushed through development, test, and live fire, to be used live - in less than 67 days (from the woman in charge of the program at Eglin AFB that was interviewed on Future Weapons). Another item to make the enemy, think, before hiding …

It’s funny, but how many have that poignant Thanksgiving memory that just sticks in the back of your mind? And, it always seems to come back at the funniest of times doesn’t it?

My wife and I were watching the local news one night. During the sports segment the reporter was asking one of the 49ers what he was all about for Thanksgiving. He joked around and then mentioned Stove Top Stuffing. They cut back to the studio and the anchors were kidding around. Then, the female anchor said something to the effect of, “Well, men like Stove Top.” It was kinda a slight, but that’s not what came up from the depths of my memory banks.

I remembered one Thanksgiving very far from home. I was stationed in Germany at the time, and my Mom and Dad sent me a care package before the big day. I got a small-ish electric tea pot and some precooked turkey, can of cranberry sauce, and, yes, stuffing! I got a container of Stove Top, which was round in those days. I heated the turkey and decided to not make tea but heat water to make some, stuffing!

It tasted good. And, not because it was Stove Top but because it was from Mom and Dad. Back then we didn’t have sat-cameras for video e-mail, or well, e-mail of any kind! I had to share a phone in the barracks until I moved out on the economy - hmmm … phone calls weren’t cheap! Letters and packages were my only means of communication - except those memories and smells that triggered new memories.

So, if you are thinking of something nice to do for all those serving right now, please, join the Soldiers’ Angels and adopt a soldier! Or, find another org or local outfit and do your part! It really is the small things from home that make life as a servicemember a big friggin’ deal!!!

And, maybe some day on the couch watching TV, someone is gonna have one of those, memories.

BE A PART!!!

Well, tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, and I have had so many things happen this week that have made me even prouder of my service to my country, and those that have served before, with, and after me. And, to add a finer point to it, there are those that have not served at all that have gone out of their way to help our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Over the last two weeks, those that have not served surprised me in ways I would not have imagined, and confirmed for me just who they are deep down inside.

There is one man, in particular, who I know is not the most outspoken in favor of the current administration. He lives in a world that is very counter to what you would expect. He has had some very trying times, he is strapped financially, and he is mad at the world. He has fallen into a funk that is often times difficult to extricate oneself from - like target fixation, ya know? I have known this man for almost two years. We laugh about all sorts of stupid things and riff on Monty Python skits and stupid movie quotes. And he floored the buh-jeezers outta me when I talked to him early Wednesday morning. He asked me why I looked so tired, and I told him I am trying all kinds of things and staying up late getting folks involved in a donation drive. He asked, “Which one?” I said, Soldiers’ Angels Valour-IT, and I am on Team Air Force.” He says, “Well, duh!” (he knows, ’cause we talk about all kinds of Air Force stuff - he loves all things planes!) Then, here’s the kicker, he says, “Send me the URL, I’ll help.” He turns on his heel and heads back to his desk with a smile on his face.

Thump … like the sonic boom we used to hear from the Blackbird. Thump …

I know he is strapped for cash. I know his life is gonna get even worse very soon. I know not to talk about my political “leanings” or get into subjects that would put us at odds, ’cause, well, we’re friends, and that’s what friends do.

But, he knows the stakes, and he knows that everyone serving right now has volunteered, and he knows that we all need to help one another when the chips are down and there is no way out. And for those fine men and women that request a laptop from the Soldiers’ Angels Valour-IT program, we all need to help them, no matter what it takes.

Thanks again, from me and my family, to all of you on the Valour-IT Air Force Team. In fact, my Dad, who’s old RAF from WWII, he thanks you too!

‘Cause the kindness you show reflects on us all. And in the end, that’s what the US Military is allll about.

