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HAPPY 242nd BIRTHDAY USMC

On Uniforms

Fort Hood Victims of "Workplace Violence" Finally Recognized

From the Blog, "Legal Insurrection" today:

In 2009, Nidal Hasan opened fire on Fort Hood.

When the bullets finally stopped flying, 13 people lay dead, and another 32 were injured in what was the deadliest attack ever on a U.S. military installation. The United States government deemed the attack “Workplace Violence”, drawing backlash amongst military advocates. Congress, led by a delegation from Texas, worked over the course of several years to reverse that label and retroactively award those injured or killed in the attack with eligibility for the Purple Heart and its associated benefits.

Now, almost 5 years later, victims and families have finally gathered together to pay tribute to Hasan’s victims. 

And this from KXAN the local TV station:

http://kxan.com/2015/04/10/fort-hood-attack-survivors-and-family-to-get-purple-hearts/

One could say "better late than never," but the scandalous behavior of this administration and the military "leadership" that allowed this act of terror by an avowed Radical Islamist to be labeled "workplace violence" for more than five years should never be forgotten.

Fr. Emil Kapaun: M.O.H.: Traditional Catholic Priest

A video about Fr. Emil Kapaun was posted today on the site of Traditional Catholic Priest, and the hero of the Korean War was dubbed by Fr. Peter Carota the author of TCP, to be a true representative of the Traditional Catholic Priests fraternity.

Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZuPrQBSDCs

Romney's Military Advisory Council

Boston, MA
United States
Today, Romney for President announced its Military Advisory Council.

“I am deeply honored to have the support of so many of our most accomplished military leaders,” said Mitt Romney. “Together we will restore our military might and ensure that America can defend and protect our interests, our allies, and our people, both at home and abroad. I will never forget that the greatest responsibility of an American president is in exercising the role of commander-in-chief. That role is sacred, and when I am president, I will never put my own political interests ahead of our military and our men and women in uniform.”

“I’m proud to be supporting Mitt Romney in this critical election about our nation’s future,” said General Tommy Franks, USA (Ret.), Past Commander, U.S. Central Command. “Governor Romney is committed to restoring America’s leadership role in the world. Instead of playing politics with our military, he will strengthen our defense posture by reversing the President’s devastating defense cuts. The fact of the matter is that we cannot afford another four years of feckless foreign policy. We need level-headed leadership which will protect our interests and defend our values with clarity and without apology.”

“I consider the unprecedented national debt amongst the five greatest threats to the security of our great nation,” said General James Conway, USMC (Ret.), Past Commandant of the Marine Corps. “And yet, I see no indication the current administration, if re-elected, is intent on changing that trajectory.  Clearly Defense should bear a portion of the burden in order to regain control of our debt, but the idea of massive military cuts -- at a time of increased global instability—should not even be in the cards. As I listen to Mitt Romney, I am convinced that he 'gets it'.”


To see the most impressive list of former Admirals and Generals who enthusiastically support Mitt Romney for President, go HERE.

H/T: edscis

An Ignored Plea for Help

Lots of people have to answer for the Benghazi catastrophe, among them: Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta, General Martin Dempsey, President Obama, and, as usual, the mainstream media.

Obama Administration: Dishonorable Disclosures

From YouTube:

Published on Aug 15, 2012 by OPSECTeam

Intelligence and Special Operations forces are furious and frustrated at how President Obama and those in positions of authority have exploited their service for political advantage. Countless leaks, interviews and decisions by the Obama Administration and other government officials have undermined the success of our Intelligence and Special Operations forces and put future missions and personnel at risk. 

The unwarranted and dangerous public disclosure of Special Forces Operations is so serious -- that for the first time ever -- former operators have agreed to risk their reputations and go 'on the record' in a special documentary titled "Dishonorable Disclosures." Its goal is to educate America about serious breaches of security and prevent them from ever happening again.

Use of military ranks, titles & photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement of the Dept of the Army or the Department of Defense. All individuals are no longer in active service with any federal agency or military service.

H/T: rutusmc

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Our Military's Moral Compass is Broken

(Click to enlarge)

Brian Birdnow published an important piece at Townhall.com yesterday, entitled:  "A Brave New World at the Department of Defense." Those who think the new policy concerning the openly serving of gays in the military is no big deal should read the entire piece, some clips from which follow (emphasis added):

An unbiased observer can clearly see that the consequences of the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy are perfectly matching the intent of those who worked to overturn the policy. The issue never really involved the patriotism and devotion to duty of gay service members. (A gay service member was, by definition, a fraudulent enlistment/commission, due to dishonesty about sexual orientation during the recruitment process.) It involved, rather, a concerted effort to neuter one of the few remaining institutions in American life that took an unapologetic stand in favor of traditional gender roles, in most instances. The armed forces affirmed that open homosexual behavior was prejudicial to discipline, morale and esprit de corps. The gay lobby declared war against the services and, after twenty years, they have won, due to the craven response of the leadership, in the face of massive pro-gay propaganda, and a pandering commander-in-chief.

