mountaineer musings

speaking of the Marines

i took a guided twenty-five cent tour of the airport today (in a Jeep with the operations manager); it was pretty neat-o. i got to see the once-functional air force shooting/missile testing place thingies (no i don't know what they're called) and the AARF or ARFP (whatever that tower thing is that firefighters use for training purposes), and this big piece of fuselage that was riddled with what looked like bullet holes like the ORV in Goonies (i ducked but then learned that the borer thing on the firetrucks does that).

on our way back in, we saw a plane belonging to the USMC that had just landed for some reason or other. erected atop the airship was none other than a pirate's flag. i giggled with glee. i love the Marines!!

Semper Fi.

our heroes in Fallujah

krakatoa sent me this link, and i've just gotten around to reading it. our brave warriors are fighting the good fight for us every day, and we owe them our sincerest thanks. so thanks to each and every one of our valiant warriors.

good news

brilliant. the Iraqis are now in power in their own country. good for them.

and here is yet more proof of why we need to be there. they don't care -- Muslim, Christian, Jooooo, atheist -- they hate everyone but themselves. pray for the people dying at the hands of madmen.

and again, pray for our wonderful patriots fighting over there.

afraid?

no, i'm not afraid. i'm ticked off.

the soulless, gutless monsters killed another innocent civilian in the name of hating America; this man was helping to rebuild a country destroyed by its own "leader", and he was beheaded. by murdering innocents, the PIGS intend to strike fear in our hearts and minds; personally, i'm not afraid. i'm angry.

every time i hear of this happening, the first and only phrase i hear from the little voices in my head is "carpet bombing". of course, this would only kill more innocent civilians, and we, the Americans who are so hated, so reviled, so envied are above indiscriminate killing innocent people. we have consciences. we have souls. we have humanity.

these "men" have none of the above. they have nothing but the promise of hell. does that make me happy? no, as a Christian, i want ALL souls on this earth to be saved. but i would be lying if i said it wasn't comforting that theirs won't be.

cowards.

loving! this! man!

ok, maybe that's a little more excited looking than i actually am, but if it weren't monday and morning-time, i would really be excited enough for exclamation points. anyway, i saw Mark Cuban on FoxNews this morning and have decided that i am officially a fan of the man. forget the whole reviving-the-Mavs thing, this man supports our troops. and not just "i don't support the war but i support the troops" rubbish and stuff like that.

now, i did already know about his Fallen Patriot Fund, which grants money to families of US soldiers who were killed or seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom; but this was the first time i've seen an actual recipient of a grant from the foundation, and that's a nice way to start a Monday morning. Cuban was on FoxNews with Mark Graunke, Jr., a Marine Staff Sergeant [uh, i typed that word 6 times before i spelled it correctly, i need a 2nd Coke] from Flower Mound, TX, who has lost numerous body parts (seriously, NUMEROUS); the Fund has granted money to him and his family, and i think that's just excellent.

and Cuban was saying nice stuff about the troops fighting for us and whatnot, which puts him high up on my list of folks now, and he has gained one more MFFL ('cause really, before, i was fan-ish, but would never have called myself a Mavs Fan For Life unless they would have agreed to get rid of squeaky shoes and slam-dunks in basketball, but now i submit to that label). go Mavs.

p.s. he has a blog, and when he's not talking about technology, i read it. oh yeah, i almost forgot! i was in the Irving Chorale until i moved, and Cuban's HDTV station taped our Christmas concert last year and put us on national TV. that makes me a national celebrity, but i'm still not going to become liberal.

A Soldier Writes

I received email from a soldier in the US Army yesterday and would like to share parts of it with y'all (with permission)... Chuck is in Iraq serving God and country and has my deepest gratitude. After I received an initial email from him, I responded by thanking him for fighting for us, and this was the response I received to that...

I appreciate your thanks, but strangely, feel I don't really deserve it. Not because I think you don't appreciate what we do, but because it's just...what we do.

The above actually veers into a discussion I had with a colleague a couple of days ago. It started in a discussion of why the military is not experiencing the enormous problems in recruiting and retention that have been predicted by so much of the press-informed doom-slingers.

In short, the general conclusion is that a portion of every society is in fact 'warriors'. This is not to imply that they are mindless, or motivated by similar purposes, but that they posess a curious need to confront the bogeymen that others fear. In peacetime many eschew the day-to-day humdrum and seemingly senseless rules of the military for 'extreme sports' and alternate lifestyles. In wartime, they see the challenge and risk as outweighing the annoyances of military life.

This 'warrior' ethos (perhaps not the right word, but all I have at the moment) is why the National Guard and the Reserves have always been viable...you train without the day-to-day BS, and when you get the call it is because they need you to do the job of a soldier. And now, with the high tempo of the Guard and Reserves that utility is a near-certain thing, which has actually attracted more 'warriors' to join.

I have been awaiting the call for 20+ years. I never served on Active Duty until 2 years ago. Since then I have been to Bosnia, and now Iraq. As a Civil Affairs officer, I can expect to be called regularly until I finally give it up. Far from being unhappy with my lot, I have finally been called to be the 'warrior' that I always knew I was. I have heard it compared to the 'calling' of a minister, this 'calling' to serve.