God Bless to all those that follow, here:

AND a special blessing to:

• Laurie of Soldiers’ Angels NY - she’s a ROCK!
• Buck of Exile in Portales hangs in there when it gets tough!
• The 7th SOS/ACS of Hurlburt AFB and Max Friedauer
• 3c0×1.net Forum
• KFOX 98.5 with Greg Kihn and Chris Jackson
• KSFO 560 - Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, and Officer Vic!
• All the LinkedInUSAF Members (my colleagues)

They gave and I am very grateful for all your kindness and support!

I listen to Greg Kihn in the morning on KFOX 98.5 here in the Bay Area. He speaks out in favor of our troops all the time. I switched to listen to him after the GWOT started, ’cause he was the ONLY local radio guy to be pro-Military - well, except KSFO that airs Rush.

Greg’s Dad fought in WWII and has talked often about how he found out more about his Dad after his Dad passed away. Greg is the main reason I listen to KFOX. Greg takes some crap from listeners that tell him to shut up about being pro-Military. He even has been right on the money when he equates this to what our parents went through during WWII. And he is so correct, and has even made a point to say this is even worse - ’cause Islamofacism is far more dangerous as it is “in the name of God/Allah” … he is soooo right on!

I sent Greg and Chris, his right-hand-guy during the morning show, a note to see if they could get some info out on the air about Soldiers’ Angels Valour-IT drive. Not sure if they got my note - it’s a web-based thing and ya just never know. Plus, they are busy producing and doing the show. I hope they can help us all out.

So, folks, get to work and think out of the box! Contact local personalities like radio shows! We gotta get to the goal and any way you can get us there is what we need!

Alright, the numbers for Team Air Force, well, flat out suck. We are so far behind that Laurie of Soldiers’ Angels NY, Buck of Exile in Portales, and I have been trying all kinds of crazy things to get our numbers up. In fact, Laurie actually did something about it and has offered up HER OWN STUFF to get the donations going!

FOLKS, SHE IS AUCTIONING OFF HER OWN MEMORABILIA!!!

She has offered to auction some US Air Force Thunderbirds memorabilia she received when she visited the team at Nellis AFB. The items are a Thunderbirds 11″ x 14″ Poster with 2006 T-Birds facsimile signatures, a Thunderbirds Safing Pin Style Key Chain embroidered on both sides, and a Thunderbirds T-Shirt with logo on front and back. Here are the photos of each item, being offered as a whole package:

So, get on over to this new auction for US Air Force Thunderbirds memorabilia, now!!!

Valour-IT Air Force Team Member CoInSide is managing the auction for Laurie, which is very nice of him. It’s great to see that we can get a few folks involved in our crazy hair-brained schemes!

Thanks to all of you, especially Laurie of Soldiers’ Angels NY, for keeping this drive going!

Well, it looks like Navy is taking the lead, and they plan on holding us all to the fire. They have secured the beachead and have dutifully maintained their Valour-IT supremacy!

Navy is about $11k over Air Force (which is now in a pitiful last place) and say, around, a comfortable $9k over the Marines and $7k over the Army. You can now see that we all are in scramble mode to find a way to, at the very least, get within $500!!!

Alas, it seems that my team, US Air Force, is destined to stand-down and allow Navy wings to take control of the air, and keep it. I’ve tried several different ways of mustering support for our Air Force Team: sent e-mails to tons of my business colleagues, enlisted the help of LinkedInUSAF’s list of professional contacts on the LinkedIn professional networking site and their Yahoo group, sent a short request to some friends over at the the 7th SOS/ACS organization (a private group of Air Force Special Ops folks), as well as contacted the folks at my local chapter of the Air Force Association (Tennessee Ernie Ford Chapter #361). Seems I’ve got bupkiss …

I’d hoped, in this short ten days, that we could make a great showing of force and show everyone that our branch, and team, can make things happen. It is a great group of folks we have on our team, and I hope all of you have been making the rounds, touching everyone in your life, and getting support in some unlikely places - there are some. In fact, I even talked someone who has a fiancee that is a Marine give to Team Air Force! That’s not bad, eh?

