Happiness is a Birthday Party. A reason for us all to gather and share some fun.
Warmth and celebration go together.
And it’s fun to look over his presents and share the feelings.
Ah yea now it’s time to stuff your knees in your big T-shirt and roll. This ladies and gentlemen is the reason kids don’t need to join the gym. They work out this way. Maybe us older guys should do more of this too Ya think?
Years back I read a book. It’s a big honkin book by a guy named James A. Michener. Michener wrote many books. He is a talented word crafter, and a major researcher.
Kent State is a book he wrote concerning the protest at Kent State that lead to the killing of several students. He is not politically correct. He dug into the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and the Weathermen, a wacko branch of this wacko organization, and traced money from Cuba to these pukes.
But, he also wrote a boon called The Source. If you want to transcend the crap in Times, Newsweek, and on all the commie channels, this book will give you a solid foundation in the middle east and why we infidels tick off those in the religion of peace (don’t mess with the religion of peace or they will kill you).
Here is a summary from Amazon.com about the book:
Book Description
In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago. Through the predecessors of four modern men and women, we experience the entire colorful history of the Jews, including the life of the early Hebrews and their persecutions, the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition, all the way to the founding of present-day Israel and the Middle-East conflict.
“A sweeping chronology filled with excitement.”
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
It’s available through Amazon here:
It is a well researched and good read. Not at all dry and dusty.
His name was Dennis Glenn. He was a fireplug of a guy. He was maybe 5′7″ tall and broad shouldered. He had a crewcut, freckles and a contageous grin and laugh. We ate lunch together in High School mainly because me and my buddy Gibson would talk about joining the Marines, and other cowboy stuff. Gibson and I were seniors and Dennis was a sophmore. He crowded into our table because we talked of joining the Marines. It was 1965 and Vietnam was going on.
We didn’t know but Dennis’s dad was a US Marine in WWII. Well Gibson and I graduated. Gibson joined the Marines. I have a photo of him and me and ma, as Gibson a L/Cpl then boarded a plane for Vietnam.
I was 17 when I gradueated from High School. I wanted to join the Marines too. Another buddy … a black kid named Eddy had unknowingly convinced me. Up to then I was going to join the Army and try for paratrooper, maybe Ranger or Special Forces.
But my folks would not sign for me. I agreed to attend one year of college, and then I could join if I wanted.
I ended up joining the PLC program (Platoon Leader’s Course). After college I went into the Corps as a Second Lieutnenant.
Gibson was back by then. Dennis had enlisted. Dennis Glenn, LCpl USMC, KIA Vietnam, his name is on the wall. I know other Marines are alive today because of Dennis, him and his infectious smille and warm funny laugh.
Late in my Marine Career, on my twilight cruise, I drove past Dennis’s house. Out front was his dad in his coveralls. He saluted. I saluted. I drove on.
I miss Dennis.
Thanks Mike for the web address:
He said last week he was having fun in this go round. They are training to do what they will be doing. This go round lasts one more week.
Then they get a day and a half off and jump into the second half of this thing. We hope to get a 10 minute call on Sunday … maybe yes maybe no.
The good thing about the Magical Forest is … it’s a great savings plan. Your money just isn’t any good in the woods. Perhaps they will be off that particular savings plan about May.
Pete is back safe and sound in the land of limitless kittylitter. It was nice having him home a bit but there is only one way to get back here and that’s to do the rest of his time.
One would hope that the Yellow Dog Democrats … and 2 Republicans in the House can stop screwing round packing pork in a suplimental bill and pass the bill that the soldiers need.
They really don’t even mean they will pull the troops out, they knew this bill would be signed into law.
Their games are going to push this funds thing to the brink.
I don’t question their patriotism … they haven’t got any. Their motivatiing factor is Hate.
Alrighty then a chance to do something organized here at no cost that only takes a minute.
John McCain has a website …… who wouda thunk it?
On his website he has a petition here is the content:
http://www.johnmccain.com/involving/petition.aspx?guid=2a68ffa6-4b14-4dec-871b-cbf1f798a756
I just did and it only took a second. I don’t know if I would vote for McCain but I like his petition.
The main stream media loves to talk about the President Bush’s low approval ratings, however they never seem to point out that the approval ratings of the Pelosi Congress are dismal. RealClear Politics keeps track of approval ratings, and the news is not good for Congress. In the latest Gallup poll, 28% approve of the performance of the Congress, while 64% disapprove. The CBS New York Times poll isn’t much better, 31% approve, and 53% Disapprove.
Despite speaker Pelosi’s attempt to ‘drain the swamp’ most Americans have an unfavorable view of the job Congress is doing. This Congress has made many missteps, from trying to install Jack Murtha as Majority Leader, putting Alcee Hastings in charge of intelligence, and their attempts to bleed our effort in Iraq, just to name a few examples.
Of course it is still early, but after a few months in power it looks like the Pelosi congress may already be in trouble.
The above is taken from Tom Delay’s blog located here:
The Congress has voted to set a date certain on our withdrawal from Iraq. Now maybe we all think it’s a good idea to bring our guys home. But in no way do we want to do that till they have finished their job.
By setting a date certain in the Congress the morons there (read Yellow Dog Democrats) are voting to turn tail and run. Remember that woman with the purple finger. That would sign her death warrant and a lot of other decent Iraqi people.
