Our New Commander in Chief

Ok I have so much to say about our new President, the inauguration and the current state of Politics but I will refrain and instead defer to a friend of mine that was pretty much on point with his comments so posted below are his thoughts. Thanks

M

Subject: Government and Penicillin

It began about 16-18 years ago. It started in early grade school, on the soccer and baseball fields with the youth of tomorrow. Fortunately, it hasn’t leached into the football programs to the same degree. But, unfortunately, it appears that the concept is here to stay. Rewarding mediocrity. Celebrating underachieving. Handing out medals and trophies to last place. Removing the red pen from the classroom. No more F’s for children who can’t make the grade. Primarily, because it makes them feel bad. So, that having been said, from here on foreword in America’s future, everyone’s a winner. We will hold hands and cross the finish line together. We have altered the mindset that made America what it once was.

Now, we have even applied those same principles to the way we choose today’s heroes. The reward isn’t handing out a medal or trophy. The reward is handing over the highest office in the world. We’ve givin’ away the Presidency to someone based on the color of his skin. And it had nothing to do with achievement. We’ve passed the torch to a man who has done nothing, in the grand scheme of things. We’ve violated a cardinal sin. We’ve judged a book by it’s cover. I have as much Finlander in me as Obama has African American in him. But because it feels good and gives the masses a reason for celebration, that’s what has become most important.

The Washington hypocrites denounce businessmen for flying the jets they’ve worked for to a meeting in the District of Columbia. These men provided more for this nation then all of Washington combined. My question to the jackassery of DC wouldn’t have been, “am I going to sell my jet?” but instead, “are you going to sell yours, and are you going to fly coach for the rest of your tenure while spending the people’s money?” And in the same breath they have turned around and are spending millions to celebrate that mediocrity, championing in a leader who has provided the equivalent of milking a cow by hand when compared to men who have laid their lives at our feet before us, in honor of this nation.

Liberals rally around former heroes like JFK. At least JFK actually served in the military. And every 4 years the African American population and the underprivileged and the poor become exploited so another liberal can get elected by making promises they can’t keep over policies that destroy this country. It’s almost sad how the ignorant were taken advantage of. It’s almost criminal. I won’t be watching, today. But I am certain I am right on this. I lived this experiment already during the Clinton and Carter administration. If you have any doubts, look at the faces of the ghosts in the crowd. If you don’t know their history dating all the way back to George Washington, you better get to the library.

But Mr. Clean will now have a go at it. And anytime something goes wrong, he will continue to throw his hands in the air, or walk the other way, or watch those around him crumble as the charade continues. “It wasn’t like that when I was there. He wasn’t like that when I knew him. I didn’t know what I was doing when the cocaine was going up my nostrils.”

Today, in Washington you will find it a place where the “everything is beautiful” people can live out their little social experiment. Which, oh, by the way, has been tried once already in the military during the Clinton administration where it was , oh, so important, to implement the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.” Which, incidentally, led to 8 years of destruction. Most of the good people got out and went on to bigger and better things. A few good leaders stayed in and continued to slop at the public trough. Mainly, because we believed we could make a difference.

So, get in line for your government cheese. Because by the time you get it, you will need the Penicillin it will become.

Northern "Hotspot"

Wanted to tell you a few things about this country and an area that is particularly f'd up right now. I have been to this area, as a matter of fact I spent a month there, so I have experienced it firsthand. At any given point in time there is going to be a "Hotspot" somewhere is this country. This place is usually rural and doesn't have a very big U.S. presence. There are of course a few other factors that can add to it's appeal for the Talib. Usually a strong Talib leader in the area or particularly ignorant and overly zelous local Elders. Small vicories in the local region also adds it it appeal. If you have all of these factors in one area the Talib begins to mass their forces and reinforce the area. They know all they have to do is wait. We will not tolerate a strong hold and it will only be a matter of time until we go in and crush it. The real victims in all of this are the people who live in that area. As the number of Talib in the area increase it is up to the people to feed and house them whether they want to or not. The Talib are bullies which really does help our "winning hearts and minds" campaign, nobody likes a bully.

Now we get to our current "Hotspot" up north. All of the factors are there. It is very remote. There are no paved roads leading into this area. The closest airfield is a 5 hour drive away. It is in a fairly mountainous area. There is a strong Talib leader in the area. He has had recent success against the Afghan Forces that are up there and has complete freedom of movement in the area. The local government is corrupt and defers to the Talib in just about all matters. The people are uneducated with most of the families not even having electricity or running water. The number of Talib continues to increase and they are being very obvious in the fortification of the area for the upcoming fight.

Unfortunately the things that make this area so inviting to the Talib makes it very inhospitable for us. One of the huge things is the lack of an Airfield. This means all supplies have to be airdropped or trucked in. The trucking option is the least prefferred as it has become almost impossible to get a driver brave enough to make the trip and when they do they want quite a bit of money and quite a bit of protection. That leaves the Air drops. This is very time consuming for the military. Building a pallet to be dropped from an airplane is not an easy process and you will usually only get about 5 or 6 pallets on one aircraft. The remoteness also plays a factor in medical evacuations (MEDEVAC). We have limitations on the type of operations we can conduct if we do not have a medical facility readily available. I personally am grateful for these limitations. I don't want to wind up bleeding out waiting to get to a hospital in 2009. Therefore in order for us to conduct combat operations we have to have a field hospital setup at our location. Not alot of surgeons are chomping at the bit to go to such a place. Just for us to get to this location it is a 2 day drive over unpaved roads through a few hostile areas with a very large and tempting convoy.

So they can continue to dig in. Tell each other how kick ass they are for the small victories and when the time is right we will rain down on them forcing them to find another village to bully. It's coming and coming soon.

"Those unfamiliar with history are doomed to repeat it without a sense of ironic futility"

M

Racism???

I saw this on the news the other day and the more I thought about it the more upset I got. It was on one of those news shows like Dateline or something like that. But they start with this big flashy ominous lead in saying how racism is still alive in America. So I was intrigued and decided to watch. So they begin by interviewing poor Pablo, Pablo says that he never gets served in Restaurants or gets thrown out of stores. Now I am really interested, this guy appeared very normal so why on earth would he being experiencing these disturbing practices? Then the big undercover sting was setup. Poor Pablo is going to go into a crowded fast food joint at lunch and attempt to get served. Let's watch and see how he is treated. Pablo waits patiently in line and when he gets to the counter he places his order in SPANISH! The guy behind the counter says "Hey I'm sorry but I don't speak Spanish can you please order in English" Pablo refuses see Pablo no hablas englis'. So after this goes back and forth for a bit the guy finally says hey I'm sorry I don't know what you are saying please step aside. Then here come the camera crews busting in "Oh Sir, Sir why are you a racist Sir" the guy was mortified "I am not a racist" he responds "Oh yes you are you refused to serve this man because he is Hispanic" Um no, I didn't serve him because I don't speak Spanish. The reporter continued until the poor guy finally confessed to being a RACIST!!! Are you fucking kidding me? I mean really are you kidding me. So this exercise continued, they went to several different Restaurants and got mixed results. Some people got very upset that the person wouldn't speak english and some seriously tried very hard to accommodate as best they could. The end result was always the same cameras bust in charges of racism are thrown around some people got defensive and some just didn't even care.

Ok here is the kicker are you ready for this? Poor Pablo has been living in America for THREE YEARS. Are you serious? Why yes I am. Three years and he has yet to figure out how to order a fucking Sandwich or to at least say the phrase I will have a numero 2 with a coke please. Apparently unless the guy working at your local Subway doesn't speak Spanish, German, Mandarin, and Portugese he is a racist. I have travelled to many many countries throughout the years and I will tell you this, unless I am at the American Embassy or the Airport I do not expect them to speak English. I mean imagine my arrogance if everywhere I went in the world I attempted to conduct all my tansactions in English and screw them if they can't understand me. If I know I am going to be in a country for more than 5 hours I learn enough so that I won't starve. I am now in Afghanistan on a base where all of my business can be conducted in English however out of respect for my host nation I have taken it upon myself to learn key phrases and customs. Imagine living in let's say Germany for over a year and not even taking the time to learn how to order a Sandwich and then crying about my unfortune. Pablo welcome to America we are all imigrants here. I am glad that you are able to work here and provide a better life for your family. Just please for the love of God say it along with me here nice and slow "I will have a Number 2 with a Coke Please"

M

General Fazaludin Sayar

Gen Sayar died yesterday in a helicopter crash. He is the top Afghan General for the area I am in. I met the General on two separate occasions and he was a very good man. We have had a close relationship with the General due to us training and working with his soldiers, he was very appreciative of what we were doing to improve the fighting ability of his men and gave us whatever we needed to outfit and train these soldiers. I have added a link below to this story. Keep in mind they fly around in old Soviet helicopters, I have personally flown on these antiques a few times. looking at the weather yesterday while we were out there is no way I would have gotten on a helicopter. The cloud cover was down to about 200 ft above the ground and it was as thick as soup. Just goes to show his dedication to what he was doing. He was one of the good guys over here, the uncorruptable, and he will be missed by his men and his country.