Anyway, this is a great cause, so let’s keep this going and push to get the full $180,000!!!

Todays Valour-IT Team Air Force Funny from Day-By-Day!

Richard S. Lowry has offered to auction two of his books for this years Valour-IT donation drive.

Marines in the Garden of Eden

The Gulf War Chronicles

Valour-IT Air Force Team Member CoInSide is managing the auction for us. The auction ends in 8 days, so you need to get there, manage your bids, and GET THESE BOOKS!

And, let’s get this donation drive going, Air Force folks! Yesterday, it was fun to watch how we were in second place for the bulk of the day! It would be really great if we could, at the very least, hold second place to the end!

Wouldn’t it … ???

Alright, John over at Op-For is my team leader for the Valour-IT Project drive this year.

Now, he’s counting on all you US Air Force types to get in there and keep us on top - you know, ’cause the US Air Force OWNS THE SKY! And if you’ve never been in the US Air Force, but like reading the stuff I write, then, please be kind and make a donation via the link I have provided at the top of my sidebar, there on the right. If you make a donation here on my blog, the US Air Force team gets credit for your kindness!

And, well, there still is an inter-Branch rivalry! No one branch wants to be on the bottom of the heap, least of all me! And, I know that John is going into this full AB! So are the other folks I have seen so far on our team roster. Here is our squadron of US Air Force Milbloggers so far:

• OPFOR
• Euphoric Reality
• THIRDWAVEDAVE
• richardlowry
• Cold Fury
• My Weekly Thoughts
• The Adventures of RV-6 N466PG
• Stop The ACLU
• iowahawk
• Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
• Soldiers’ Angels New York
• Dude Where’s The Beach
• Spec Ops Angels
• Fix 4 RSO
• Exile in Portales
• Radio Patriots
• MURDOC ONLINE
• Defense Tech
• Right on the Right
• No Angst Zone
• Banter In Atlanter
• Townhall Blog
• Bill’s Bites
• Gateway Pundit
• Mudville Gazette
• Seraphic Secret
• CoInside
• The Splatter Zone
• Air Force Pundit
• Conservative Thinking
• VodkaPundit
• LinkedInUSAF
• Gazing at the Flag
• Michelle Malkin
• Kowabunga
• Blogger News Network
• Mind in the Qatar
• If Laura Petrie Married General Patton
• corsair the rational pirate
• Townhall Blog
• James Hudnall - Hud’s Blog-O-Rama
• CascadeExposures
• Dazed and Confuzed from Here
• Lemonade Made Daily
• One Happy Dog Speaks
• The Happy Homefront
• Watchman’s Soap Box
• Ironic Surrealism
• Anchored by Grace
• Ron’s Musings
• Diary of the Mad Pigeon
• Mean Ol’ Meany
• Rude1’s Rampage
• Pixie Dust Productions, Inc.
• Thunder And Roses
• GOP and College
• Defense Tech
• ArmyAirForces.com

I’ll continue to update the list as they are updated on the Valour-IT Project site.

Let’s keep getting people involved! This is a GREAT cause and something we all can work on to help our brave men and women defending our freedoms!

God Speed!

Truman, JFK, LBJ, Carter … and yes William Jefferson Clinton. These men are the true impetus to the difficulties we now wrestle with in today’s Global War on Terror (GWOT). The progression to today’s current state of affairs is clear if one steps back to see where this country began to fall apart, and who pulled the strings - or failed to, actually.

Inaction is just as bad, if not worse, than any miscalculated action. Mistakes are commonplace when one leads. But mistakes do not have to end in disaster. Disaster is the result of a leader that compounds a mistake with inaction, and another mistake, or more inaction, as the leader thrashes to regain control - by not doing anything at all. Any leader worth his or her salt knows that the “governing law of inaction” is the fulcrum from which peace is quickly uprooted and propels the leader on a course of devolving into an irreparable state of chaos.

