A man of principle to say the least - That is the way they make them in the USMC. I hope his assessment turns out to be incorrect as if this is the start of a group of similar proclaimations, the road ahead will be even tougher than we expected.....
U.S. official resigns over Afghan war
Foreign Service officer and former Marine captain says he no longer knows why his nation is fighting
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.
A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed.
But last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency.
"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department's head of personnel. "I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."
The reaction to Hoh's letter was immediate. Senior U.S. officials, concerned that they would lose an outstanding officer and perhaps gain a prominent critic, appealed to him to stay.
U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry brought him to Kabul and offered him a job on his senior embassy staff. Hoh declined. From there, he was flown home for a face-to-face meeting with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603394_pf.html
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
SEMPER FI - Marines Win Top Sharpshooter Prize
SEMPER FI GENTLEMEN...Here is hoping you get to use those skills to find a few "Prime Targets" in the mountains of Waziristan....SOON !
Marines Win Top Sharpshooter Prize
October 26, 2009
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
The Marine Corps earned bragging rights during the 9th annual U.S. Army International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., last week, when Leathernecks from the Corps' Scout Sniper School (West) in Camp Pendleton, Calif., claimed the title of top marksmen.
But because of the nature of their work the top-scoring Marines -- Team 3 of the Pendleton school -- will not be doing any public bragging.
Those Marines, along with most other winners -- Marine and Soldier alike -- are keeping their names confidential, according to Benning spokeswoman Brenda Donnell, who told Military.com today that only two Army team members are being identified. Donnell believes the secrecy is related to the commands the snipers are with.
In all, 31 two-man teams took part in the week-long event that, in addition to the Overall place won by Pendleton's Team 3, featured 1st- 2nd- and 3rd-place winners in the Service Class and Open Class categories, according to a Benning announcement.
Service class teams were Marines or Soldiers who fire 7.62 NATO or small rounds as a primary or secondary weapon system, while those competing in the Open Class were snipers whose primary or secondary weapon fires a round larger than the 7.62, the Army said.
In addition to winning in the Overall category, Pendleton's Team 3 won 1st Place in Service Class.
Other winning teams in the Service Class were:
2nd Place - Team 24, D Company, 2nd Battalion, Special Warfare Training Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
3rd Place - C Troop, Team 6, 1st Bn., 73rd Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg. Team members were identified as Ian Erickson and Justin Chavis. Donnell did not have their ranks.
Open Class winners were:
1st Place - Team 10, A Company, 2nd Bn., 46th Infantry Regiment, 194th Armor Brigade, Fort Knox, Ky. Team members were Staff Sgt. Kevin Wildman and Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Johns, Donnell said.
2nd Place - Team 23, D Company, 2nd Bn., SWT Group, Fort Bragg.
3rd Place - Team 21, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg.
Marines Win Top Sharpshooter Prize
October 26, 2009
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
The Marine Corps earned bragging rights during the 9th annual U.S. Army International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., last week, when Leathernecks from the Corps' Scout Sniper School (West) in Camp Pendleton, Calif., claimed the title of top marksmen.
But because of the nature of their work the top-scoring Marines -- Team 3 of the Pendleton school -- will not be doing any public bragging.
Those Marines, along with most other winners -- Marine and Soldier alike -- are keeping their names confidential, according to Benning spokeswoman Brenda Donnell, who told Military.com today that only two Army team members are being identified. Donnell believes the secrecy is related to the commands the snipers are with.
In all, 31 two-man teams took part in the week-long event that, in addition to the Overall place won by Pendleton's Team 3, featured 1st- 2nd- and 3rd-place winners in the Service Class and Open Class categories, according to a Benning announcement.
Service class teams were Marines or Soldiers who fire 7.62 NATO or small rounds as a primary or secondary weapon system, while those competing in the Open Class were snipers whose primary or secondary weapon fires a round larger than the 7.62, the Army said.
In addition to winning in the Overall category, Pendleton's Team 3 won 1st Place in Service Class.
Other winning teams in the Service Class were:
2nd Place - Team 24, D Company, 2nd Battalion, Special Warfare Training Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
3rd Place - C Troop, Team 6, 1st Bn., 73rd Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg. Team members were identified as Ian Erickson and Justin Chavis. Donnell did not have their ranks.
Open Class winners were:
1st Place - Team 10, A Company, 2nd Bn., 46th Infantry Regiment, 194th Armor Brigade, Fort Knox, Ky. Team members were Staff Sgt. Kevin Wildman and Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Johns, Donnell said.
2nd Place - Team 23, D Company, 2nd Bn., SWT Group, Fort Bragg.
3rd Place - Team 21, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg.
Friday, October 23, 2009
YOU OWN IT NOW MR. PRESIDENT
I don't mind showcasing superior writing when I see it (and/or read it)
Peggy Noonan steps up to the plate and smacks one out of the park.
" President Obama, in office a month longer than Bush was when 9/11 hit, now owns his presidency. Does he know it? He too stands on rubble, figuratively speaking—a collapsed economy, high and growing unemployment, two wars. Everyone knows what he's standing on. You can almost see the smoke rising around him. He's got a bullhorn in his hand every day.
