“He’s not a dog. He’s a Marine.”

CBS' NCIS is the top show on television and the reason why is that it is well written, has a great cast lead by Mark Harmon and shows why HONOR, COURAGE & COMMITMENT matter, especially today more than ever.

I just watched an episode called "Seek" which covered the story of a Marine & his faithful Black Lab " Dex ". It aired earlier in the states but here in Afghanistan, we get the shows a few weeks/months behind the times.

As usual, the episode was great and I was emotinally touched by the story. Gibbs and his people got the bad guys and took care of those who needed his help. But there is more to it than that.....The story touched my heart as it involved a Marine and his faithful K9 buddy.

Here is the rest of the story from the Marine Times/AP. This great episode was dedicated to a real life pup and to "military working dogs and their brave handlers everywhere".

I'm glad that NCIS is one show we can count on in the vast wasteland that is broadcast network television.

Semper Fi and Semper Fidos to all those who stand in harm's way.  Your efforts and sacrifices are appreciated.

Navy SEAL’s loyal dog prompts ‘NCIS’ episode

The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 23, 2013 15:00:46 EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa — The legend of Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson and his faithful Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, continues to grow.

A now-famous photograph of Hawkeye guarding Tumilson’s flag-draped coffin in 2011 inspired this week’s episode of the hit CBS television series “NCIS,” according to one of its executive producers.

“It all started with a photograph,” co-executive producer Scott Williams wrote on the show’s blog. The inspired result: Tuesday’s episode, “Seek,” the night’s top-rated show.

“It served as yet another stark reminder of the sacrifices made by our military men and women and their families (pets included),” Williams wrote. “It also set the wheels in motion for the (March 19) episode.”

Jon Tumilson, 35, who was born in Osage, Iowa, and grew up in Rockford, Iowa, died in Afghanistan in August 2011 when the Chinook helicopter carrying him and 29 others was shot down.
His cherished black Lab, Hawkeye, led Tumilson’s family into the funeral.

What happened next resulted in a photo that became an Internet sensation.

When Hawkeye’s new owner, close family friend Scott Nichols, went to the front to speak, Hawkeye came with him. The dog soon walked to Tumilson’s flag-draped coffin, dropped to the floor, and stayed there, as if on guard.

Tumilson’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton, captured the moment on behalf of 1,500 mourners at Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock gym in Rockford.

The image prompted people around the world to comment on its depiction of faithfulness, companionship, bravery and duty.

Now, “NCIS,” which follows special agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, has joined the legions inspired by the photo.

This week’s episode opened with a soldier and a mine-sniffing dog in Afghanistan who watch as a boy’s soccer ball rolls onto a live mine, which explodes.

Just after the soldier and dog lead the boy to safety, a sniper shoots the soldier. The dog lies at the side of his fallen master.

Later, the lead character, special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, says of the episode’s canine star, Dexter, “He’s not a dog. He’s a Marine.”

Many of the nearly 1,000 people who had commented on the producer’s blog post by Friday evening said the show, which incorporates a scene reminiscent of Tumilson’s funeral, brought them to tears.

The episode was dedicated to “military working dogs and their brave handlers everywhere,” Williams wrote.

The show won the ratings competition in its time slot, pulling in 19.8 million viewers, more than twice the No. 2 program, “Splash,” on ABC, and more than any prime-time show that night, according to the Nielsen Co. ratings.

Tumilson’s family hopes veteran actor Mark Harmon, who plays Gibbs, and others in the “NCIS” cast will help dedicate a statue of Tumilson and Hawkeye at Fossil and Prairie Park in Rockford this summer.

“We will be unveiling a life-size bronze statue of Jon and Hawkeye this summer in his hometown, and would like to personally invite Mark, and any of your cast members, to come and celebrate that special event with us,” Tumilson’s brother-in-law, Scott McMeekan, wrote on the “NCIS” blog.
Neither members of Tumilson’s family nor representatives of CBS could be reached for comment.

Coincidence

On NCIS, there are rules that Jethro Leroy Gibbs follows and teaches his team as a method of being the best at what they do.

Rule #39: There is no such thing as coincidence.

Based on evidence presented to me today, I must concur.

On the Instapundit Blog today:

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/

I QUESTION THE TIMING: A reader who works at Yale emails:

I found it interesting that this email came out today from Yale benefits:

Dear Colleagues:
We would like to make you aware of a significant federally mandated change which will impact Yale’s healthcare flexible spending account benefit. Effective January 1, 2013, as a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the annual contribution limit will be capped at $2,500. Currently, the maximum amount of pre-tax dollars you can set aside in a healthcare flexible spending account is $12,000.

As a participant who contributed $2,500 or more in 2012, we encourage you to keep this in mind as you begin to plan for your 2013 out-of-pocket medical, dental and vision expenses. You will soon have an opportunity to re-enroll in the flexible spending account benefit plan during Annual Benefits Enrollment (December 3-17). As a reminder, you have until March 15, 2013 to incur expenses against your 2012 contributions, and until April 30, 2013 to submit claims those for reimbursement. We hope that this grace period is helpful for maximizing your flexible spending benefit for 2012.

If you have any further questions, please contact an Employee Services representative.
What interesting timing! I did know about this, as a former CPA/tax accountant, but how many did?

Today my husband came home and told me that his boss informed him today that a layoff is planned. Small aerospace/manufacturing plant.   We were worried before the election that if the direction didn’t change, we’d face an ugly economic future. It may already becoming true for our family.  

 I think a lot of stuff will be coming out over the next few weeks and months that was carefully kept off the radar before Election Day.

--------------------------------

Then today, I get this from a shipmate working out here in the AFGHN Sandbox:

Hi - Hope you're well

We just started open enrollment with my company; so I asked the benefits guy if I do nothing will all benefits remain the same-----a resounding yes was his answer. He did however advise me to go on the website to review the benefits to ensure all was OK.---so I did

All benefits were defaulted to the ones I have had for 3 yrs----good news; until the last page; that was the calculation page. My contribution for 3 years has been $106.00 per month; but the new contribution effective Jan. 2013 will be $293.00. 

 

That's almost a 200% increase.

So I e-mailed the benefits guy to verify this and of course his answer was "YES--WE'VE BEEN HIT WITH A HUGE RATE INCREASE'

A huge rate increase????????????????? can you say OBAMA-CARE

this is only the beginning

please share with your readers (and delete my name)

 

The idea that this all was "coincidence" is not only naive, but demonstrates a level of cluelessness that is scary.

This was part of the plan all along and people were dumb enough to vote for it.

Might be best to brush on these - we all might need them to deal with what will be coming: