Britain's rabid dogs

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

If you feed, house and submit to rabid dogs, you will be bitten. Homegrown Islamists blew up their subways before, and now they have beheaded a British soldier in broad daylight on a city street. We allowed the same thing to happen with the two vermin in Boston.Tolerance is a crime if it allows those sworn to our destruction the freedom to live amongst us, take our largess and then act as they said all along they would. These British scum were on watch lists, but just like the Tsarnaevs. Political correctness kept the Brits and us from doing what should be done to rabid animals.

I get sick of stating that all Muslims are not responsible for the actions of these scum, and there is some truth there. But look at the Pew report and do the math.

Few U.S. Muslims voice support for suicide bombing or other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam; 81% say such acts are never justified, while fewer than one-in-ten say violence against civilians either is often justified (1%) or is sometimes justified (7%) to defend Islam. Around the world, most Muslims also reject suicide bombing and other attacks against civilians. However, substantial minorities in several countries say such acts of violence are at least sometimes justified, including 26% of Muslims in Bangladesh, 29% in Egypt, 39% in Afghanistan and 40% in the Palestinian territories.

They try to minimize a hellish statistic by noting 81% say violence against civilians is never justified. But that means that 19% believe it is. And that is among US Muslims, the least radicalized in the world. That stat alone ought to chill your bones. The Pew report is hardly a right wing exercise in Islamophobia, if anything it is neutral orleans to the other side. They were unable to even conduct their research in the most virulent hotbeds of Islamist insanity like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other dens of jihad as the mere act of talking to a researcher could get even Muslims beheaded. If you apply the 19% support  for jihadist slaughter among relatively moderate Muslims to the rest of the 1 billion plus around the world, you get several hundred million folks who are just fine with beheading infidels, honor killings and imposing religious totalitarianism on all of us.

I don't know about you, but that is something worth paying attention to, and doing so is not Islamophobia. It is common freakin' sense. If someone holding a meat cleaver says he and his friends are going to cut your head off, the smart move is to give him the bin Laden treatment. Shoot him in the eye and feed his carcass to the fishes.

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Big Army Goes Overboard for Political Correctness

Posted By Blackfive

The US Army Soldier of the Year is going to be...

every Soldier.

That's right.  I wish I read it at the Duffel Blog but instead those crazy bastards at the Rhino Den have the scoop and I trust their word over just about anyone's.

It seems almost comical. Perhaps there were a bunch of generals sitting around trying to fluff their OER so they could get another star, maybe it was a PAO prank run amok, or maybe a Duffel Blog writer slipped a note to the Sergeant Major of the Army. Whatever the root cause may be, next year’s Soldier of the Year will be: Everyone. Every single soldier in the United States Army will be Soldier of the Year. The details haven’t been worked out yet how every soldier, to include officers will receive the trophy and commendations that usually go with winning Soldier of the Year, but the basic plan is that everybody’s been doing such a good job, that they want to reward, well pretty much everyone...

Read the whole thing at the Rhino Den.

Update:  best comment so far from the masses has been a lone voice from the lower ranks, "Can I put The US Army Soldier of the Year on my resume?"

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A Legitimate Criticism of the Military in the Washington Post

Posted By Grim

It doesn't happen much, but this one is pretty much straight up.  It's about camoflauge.  Many of you may remember that we used to have pretty much two patterns:  BDUs and DCUs.  They were pretty good.  Then... well, things changed.

Today, there is one camouflage pattern just for Marines in the desert. There is another just for Navy personnel in the desert. The Army has its own “universal” camouflage pattern, which is designed to work anywhere. It also has another one just for Afghanistan, where the first one doesn’t work.

Even the Air Force has its own unique camouflage, used in a new Airman Battle Uniform. But it has flaws. So in Afghanistan, airmen are told not to wear it in battle.... 

The Navy spent more than $435,000 on three new designs. One was a blue-and-gray pattern, to be worn aboard ships. Pattern No. 8.

Sailors worried that it would hide them at the one time they would want to be found.

“You fall in the damn water and you’re wearing water-colored camouflage. What the hell is that?” said one active-duty petty officer. He asked that his name be withheld because he was criticizing a decision by the brass. “It’s not logical. It’s not logical at all to have water-colored uniforms.”

Yeah, that last one especially has had a bunch of us head-scratching for a while now.  

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What the hell is wrong with you?!

Posted By Blackfive

First, a warning to regulars that this will make you upset, angry, etc. This woman is stuck on stupid.

US Air Force (USAF) veteran Julie Frein said she is willing to give up her burial plot at Arlington National Cemetery to Tamerlan Tsarnaev - the deceased Boston bombing suspect. The Anne Arundel County woman told Fox45 she feels the terrorist suspect should be able to be laid to rest and just wants it to all be over. "I feel sympathy for [his family] in that as long as this issue is open, they can't have closure," Frein told Fox45's Joy Lepola. When asked how she thought Americans would react to the suspect being buried in a national cemetery, Frein replied, "Well the country would just have to get over that, wouldn't they? Because nobody, nobody deserves to rot above ground." Frein has already called the funeral home in Massachusetts where Tsarnaev's body is currently stored and is in the process of contacting the Office of Veteran Affairs to see if she will be able to offer up her plot. Frein served in the USAF for two years. Her husband served in the US Navy for 20 years

Update: And in case you're wondering if this is even possible, got a note from a former Marine who checked with Arlington and got this message:

We have been receiving calls about the interview a veteran did regarding giving up her space at a veteran cemetery to the Boston Bombing suspect so he can be buried. We want to make it clear that this suspect is not eligible to be buried at Arlington -- a veteran can't transfer their eligibility to another person. Please pass this along to those who are concerned!

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The Intricate Richard-Dance of The Mentally Insane....

Posted By Deebow

I had no idea when I was young that adults were going to be this foxtrotting dumb when I grew up.  It appears that the US Army has now demonstrated that they are capable, on the grandest of scales, of reaching a level of mental midgetry and political correctness that has no limit or bottom.

“The vendor etched those inscriptions on scopes without the Army’s approval,” Army spokesman Matthew Bourke told Fox in a written statement. “Consequently, the modified scopes did not meet the requirement under which the contract was executed.”

Bourke said the vendor (which is Trijicon--ed.) agreed to remove all Bible references on future deliveries.

“Some of these scopes had already been fielded,” Bourke explained. “Corrective measures were taken to remove inscriptions during the RESET/PRESET process in order to avoid a disruption in combat operations.”

Our enemies are laughing at us as they watch us dance around trying to kick their ass without hurting their feelings, using bad words or getting some gravy from their lemon chicken on their precious holy book; as they ambush our soldiers with explosives and gunfire.

So, following along with your idea there Mr. Big Army spokesman Matthew Bourke, in order to be intellectually consistent with this galactically stupid idea that religion should not be part of our operations overseas, or part of the identity of our army, or part of the values of our soldiers; and that soldiers deployed in combat operations should not be in possession of anything that makes reference to bible verses and by their extension, religious materials; I demand that DoD take the following action immediately:

Every Chaplain in every service located at every post, on every ship, at every airfield and forward base be redeployed or PCS'ed and upon arrival in CONUS, I want them immediately out processed and given an RE-4 re-enlistment code.  I also want every piece of religious material taken from every post and base here and abroad.  I want every chapel on every post and base torn down.  I want AR 670-1 changed so that every soldier is prohibited from carrying, wearing or being in possession of while in uniform and religious symbol or piece of religious jewelry; whether visible or not.  I want every pocket copy of the New Testament confiscated from all soldiers in theater.

If the giving of offense by religion and the possibility thereof needs to be removed from our rifle scopes, then all of these things, according to your definition, will "disrupt" combat operations and need to be removed from our forces.   In fact, we probably need to complete this little circle of ass-hattery you have got started here by ensuring that from this time forward, we only recruit atheists; you know, just to make sure.

And, I am not certain if you know, and this part comes from someone who has looked down a rifle at them, the Muslims aren't going to be more pissed at us because we wrote a bible verse on a rifle scope, and removing them isn't going to increase the likelihood of mission success, so what is your objective exactly with this order?

