L.A. Postage Stamp Overnight Riots

 

Some folks wanted (or expected) we'd have something to say on the blog about the Sunday Night festivities in a few square blocks of Sh*thole Los Angeles (the part you wouldn't visit most of the time even for money), that no one cares about most days even at high noon, let alone after dark. There is no instrumentation yet devised that could measure our total lack of interest for the burning of that portion at the corner of Woketardia and Migraville. Mayor Karen Basshole, and governor Gabbin' Nuisance made their bed, and they deserved to lie upon it. Now the adults are back in charge, and the festivities are cancelled UFN. 

So, no, IDGAF about riot/arson/looter's one-night silliness.

The rioting was confined to the tiny part of downtown generally ruled by homeless wastes of skin and mestizo illegals 24/7/365, and even if they burned all of downtown Los Angeles to the ground, most of Califrutopia would send them a thank you note in response.

Even five miles away, no one gives a shit. And we're currently much farther from Sh*tholia, CA than five miles. In fact, it all becoming Sh*tholia in the first place is mostly why we left that entire county twenty five years ago. (A fiancée was also involved.)

And it was officially over at dawn Monday, when the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Marines were deployed there.

People not wanting to test the resolve of the Marines is exactly why presidents send the Marines to such places, over and over again, and in preference to any other part of the military, since...ever.

The header video explains this beautifully. Would that we had a similar scene from Los Angeles. If it happens at any point, we'll be properly ecstatic.

So if you have a problem you'd like the Marines to solve for you, and you have the opportunity to let them address it, we highly recommend it.

They're not only eager (to the point of frothing at the mouth) to solve it, they're probably sharpening their bayonets on the drive to the problem, in hopes they'll get to charge with them fixed, just for the practice.

Trump knew this when he sent for them. So do the rioters. They're retarded, but they're not suicidal. They're done f**king around, because they know what the FAFO Medal looks like when it comes with the star denoting a posthumous award.

Game over.

QED

Oh, and for Comedy Relief, I could watch this on an endless loop:

Semper Fidelis

 

246 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress.

Non futuis militae-Nautae

 

We read where some folks commenting are all doom-and-gloom worried about the future prospects of Lt. Col. Scheller, USMC.

Bitch, please.

As if.

The way you "protect" someone like this, with balls the size of church bells, is hand him a bayonet, and then get out of his way.

The conga line of Alan Dershowitz-level lawyers that will take his case pro bono will take what he said once, in a YouTube vid, and turn it up to 11, straight outta Spinal Tap, and make his original video indictment of The System like the Rodney King beating: on TV, 24/7/365, and the Corps won't be able to shut up fast enough to get both their collective feet out of their mouth. They're about to create their own Billy Mitchell, and they'll never get that genie back into the bottle. It's going to haunt them for a hundred years.

If they were smart, they'd simply drop all charges, separate him from service post-haste, and grant him a full pension, and hope he just goes off and plays golf. But they're not that smart.

Even after the baked in "guilty on all counts" verdict comes back, this will get appealed, and overturned, and the minute this guy picks a place to settle down, he'll be the next freshman congressman from BFEgypt, and even the DNC won't have enough voter fraud to block his election in a landslide.

Two terms, which he'll win without breaking a sweat, and he's got a congressional pension-for-life, and gold-plated everything until he dies.

And he's going to end up being the guy throwing molotov cocktails on the House Armed Service Committee every day he's there, and raking those same perfumed princes over the coals, and sticking a pitchfork in their guts and twisting it, for as long as he feels the urge. Probably only for another 20 years or so, on national TV.

It won't matter if nothing changes, because for him their agony is The Mission.

Unimaginable stress, pressure, and heat is what turns charcoal into diamonds.

The smartest thing the Corps could have done was ignored him. Everything not that they're doing to him is throwing jet fuel on a raging bonfire, and then trying to beat the flames out with their own dicks.

And that's before he writes the inevitable best-selling non-fiction book abut the whole thing, which immortalizes this in print forever.

This is what happens when, institutionally, you've promoted the biggest ass-kissing Courtney Massengale crayon-eaters to the senior positions, which mega-douchbaggery was exactly what he called them out on.

