On this Veteran’s Day

My thanks to those who have in the past and still today protect this nation. I am humbled to have been allowed to try to do the same.

Props to Google for recognizing Veteran’s Day. They are not exactly known for their warm fuzzy feelings about our troops, our nation, and momentous moments in military history and freedom.

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Happy 234th Birthday Marines

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A Legacy is Born

During the American Revolution, many important political discussions took place in the inns and taverns of Philadelphia, including the founding of the Marine Corps.

A committee of the Continental Congress met at Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore.

The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines.

As the first order of business, Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines. Tun Tavern’s owner and popular patriot, Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began gathering support and were ready for action by early 1776.

Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10th with a celebration of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend our country as United States Marines.

1775: Founding of the Marine Corps

There is no better friend…and no worse enemy than a United States Marine. – General James N. Mattis

Hell, these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Bagdad ain’t shit. – Marine Major General John F. Kelly

There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion. – Gen. William Thornson, U.S. Army

I come in peace, I didn’t bring artillery. But I am pleading with you with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all. – Marine General James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leaders

I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past. – Cpl. Jeff Sornig, USMC; in Navy Times, November 1994

They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or “we’ll blow you away.” And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, “Igaralli ahow,” which means “Excuse me, I didn’t mean it, my mistake”. – Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991

Semper Fi.

That is all.

Dems demonstrate again their backward priorities

As a military brat, a Marine, and a civilian I have always distrusted the Democrat Party and their values.

Once again, they prove just how f’d up their priorities are:

Twice as many Democrats say health care reform should be President Obama’s top priority as say the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq should be his top concern, according to a new Gallup poll.

Gallup asked people this question: “Which of the following should be Barack Obama’s top priority as president — the economy, health care, the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy, the federal budget deficit, or something else…?”

The numbers help explain Obama’s slowness in reaching a decision on what to do in Afghanistan. There simply aren’t very many people in the president’s party who believe the war should be his top priority — just half as many as those who say health care should be his top concern. When it comes to pressure for a decision coming from his own party, there just isn’t much.

via For Dems, health care reform more important than war in Afghanistan.

When I see numbers like that I don’t see an explanation of Obama’s slowness. I see their attitude towards our military, their sacrifices and the what they really believe when it comes to helping others.

Marines setting the example in Afghanistan, real community organization occurs

In Helmand, a model for success?

NAWA, Afghanistan — Before a battalion of U.S. Marines swooped into this dusty farming community along the Helmand River in early July, almost every stall in the bazaar had been padlocked, as had the school and the health clinic. Thousands of residents had fled. Government officials and municipal services were nonexistent. Taliban fighters swaggered about with impunity, setting up checkpoints and seeding the roads with bombs.

In the three months since the Marines arrived, the school has reopened, the district governor is on the job and the market is bustling. The insurgents have demonstrated far less resistance than U.S. commanders expected. Many of the residents who left are returning home, their possessions piled onto rickety trailers, and the Marines deem the central part of the town so secure that they routinely walk around without body armor and helmets.

How’s that Hope and Change working out for our troops?

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains

American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months on the front line in the war against the Taleban.

Granted this is a common feeling about being deployed in combat, however, we have the most pathetic excuse for a leader as our C-in-C we’ve ever had (yes, even Jimmah. Carter at least served his country and not just his community before taking the reigns).

Let’s take a short step back in time, when Obama tried to convince people he had a pair when it came to being a military leader.

His plan comes up short. There’s not enough troops, not enough resources and not enough urgency. What President Bush and Senator McCain don’t understand is that the central front in the War on Terror is not in Iraq and never was. The central front is in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the terrorists who hit us on 9-11 are still plotting attacks seven years later.

Semper Fi

Congratulations on the promotion, Corporal Rutter!

Once a Marine, always a Marine

U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Brenton Rutter of Granite Road had one heck of a 20th birthday.

First, his family arranged a surprise party, but it was no ordinary gathering.

Rutter, who has been battling leukemia since 2007, just two years after graduating from Kingswood High School and enlisting in the U.S. Marines, was officially promoted to the rank of Corporal in a small ceremony on Oct. 1 at the family’s Granite Road home. It was a promotion that this highly regarded soldier earned back in 2007, but the ceremony was delayed after Rutter was diagnosed with then embarked on rigorous treatment for leukemia. A special surprise was a visit from the stem cell donor who helped save his life during treatment, Casey Caruso from Upton, Mass.

Dems have always been idiots when it comes to the military

I love it when Nancy Pelosi and the other nancys in the Democrat party make themselves look a bunch of uninformed tools:

Democrats have found someone worth fighting in Afghanistan. His name is Stan McChrystal.The other night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went after the commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, “with all due respect,” for supposedly disrespecting the chain of command. Around the Congressional Democratic Caucus, we’re told Members refer to General McChrystal as “General MacArthur,” after the commander in Korea sacked by Harry Truman.