The following is not an exact record of history, but a look at the broader picture of influences that now plague the GWOT, and the current administration’s leadership. It is not, I submit, the leadership that is at fault, but the forces at work to construct a fulcrum from which chaos can take root. It is sad that those working to put this into action are focused on a political gain (political gains of all shapes and sizes) ignoring the fact that chaos hurts us all, no matter your party and no matter your religion.

We are all infidels, and the wave does not discriminate. It had used the “governing law of inaction” to benefit it’s cause. Today it faces not inaction but conviction, commitment, and a force that takes this battle seriously - that force is leadership.

After World War II, the United States was in a period of understanding and alignment with the USSR. We were, as a nation, focused on repelling any encroachment on our freedoms and especially those countries and political systems that threatened our survival. Even though we had great differences with the USSR we both fought the terrorism of that day, Adolph Hitler’s fascism. We both knew that Hitler envisioned a fascism that was not going to allow the US and USSR to be sovereign, ever. That great fulcrum would have plunged us all into a form of chaos that no one wanted, and we all fought to the death to prevent.

Reparations, political restructuring, and repatriation were the specials of the day which fostered a complacency that was slight, but still very much present. While the world wrestled with these huge responsibilities, taking their eye off the ball by building the United Nations, and cleaving two worlds with the use of “The Wall”, a greater power was beginning to emerge. “The Red Menace” began to spread across the great land masses and wastelands due to the vacuum of a missing war machine and the ravages of WWII.

Shift the stage and we move forward to 1950, and Harry S. Truman. Truman has been President for about 5 years and has been overseeing the signing of the armistice with Japan, he made the Berlin Airlift happen to bring comfort to the West Berliners, and he thrust free nations into the development of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). However, what was looming in the background was “The Red Menace” on the move and manipulating actions in North Korea. When North Korea attacked South Korea, Truman wrote that there was:

“complete, almost unspoken acceptance on the part of everyone that whatever had to be done to meet this aggression had to be done. There was no suggestion from anyone that either the United Nations or the United States could back away from it.”

While that level of conviction and action resulted in the signing of an armistice between North and South Korea, Truman was plagued with a softer side, though not complete inaction. Even the White House Past Presidents biography of Truman shows:

“A long, discouraging struggle ensued as U.N. forces held a line above the old boundary of South Korea. Truman kept the war a limited one, rather than risk a major conflict with China and perhaps Russia.”

Enter Dwight D. Eisenhower, a true man of conviction and action. A show of force was the rule of the day, and that “governing law of inaction” not in Eisenhower’s lexicon. After Stalin died, tensions were high but lightened as Eisenhower pushed hard with power and acted as a leader. No second guessing. However, “The Red Menace” was at it again, building another fulcrum, and by the time Eisenhower left office there were 900 advisers in South Vietnam. It was beginning …

John F. Kennedy was dead set on fighting “The Red Menace”. This new “Red Menace” was a newer form derived from a burgeoning USSR that was being spread thin on an ever dwindling war chest. In the first 9 months of JFK’s presidency, the advisers in South Vietnam had grown to 2,000. Our presence was felt, but we were not committed - a slight inaction allowing for a larger fulcrum. The USSR was sensing a new, shift, in the United States - one that she could exploit to her ultimate gain. Cuba, then Vietnam, were to bring this to a head until a sniper’s bullet ended John F. Kennedy’s life on that ill fated day of 22 November, 1963. On the same day, Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the Thirty-Sixth President of the United States of America.

By the end of 1963, there are 15,000 advisers in South Vietnam. Do you see a pattern? As these past Presidents are quick to demonstrate, except Eisenhower, inaction or the fear of risking a major conflict is beginning to rear itself and provide purchase for a new fulcrum - one no one sees just yet.