His position, right now, is about the same one as that of the 1st Marines surrounded by five Chicom regiments at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950: I pity the poor bastards who've surrounded him. He's going to eat their hearts for lunch, and hand them their asses back on a platter by the time this is all over, and they'll wish their mothers had never met their fathers.

And then, 5 million current and former Marines - pissed as hell about how badly fucked up their beloved Corps has become - are going to help him pile on. Semper Fidelis, motherfuckers. Scheller is OURS, not yours, and in trying to fuck with one of OURS, you've stepped on your dicks hard this time. You're going to regret that once, and that one time will be permanently, forever.

For the Common Core grads out there, tell the class how dragging Ollie North before Congress, making him testify, and then trying to crucify him in public has hurt either his life or career prospects since 1987, last time you looked. Non futuis militae-Nautae: Don't fuck with Marines.

An Open Letter To Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller:

 h/t Mike

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller

(NYFC)The maverick Marine fired after he released a now-viral video slamming the US military for botching the exit from Kabul, issued a clear threat to his aging superiors Saturday.

“The baby boomer’s turn is over,” Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller told The Post. “I demand accountability, at all levels. If we don’t get it, I’m bringing it.”

He also quoted Thomas Jefferson, saying “every generation needs a revolution.”

Dear Sir,

Reporting For Duty.

Former NCO of Marines available immediately. 

Olive green, not as lean, twice as mean, and still a Marine, down to my cold green amphibious heart.

Where? And When?

Update soonest, over.

Happy Birthday, You Magnificent Bastards

245 years of unbroken tradition, unhindered by progress. 

Semper Fi, Devil Dogs.

Here's to 245 more.

Semper Fi

75 years ago, today.

Semper Fi, devil dogs.

244 And Counting

JOURNAL OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
(Philadelphia) Friday, November 10, 1775 

"Resolved, That two Battalions of Marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required; that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of. 

Ordered, That a copy of the above be transmitted to the General."

To Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, the red-headed stepchild of the U.S. military, the misfits, the drop-outs, the cold-hearted bastards so sick of being penned up on a Navy gator freighter they'd happily storm a heavily defended beach just to kill something, I bid you a Happy 244th Birthday.

And tonight, on countless bases and in cities around the globe, there will be the obligatory  and celebratory Marine Corps Birthday Ball, with appropriate pomp and ceremony, and the first slices of birthday cake served to the oldest and youngest Marines present. (For those unaware, the Marines are only served crayons on base, during duty hours, or in the field, and not at formal occasions.)

And as is well known in lore and legend, one such soiree was on a joint force base, and the other services and their wives were invited to celebrate with the Marines as a courtesy.

Inevitably, a small group included junior officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and one of the new service wives was so impressed by the Marine Corps celebration, she told her husband "This is great! I can't wait to go to the balls for all the other services!"

Before her husband could correct her, a Marine nearby who had heard that statement leaned in and delivered the coup de grace:

"I'm afraid that isn't possible, ma'am. The Army, Navy, and Air Force don't have any balls." 

Semper Fi, Devil Dogs.

Once A Marine, Always A Marine.

Today on the Duh! Channel

h/t Daily Timewaster

I have no way to check the veracity of this.
But if it ain't true, it oughta be.
And I have anecdotally heard similar stories regarding the Secret Service Presidential Protection detail.

Happy Birthday

243 years of tradition, unbroken by common sense, yet you can still count on them to be playing in the blood of America's enemies when the smoke clears.

When you look for another service where an 80-year old who retired 30 years ago gets his Medal of Honor, still fits his dress blues, and looks like he could still be on active duty, but don't find one anywhere else, you'll know what they mean about "Once A Marine, Always A Marine."

Eighty Years Old And Still Harder Than Woodpecker Lips

For actions 50 years ago this past January.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to
GUNNERY SERGEANT
JOHN CANLEY
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Gunnery Sergeant John L. Canley (MCSN: 1455946), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Company Gunnery Sergeant of Company A, First Battalion, First Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, during operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam from 31 January to 6 February 1968. On 31 January, when his company came under a heavy volume of enemy fire near the city of Hue, Gunnery Sergeant Canley rushed across the fire-swept terrain and carried several wounded Marines to safety. Later, with the company commander seriously wounded, Gunnery Sergeant Canley assumed command and immediately reorganized his scattered Marines, moving from one group to another to advise and encourage his men. Although sustaining shrapnel wounds during this period, he nonetheless established a base of fire which subsequently allowed the company to break through the enemy strongpoint. Retaining command of the company for the following three days, Gunnery Sergeant Canley on 4 February led his men into an enemy-occupied building in Hue. Despite fierce enemy resistance, he succeeded in gaining a position immediately above the enemy strongpoint and dropped a large satchel charge into the position, personally accounting for numerous enemy killed, and forcing the others to vacate the building. On 6 February, when his unit sustained numerous casualties while attempting to capture a government building, Gunnery Sergeant Canley lent words of encouragement to his men and exhorted them to greater efforts as they drove the enemy from its fortified emplacement. Although wounded once again during this action, on two occasions he leaped a wall in full view of the enemy, picked up casualties, and carried them to covered positions. By his dynamic leadership, courage, and selfless dedication, Gunnery Sergeant Canley contributed greatly to the accomplishment of his company's mission and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.

Stand up when he passes; this is a MAN.





Oh, and BTW, here's the Sergeant, Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez, whose bravery was witnessed by Canley in the same action, and Canley's witness statement was the basis for the same award at the same time:

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF.
Place and date: Near Thua Thien, Republic of Vietnam, 4 February 1968.
Entered service at: San Antonio, Tex. Born: 23 May 1946, Edinburg Tex.  

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as platoon commander, 3d Platoon, Company A. On 31 January 1968, during the initial phase of Operation Hue City, Sgt. Gonzalez' unit was formed as a reaction force and deployed to Hue to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered city. While moving by truck convoy along Route No. 1, near the village of Lang Van Lrong, the Marines received a heavy volume of enemy fire. Sgt. Gonzalez aggressively maneuvered the Marines in his platoon, and directed their fire until the area was cleared of snipers. Immediately after crossing a river south of Hue, the column was again hit by intense enemy fire. One of the Marines on top of a tank was wounded and fell to the ground in an exposed position. With complete disregard for his safety, Sgt. Gonzalez ran through the fire-swept area to the assistance of his injured comrade. He lifted him up and though receiving fragmentation wounds during the rescue, he carried the wounded Marine to a covered position for treatment. Due to the increased volume and accuracy of enemy fire from a fortified machine gun bunker on the side of the road, the company was temporarily halted. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sgt. Gonzalez exposed himself to the enemy fire and moved his platoon along the east side of a bordering rice paddy to a dike directly across from the bunker. Though fully aware of the danger involved, he moved to the fire-swept road and destroyed the hostile position with hand grenades. Although seriously wounded again on 3 February, he steadfastly refused medical treatment and continued to supervise his men and lead the attack. On 4 February, the enemy had again pinned the company down, inflicting heavy casualties with automatic weapons and rocket fire. Sgt. Gonzalez, utilizing a number of light antitank assault weapons, fearlessly moved from position to position firing numerous rounds at the heavily fortified enemy emplacements. He successfully knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much of the enemy fire before falling mortally wounded. The heroism, courage, and dynamic leadership displayed by Sgt. Gonzalez reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps, and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

 A sergeant as platoon commander, and a gunny as company commander; you do the math on that, especially those with prior service who can figure out how many officers and NCOs were taken out above them for that to happen. Gonzalez was 21, and Canley an old man of 30 when this happened. And these guys kept right on going, like they do.

R.I.P. R. Lee Ermey, 1944-2018

"The Gunny", R. Lee Ermey, died yesterday due to complications of pneumonia, at age 74.

Ermey was the living embodiment of every drill instructor actual Marines had, and probably the only one every never-Marine knew. After 11 years service in the Marine Corps, including service in Vietnam, and a stint as an actual drill instructor at MCRD San Diego (with the Thundering Third Recruit Training Battalion - Oohrah!), Ermey was medically discharged due to injuries received in the service, and was an American ex-pat living in the Philippines when he nabbed a bit part in Apocalypse Now. Then an indy movie came to town in 1977, looking for tech advisors and extras in a movie about Marines in Vietnam being shot there, with P.I. doubling very adequately for recently-fallen-to-communists Vietnam.

Barely five years out of the Marines at the time, Ermey was one of those hired as a tech advisor and extra, but the guy they'd cast as the lead drill instructor for the film was a Hispanic with an accent so heavy he was hard to understand easily, and Ermey was crushing his bit part in the gig, so he was hurriedly bumped up to leading character, and the other guy shunted aside.