White House aides have fanned these flames with recent leaks to the media that “officials are challenging” his assessment asking for more troops. In the last two days, the White House National Security Adviser and the Secretary of Defense have both suggested that the general should keep his mouth shut. President Obama called him in Friday for a talking-to on the tarmac at Copenhagen airport.

Though a decorated Army four-star officer, the General’s introduction to Beltway warfare is proving to be brutal. To be fair, Gen. McChrystal couldn’t know that his Commander in Chief would go wobbly so soon on his commitment to him as well as to his own Afghan strategy when he was tapped for the job in AprilWe’re told by people who know him that Gen. McChrystal “feels terrible” and “had no intention whatsoever of trying to lobby and influence” the Administration. His sense of bewilderment makes perfect sense anywhere but in the political battlefield of Washington. He was, after all, following orders…

The White House told the Pentagon to hold off asking for troops and Gen. McChrystal not to testify to Congress. Remarkably, President Obama mused on the Sunday talks shows, “Are we doing the right thing?”

Then Gen. McChrystal gave a speech last Thursday before the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London. It was scheduled and approved by the Pentagon weeks before the Afghan political jitters seized official Washington. The General was hardly incendiary.

The President’s very public waver is already doing strategic harm. The Taliban are getting a morale boost and claiming victory, while our allies in Europe have one more reason to rethink their own deployments. Such a victory, as the head of the British army Sir David Richards warned on Sunday, would have an “intoxicating effect” on extremist Islam around the world.

Commanders in Chief can change their minds. George W. Bush waited too long to embrace the “surge.” He had private doubts when the casualties also surged in 2007, but he gave the new approach a chance to succeed. Mr. Obama is blinking even before all the additional troops he ordered to Afghanistan have had time to deploy to the theater…

Gen. McChrystal’s liberal critics also have very short memories. In 2003, Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki clashed with his superiors by saying many more troops were needed to pacify Iraq. He became a Democratic hero and is now Mr. Obama’s Veterans Secretary. In this case, Gen. McChrystal has become a political target merely for taking at face value Mr. Obama’s order to fight the war properly. His superiors, the Central Commander David Petraeus and Adm. Fallon, back him, but can hardly be said to question civil control of the military.

via Obama, General McChrystal and the Afghan War

Obama Fail

Obama’s Gitmo blame game

Greg Craig, the top in-house lawyer for President Barack Obama, is getting the blame for botching the strategy to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison by January — so much so that he’s expected to leave the White House in short order.

But sources familiar with the process believe Craig is being set-up as the fall guy and say the blame for missing the deadline extends well beyond him.

Instead, it was a widespread breakdown on the political, legislative, policy and planning fronts that contributed to what is shaping up as one of Obama’s most high-profile setbacks, these people say.

When the government runs things you can be sure they’ll screw it up

The U.S. government failed to send promised college tuition checks to tens of thousands of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before they returned to school this fall, even after being warned that it was inadequately staffed for the job.

The Veterans Affairs Department blamed a backlog of claims filed for GI Bill education benefits that has left veterans who counted on the money for tuition and books scrambling to make ends meet.

via Veterans’ promised tuition checks AWOL

They want to run health care, the car industry, banking, and just about everything else. I assure you, things will only get worse if Obama and the Democrats are allowed to do so.

Bumper sticker of the day

Knoxville, Tennessee. In the parking lot at Downtown West.

UPDATE: Reader James Dempsey writes: “The bumper sticker in your post is from LaRue Tactical (http://www.laruetactical.com/), a great company doing great things for American and Allied servicemembers. As the anniversary of Sept. 11th approaches, it is worth going to La Rue’s webpage and reading the biography of MSG Horrigan.”

It was parked in front of Salon Visage.

via Instapundit

It would be a nice change

The Jawa Report: If this is the new face of the GOP, Count Me In

U.S. Congressman Brian Baird get an earful from Marine vet

Simply beautiful and on point.

Warship honors Marine who died protecting comrades

BATH, Maine AP – The Navy’s newest destroyer bears a name that’s familiar to Marines. The ship that’ll be christened on Saturday at Bath Iron Works bears the name of Cpl. Jason Dunham, a Marine who jumped on a grenade to save his comrades in 2004 in Iraq.

Dunham’s parents, Deb and Dan Dunham, will be at the Maine shipyard along with other Marines who served with him in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.

Dunham, who’s from Scio SY’-oh, N.Y., earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 14, 2004.

His unit was searching a line of cars for insurgents when he was attacked by one of them. His last words were a warning: “Watch his hand!” Dunham covered the grenade with his Kevlar helmet and his body. Two fellow Marines survived. Dunham died eight days later.

American Heroes you should know

Don’t hold your breath to hear about these two heroes on the news tonight as long as a loud-mouthed a$$hole from Harvard University has the spotlight.

Fallen soldier to receive Medal of Honor

Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, who was killed in Afghanistan June 21, 2006, will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat, his father, Paul Monti, told Army Times in a telephone interview Thursday.