Now that the ban on openly gay service members has been formally retired we are seeing a complete about face. The military is now becoming openly pro-gay, and correspondingly hostile to traditional values, devil take the hindmost. The admission that the uniformed services will now publicly celebrate June as Gay Pride month is merely the froth on the kettle of the new and unimproved military.

...on the question of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on military readiness and morale, Leon Panetta tells us, “Military leaders have concluded that repeal has had no effect on readiness.” The public is expected to accept this statement at face value! In 2010 the New York Times reported that the DOD had circulated an internal memo warning officers that “They face reprimand or worse if they go outside the official Pentagon review process and publicly advocate maintaining the established policy.” In other words, the highest echelon has decided that this new policy would work. If the new policy did not work everyone would re-read the memo, specifically the section that said the new policy would work. Very few senior officers would risk the ruination of their careers when they realized that the very highest DOD figures had staked their own reputations and futures on a major policy change, no matter how obtuse and wrongheaded that policy night prove in practicality. In addition, the military has reported an alarming 11% increase in sexual assaults over the last three years, including a startling increase of 40% in cases of men sexually assaulting men. If sexual assaults are increasing markedly in the armed services then the military is suffering a breakdown in order and discipline. Still, Leon Panetta, the gay lobby, and the Associated Press insist that “…repeal has not affected morale or readiness.” Yes, just in the same way that King Louis XVI agreed to have himself shortened by a head in 1793.

When the enemies of truth and right attack, the leadership of those attacked must respond forcefully rather than surrender out of self interest.  Our military leadership has abdicated its responsibility to ensure the ability of the troops under them to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."  The retired JCS Chairman, Admiral Michael Mullen, will have to live with that legacy.

H/T: rutusmc

Marine Aviation is 100 Years Old: Semper Fidelis!

H/T: rutusmc

Marines Taking Care of Marines

True story of the recovery of 19 US Marines Killed in Action on Makin Island in WWII and their return home to Arlington National Cemetery 58 years later. Story: Pat Mendoza. Music arranged by Pat Mendoza Trumpet: Steve Wiest. Singers: the Islanders and Pat Mendoza

One of the most moving videos ever posted on YouTube demonstrates how much Marines believe in taking care of their own.  God bless the U.S. Marines.

SEMPER FIDELIS!

H/T: edscis

Judge Mukasey on Heroic Actions of Presidents

Judge Michael Mukasey is the man who tried the "Blind Sheikh" for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and sentenced him to life in prison.  He also served as the 81st Attorney General of the United States.  He is not one to leap to criticize political or philosophical opponents, but the recent self-aggrandizing statements by our narcissistic president apparently caused him to pick up his pen.

He wrote this Opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal this week, comparing Obama's grandiose credit-grabbing statements with statements by previous presidents who were statesmen.  Herewith some highlights:

The first anniversary of the SEAL Team 6 operation that killed Osama bin Laden brings the news that President Obama plans during the coming campaign to exploit the bragging rights to the achievement. That plan invites scrutiny that is unlikely to benefit him.

Consider the events surrounding the operation. A recently disclosed memorandum from then-CIA Director Leon Panetta shows that the president's celebrated derring-do in authorizing the operation included a responsibility-escape clause: "The timing, operational decision making and control are in Admiral McRaven's hands. The approval is provided on the risk profile presented to the President. Any additional risks are to be brought back to the President for his consideration. The direction is to go in and get bin Laden and if he is not there, to get out."

Which is to say, if the mission went wrong, the fault would be Adm. McRaven's, not the president's. Moreover, the president does not seem to have addressed at all the possibility of seizing material with intelligence value—which may explain his disclosure immediately following the event not only that bin Laden was killed, but also that a valuable trove of intelligence had been seized, including even the location of al Qaeda safe-houses. That disclosure infuriated the intelligence community because it squandered the opportunity to exploit the intelligence that was the subject of the boast...

While contemplating how the killing of bin Laden reflects on the president, consider the way he emphasized his own role in the hazardous mission accomplished by SEAL Team 6:

"I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority . . . even as I continued our broader effort. . . . Then, after years of painstaking work by my intelligence community I was briefed . . . I met repeatedly with my national security team . . . And finally last week I determined that I had enough intelligence to take action. . . . Today, at my direction . . ."

That seems a jarring formulation coming from a man who, when first elected, was asked which president he would model himself on and replied, Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, on the night after Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender ended the Civil War, delivered from the window of the White House a speech that mentioned his own achievements not at all, but instead looked forward to the difficulties of reconstruction and called for black suffrage...

The man from whom President Obama has sought incessantly to distance himself, George W. Bush, also had occasion during his presidency to announce to the nation a triumph of intelligence: the capture of Saddam Hussein. He called that success "a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq." He attributed it to "the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers. . . . Their work continues, and so do the risks."