I love this, hard or difficult it may be. The risk is nothing, part of the job. Separation from my family is the hardest part, but even my wife sees the fulfillment this brings to me, and supports it.

One of the hardest things I have seen is when colleagues are forced to choose between their families and jobs, and the military. Knowing that you must survive and support during those times you wait to resume the 'warrior', but having to sacrifice the 'warrior' to do so is an agonizing decision that turns badly more often than not. Having to sacrifice what soul is driven to be, out of duty to the people you love, is a recipe that often turns out very unhappily...

Know that your soldiers are doing a magnificent job here, and the press is doing a miserable job. [Ed: AMEN!]

There is so much good happening, and we are winning, not just the war, but the future. The Iraqi people want to be free, and want to learn how. Like children they will stumble as they learn to walk, but they are learning. We CAN succeed, and will, if the American people will let us and give us the time to do it. It won't take as long as the doomslingers claim, either...

Take care, and be safe.

Cheers,
Chuck S

Remember that we are truly blessed to have the best warriors in the world fighting on our side, and we are winning the war on terror, though some folks (translated: CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, John Spare-Me Kerry, Al Off-His-Meds Gore, etc.) would have us to believe otherwise. And if you can do ANYTHING by way of volunteering time, money, whatever to support the war effort, DO IT! God bless our troops and our President.

i haven't heard it, but i love it already

found this interview [warning: link is rated R for language, tho by today's sorry MPAA standards, it would be PG-13] by Brave Works & Bloody Knuckles via Jason of Avoca (via Andrew Sullivan), and i have come to the following conclusions:

1) i am seriously crushing on Jon Schaffer, ICED EARTH bandleader/songwriter, though i have no idea what he looks like or if he's married, etc. so if you're his wife and reading this, my apologies.

2) i will buy every ICED EARTH album, though i've never heard their music. i do like heavy metal, though, so rock on.

3) it's fun to watch an uninformed leftist Canadian get his gralls kicked by someone smarter than him (no offense to the smart Canadians out there). if only Condi could say what she wants to say, this is what it would have looked like when she shoved Bob Kerrey's moronic questions back in his face. and anyone who quotes Chomsky as truth deserves to have his head stuck in the toilet for swirly after swirly.

wow, there are too many great quotes to excerpt them all, read the whole article. i will give you my favorite parts, though...

BW&BK [Canadian interviewer]: Do you think 9/11 will be viewed as the first event in the US empire's decline and fall?
My new crush Jon Schaffer: No. This is not an empire, first of all. If the United States was an empire, your country would be our 51st state.

AND

BW&BK: So you don't see the Bush regime as being cultural imperialists? You don't see them as trying to force the American way of life on to a nation that maybe doesn't want it?
My new crush Jon Schaffer: "No. If you think that's true, then why are 70 or 80 percent of the people are thrilled to have us there. Have you not seen that? And it's not a regime, by the way. You keep up that kind of language I'm going to end the interview right now."

It is Armed Forces Day

A very special thanks to all of our men and women in uniform, including our allies in the war on terror; it is humbling to know that we have such brave, wonderful people fighting for us every day.

If you want to support the troops who are defending your freedom to sit on your butt surfing the internet today, go here for Blackfive's recommendations. He's also got some amazing stories that give you chills and warm your heart at the same time. If there's another country out there with better defenders, that's a stinkin' blessed country; the United States of America surely is.

God bless you all.

this is who we're dealing with

yeah, i know, my place is whimsical blogging about life, but i can't help myself this time.

caught this story at Blackfive's place (warning, this story is not for young'ns).

it's a vile, sickening, disgusting story, though i'm sure that the only things we'll hear from the "news" media on this horrifying incident will be rubbish like "see what President Bush is doing?" and "this is why the war must end" and "this is Donald Rumsfeld's fault" and "this is because of what our people at Abu Ghraib did, the terrorists were just retaliating is all" and "this is why you must elect John Kerry, who is but isn't running for President".

when what these morons SHOULD be reporting is that this is an enemy that will use ANY excuse to chop off an American's head, ANY excuse to kill civilians, because they know that our illustrious networks (except that one REAL news station - Fox News) and brilliant politicians will use this to fuel their (terrorist's) fire and to try to gain politically.

well, let me tell you something, Mr. Rather, contrary to what you like to report, Americans don't WANT to die at the hands of terrorists, we don't WANT a president who is going to run like a Frenchman with his tail between his legs to the UN and say, "please, sir, can i have some more?" we don't WANT blathering idiots catering to anyone and everyone so that anyone and everyone can come in and oppress us and tell us who to worship and tell us what to wear and kill us for loving Jesus.

we WANT freedom. we WANT W. we WANT all the terrorists DEAD.

if you are a person who prays, and if you haven't said a prayer for our troops, our President, his Cabinet, and the rest of the government as well as the condition of the world lately, please do so and continue to do so. please also pray for Nick Berg's family, and the families of all of our soldiers who have lost their lives protecting our freedoms, and the families of all of the victims of the war that THEY brought to US, and the families of all of our people overseas.

and PLEASE pray for the election. this election is so important, what our brave souls are doing over there is SO important. God bless our President, God bless our troops, God bless America.