It's his now. He gets the credit and the blame. How do we know this? The American people are telling him. You can see it in the polls. That's what his falling poll numbers are about. "It's been almost a year, you own this. Fix it."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704224004574489530713762884.html#printMode
Peggy Noonan steps up to the plate and smacks one out of the park.
" President Obama, in office a month longer than Bush was when 9/11 hit, now owns his presidency. Does he know it? He too stands on rubble, figuratively speaking—a collapsed economy, high and growing unemployment, two wars. Everyone knows what he's standing on. You can almost see the smoke rising around him. He's got a bullhorn in his hand every day.
It's his now. He gets the credit and the blame. How do we know this? The American people are telling him. You can see it in the polls. That's what his falling poll numbers are about. "It's been almost a year, you own this. Fix it."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704224004574489530713762884.html#printMode
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
President JAFO is AWOL
From the WSJ...
Obama Goes AWOL On Afghanistan, "voting present" would be an improvement.
By JAMES TARANTO
...we suppose it's easy to sit on the sidelines and snark. Barack Obama is President of the United States, and he is juggling all kinds of urgent responsibilities. Such as this one, reported by the New York Times:
Mr. Obama will fly to New York on Tuesday for a lavish Democratic Party fund-raising dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for about 200 big donors. Each donor is paying the legal maximum of $30,400 and is allowed to take a date.And hey, if you don't like it, " grab a damn mop!" As Obama said just last week at . . . uh, another lavish Democratic Party fund-raiser.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports from Washington that "frustrations and anxiety are on the rise within the military" as the president dithers over Afghanistan:
A retired general who served in Iraq said that the military had listened, "perhaps naïvely," to Mr. Obama's campaign promises that the Afghan war was critical. "What's changed, and are we having the rug pulled out from under us?" he asked. Like many of those interviewed for this article, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from the military's civilian leadership and the White House.Shouldn't it be the enemy that fears reprisals?
During the presidential campaign, Obama's opponents mocked him for frequently voting "present" on difficult questions that came before the Illinois Senate. This is even worse. The commander in chief is absent without leave.
He is AWOL...as we would say in the military when you were confronted with something that made no sense "WTF, over?"
Obama Goes AWOL On Afghanistan, "voting present" would be an improvement.
By JAMES TARANTO
...we suppose it's easy to sit on the sidelines and snark. Barack Obama is President of the United States, and he is juggling all kinds of urgent responsibilities. Such as this one, reported by the New York Times:
Mr. Obama will fly to New York on Tuesday for a lavish Democratic Party fund-raising dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for about 200 big donors. Each donor is paying the legal maximum of $30,400 and is allowed to take a date.And hey, if you don't like it, " grab a damn mop!" As Obama said just last week at . . . uh, another lavish Democratic Party fund-raiser.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports from Washington that "frustrations and anxiety are on the rise within the military" as the president dithers over Afghanistan:
A retired general who served in Iraq said that the military had listened, "perhaps naïvely," to Mr. Obama's campaign promises that the Afghan war was critical. "What's changed, and are we having the rug pulled out from under us?" he asked. Like many of those interviewed for this article, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from the military's civilian leadership and the White House.Shouldn't it be the enemy that fears reprisals?
During the presidential campaign, Obama's opponents mocked him for frequently voting "present" on difficult questions that came before the Illinois Senate. This is even worse. The commander in chief is absent without leave.
------------------------------------------------------
He is AWOL...as we would say in the military when you were confronted with something that made no sense "WTF, over?"
Monday, October 19, 2009
Make a decision President JAFO
As President JAFO plays politics with the Afghanistan issue, I feel that we are only fiddling while our best & brightest burn....we (and they) cannot wait until the WH decides whether the political climate is right for a decision...Men are dying in the field...
While I understand the need for boots on the ground, and the whole hearts & minds thing, we should not be holding back in areas where we have clear tactical advantage, i.e. hitting the caves/desolate outposts with the guided munitions.
While we need both types of battle, we should be maximizing the use of finding the places where they are training/ resupplying in the wilds of Waziristan and hitting those caves/camps with everything we got.
Using the surveillance drones to make sure we are not hitting the WRONG places and making sure that we are hitting the RIGHT places. NO bombing weddings accidentally, just hitting the bad guys as they are getting trained up in the SH-Twilds…
The area along the PAK/AFGHAN border is too rugged to control with troops on the ground and by now, we should be able to use our superior tactical advantage to smoke them out of the holes….Find em and send them to Allah…
I thought the whole issue with the Kamdesh firebase that was attacked and almost overrun would have made the perfect test for the right application of this type of battle. After we left this base and made it unusable, the Taliban announced to the world that they had taken over the base and were flying their flag over the base.
Really?? Well someone at CENTCOM should have told them ” Stay right there..” as a C-130 flew overhead and dropped a Daisycutter on the spot as we knew exctly where they were and what they were doing. As the side of the mountain sheered off from the blast, we could have taped it and played the film at a news conference over & over again….Then we would conclude the news conference by quoting John McCain who stated, ” We will chase you to the gates of Hell..” as this will be the only way the Taliban Cockroaches stop what they are doing and run for their miserable lives…
I’m sorry to sound harsh but these extremists will only stop when we make them….It is about time we use our superior advantage to it’s optimum ability and make them stop.