Boys In Company C was the breakout role that brought Ermey from P.I. to Hollywood, and he never looked back. A small role in Purple Hearts solidified Ermey as the go-to guy when a picture needed a guy harder than woodpecker lips to bring the quintessential Marine sergeant to life on the screen.

And then Stanley Kubrick hired Ermey to be a tech advisor, but quickly re-thought his choice and he too decided to cast Ermey himself as exactly the guy he was looking for to be Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the otherwise atrocious Full Metal Jacket, and the directing maestro had the great good sense to turn Ermey loose on camera, and let him ad lib whole sections of the movie's boot camp scenes, comprising the entire first half (the actual coherent part) of the film.

 

100% Ermey ad lib, beginning to end.

 

When the movie came out, Ermey had moved from movie D.I. to cultural icon, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor for the part.

He was now solid gold, and work poured in.

He had parts in over 60 movies and dozens of TV shows, playing everything from Dr. House's father on that eponymous show, to the voice of the Sarge leading the Green Army men in the Toy Story flicks, and hosting Mail Call and Lock N' Load cable TV shows as himself for History Channel. 

In between, he was a ceaseless advocate and military booster, which work induced the Commandant of the Marine Corps to authorize an official honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant for Ermey in 2002, the sort of the thing the Marines ordinarily simply do not do. But when you're that exceptional, you can even get meritoriously promoted after being discharged.

He continued to work regularly in movies and TV until 2012, when his public anti-Obama comments got him blackballed by Hollywood, and offerings for parts finally dried up.

If you served in the Marines, you knew a gunny like the Gunny, or had one for your D.I., and because of his work in entertainment, he will live long after the last Marine he ever served with passes on to Fiddler's Green.

And as he would have told anyone, the Corps did pretty good by him, turning a juvenile delinquent into a leader of men, and finally a cultural icon for the ages.

Forty years lived in a life formed from the mold of eleven years' active service proves the literal truth of the phrase,
"Once A Marine, Always A Marine."
It's a damned shame men like him have to die one day.

And when he gets to heaven,
To St. Peter he will tell:
"Another MARINE reporting, Sir;
I've served my time in Hell."

Your work here is done, Gunny.
Time to get the heavenly host squared away.

Semper Fi, leatherneck.

So Much For Red Storm Rising...

h/t Peter

 

More like "Pink Mist Drifting".

So a week back, Bayou Renaissance Man had some thoughts on "Russian Mercenaries" attacking a joint US/Syrian Coalition base.

It seems things weren't just bad for Team OPFOR, they were bad in a biblical way, per Johnny Ringo on FB:

1. Sov... err... Russians built a bridge over the Euphrates which was the designated 'deconfliction line'. Why? Reasons. 'Commitee of Nations' or something.

2. 'Hybrid' force of mixed Russian contractors including multiple non-ethnic Russians (Serbs, Khazak, other non Slavics) as well as local Syrian Army 'commandos' attacked across temporary bridge. The 'Russian' side were 'Blackwater' equivalent mercenaries from a company generally called 'Wagner' which is the nom de plume of the boss. (Like if you called Blackwater 'Prince'.)

3. Unit was partially mechanized, battalion strength. (One thing everyone agrees upon is 'about 600-700 personnel.') Had some towed artillery as well as 'T-55 and T-72 MBT as well as armored personnel carriers.' (Type unknown.) Full on 'we're taking that position and you're not stopping us' full court press.

4. Unit crossed bridge, arty deployed.

5. Arty opened fire while most of unit was still in approach column formation. (Normal) One portion moved to flanking positions.

5A. Minute the arty opened fire SHIT GOT REAL, REAL QUICK.

6. Reapers took out artillery and most of armor with Hellfire. From the few videos, pretty much before they knew what hit them. There had to be quite a few Reaper drones up or they were feeding guidance to Hellfire from Apaches (see below.)

7. F-15E Eagles came in for clean-up and to check for anti-air defenses.

8. Warthogs showed up just to go BRRRRRRT!

9. AC-130 Spectre started fucking up their day for the hell of it.

10. To add insult to injury, B-52s which, you know, just HAPPENED to be in the area, just minding our own business, just passing by from Diego Garcia which is a few thousand miles away, on our way to... somewhere... nothing to see here... decided to prove they could drop their entire load as precision guided weapons and just more or less DID A JDAM ARCLIGHT ON THEIR ASS. At that point, more or less because CENTCOM said 'Why not? ARCLIGHT is always pretty to watch...'

