BlackFive

Guest hosted for Frank Gaffney today with Bill Roggio from Long War Journal, Sara Carter National Security Correspondent for the Washington Examiner and Dr. Peter Pry of EMPact America as guests.

It will stream live here at 5 pm eastern and I will link the audio when it is posted. here is a list of the radio stations it plays on around the country. Here is the audio link.

Anyone interested in whether or not I am a poseur can watch this from a few years back. I swear a little lot

If you're in the Tampa-St. Pete area, there's a fundraiser for the daughter of a fallen hero, Corporal Jonathan Porto. You all know his blogger wife (A Little Pink in a World of Camo):

Saturday, May 29 6-9pm
Paddy Burkes
100 4th St S. St Pete

[H/T to the Brat]

By now, you have read this post by Blackfive.  If not, you need to.

Today, there are two posts you need to read in honor of those who gave their tomorrows for our today.  For they may be gone, but they also live on -- especially when others pick up the torches and carry on. 

First up is an amazing post from an amazing man:  Robert Stokely.  One of the true honors of being part of Team Blackfive was meeting this man, and getting to spend a small amount of time with him.  Today, I know that the things that made his son someone I wish I had known, and make him someone I am glad to know,  run throughout that family.  

Second, you need to go read an article in Savannah Women's Journal.  Use the browser thingy and turn to page 20.  Zoom in and read the page.  Oh, you might enjoy page 24 as well. 

Troops will fall.  Yet, when those left behind pick up the torches they carried and move forward, they are not and never will be forgotten, and the light cast shall be as that of a host.  

Remember the fallen who have given their tomorrows for your today.  Honor their memory, and if you would truly honor their life, pick up the torches they have left for us, and take them forward.

LW 

who notes that tissues are needed, for these are very dusty stories...

The killing of a Chicago policeman and Iraq war vet from the WI National Guard, who my buddy Kev knew and respected, has caused an outcry in Chicago. The disarmed residents have decided they are sick of being victims and if the bad guys have guns they think they should be allowed to as well. I concur wholeheartedly and got a chance to discuss this today on the Alyona Show. I got to deploy the much beloved Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs analogy, so you know that made me happy.

James Hooker, a Grammy award winning artist, has been featured here before.  His song "Hanging Out with the Boys (on the Line)" was one that military blogs played.

Now, he was two new songs with more coming in an album.  You can go here to check them out before buying.  Personally, "Find Your Way Home" is my favorite.

Now for the best part, James sent out this message today:

Hello All

Today, I´m releasing online, through iTunes, CDbaby, and - as soon as I can dig up the widgets - links for amazon etc - ¨The Pledge¨ and ¨Find Your Way Home¨

These songs will all be part of the on-line only (as of now) album of ¨Hanging Out With The Boys¨- to be released on CDbaby and iTunes in aprox 2 weeks.  There are eight more to come as they are mixed and mastered.  The title song, HANGING OUT WITH THE BOYS, is being up-loaded to CDbaby today, and, through CDbaby, should find it´s way to iTunes, Amazon and other ilk in less than a week.

Yes, I hope to sell these songs - piano players eat too - but, I want to give something back to the wonderful people who inspired these songs and make it possible to write this in English..  I WILL devote 10% of the gross from these two singles and album to Soldiers Angels, forever!  So, spread it around - The Angels know how to do it right.

I never wore the uniform.  THAT is the one regret, among many, I have yet to shake.

Thank you all very much and have a happy and safe Memorial Day.
And May The God You And I Worship Bless And Keep Safe The United States Of America

James Hooker
http://www.tipjarmusic.com/jameshooker/home.html

So you can buy some great music and support Soldiers Angels too.

Spread the word!

There is a big National Memorial Day Parade in DC on Monday obviously, it is sponsored by the American Veterans Center. They asked me to see if there were any retired folks in the area who would like to ride in the parade. So if you know of any retired SEAls, SF guys, Rangers or Force Recon/MARSOC types let them know and have them contact me so I can out them in touch with these folks. I will be there as well.

It kicks off at 2 pm from 7th and Constitution right bu the National Mall and ends up just past the Washington Monument. It is a great event and I hop anyone local can come see it. I will be down by the start around noon and will hang around at the end afterward. Stop by and say hey.