I lost a buddy at WTC and another on the USS Cole, along with many shipmates in Fallujah….we have suffered enough loss of our best, it is time we take out their worst.
While I understand the need for boots on the ground, and the whole hearts & minds thing, we should not be holding back in areas where we have clear tactical advantage, i.e. hitting the caves/desolate outposts with the guided munitions.
While we need both types of battle, we should be maximizing the use of finding the places where they are training/ resupplying in the wilds of Waziristan and hitting those caves/camps with everything we got.
Using the surveillance drones to make sure we are not hitting the WRONG places and making sure that we are hitting the RIGHT places. NO bombing weddings accidentally, just hitting the bad guys as they are getting trained up in the SH-Twilds…
The area along the PAK/AFGHAN border is too rugged to control with troops on the ground and by now, we should be able to use our superior tactical advantage to smoke them out of the holes….Find em and send them to Allah…
I thought the whole issue with the Kamdesh firebase that was attacked and almost overrun would have made the perfect test for the right application of this type of battle. After we left this base and made it unusable, the Taliban announced to the world that they had taken over the base and were flying their flag over the base.
Really?? Well someone at CENTCOM should have told them ” Stay right there..” as a C-130 flew overhead and dropped a Daisycutter on the spot as we knew exctly where they were and what they were doing. As the side of the mountain sheered off from the blast, we could have taped it and played the film at a news conference over & over again….Then we would conclude the news conference by quoting John McCain who stated, ” We will chase you to the gates of Hell..” as this will be the only way the Taliban Cockroaches stop what they are doing and run for their miserable lives…
I’m sorry to sound harsh but these extremists will only stop when we make them….It is about time we use our superior advantage to it’s optimum ability and make them stop.
I lost a buddy at WTC and another on the USS Cole, along with many shipmates in Fallujah….we have suffered enough loss of our best, it is time we take out their worst.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
LEADERSHIP - Old School Style
A great picture that provides one of the key lessons for all who supervise others.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PRESIDENT JAFO
I have tried to stay away from Politics in this Blog because it is one issue where things get ugly and there is enough of that elsewhere. I would rather talk about cars, old Jeeps, Warbirds, etc.
The continuing whine about RACE & Racism in politics is really, really, really getting tired. The RACE Card is as dumb as calling your opponent a "NAZI"....Both tactics are beneath contempt and show true lack of intellect. Take a point & defend it. Leave the mud slinging out of it.
That said, Obama was elected but he is NOT the right person for this job or times. He has surrounded himself with others who are not competent enough to do their jobs either ( Biden, Politano, Gietner, etc.) and they think because we don't follow their lead, we are/must be racists.
They are false leaders. Like others of their ilk - Oprah, Dr. Phil, Romney, Rush, etc. They are not the right people to be in Leadership roles. They don't have the skills necessary or the intestinal fortitude to make the key decisions.
NONE of them could hold a match to people like FDR, Churchill, Truman, IKE, or JFK.
The movie Blue Thunder featured Roy Schieder & his young side kick who he tagged with the name "JAFO". The kid couldn't figure it out until he was let in on the joke.
JAFO - Just Another F*&kin' Observer -
President JAFO ain't getting it done.
The continuing whine about RACE & Racism in politics is really, really, really getting tired. The RACE Card is as dumb as calling your opponent a "NAZI"....Both tactics are beneath contempt and show true lack of intellect. Take a point & defend it. Leave the mud slinging out of it.
That said, Obama was elected but he is NOT the right person for this job or times. He has surrounded himself with others who are not competent enough to do their jobs either ( Biden, Politano, Gietner, etc.) and they think because we don't follow their lead, we are/must be racists.
They are false leaders. Like others of their ilk - Oprah, Dr. Phil, Romney, Rush, etc. They are not the right people to be in Leadership roles. They don't have the skills necessary or the intestinal fortitude to make the key decisions.
NONE of them could hold a match to people like FDR, Churchill, Truman, IKE, or JFK.
The movie Blue Thunder featured Roy Schieder & his young side kick who he tagged with the name "JAFO". The kid couldn't figure it out until he was let in on the joke.
JAFO - Just Another F*&kin' Observer -
President JAFO ain't getting it done.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
B-25 Mitchell for Sale...Can you spare a few bucks?
I would like to see about acquiring this old girl ( or another just like her) as part of a non-profit group mission to bring awareness of historic aircraft to more people
NORTH AMERICAN B-25 MITCHELL
Equipment Specifications
Manufacturer
NORTH AMERICAN
Model
B-25 MITCHELL
Price
US $750,000
Location
Rvs, Oklahoma
Condition
USED
Registration Number
N345BG
Total Time
9744 Hours
Any donations to the cause will be gratefully accepted and include a free ride once she is purchased....email me at usnavyjeep@gmail.com
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