11. The whole thing being so over it was ridiculous, AH-64 Apaches basically did 'hostile Bomb Damage Assessment' and complained there were no targets left.

12. Oh, and then the Kurds, to just really fuck with these guys, released water from a dam upstream and broke their bridge. So they had to ford back with their wounded.

13. Nobody knows how many dead and wounded. Russians are saying 'only 8 Russian citizens' but that doesn't quite cover the whole of who may have been involved. One repeated number is 200 dead (remember, mixed Syrians, Russians and other ethnics) as well as pretty much the rest of the force wounded. (Not to mention pretty thoroughly demoralized.) One Kurd wounded. Probably fell off a stool laughing to tell truth.

Even more at the original source Johnny Ringo FB link .RTWT.
Level II Beverage Alert issued.

Here's a good YouTube compendium:

More details here at Red State link.

Teddy Roosevelt Lives

h/t CDR Salamander

SecNav Spencer travelled to A-stan for some chats with the troops (above).

Note the pic above, and see if you can spot what an actual leader does when he's doing it right.

This, sportsfans, is a wartime consigliere.

Non futuis nobiscum.

Happy 242nd, Ye Salty Bastards!

From the bottom of my cold, green, amphibious heart, to each and every one of you, wherever you are.

 

 

And to those deployed overseas today in harm's way...

kill an extra godless heathen enemy for Chesty!

Oh, and try to remember, Hogs: the candles on the cake get blown out, not up.

Semper Fidelis

 

 

 

Video player selections du jour here at Castle Anthrax:

 Sands Of Iwo Jima
 Battle Los Angeles
The Wind and the Lion

Better Late Than Never

A 70-year-old retired US Army captain, then a sergeant, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Trump for service in 1970 as a Special Forces medic in Laos, during Operation Tailwind.

Medic Rose's ribbon rack already holds ribbons for the Distinguished Service Cross from which this current award was upgraded, and Bronze Star and Purple Heart awards, but after Congress approved waiving the usual five-year time limit, the pathway was cleared to finally honoring Rose for an incident in a war no one likes to remember, in a place the US government still denies we fought:

Sergeant Gary M. Rose distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Special Forces Medic with a company-sized exploitation force, Special Operations Augmentation, Command and Control Central, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam.

Between 11 and 14 September 1970, Sergeant Rose’s company was continuously engaged by a well-armed and numerically superior hostile force deep in enemy-controlled territory. Enemy B-40 rockets and mortar rounds rained down while the adversary sprayed the area with small arms and machine gun fire, wounding many and forcing everyone to seek cover.

Sergeant Rose, braving the hail of bullets, sprinted fifty meters to a wounded soldier’s side. He then used his own body to protect the casualty from further injury while treating his wounds. After stabilizing the casualty, Sergeant Rose carried him through the bullet-ridden combat zone to protective cover. 

As the enemy accelerated the attack, Sergeant Rose continuously exposed himself to intense fire as he fearlessly moved from casualty to casualty, administering life-saving aid. 

A B-40 rocket impacted just meters from Sergeant Rose, knocking him from his feet and injuring his head, hand, and foot. Ignoring his wounds, Sergeant Rose struggled to his feet and continued to render aid to the other injured soldiers. 

During an attempted medevac, Sergeant Rose again exposed himself to enemy fire as he attempted to hoist wounded personnel up to the hovering helicopter, which was unable to land due to unsuitable terrain. 

The medevac mission was aborted due to intense enemy fire and the helicopter crashed a few miles away due to the enemy fire sustained during the attempted extraction.
Over the next two days, Sergeant Rose continued to expose himself to enemy fire in order to treat the wounded, estimated to be half of the company’s personnel. On September 14, during the company’s eventual helicopter extraction, the enemy launched a full-scale offensive. 

Sergeant Rose, after loading wounded personnel on the first set of extraction helicopters, returned to the outer perimeter under enemy fire, carrying friendly casualties and moving wounded personnel to more secure positions until they could be evacuated. He then returned to the perimeter to help repel the enemy until the final extraction helicopter arrived. As the final helicopter was loaded, the enemy began to overrun the company’s position, and the helicopter’s Marine door gunner was shot in the neck. 