Lyndon B. Johnson assumed command of the fight against “The Red Menace” in the Southeast Asian Theater. LBJ’s administration was bent on continuing the situation in Vietnam, but finishing the job was an illusive achievement due to conflicting orders and overall theater mismanagement. Leadership is not left to the officer corps alone, it begins and ends in the White House, with the CinC (Commander in Chief). The failure of inaction in Vietnam took time.

The failure was aided by a grassroots groundswell of anti-military, anti-US sentiments fomented on US soil in our university campuses. To buttress that groundswell was another campaign being waged by daily reports served up from a media schooled in those very universities. This is where the soft underbelly of inaction began to show. It was being lifted up for all to see by the fulcrum constructed by academia and elitists afraid of doing their duty and serving their country (last sentence is my strong opinion, obviously). LBJ continued to be jerked back and forth by external forces, thereby succumbing to the “governing law of inaction”. The USSR lies in wait - but she shall soon be eclipsed by a far worse harbinger of chaos.

The USSR had dipped her toe into waters that were taxing her to great lengths and she was beginning to waiver. It was not overt, but her power was beginning to fracture. There were glimpses afforded to the entire world, even though the USSR was successful in North Korea and ultimately becoming so in North Vietnam.

Richard M. Nixon, again not a man of inaction, took control of a world theater in near chaos. By taking charge and going to China, President Nixon began a new front of operations that signaled a change in US strength. However, his conviction and take charge attitude in a sea of internal US strife being waged by an anti-US elite forced to the surface a strong desire to control the flow of information. The final blow, Richard M. Nixon’s impeachment and his resignation, further grounded a huge fulcrum that gave way to a new chaos - the fall of “The Red Menace” and the rise of Islamofascism.

Carter, and is failure to handle Iran, showed the world the inability of the United States to fight this up and coming new threat, Islamofascism. In those days, the late 70’s, only a select few saw the rise of this great tyranny. We were still focused on the great evil, “The Red Menace”. The “governing law of inaction” was in full swing, and the degradation of our US Military and our standing in the world as a super power was threatened - from within. Inaction was strangling leadership and we needed to remove the fulcrum and recognize there was a new one just beneath the surface waiting to pry open a new form of chaos.

Until Ronald W. Reagan broke the will of the USSR, “The Red Menace”, the world knew nothing of islamofascists. Reagan was the ultimate leader, one I am very proud to have served under. There was a man that truly understood leadership, and fostered it throughout his command (which we know is top to bottom, bottom to top). Throughout his Presidency the world saw the new United States of America - and so did the islamofascists.

It wasn’t until the US pulled out of the first Gulf War, too soon, that islamofascists began to see the underbelly truly emerge. George H.W. Bush made mistakes, I’ll grant that, but his was not one of inaction. Miscalculation was due to our focus being squarely on “The Red Menace” and an honest miscue in responding to the greater threat being promulgated by terrorists building their forces in the Middle East. The new battle was beginning, and the US was still looking in the wrong direction.

Enter William Jefferson Clinton on the heels of huge reforms in taxation and a growing economy compliments of the previous 12 years under Reagan and Bush 41. The focus of the new administration was to bring the Democratic Party back into power. The problem is that over the previous 50 years, Democrat Presidents succumbed to the “governing law of inaction”, never providing true leadership. At the same time, Clinton was busy breaking down the US Military and relinquishing control of US Forces overseas to the United Nations. Once the Monica Lewinsky scandal took hold, and the lies began, islamofascist leaders of terrorism began to take stabs at the soft underbelly of the United States of America. All the while, that lull of US supremacy in the world provided a vacuum into which islamofascism could rush in, unabated, securing the new fulcrum and introducing a chaos none but a few knew would come - September 11th, 2001.