We are not talking about knocking down a burr on a firing pin that causes negligent discharges or making a work around for up armoring a truck, you are talking about removing part of a serial number on piece of US army equipment; which I think will get you some UCMJ action,

I know this is all about the stupid premise of not somehow making this a "crusade."  If it really was, we would have wrapped this up about 8 years back and had them all converted by now.

Mostly though, this kind of shiznit just makes our society look weak, as if we have no courage of our convictions to stand for what we believe in; and I understand how our enemies would get this impression, given the well documented love of America by our current Secretary of State, Occupant in Chief and the rest of the most inept and clueless administration in history.

If I were the King; I would have this inscribed on the upper receiver of every rifle in the inventory:

Blessed be the Lord, My Rock who trains my hands for battle and my fingers to war.

I say if you are going to inflame their passions, I want them to be on fire.

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Army Captain Assaulted For His Service in N.Y. Wal-Mart

Posted By Blackfive

Via Tantor, we have this story that won't get much attention.  

Authorities say video surveillance footage from an Albany Wal-Mart store shows a uniformed U.S. Army officer being attacked by a man who had verbally harassed the soldier for his military service.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/21979547/police-ny-man-attacked-army-officer-at-wal-mart#ixzz2QdkwRlMD

The officer was a Captain and in line at WalMart when the "alleged" assaulter (who was in line behind the Captain) began yelling derogatory comments about the US and it's military.

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Distinguished Warfare Medal Rejected! Device recommended instead

Posted By Blackfive

Click on this link (right click, save as) to see the actual signed memorandum by SecDef Hagel.

Here is the text.

Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Distinguished Warfare Medal

            The Department of Defense announced on Feb. 13 the establishment of the Distinguished Warfare Medal to recognize the achievements of a small number of service men and women who have an especially direct and immediate impact on combat operations through the use of remotely piloted aircraft and cyber operations.  I agree with my predecessor Leon Panetta that such recognition is justly warranted for these men and women and thank him for raising the level of awareness of their hard work and critical contributions. 

            When I came into office, concerns were raised to me about the Distinguished Warfare Medal’s order of precedence by veterans’ organizations, members of Congress, and other stakeholders whose views are valued by this department’s leadership. 

            After consulting with the service secretaries, along with Gen. Dempsey and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I directed them to review the Distinguished Warfare Medal.  The medal was originally conceived to be awarded only to those men and women who, while serving off the battlefield, have an extraordinary impact on combat operations.  While the review confirmed the need to ensure such recognition, it found that misconceptions regarding the precedence of the award were distracting from its original purpose. 

            The Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the concurrence of the service secretaries, have recommended the creation of a new distinguishing device that can be affixed to existing medals to recognize the extraordinary actions of this small number of men and women.   I agree with the Joint Chiefs’ findings, and have directed the creation of a distinguishing device instead of a separate medal. 

            The Joint Chiefs also recommend further consultation with the service secretaries, the service senior enlisted leaders, and veterans’ organizations regarding the nature of the device as well as clear definition of the eligibility criteria for award of the device.   I have directed that within 90 days final award criteria and the other specifics of the distinguishing device be developed and presented to me for final approval. 

            The service men and women, who operate and support our remotely piloted aircraft, operate in cyber, and others are critical to our military’s mission of safeguarding the nation.  I again want to thank my predecessor, Leon Panetta, for raising the need to ensure that these men and women are recognized for their contributions.

Good on SecDef Hagel for listening to the various constituents about this idea.  Lots of people voiced their concerns.

RE:  The Burn Pit and The Burn Pit (Q&A with the DoD) 
RE:  BlackFive - And Son, This Medal Is For... 

And of course...DOCTRINE MAN!

 

 

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The Things Veterans Love to Fear

Posted By Blackfive

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Norks, Bluster, Bluffs, and Battle

Posted By Blackfive

"I hope the North will ratchet this very dangerous rhetoric down." - SecDef Chuck Hagel at the National Defense University on April 3, 2013.  (editor note:  'Hope' is an awesome plan, Mr. Secretary.  Just ask any soldier.)