Sergeant Rose instantly administered critical medical treatment onboard the helicopter, saving the Marine’s life. The helicopter carrying Sergeant Rose crashed several hundred meters from the extraction point, further injuring Sergeant Rose and the personnel on board.

Despite his numerous wounds from the past three days, Sergeant Rose continued to pull and carry unconscious and wounded personnel out of the burning wreckage and continued to administer aid to the wounded until another extraction helicopter arrived. 

Sergeant Rose’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were critical to saving numerous lives over that four-day time period. His actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 1st Special Forces, and the United States Army.

 

With this award, Rose joins the ranks of the fewer than 80 living Medal of Honor recipients, and truly just about the most extraordinary and exclusive fraternity in the US military.

Where do we get such men? In this case, from Monroe High School in the San Fernando Valley, Class of '65. (For those keeping score at home, from among the few NY transplants hereabouts in CA we wish we had more of.) Who joined the Army in '67 so he wouldn't get drafted into the Marines, and three years later was in a four-day running firefight in a "neutral" country. From yet another guy who puts the "special" in "Special Forces".

Well done, Doc.

Real American Hero

h/t Kenny

Some idiot's opened fire at your country music festival?

WWJBD (What Would Jim Bob Do)?

Finish the beer, and fire up your Communicating Finger in the shooter's direction, amidst the rounds impacting all around you, of course.

Outstanding, Dude!
Gold Medal in the 300M Olympic F.U.

 

From mike18xx in comments:

 

 

Someday I'll get around to learning how to do polls here...

Tread Lightly, Enemies Of America

SecDef Mattis repeated a line from his Hold The Line impromptu speech a couple of weeks back, in remarks at the 9/11 memorial service yesterday:

I'm trying to remember the last SecDef in American history for whom the military would cheerfully go to hell and back, and return with the devil's severed head...
yeah, drawing a blank there.

I seem to recall a similar phrase associated with Mattis:

"I'm pleading with you with tears in my eyes: if you f*** with me, I'll kill you all."

Dickey Would Have Liked That

Link

When mortar shell shrapnel exploded from a booby trap that hit Marines close to Chu Lai, Vietnam, a combat photographer was near the front.

A civilian buried with full military ­honors, Wisconsin native Georgette “Dickey” Chapelle was the first female war correspondent to die in combat.

Recently she was celebrated with the title of honorary Marine at the United States Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association banquet in San Diego. In October 2016, Commandant Gen. Robert Neller approved the title for the ­award-winning war correspondent.

 Dickey Chapelle: Wikipedia

 

 

A Word To The Wise

h/t Kenny

Floating around on Facebook for the last few weeks...

“If you are paid $25.00 an hour to show up to a rally to “counter” the other party using physical force and violence, you are not a “counter protestor.” You are a mercenary.There is no need for further debate on this. You were paid to attack someone you don’t know for reasons that you couldn’t care enough about to go there for free. You did your “job” and collected your check and your reimbursement of expenses. You’re a mercenary. 

Not a Patriot. Not a Social Justice Warrior. Not a Defender of Freedom or Liberty. Not an upholder of Truth or Justice. None of those things you claim to be. You are a mercenary. 

And mercenaries are not lawful combatants and deserve whatever comes their way at the hands of the people they are attacking. 

You have no 1st Amendment rights when you’re a mercenary. 

Doesn’t matter what side you’re on. Doesn’t matter what cause you’re showing up to disrupt. If you can’t express yourself peacefully through diplomatic means, then you better be prepared to meet your maker at the hands of someone who is only barely keeping their own violent tendencies at bay through a massive exercise of self-control. 

I know it sounds romantic to attend these rallies and get shit started with the other side. And when you’re young and passionate, it’s really easy to get whipped up into a frenzy of raw emotions. There is a reason why young people are preferred when it comes to warfare. They are easy to manipulate and control and set off. 

But I’m telling you all this right now. You’ve got no idea what road you are starting down. Romance and idealism wears off really fast when you’re laying in a pool of your own blood trying to stuff your intestines back into your torn abdomen. 