And now, we have a full-on battle on our hands, a battle against those seeking to destroy us. Our new “old” enemy, in no way resembles a true force of any one nation or government. This enemy is one that does not follow the Geneva Convention, nor does it wear a distinct uniform carrying a standard from which all can determine a true combatant on the field of battle. And, there is an insurgency threatening the leadership in this battle which has roots within the United States. This insurgency is one lead by those that have grown up believing and succumbing to the “governing law of inaction”. They are in places of power and influence and are even members of the Republican Party (RHINOs)! Those of us that recognize true leadership and abhor chaos must stand firm and fight this new enemy to our last breath.

Because, in the end, making concessions, appeasement, lack of force, weak leadership, and ultimately succumbing to the “governing law of inaction” will be our demise. To promote and support such soft positions on tough subjects like interrogation of terrorists, full prosecution of actions in battle, securing our borders, surveillance of foreign persons, amnesty for illegal aliens, and ultimately the subjugation by the likes of “The Gang of 14″, well, we’ll be exposing our soft underbelly to those that have erected the newest fulcrum with the goal of wresting peace from within our grasp.

Make no mistake, if we let “The Gang of 14″ and their supporters, the Mainstream Media, and Liberal college professors and actors expose our flank, islamofascism will strike with such a force as to propel the whole world into a state of chaos no one can envision or even fantasize.

Do you want that to happen? Not I. Let us first start with the “Gang of 14″ and work our way outward. We, the Milblogging community, have a duty to take back this country.

It is time.

UPDATE: Wow, hadn’t read Investor’s Business Daily in some time. Found this article with the same thread as this post - different take is the Editor utilizes Democrat Presidents at the outset whereas I posit all Democrat Presidents were “governed by the law of inaction”.

I want to share a very important message that The Gunn Nutt asked me to cross post. We all really need to help everyone that is adversely affected by the Global War on Terror. In this case, your help goes directly to the soldiers at Walter Reed.

Olney Park Golf Event — October 7th 2006

Please, read on:

Hello Everyone,

My name is Sgt. Mark Kreisher and I am a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), while I recover from injuries. I have met most of you either at a golf outing or at WRAMC. I am contacting all of you because at some point each of you has touched my life and helped my recover in a positive way.

I have been a patient at WRAMC for 9 months. One of the hardest things I have faced during my recovery (both physical and mental) was getting myself back out in public and trying to resume doing some of the things I did before my injuries. Thanks to some GREAT individuals, groups, and organizations I was offered the chance to learn and play the game of golf. Golf became a big part of my physical and mental therapy and I’m afraid without the
opportunities afforded to me I would still be sitting in the lonely confines of my room feeling sorry for myself. I (along with dozen of my friends) have been provided golf equipment at no charge, free lessons from a PGA instructor, and unlimited range time at no charge! The instructors do not care if we have lost an eye, two legs or an arm, they help us develop our golf games despite our “limitations”. They have donated their time to instruct us, and treat us as if we were paying customers.

I’m not going to pull any punches on this matter and I’m not the type of person that finds it easy to ask for help, but I DESPARATELY need HELP from each and every one of you, as well as your friends and colleagues! I have been asked to coordinate a fundraising event that is very near and dear to my heart! The Disabled American Veterans and Yellow Ribbon Fund, in conjunction with Olney Golf Park and local PGA instructors Jim Estes and Matt Kayson, have set up a fund dedicated to their goal to provide quality golf and recreational opportunities for military personnel injured while on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fund that has provided me and numerous other soldiers with these opportunities is running dangerously low, and it tears me up inside to think that it won’t be around to HELP my fellow SOLDIERS in the future, as it has helped me and my friends in the past year.

My HOPE is that through donation of items and cash, 100% of the money raised will go directly to helping soldiers.

I NEED EVERYTHING!! DOOR PRIZES, SILENT AUCTION ITEMS, CONTEST PRIZES and CASH DONATIONS.

If you can donate something, no matter how small, I can use it. I also need each of you to PLEASE pass this E-MAIL on to anyone you know that may be able to help. I have never done anything like this, so if any of you have any advice for me, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me, and please keep me in your prayers!