"If our eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us." - General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868, Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic

"The solemn trust."

"Ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us."

The quote above is from the order establishing a day in May to gather and present flowers upon the graves of the Fallen.

In other words, it is our duty to remember those who gave all on Memorial Day.  The General Order continues:

As it was one hundred and forty two years ago, it is the same today.

Like many of you, I've lost friends.  One friend is too much to lose let alone three of the best men on the planet.  Or your comrades due to friendly fire.

Nobody said this was going to be easy.  Easy was yesterday.  While it's fine to grieve (and I do everyday), it's more important to stand strong and honor their memories.

How do you serve men like Mat Schram, Jack Swan, Cooter, Jon Ayers or Rick Rescorla?

You honor them by being the best American that you can be, being the best parent, friend or spouse, being the best supporter of the "the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan."  We must never forget their families.

On Memorial Day, I'll be at ceremonies and parades.  I'll call the Buddha to talk about missing Schrambo, and I'll talk to Rusty about Jack.  I'll also be grilling bratwurst (SCHRAMBO!).  I'll be the tickle monster chasing my five year old daughter in our back yard.  I'll be patiently trying to teach my 9 year old boy the fine art of playing short stop.

Being a good "daddy", husband, friend - that's what my friends would want me to do.

Honor them by ensuring that our future was worth the sacrifice of their tomorrows.

Yes I am aware Mr. Yon is still flinging poo, no need to send me more links. I have better things to do than indulge his paranoia. It is sad when he links to the tinfoil hat crowd to try and discredit me and the other folks here. Hopefully he will move on to more productive activities. I'm bored w/ Mike.

JD and I did our stint discussing the repeal of DADT and it seemed to go quite well. We got a bit less time than they hoped because of the oil debacle, but I think the discussion covered the points I wanted at least. Plus I made her laugh when I mentioned that gays were everywhere and some even have their own cable news shows. I mean I think Olbermann is doing a great job.  Plus I got what may be my favorite endorsement of the site evah at the end. Here is the statement that is referenced. First the whole segment.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now just the bit that will give us a new tagline, "Rachel Maddow- I am a regular reader of BLACKFIVE. That Uncle Jimbo is money." Well, almost. And for the record, no yellow pants. Maybe next time.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Let me start out this post by just saying this.

Never, not once, dirty, clean, dusty, snowy, muddy, wet or dry did my M-4 fail to go "BOOM" when I pressed the "BOOM" switch.  It never jammed, double fed, stove piped or just went "CLICK."

That is what I tell my partners (who are gun guys who like to spend hours debating the minutiae of caliber, tactics etc.) who ask me about the use of the M-4/5.56 combination in combat.  I tell them it is like having a super model girlfriend; she will get dirty with you, but she's got some rules, and one of those is that you better treat her good afterward. 

It never failed me, and it always placed the bullets where I wanted them to go.  I found that some carb. cleaner down the gas tube (to dissolve the carbon buildup--DEFINITELY not in the dash 10 manual), a bore snake through the barrel and a wipe down of the bolt was all I needed after any patrol to get it back to normal.

I bring this up because it appears that the specter of another round of "But does it work (insert unique operating environment here) based on the design?" with the US Army once again in the midst of a battle over whether or not the M-4 is a viable weapon for use on the battlefield.

I can carry a poop-ton of ammo for it (which you may need), it is easy to use, simple to operate and at least in my case, was rugged enough to last a year in combat without breaking any parts and got the job done.

The first thing any leader will tell you is that in combat, the rules in this order are; weapons maintenance, equipment maintenance, soldier maintenance. 

I will conclude this with an idea for the US Army, which is; no gun is going to solve all the problems of weight, accuracy, ruggedness, reliability and stopping power because in order to get one, their has to be a sacrifice of another.

The M-4/M-16 combination has been making live enemies into dead corpses with the aid of the skill of American soldiers in rifle companies for quite a long time.

Before departing in another direction with the development of more whiz-bang battery powered doo-doo that will fail the first time a private drops it off the back of Deuce and half, make sure to capture all of the lessons learned (good and bad) from soldiers who have used the product in combat and not from the contract rep. from ABC Arms Factory.

Chose wisely...  Lives depend on it...