I’ve been lucky enough to go forty-two years without having to put the skills I learned in the Marines to use. I continue to train and keep those skills up to date because I see the madness that is happening all across this country. I don’t train to attack others like you do. I train to defend others FROM you. I’m not alone either. 

There are thousands of men and women in this country who have seen war and death and don’t want any more to do with it. They want to live in peace. They want to forget the things they’ve had to do in the service of their country. They want to raise their kids and have family BBQs and build tree houses and soap box derby cars and have tea parties. 

They don’t want this shit that you’re selling. 

You have the extremist left and the extremist right that are doing their best to get something started. To force us into a Civil War. Even in the 1860’s, the violence between the North and South was nowhere near what we see today. Nowhere. Even. Close. 

And yet we still had a war of ideology that consumed hundreds of thousands of lives.
All you young and naive kids on both sides of this equation who think that having a Civil War will advance your agenda or restore your vision of what you think is America, just remember this… Those of us older generations aren’t having any of this shit. And if you jump off, you better be prepared to deal with US. We don’t care what color you’re wearing or what sign you’re holding if you come after us, our friends, our family, our co-workers, our neighbors, etc., WE will kill you. 

So remember that when you’re thinking that it’s just Left vs Right, or Liberal vs Conservative, or Commie vs. Fascist. We are the variable you’re not considering.

That “Silent Majority” that you pretend does not exist is getting really sick and tired of your bullshit.
—
Geoffrey B. Higginbotham
Major General, USMC (Ret.)

As there's no refutation of the actual guy (age 73, vet of both VN War and Desert Storm) as the source after some weeks in circulation, I suspect he actually wrote it. My only response is "Oohrah!"

Hold The Line

SecDef Mattis was visiting Jordan, and a mixed group of US troops "ambushed" him with an impromptu school circle. Somebody had a cellphone cam handy...

"Well done to you...it's good to see you all out here, young men and women. For those of you who I haven't met, my name's Mattis; I work at the Department of Defense, obviously. Good to see you there...

Thanks for being out here, okay. I know at times you wonder if any of us know. And you get promoted after a while you're so remote that you get out of touch with those of you who matter. But believe me I know you're far from home, every one of you. I know you could all be going to college, you young people, or you could be back on the block...just grateful. The only way this great big experiment that you and I call America is gonna survive is we've got tough hombres like you.

You remember, some of you are too young, Cpl. Long, but on 9/11, we racked up against an enemy that thought if he hurt us, he could scare us. But we don't frickin' scare. That's the bottom line. We'll go out here, we'll fight alongside our friends and allies, and we're gonna keep right on fightin' until they're sick of us, and leave us alone.

You're buying time; you're a great example to our country right now; it's got some problems, you know it, and I know it. It's got problems we don't have in the military.
You just hold the line, my fine young soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines. You just hold the line, until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each another, and showing it, being friendly to one another, that Americans owe to one another. We're so doggone lucky to be Americans, and we've got two powers. The power of inspiration - and we'll get the power of inspiration back; and we have the power of intimidation, and that's you if someone wants to screw with our families and our country or our allies.

So thanks so much for being out here; you complete took me by surprise, I'm off in Lalaland having a group here...that's good, keep the old guys like me guessing. The only reason I came back - I flunked retirement - the only reason I came back is to serve alongside young people like you who are so selfless, and frankly so rambunctious. It's a pleasure to be around you all.

Take care of each other out here - we call them in the Naval phrase "take care of your shipmates" out here, okay - take care of each other. It can get old, it can get hot, you can get sloppy, and you can get complacent; don't let it happen.

Oorah! Thank you. Thanks all of you. Listen to your NCOs now. So long."

Just spitballing, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that no DoD assbag, service secretary, or SecDef himself in the last 8 years, ever got the kind of spontaneous cheers from anyone when they showed up or left anyplace they went that SecDef Mattis gets just by walking up to a group of bottom-ranking service members.

We've got a navy that can't sail without crashing, a boondoggle airplane that can't fly for shit, and a sack of generals and admirals that aren't worth the bullets it'd take to line 'em up against a wall like they deserve.

But our rank-and-file troops, despite over a decade of grinding and senseless war, and nearly a decade of ruinous social experimentation, is going to be just fine.

You can take that to the bank. God help the fools that dare them to prove it.

Fuckin' A right!