I can arrange for any companies that would like to hang a banner during the event to do so, and there is room for approximately 10 to 15 tents.

The Event will be held on October 7th, from 1pm-5pm, at Olney Golf Park, in Olney Maryland (www.olneygolfpark.com). There will be free golf clinics, free golf exhibitions, short game challenge, putting contest, and many other fun activities.

I am pleading for your help, failure is not an option for me on this project! I believe too much in this program to let it DIE! PLEASE let me know how YOU can HELP!

For Cash donations make checks payable to Disabled American Veterans. Items and donations can be sent to:

Olney Golf Park
Attn. Mark Kreisher
3414 Emory Church Rd.
Olney MD 20832

Thanks to each of You!

Mark Kreisher
U.S. Army
Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Mark’s e-mail, in case you can make a direct connection that can help him out, is here:

mark DOT kreisher AT us DOT army DOT mil

Please help these folks out, in any way you can!

Thanks Gunn Nutt!

And a hearty HOOAH! to the readers of Stand-To! — GET THE WORD OUT, PLEASE!

Members of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing stand in a moment of silence, and I am sure some are in prayer, during a September 11th memorial service.

And it is important to recognize, once again, that our brothers in arms are taking the fight directly to those that hate us. They still remember that day, September 11th, when decent lives, a place of commerce and trade, and the peace we enjoy here at home came crashing to the ground. All because of a hatred, and the twisting of a religion, that in the end seeks Israel’s and our complete annihilation. It will not stop until we make it stop.

As MSgt. William Kaufmann sings the National Anthem (say the words to yourself, before continuing please) you can see everyone in solemn salute.

We all know that we may have dodged it in our days. You know, you slipped quickly into the car to miss taps, or end up somewhere on the flightline and not realize taps was being played. But, those days, in fact in my days, are far behind us now. No one, I wager, misses taps anymore!

And as these fine men from left to right, SSgt. Jason Ramirez, SrA. Daniel Utley, SSgt. Duane Nicol, and A1C Chris Dickerson, who are firefighters from the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, symbolically lay down firefighter gear, there is a palpable quiet.

No one is fidgeting or trying to bail. No one has forgotten why we are there. At least, no one in the 386th AEW has forgotten. There are men and women serving on the ground, in the air, and on the seas because we have taken back, our country. We shall not leave her, and as these 4 men had one fall out to symbolize a missing man formation, that missing man being a fallen firefighter. We often see a missing man flyby, but rarely will you see this poignant a missing man formation!

And, as taps is played, the Honor Guard is here to bring it all home.

This formation is one that needs to be seen and heard. More Americans need to understand that this honor is one that signifies the greatest price, one that has no boundary. Yet we all know that for us all to be free here at home, and for us all to remain free, that price is one a very few have paid. I say a very few because in relation to those that live here, in freedom, and pay nothing, there are those willing to carry your weight. There is no finer service than that paid by those that rush into danger to save another. And, there is no finer honor than those same that will also pay with their lives for us to be free.

Three volleys, and if you’ve heard the sound, you know how your insides thump every time a volley is fired.

Just a simple 21 rounds go off for those that have fallen. But that sound, that strength, and that conviction is what we all know keeps us free here at home. 21 rounds, people, just 21 rounds …

And, do you remember your training, as do I? Do you remember getting yelled at by your DI (drill instructor) for botching the whole thing? Did your DI scream at you at the top of their lungs? Do you remember what they told you? I bet these fine men and women still do!

Not one of these fine men and women would ever dream of showing their palm. There is code, there is honor, and there is bravery - no palms, ever! Refuse to succumb to those that do not know, or have forgotten, or cannot fathom, why the palm is never to be shown in salute.

I still grab my outseams during the National Anthem. I still stand ram-rod straight during her solemn pledge, our anthem. If I’m wearing a cover, I still salute …

WITHOUT EVER SHOWING MY PALM!!!