Here’s an account of the incident in which SFC Monti lost his life:    

On 21 June 2006, SFC Monti, then a staff sergeant, was the assistant patrol leader for a 16-man patrol tasked to conduct surveillance in the Gowardesh region. The patrol was to provide up-to-date intelligence, interdict enemy movement and ensure early warning for the squadron’s main effort as it inserted into the province.

As nightfall approached, the patrol was attacked by a well organized enemy force of at least 60 personnel. Outnumbered four-to-one, SFC Monti’s patrol was in serious danger of being overrun.

The enemy fighters had established two support-by-fire positions directly above the patrol in a densely wooded ridgeline. SFC Monti immediately returned fire and ordered the patrol to seek cover and return fire. He then reached for his radio headset and calmly initiated calls for indirect fire and close air support (CAS), both danger-close to the patrol’s position. He did this while simultaneously directing the patrol’s fires.

When SFC Monti realized that a member of the patrol, Private First Class (PFC) Brian J. Bradbury, was critically wounded and exposed 10 meters from cover, without regard for his personal safety, he advanced through enemy fire to within three feet of PFC Bradbury’s position. But he was forced back by intense RPG fire. He tried again to secure PFC Bradbury, but he was forced to stay in place again as the enemy intensified its fires.

The remaining patrol members coordinated covering fires for SFC Monti, and he advanced a third time toward thewounded Soldier. But he only took a few steps this time before he was mortally wounded by an RPG. About the same time, the indirect fires and CAS he called for began raining down on the enemy’s position. The firepower broke the enemy attack, killing 22 enemy fighters. SFC Monti’s actions prevented the patrol’s position from being overrun, saved his team’s lives and inspired his men to fight on against overwhelming odds.

Another story you are not likely to hear because war is not something the President nor the media will discuss during a prime time press conference is one of Marine First Lt. Travis Manion:

On April 29, 2007, this transition team was patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah in Anbar province, one of Iraq’s deadliest battle zones. The platoon was just ending a search of a suspected terrorist house.

Suddenly a Marine got shot when enemy snipers ambushed the patrol with small arms fire.

Manion and a colleague pulled their wounded comrade from the line of fire. After giving first aid, Manion led a counterattack.

When a Navy doctor was wounded, Manion recovered him too while facing fire from five shooters.

A roadside bomb stymied reinforcements from the Iraqi army, leaving Manion and his patrol under attack from three sides.

Now the officer made the gutsiest call of his young life. He jumped into an exposed position to attract more gunfire so the wounded Marines could be rescued.

After getting off several rounds, Manion was struck and killed.

Manion’s heroism didn’t surprise Poudrier. Early in their work together, the major noticed prized illumination grenades attached to the lieutenant’s assault rifle.

“I said, ‘I could use a few of those,’ ” Poudrier recalled. “He said, ‘Go ahead sir, take mine.’ Right off the bat he was very selfless, and that first impression set the tone.”

In the months before his death, Manion constantly faced danger. This was largely due to his leading by example, says Poudrier. “A couple of times Travis had some really close calls as the target of attacks, when he had to dive across the road to get out of the way,” the major told IBD. “I told him not to get too gung-ho, don’t get yourself shot. But he put himself in harm’s way first. That was just how he operated.”

In an e-mail home shortly before his death, Manion remained hopeful despite facing great hardships.

“As in anything in life,” he wrote, “true success does not come from battles easily won.”

These are the men who should have been paid millions for their service, and given the respect due a professor or head of state, but alas, they will only be remembered by those they touched. The will be remembered for the sacrifices they made and the virtues they had which few in our media-driven culture can claim.

Thank you, SFC Monti and 1stLT Manion for what you believed in and what you were willing to do about it.

Michael Yon reminds us of war and Marines

The U.S. Marines are flooding in, and you might think that every Marine helicopter in our arsenal is here. I’ll not give numbers and types other than to say the line of aircraft is long and formidable.

The U.S. Marines are a spectacle for the U.S. Army and also the British Army. The Marines will come in and live like pure animals, and build a base around themselves, whereas the British and American Armies will tend to build at least part of the base before coming in. One Marine commander told me that during the early part of this war, his men didn’t even shower for three months. We talked for a couple of hours and he was proud that his Marines didn’t need a shower for three months, and that his Marines killed a lot of Taliban and managed to lose only one good man.  That’s the Marines. They’ll show up in force with no warning, and their reputation with U.S. Army and Brits who have fought alongside them is stellar. A NPR photographer who just spent more than three weeks with the Marines could not praise them enough, saying he’d been with them in Iraq, too, and that when Marines take casualties, their reaction is to continue to attack. They try to stay in contact until they finish the enemy, no matter how long it takes. Truly they are animals when it comes to the fight. Other than that, great guys.

Tonight at dinner, a young Marine Lance Corporal sat in front of me at the crowded dining facility. “Good evening, Sir,” he said. I asked, “Are you living like animals out there?” “Livin’ the dream, Sir!” They are fantastic.

via One Giant Leap .