Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Happy Veterans Day

Great.  Thanks for saying "thank you". 

For all of your thanks my knees still hurt, so does my shoulder and my back.  So do the injuries of countless other veterans.

You're welcome to for my pain.  Really.

While you pat yourself on the back today, feeling good about yourselves for thanking the veterans that you see during the day, remember this:  Thousands of veterans are homeless.  Thousands of veterans need medical care for injuries or wounds that they sustained while serving, and won't get it from Uncle Sam. 

On this day, you might want to remember that hundreds of thousands of our veterans were used in atomic experiments.   You might also remember that hundreds of thousands of veterans were exposed to chemicals like Agent Orange and other defoliants.  You might also remember that hundreds of thousands of veterans were given unproven "anti nerve-gas" drugs while serving in combat zones... or have been exposed to depleted uranium, or have been exposed to nerve agents.

You might want to remember those things... and after you say "Happy Veterans Day" to the veterans that you know... call your Congressional Representatives, and tell them that they MUST do a better job.

Does it sound like I am bitter?   Perhaps.  Sorry if that harshes your mellow.

Happy Birthday, Marines!

On November 10th, 1775, the Continental Congress of the fledgling nation that would become the United States, authorized two battalions of Marines to serve our fleet during the American Revolution.  We Marines consider this date the "birthday" of our Corps.

Beginning with a recruitment drive at Tun Tavern, in Philadelphia, Captain Samuel Nicholas, our first commandant began filling our ranks with most dedicated men (and later, women) this country has produced, from his time to ours.

Today is a day that Marines old and new, young and old, greet each other with handshakes and a hearty "Happy Birthday, Marine!"... it is a day where we tell old stories from places that we served, and people that we served with.  It is a day of joy, as much as it is a day of sadness.

Whenever Marines get together and tell their stories, we remember our whole history and our record of combat service to our nation, from Providence, The Bahamas to Chapultepec castle; from Tripoli to Haiti; From  Iwo Jima to Khe Sahn; and from Grenada to Fallujah.  In our stories we remember our heroes... famous men like John Basilone, Chesty Puller, Dan Daly, and Smedley Butler, as well as men most of you have never heard of, like Nicholas Manoukian, who is pictured here, and remembered here.  Those fallen Marines are our brothers, every bit as much as all Marines are brothers (and sisters).

So, today, while I go about my business, and greet the many old Marines that I work with, and those I meet in the course of the day, I will remember our history, take pride in our accomplishments and dedication to service... and I will remember, solemnly, the sacrifices made by so many that have gone before.

Semper Fidelis

Gunfighter (USMC 1981-1989)

Camouflage Barbie

It is nearly impossible to live where I live and not see and extraordinary number of military personnel.  Living in such close proximity to the Pentagon, Fort Meyer, Henderson Hall, The NAvy Annex, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and Fort Belvoir (among many others), you can't help but see folks of all of the armed forces, all of the time.

Seeing as many military people as I do, and being a veteran myself,  it is easy to spot the differences in military dress uniforms or service uniforms at a glance.  The military branches being so different one from the other, you didn't have to think twice about the guy in the white uniform... he was clearly in the Navy.  The woman in blue was either Air Force or Coast Guard (and you only needed an extra half-second to figure out which it was).  The Marines and the army, despite the fact that they both wear green, are as different as night and day (the army uses a different shade of green than The Corps), the army wearing light green shirts, The Corps' shirts being khaki.  Simple, right?  Well, maybe not so much.

In the early 1980's, most of our armed forces began to adopt camouflage uniforms for use in the field, or in combat.  The army started the ball rolling, with the Marine Corps right alongside... then followed the Navy, and thern, God help us, the Air Force.

In an effort to keep costs down, the services were all using the same "woodland" pattern material... indeed, all of the services we wearing the same camouflage  uniform, the only distinction being the insignia.  Well, times have changed a bit.

In the early part of the Iraq war (I refuse to call it Operation Iraqi Freedom, because Iraq isn't free, it just has new masters), the Marine Corps adopted a new camouflage pattern.  It is a sort of digital print that is very similar to the then-new Canadian armed forces pattern (called Cadpat), the Marine Corps, not to be outdone, calls their pattern Marpat.  The United States Army, trying to keep up with the Marine Corps, got rid of the old woodland pattern, and the "chocolate chip" pattern desert uniform, as well as the more recent desert pattern, and came up with their own pattern called "ACU" (Army combat uniform).

OK, you know something?  I get the whole "let's have a uniform distinctive to our own service" thing.  I do.  Having different uniforms certainly goes a long way to establishing military identity... being a veteran of the service with the best looking uniforms AND best combat record has taught me that, but I digress.

Where was I?