M

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28672729/

Humanitarian Aid

HA missions (Humanitarian Aid) are designed to win hearts and minds. What they consist of is taking food a supplies to a depressed are. The supplies consist of firewood blankets, jackets, shoes, and whatever else we might have on hand to distribute. They make you feel good and they are a good way of measuring how people in the area are feeling about coalition forces. Not that any of them are going to tell us they don't like us as we are handing them much needed materials. It is still interesting. You will see all the kids lined up wearing shoes and jackets and as soon as they see you pull the new jackets out they strip their poor kids down and send them up to us all shivering and looking pathetic. It is funny but kind of sad I guess they think if we see them wearing an old jacket that we aren't going to give them one, I guess it is a good thing we don't give out pants.

Here is what really happens, you get up at 4 a.m. to get ready to leave by 6. It is about 12 degrees outside and usually raining. This time of year it is always cloudy and rainy so everything is a muddy mess. Then you leave, you are in the back of the vehicle getting wet and cold and you know it is just starting and you have another 7 or 8 hours of the cold left. The temptation is to cover up from head to toe but you can't because you have to pay attention to everything that is going on around you. You don't try to pick the safe villages you pick the ones in Indian country the ones that take you right by the bad guys. What you hope for is someone to get froggy and start something, but this never happens. You just stay cold and hope one of the vehicles doesn't get stuck, but it will at least one always does. So no you are in cold mud trying to get a vehicle unstuck, good times. Also due to the everchanging Afghan landscape and lack of roads the route you pick never seems to work out, there is always a hill that is too steep or a Wadi that is too deep. It just happens. So now your 15 mile movement is 45 plus, keeping in mind that you average about 20 miles an hour. Yes sir goodtimes, goodtimes.

Not that I am bitter I mean I am glad to help the village out and really like seeing the kids faces, would just be nice to get in a fight on the way back.

M

The Shoe Throwing Incident

Ok I know that this is old news but I have had a recent revelation about President George W. Bush in regards to this incident. I would first like to say that I am a fan. Not because he is from Texas, not because of the war, but because of how he has handled adversity. I have always believed that a man is measured not by how he handles himself during the easy times but how he reacts during the tough times. These are the times that you find out what a man is truly made of. This is where a weaker person breaks down, he might totally lose control, or compromise his beliefs in order to relieve some of the pressure of the situation. President Bush has never done this. He has taken everything on the chin and stayed the course. Has he every backtracked? No. Has he tried to repeadetly explain his reasons for unpopular decisions? No. Has he gotten down in the gutters with his chief critics? No. He takes the information that is available to him and makes the best decision possible, that is it. He recently stated that the most important job of the President is decision making. He was asked by Hannity if he sometimes wishes that he could show the American people the information he gets that helps drive his decisions, he said not really. He is not looking for people's approval, he is simply doing what he thinks is best for this country, period.

Now to the shoe throwing incident. As I watch this I think it is a direct reflection of his administration as of late. This man threw his shoe as hard as he could he was pulling no punches, he wanted to hit Bush in the face with it and he wanted to hurt him. Now that it has become fashionable to be a "Bush Basher" the attacks have become more vicious. They have become personal. President Bush saw the shoe calmly dodged it and looked up waiting for the next one that he knew was coming. He didn't dive to the floor cowering behind the podium, he didn't pick up the shoe and throw it back. He dodged and then smirked. As the attacks from the left have become more frequent and vicious President Bush stands tall, dodges calmly and waits for the next one. He doesn't attack back, he doesn't cower, he takes it. Mr. President allow me for a second to do your heavy lifting if I may.