And I can give a friggin’ damn about the looks, so keep staring, ’cause we’re still out there!

God Bless and God Speed to all those before and after me. God Bless America. And God Bless the United States Military!

A hearty HOOAH to all of you coming from Stand-To! I’ve been very lucky, and graced, by the team at Stand-To! that have posted my articles! I am so glad that you are out there, fighting the fight, leading the teams, and takin’ it to ‘em! Come back whenever you want, and search for other stuff - I’ve got some US Army stuff here too, really! OK, so, I’m a total zoomie, but God Bless the US Military, and HOOAH!!!

I know that there are so many of you out there doing great work in remembering this day. Your support of all the families is what makes us, us. No fan-fare, just good feelings and support being spread across the blogosphere.

My post is less than so many of you out there have shared. My post is not one of the 2996 posts. My post is just me, and my memories, feelings, and conviction about that ill fated day.

My wife and I were going through her photos of New York, from a vacation she took before we were married. We’re gonna post some of her shots - as our own little memorial.

For now, my September 11th 2001 rememberance is actually a journey. Each step along this journey is one that in reality is marked every day I post in this blog. I cannot put into words how deep my conviction is when it comes to the defense of free people everywhere. Everything I am, and the first steps of my journey, began the day I put my right foot on the first step of that Greyhound Bus, on my way to processing in Fresno CA.

I posted about “Why We Fight” and my reasons for joining the US Air Force. I was still a Junior in High School when I enlisted in the Delayed Enlistment Program. I wasn’t ROTC or a Boy Scout, or only talking about what needed to be done to protect this great nation after Jimmy Carter made the US Military look like fools.

I stepped on that bus and signed my life over to the United States Air Force.

Commitment? Conviction? Love of Country? Patriotism?

What has happened after September 11th separates us all. There are those that lead, and those that are lead. There are those that fight, and those of flight. There are those of action, and those of opinion. There are those of conviction, and those of dereliction. There are those that are patriots, and those that purport.

To me it all boils down to just one thing, comprised of the following questions:

• Are you willing to stand by and allow us all to be overrun?
• Do you truly think that appeasement is a course of action that will quell those engaged in terrorism?
• Do you honestly believe that the only way to defeat an enemy is to negotiate peace with someone sworn to destroy you?

If so, my September 11th is in no way close to yours.

Remember when you could get matchbooks of all kinds on base or post? There were some colorful, some olive drab (not like we didn’t have enough of that to wear), and some said what you were all about.

My Mom loved to collect matchbooks. A very good friend of the family, a US Marine Colonel, loved to collect all kinds of bottles - mostly ones holding alcohol. A trade started that lasted a life time.

I remember stories of what Colonel Benedict went through during WWII. I remember his HUGE bushy eyebrows! And I remember how kind he was and how much he and his wife cared about my Mom and Dad, and our whole family. Their conversations would go on for hours when they came over for dinner.

Colonel Benedict passed many years ago. I remember going with my Dad to their house in “The City” to help his wife get the old Impala running so she could sell it. And, we walked through his old study, and I saw all the bottles and trains he collected. I could still hear his booming voice and his soft grip when he’d shake my hand - he didn’t want to crush my hand ya know!

Here’s a little something from a box my Mom left me after she passed this year. So, in memory of Colonel Benedict, and my Mom, a little USMC Officers’ Training Corps matchbook:

I’ve got TONS of these. I’m gonna drop them on ya, every so often. If any of these “strike” a memory, or make you think of someone you know, drop me a note!

Without passion, we have no path. Without commitment, we have no honor. Without conviction, we have lost our way. Without faith, we have surrendered our soul. Without duty, we have forfeited our “six”. Without reverence, we have no passion.

So ask yourselves, without these, what have you? And, what will become of our great country, The United States of America?

[Thanks, Amy and Johnny, for the muse - the words just fell out.]

“Atlas doesn’t shrug, Atlas heaves with cries of agony at our myopia.”