He did mention himself at the end: "Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate them."

That is not to say that great leaders, including presidents, have not placed themselves at the center of great events. But generally it has been to accept responsibility for failure...

Dwight Eisenhower is famous for having penned a statement to be issued in anticipation of the failure of the Normandy invasion that reads in relevant part: "My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

President Obama has had almost four years to "grow in office;" he hasn't.

Military Atheists Battle Air Force on Bibles

The military atheists won't go away.  Now they're objecting to the presence of the Gideon Bibles (which, by the way, are provided free by The Gideons International) in lodging facilities on Air Force bases .

...after a legal review, Air Force officials ruled there is no requirement to have Bibles in the lodging checklist. They added that there were no plans yet to remove the books from Air Force Inns.

"We continue to review the situation and weigh our multiple First Amendment responsibilities and obligations," Air Force Personnel Center spokesman Mike Dickerson said in an email. 

However, the Air Force will no longer require that Bibles be put on its checklist of items in lodging facilities on its bases, so if one should be stolen or turn up missing (wonder who would steal one?), it will not be replaced.  

Military Atheists Stop Another Cross

Members of Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt's platoon who recently returned from Afghanistan pose at Camp Pendleton, Calif. with a cross they made as a memorial tribute. Placement of religious symbols at the base has been prohibited while the Marine commandant considers the issue in light of a complaint last year by an atheist group. COURTESY PHOTO

/ SA


The Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers has complained again about the erecting of a cross to honor a fallen Marine.  The decision by Marine Commandant James Amos on the two crosses already in place at Camp Pendleton is pending at this writing, and, until that decision is made, the ten foot cross made by the buddies of L/Cpl Benjamin Schmidt will not be planted as planned on "Old Smokey," a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Here's a link to the story from today's San Antonio paper:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/article/Dispute-grounds-10-foot-cross-3517059.php

If you're unaware of the controversy over the Camp Pendleton crosses, go HERE.

The Camp Pendleton Crosses Must Stay

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers or MAAF, has objected - AFTER TEN YEARS - to the existence of two crosses erected at Camp Pendleton to honor ALL Marines who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The objection by the MAAF is based on the premise that such symbols are not inclusive, because they honor only Christians.  Such people cannot understand that Christians pray for everybody, regardless of their beliefs.  That, simply, is what Christians do, and atheists and freethinkers (if they pause for a moment and actually think) might come to understand that.  We pray that they do so, and also that Marine Corps Commandant James Amos will emulate the courage of his predecessors by making the right decision, and allow the crosses to stay where they are.

Here's the rest of the story from Fox News:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/12/marines-fight-to-protect-crosses-at-camp-pendleton-as-atheist-groups-seek/

Obama's Upside Down World

This is the chapel at Camp Marmal, a German base in Northern Afghanistan that hosts NATO forces.  It's an interfaith chapel that's supervised by the U.S. Army.  The cross was removed from the tent in December on orders from the Pentagon (the same Pentagon that ordered the disarming of our Marines in a combat zone a few weeks ago before being made to suffer through a speech by Defense Secretary Panetta).

This is the same base in Afghanistan, and that's the gay flag being flown proudly this week.  The photos were on this post from Free Republic.Com, which you might not want to read.

In Obama's Upside Down World of "Doublethink," right is wrong and wrong is right; good is evil and evil is good.

   

"Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” 

― George Orwell, 1984

H/T:rutusmc

The Few, The Proud, The Marines

You can contact a recruiter by clicking on the parachutes under the flags on the right side of this Blog.  Semper Fi!

H/T: rutusmc

El Rushbo on Afghanistan: "The Hell with the Place"

This was posted earlier this evening by Troy Senik at Ricochet.Com.

TED Talk: Guns are Instruments of Peace

General Peter van Uhm is the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff.  The day after he was promoted to his current position, his son, 1st Lt Dennis van Uhm, was killed in a roadside bombing in Uruzgan, Afghanistan.

General van Uhm obviously has great faith in the power of the gun as an instrument of peace, and just as obviously is a disciple of the Ronald Reagan philosophy of "peace through strength."

Col. McSally's Opponent in Arizona: Frank Antenoni

Retired Special Forces SFC Frank Antenoni is another terrific offering of the GOP in the race to replace retired Representative Gabrielle Giffords in the U.S. Congress.  

Kevin O'Brien wrote about Antenoni recently at PJ Media (that piece is linked below):

Frank is a Special Forces veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan he was a member of Task Force Dagger, the 200 guys from 5th SF Group who (with their CIA counterparts) won the war before mission creep set in. In Iraq, he was at the Battle of Debecka Pass, where one SF ODA and a few straphangers held off a tank attack. He’s the real deal.

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/137088/

H/T: bmck1