Oh, right.  Distinctive uniforms.  Anyway, the US Air Force, not wanting to be left behind (not a reference to that Tim LaHaye crap), decided the it, too, needed a distinctive camouflage pattern. So, what they did was....  What?  What did you say?  Did you say "Why in the world does that Air Force need a camouflage uniform?"  Is that what you said?  Well, fair enough... you know that I like to answer questions when my readers have them.  I'll take a whack at it, ok?

Some (albeit very few) members of the Air Force have very good reasons to wear camouflage.  For instance, Combat Air Control teams, and Tactical Air Controllers have every reason in the world to wear such uniforms, as they usually operate with army units and spend their time directing forward air strikes and managing air traffic around the battlefield.  These men operate wherever the fighting is.  They need whatever protection camouflage can provide.  Make sense?, good, here are two more great examples:  Air Force Para-rescue operators (also known as PJ's):  These men are combat rescue operators.  They are inserted by helicopter, sometimes by parachute, often in enemy territory to recuse downed aircrew.  it is a hard but honorable job.  Camouflage is also needed by Air Force Security Forces:  These men and women protect air bases.  Most importantly, they protect forward-deployed airbases that are still subject to ground attack, they too need the extra protection (not as much, maybe, but there you are).

OK, so the Air Force has some reasons that some of it's personnel should wear camouflage, but this is where it gets sticky and brings me to the point of this post:  Most people in the Air Force have no bloody reason to wear camouflage uniforms.  I mean, really, I have a neighbor, a lovely young woman, who is a budget analyst for the air national guard, and every time I see her in her freshly starched camouflage uniform (with desert-tan boots) I want to scream.  Not that she isn't impeccably turned out (she is), but this is a person who, through her whole career hasn't held a gun, much less gone anywhere near anyone who has fired a shot in anger.

I'm not writing this to rag on my neighbor, but do you have any idea how much it costs you and me to pay for this knee-jerk reaction to what appears to be a shift in military fashion?

There are even MATERNITY camouflage uniforms for the army and air force.  Now, I ask you:  What kind of sense does that make?, because try as I might, I can't come up with a good answer.

Dear President Obama

Dear President Obama,

 

This isn’t the first time I have written to a sitting President via my blog, and I suspect that it won’t be the last, but since it is my first time writing to you, I think that I should tell you a few things.

 

First, I would like to tell you that not quite a year into your tenure, I think that you are doing a good job leading the country at a very precarious time, considering the financial crisis, which seems to be in the early stages of recovery.  I also think that you deserve the Nobel Peace Prize that you have been awarded if for no other reason than the fact that you have toned down the bellicose rhetoric that has come from the White House since you became President.  Frankly, I think that the world can’t afford a rogue elephant in the White House, and your elevation to the Presidency has certainly eliminated a rogue from the world stage.

 

The main reason that I am writing to you today, Mr. President is to urge you to not send an additional 40,000 American soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan.  My reasoning is as follows:  Islamic radicals in Pakistan are the author of our troubles in Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government is either unable or unwilling to control them, despite the billions of dollars that we annually spend to assist them militarily.  The sad truth is that the Pakistani police, armed forces, and intelligence services are rife with fundamentalist radicals, or their sympathizers.  This situation makes any efforts in Afghanistan, beyond humanitarian help, a complete waste of resources.

 

We cannot democratize Afghanistan, sir.  We cannot even assist in the democratization of  ANY nation without a thriving, educated, middle class or one with such societal divisions as Afghanistan has.  Since we cannot democratize Afghanistan, the best we can hope to do is to pacify that nation… pacification is the BEST we can hope for, and frankly, sir, pacification is something that A) won’t happen even with an addition 40,000 troops, and B) won’t happen without conducting a war in Pakistan, which I am certain that we won’t/shouldn’t do.

 

Where does this leave us?  Well, from where I sit (currently about 10 miles from the White House), it leaves us in an exceptionally bad place on nearly every level.

 

 Militarily, we will continue to waste the lives of our Soldiers and Marines.  Further, continued combat usage of our equipment will have far reaching consequences, considering that nearly every rifle, machine gun, tank, helicopter, and truck that we use in that country (as well as Iraq) will have to either be completely replaced or have depot-level maintenance to remain in service.  

 

Economically, we can’t keep this up forever.  Wars must be paid for sir… you don’t need ME to tell you that.  Additionally, the current strains on our Veterans care apparatus are staggering, and have generational ramifications. 

 

Lastly, Mr. President, there are other, more important threats that the threats posed by the Taliban/Al Qaeda.  Damage that can be done to our nation by terrorists is minimal as long as we are vigilant, but trying to use conventional military force to fight small terror cells is like trying to swat a butterfly with an ax… we’ll cause lot’s of damage, and at the end of the day, the butterfly will continue on it’s way.