It also puts our troops at risk. That would include Pete and Ram, and all their buddies. What we all need to do is to be sure you write your Congressman (I have written mine already and plan to take up his invitation to hear him speak locally so I can ask him how he got so yellow) and write your Senators too (both of them) to let them know you are not one of the cut and run surrender monkeys.
The house and senate passed the bill, the President said he will veto it. Write these morons and tell them you do not want to put soldiers at risk.
You can look up your congressman here:
And your senators (both of them) here:
Send them an email. Be civil (more than I have been here) and let them know you do not like them putting good people like Pete and Ram at risk by giving the terrorists hope …… by putting a date on when we will pull them out.
They will come out, when the job is done. Do it now .. it’s email and it’s free.
Semper Fi
Well at 06:30 Ssgt Pete rolled out to the airport. Soon he will be back in the Sandbox for a few more months. It was good to have him back here even for a bit. It was good to see him playin wiffleball in the circle with Pam, Peter and Julie. It was good to sitting down and shooting the shit with him.
We look forward to him coming home and having a nice long time to do more.
On a previous post I mentioned two types of Officers. Sam questioned me on how many of each type I thought to exist in the Marines. That lead to a discussion on differences in Military Culture.
Let me rewind here by saying there are two types of Officers (NCO’s SNCO”S to extend it a bit).
Type one, the kind of officer Who is Who he (she) is because of Who they are.
Type two, the kind that is who they are because of what they wear on their collar. I found fewer of the type two kind in the Marines.
Have I worked with the Army, yes. Field Artillery School is at Fort Sill Oklahoma. In those days Marines and Soldiers trained for artillery together there. So I was around a lot of them, my class was a mixed class. Later in my career I worked with the Army here and there, and even after I retired, I worked as a consultant for the US Army at a place that specialized in computer training. Yes I was a role player. I was a Russian Style CMTA (Commander of Rockets and Artillery). Anyway lots of Army Officer types … and three Marines .. me and two others. We were the bad guys in electronic CPX’s the OPFOR. I have seen the Army over time.
On with the Cultural differences. It is said that you don’t call the Admiral in charge of the Navy … sailor. You don’t call the General in charge of the Air Force … airman. You don’t call the General in charge of the Army … soldier. But the Commandant of the Marine Corps is proud to be called a Marine. And that is true.
I will focus on two areas for the purpose of this post. One, Officers of Marines eat last. That is to say in a field chow line or when eating anywhere with the troops in your charge …. junior Marines eat first, then NCO’s, SNCO’s and last … Officers. It shows the respect that the Marines deserve. You depend on them for everything, it’s important that they are taken care of (not just in the area of chow ….. across the board but this is a powerful sign of taking care of them).
According to Ram, Army Officers routinely cut in .. in the frot of the line to eat. Ram knows the difference because he was in and succussfully completed Phase One of the Platoon Leaders Course (PLC) in Marine Corps Base Quantico Va. He broke his leg and lost his seat on that program because he was healing and could not attend the Second Phase on schedule. As Major B pointed out, there is a waiting line from here to the commissary. There is not a shortage of guys bustin ass to get on that program. That’s why he signed on with the Army on the Plan that he did.
The same with the Navy (head of the line priviledges on ships) and the Air Force. Like it’s more important for a Squid Officer to get his chewing gum in the small store than it is for a Sailor to get something he needs.
Let’s call this complex Aristocracy. The troops understand it for what it is. It contributes to Type 2 officers.
Example two of the cultural difference between Marines and Army. The rifle range. Marines spend two weeks qualifing. The are issued a shooting jacket, and get a glove for their sling hand. They are issued a shooting book to record shots on.
The first week is snapping in, and classes (that means getting into formal shooting positions and stretching) The second week they are issued ammo (Drill Instructors pull back and give them room to breathe). Shooting coaches work with every Marine to ensure they record shots, learn to dope the wind and proper shooting posture.
In the Army when Ram went through it last summer, they also get a couple of weeks. The positions they practice are informal positions, not Offhand, Kneeling, Sitting, and Prone as in the Corps. Drill Instructors do not pull back they are haranging the Soldiers as always. Soldiers practice with video shooting games first. Then they move to the range when the positions they use are limited, several involve laying the piece on a sandbag. (Yea I know where you get those in the assult is beyond me too). They do not record shots, they have no books. They have no shooting jackets (for comfort in a learning situation) and they wear their brain buckets. Summary, yes it is a shoot, a slop shoot.
The Army does not put the proper emphasis on the individual Rifleman. The Army has given up hope of the common soldier hitting anything with one round. That’s part of why they adopted that M-16 family of poodle shooters to begin with. The first edition and the second didn’t even have rear sights that were adjustable. They all fired full auto or single shot.
It takes three shots in the chest to reliably put someone out of action with one. The current Poodle Shooters have a fire selector for single or three round burst. So maybe someone can explain to me how a 30 round magazine (subject to fouling) is better than either an M1 (8 round clip) or an M-14 (20 round magazine) when to stop someone you need to put a three round burst into their chest. 30 round magazine 3 shot bursts = 10 bursts per magazine. Not much of an improvement.
Okay I quit for now I tend to get wound up. Sorta.
There is a major Culture Difference between the Marines and the Army … or the Navy or the Air Force.