Since the attacks on 9/11 how many Americans have been killed in America by terrorists? None. Why is that? Because they are over here fighting, running and hiding. I have mentioned before that I have lost friends here so I have a personal investment. Everyone of them would have rather be fighting the enemy over here than allowing them freedom of movement that would facilitate another attack on American soil. Why is Bin Laden still running around free?? Because he is living in a FUCKING cave. He is not free, he cannot make a phone call, see his family, talk on a radio, or do anything that would help him plan future attacks. Murderers in American prisons have more quality of life than he does. Why did we go into Iraq? This one is to easy, you had a maniacal dictator with access to an unlimited supply of money. I always like to answer that question with another question. What if we had deposed Hitler prior to World War 2? I guess that people opposed to a the war in Iraq would have prefferred that we waited until Saddam invaded ANOTHER oil producing country. Am I the only one that remembers how many times weapon's inspectors tried and failed to inspect key facilities in Iraq prior to the War? This of course after his failed attempt to capture and control Kuwait. What about the economy? What about it? In my opinion which is very limited when it comes to matters of the national economy, this is the fault of the banks and lending institutions that we are now spending billions of dollars to bailout. The mortgage companies were oh so quick to loan anyone with a pulse ridiculous amounts of money when the housing market was booming. It didn't matter if the people were unable to make the payments because the bank could quickly turn around the property usually at a profit. Not so anymore. So if I take my money and make a series of bad investments who is coming to bail me out? Who is going to save me from my ignorance? No one that is who. You want to save the banks and help the economy? Use the money to help people pay what they are currently behind on their mortagages. The banks have already proven that they cannot manage these funds, this way people are able to keep their homes and the banks get all of the money that is owed to them. Again just my un informed opinion.

So President Bush I would just like to say thank you. Thank you on behalf of my family. Thank you for being a President I can be proud of. Thank you for taking the moral high ground at every turn. I truly believe history will prove that your decisions were sound. It has been an honor serving for you as my Commander in Chief. Keep dodging sir there are alot of us that have your back.

M

The Italians

The base I am on is a mix of service men and women from several different countries. The Majority of them are Italians. To be honest we have never had a very high opinion of our warriors from the land of Olive Oil and pasta. This is mostly because you never ever hear of them getting into a gunfight. It is like they take great pains in order to avoid any type of conflict. This of course is the exact opposite of our current operations. So you can see where some animosity might exist. However I broke on of my very important rules, I assumed. You know they aren't joining in the fight so you mistakenly assume it is because none of them want to fight. I have recently had my eyes open.

The Italian military hierarchy is not unlike the U.S. Military hierarchy. They are following orders passed down to them and directing their subordinate units accordingly. This is usually in conflict with what the subordinate units (the ones on the ground) wish to do and think should be done. These soldiers have as much pride in their job as I do but they are doing it with a much much smaller budget and alot less support from back home. As I recently discovered it is not quite the honor to serve in the Italian Military as it is to serve in the U.S. Military. There will be no flag waving upon their return home and there are not multiple care packages arriving in the mail. One of new friends even joked that his parents tell their friends that he is a police officer vice a soldier, this is hard for me to imagine.

Recently I was befriended by a group of Italian Special Forces soldiers. We had been to many of the same places and have been here about the same amount of time. They would always comment on their awe of the U.S. Military war machine in action. The assets we had available to us simply amazed them as well as our ability to utilize these assets so quickly. This is even down to the amount of ammo we have for training, and our PPE Personal Protective Equipment. Keep in mind this is the Special Forces for the Italian Military so they have it quite a bit better than the rest or their counterparts. These soldiers have trained just as hard for just as long as I have and were very excited to implement their training against the enemy, instead all they encountered was roadblocks established by their government and military. They expressed their embarassment at having to sit inside of a firebase as they listened to a gunfight ensuing not 5 miles away. I have been in similar situations and it is maddening. The difference is I always knew that my time was coming, they however knew that their time was not. They knew that they would continue to hear the war stories from the Americans, the celebration after the fight. So I have now realized that they are no different than me. They want to come over here, do the right thing, and return with honor. So I would like to think my Italian friends for opening my eyes to this and I would like to apologize for my erroneous assumptions.

I hope they get home soon to their families, have a home cooked meal, drink some real wine, and have lots of sex with their wives and girlfriends. As much as I will miss them I truly hope that this happens for them soon. But they are flying back on Italian aircraft so probably not.

M