 

I know that you were handed a mess when you came into power Mr. President, but it’s your show, now.  You have to be the adult and say when enough is enough, just like I do with my children.  Fortunately, I can sit here and advise you without the myriad other things that you have going on, hanging over my head, and I am sure that there are a great many things going on that demand your time and attention, but I have confidence in you, Mr. President… you are a good man, and I am counting on you to do what’s right.  We need to make an exit from Afghanistan.  We need to do it right now.

 

Respectfully,

 

Gunfighter

United States Armed Forces Sex Blog

There, that title ought to tickle the search engines.

Today, I'm writing about SEX.  That's right.  SEX.  Close your eyes if you aren't over 18.

Specifically, I want to talk about sex in the United States Armed forces. 

While nearly everyone in America is nearly killing themselves to be the loudest in extolling the virtues of the men and women of United States Armed forces, we haven't been paying attention to a serious issue that has been true of armies since time immemorial, and remains true today, even in the nearly-perfectly-virtuous US armed forces.  That issue is the quasi-sponsorship of prostitution and human trafficking that is funded and fueled by American servicemen stationed in various parts of the world.

Ask any man that has spent time in the armed forces... especially any man that has spent time stationed in Okinawa, Japan; South Korea; Thailand; or Vietnam.  Let's not forget Germany; Britain; Holland; Italy; Greece; Portugal, and many other countries.  Go ahead and ask.  If you do, you'll find out that our service men (with their naturally high libidos) have been boinking with the best of them, creating a flourishing sex trade, wherever they put down stakes.

For many years this behavior was not only tolerated but winked at by high-ranking officers as well as senior Non-commissioned officers.  During my time in the service (1981-1989), it was common to hear things like "what happens in Okinawa stays in Okinawa".

It is common for people to respond to this situation by saying: "Oh, its just young, fit, horny men acting the way young men do... what's the problem?"  Well, for starters, the problem is the fact that prostitution, in most of the places that I mentioned, is illegal.  Another problem is  that incredible increase in human trafficking (for the sex trade) from eastern europe.  Another problem is the exploitation of desperately poor women.  Another problem is the spread of disease.  Another problem is the toll taken on marriages & families.  I could go on, but you get my drift, right?

Well, guess what?  Your Generals and Admirals don't care.  Your national leaders don't care.  The American people, in large part, don't care.

What do they care about?  Gay people serving in the military.

Yes... prostitution is ok.  The moral turpitude of our soldiers in ok.  Male and female service members swapping partners more than they change their skivvies is ok.  The rampant swinging or "wife swapping" that happens in married quarters on base is ok (not making that up, I know, first hand)... but for the love of God, if a soldier is gay, that is going to wreck the morale of the armed forces and damage good order and discipline to the point of making our Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, unable to wage war.

As comrade Shakespeare would have said:  "That would be scanned"

There are reports that say that the number of women that contract venereal diseases in the United States Marine Corps is something near 40 percent higher than the national average... Using the logic of the homophobes, I guess that Marines infecting one another is alright, as long as these ladies aren't infecting each other.

All of this leads me, rather erratically, I know, to a discussion of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that has been failing since it's inception. I won't parse the policy here, because you probably already know what it is... if you don't, follow the link and find out. 

I think that this is a stupid and discriminatory policy that not only prevents patriotic people of different sexual orientation from serving openly in the armed forces, but hurts the readiness of the American armed forces in general by removing a significant segment of the young, available pool of warfighters.

Unfortunately, as wrong as this policy is, it is still policy, which brings me to the case of Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach, late of the United States Air Force, and Lt. Dan Choi, late of the United States Army.  These two officers recently came out (and in Fehrenbach's case, was outed) and have become the poster people for the gay community's efforts against "Don't Ask", Don't Tell".

The gay community is in an uproar, as they should be, about this policy, but have taken to attacking President Obama for not getting this policy overturned quickly enough.  I'm sure that if I were gay, I would want this done immediately.  Having said that, I understand that things like DADT are best handled later in an administration rather that the very beginning.

Sure, you can say that my attitude towards all of this is poor, or that I am unsympathetic because I'm not gay, and I suppose, depending on your own personal perspective, you might be right, but hear me out on this.  Politics isn't about ruling by decree.  It's about trying your best to do what you CANdo, as best you can.  Most Americans want President Obama to succeed.  Most want him to do the best that he can do to lead this country, and I think that with a fairly thin majority in the Senate, the President has to be careful that he doesn't spend all of his political capital repealing DADT.

Since the repeal of DADT would give the GOP a hefty stick to beat him with in the 2012 election, you can expect that there won't be a huge amount of movement on the issue until he wins re-election.

Which brings us back to Lt. Colonel Fehrenbach and Lieutenant Choi.