The North Koreans continue to push the stupid envelope wider and wider.  Now, there are reports of them moving missiles to the coast - closer reach of Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, Seattle, etc.

Of course, much of this is due to internal power struggles with (Kim Jong Il's son and the grandson of the founder of NK) Kim Jon Un.  He is still trying to keep the Defense Minister held at bay while allowing minor shows of strength.  Por ejemplo, attacking a South Korean island with artillery or sinking a South Korean naval vessel.  

More than likely, some sort of attack will occur - this is the modus operandi of Kim Jon Un (at least, so far).  But...

A nuke missile aimed at the USA?  

Doubtful.  

But, probably, the South Koreans will get hit soon.  And our diplomacy team will get right on it.

That should make our friends in South Korea feel better.

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U.S. Using WMD in Afghanistan

Posted By Mr Wolf

That's correct.

The U.S. has tacitly admitted that it is using Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD, in Afghanistan, Yemen, and all other places that it conducts kinetic activity.  Iraq?  Tons of the stuff was deployed - and by definition, Saddam had far more of it than you could possibly inventory.

How?  How could a nation so set on PREVENTING the use of WMD end up using it in such huge quantities itself?

Simple- the U.S. has basically indicted itself.

You see, this past week the FBI released the indictment of one Eric Harroun, 30, known to Syrians as “the American.”  According to a story in the WaPo:

The complaint says Harroun conspired to use a weapon of mass destruction, the RPG, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday.

RPG?  WMD?  Well, yes, as journalist James Joyner has found out:

...unless RPG technology has improved vastly since I last fired one, there’s no possible way that it should fall into the category. Taking out a tank or a low-flying helicopter is destructive, no doubt, but it ain’t massive.

Nor, according to 18 USC § 2332a, would an RPG seem to qualify as a WMD:

(2) the term “weapon of mass destruction” means—

(A) any destructive device as defined in section 921 of this title;

(B) any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors;

(C) any weapon involving a biological agent, toxin, or vector (as those terms are defined in section 178 of this title); or

(D) any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life;

 Alas, following the trail to section 921, we see that:

4) The term “destructive device” means—

(A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas—

(i) bomb,

(ii) grenade,

(iii) rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces,

(iv) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce,

(v) mine, or

(vi) device similar to any of the devices described in the preceding clauses;

(B) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter; and

(C) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in subparagraph (A) or (B) and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled.

So, by the very definition that the U.S. uses to prosecute criminals, we, the good 'ol U.S. of A., is conspiring to inflict WMD across the globe. 

But how is it possible that the lowly RPG, and by association, the 40mm grenade, the 155 artillery shell, and the 81mm mortar, could be considered a WMD? Read the definition above- if it contains more than one-quarter ounce of explosive, its a WMD.  How much do these explosives hold?  You can check that here.  For example, the M362 HE round contains 2.10 pounds of the stuff.  Pretty massive WMD, if you ask me.

The asshat Harroun definitely needs prosecuted (see Jimbo's post below)- and introduced to a few new virgins afterwards if he is so inclined to assist (possibly) AQ-associated groups.  But to do so under the guise that RPG's and similar munitions are WMD is beyond the pale.  What next?  Do you see 30-rd magazines being slipped into this definition?  Because well, a grenade can kill only 1 person; 30-rd mags can kill up to what, 30?

Masses, I tell you.  That's mass destruction right there.

U.S law has gone beyond the ridiculous here.  And we've only done it to ourselves.  But want to know something?  It gets worse- just ask our good buddy Bob Owens:

DOJ prosecutes Army veteran that conspired with wrong rebel group to shoot 10 Syrian soldiers; refuses to prosecute Attorney General than ran guns to narco-terrorists used in 302+ murders

So they're willing to prosecute someone who fires ''WMD'' in Syria, but not go after someone who killed U.S. citizens right here in our own back yard?

What goes around comes around, and bites you right in the ass...

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