These worthy gentlemen, whom I believe to be Patriots, and good officers who are both committed to service, should have known what they were getting into.  In Choi's case, he had to have known, smart guy that he is, that coming out would be his military undoing.  There is no way that he didn't know that he wasn't going to get the boot, and that going public with his dismissal wasn't going to save his army  career.  Bad policy or not, the policy is current and firmly in place for the time being. 

It isn't the place of a junior officer to try to change policy by grandstanding.  Good luck in the civilian Mr. Choi, I wish you all the best in your future, which, no doubt, will be bright.

In the case of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, things change a bit.  From what I understand, he was outed by someone.  That's a shame.  A shame because Fehrenbach was compliant with the policy, and his career, which has been stellar, from what I understand, has been destroyed two years short of his eligibility to retire.

For all of the trauma to gays in the armed forces that the examples of these men typify we cannot... or at least certainly should not be shocked that the DADT policy was not the first thing on the President's agenda.

This doesn't make Barack Obama a back-stabber.  It doesn't mean that he has no intention to deal with this issue, but timing, as is frequently said, is everything.

So there you have it friends... our soldiers are cavorting with prostitutes, giving each other the clap, screwing each other's spouses, and even prostituting themselves on our ships and in the barracks... but as long as these liasons are hetero (and still technically illegal), nobody cares... as long as they aren't gay.

 

 

A Memorial Day Reminder

Today is Memorial Day in the United States.  Today is a day that we commemorate, above all others, the sacrificed lives of our dead Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines.

For a great many people, today is a day off from work, and a day spent with the activities associated with the beginning of summer... and that's fine, just don't forget that hundreds of thousands of American fighting men (and women) have died in the service of their country, fighting on behalf of their government.  Their government, which is by, of, and for the people (that means US).

As we honor our war dead, let us remember that we, by electing smart, well-informed, and sane leaders, are directly responsible for sending these brave souls into battle.

Let us remember that, before we make decisions that may cost the lives of these brave men and women.  Let us remember that their lives aren't to be thrown away, or spent in a cavalier manner.  Let us remember that their dedication to our country shouldn't be misused for unscrupulous political reasons.

We owe those things to the memory of those we have lost, and especially to those we have yet to lose.

On Being An Injured Veteran

****My progressive friends over at Momocrats recently posted a piece about caring for our veterans.  I started to comment, but the comment would up being so long, I figured I would make a post out if it, myself.  When you finish this, please go give them a read.****

_________________________________________________

Historically, our country hasn't given a rat's ass about it's veterans.

Here is a little story about how much our government cares.

I left the Marine Corps in 1989, after eight years of service.  Just before the date of my Honorable Discharge from the service, the 2nd Marine Division herded (yes, herded) all of us who were out-processing, into a large auditorium... our pre-discharge paperwork was all neatly arranged and mostly filled out.  We were instructed to fill out specific things like forwarding addresses for mail... and in case Uncle Sam required our services again (whether we liked it or not).

We were almost done when one of the Warrant Officers in charge of the briefing said "How many of you have service-related injuries?"  A loud laugh went up and so did our hands.  This briefing was for Marines who were all coming out of the combat regiments in the Division... all of us had hurt either our shoulders, backs, knees, ankles, feet, hearing loss (artillery and Machine-guns will do that for you!), and other injuries that a modern Infantryman, Artilleryman, or Tank crewman often suffer. 

Seeing this, the officer told us to fill out THE YELLOW FORM (I think it was yellow) so we could all be placed on medical hold... for 6 months to two years.  All the hands went down.

Do you know why?

Because no one had bothered to tell us about this.

I think they got the precise reaction that they wanted... they wanted us to just go home without treatment.  It was easier... and cheaper.  These men had jobs waiting... and wives & children waiting... they had their lives waiting for them.  Lives they (we) had put on hold to serve our country.  So what did we do?  We left.  We took our discharges and got on with our lives.  Little did we realize that we wouldn't be young forever.  We didn't realize that some day we'd be forty... and fifty.  We didn't know that those irritating pains we suffered in our youth would be debilitating before we were old.

They don't call it the Infantry for nothing, you know.  We were all teenagers when we drank the Kool-Aid enlisted.  We had our youth, we were invincible... who knew that our country wouldn't, despite the "support-the-troops" bullshit rhetoric, give a damn about our health in the future?

As much as I honor my service, and as much pride as I have at having been part of the biggest, baddest fraternity ever created in this country, I am somewhat embittered about the treatment we received.  I am reminded daily when I get out of bed and my ankles pop, then my knees, and then my back, and then when my shoulder can only do certain things.

The truth is that governments only give a shit about soldiers when there is a war on... and they only care then, if you are healthy enough to get back into the fight if you were wounded...  If not, it's F*** You, and the armored vehicle you rode in on... unless, of course, you were in the Infantry, like me, in which case you arrived on foot, carrying over a hundred pounds worth of weapons, gear, and ammunition.

Semper Fi