The U. S. Marines leave Iraq

Today, the U. S. Marine Corps leaves Iraq and turns over all American military authority to the U. S. Army. How's the war looking now, Harry Reid?

Private Valentine

I just saw a preview for what appears to be a straight-to-DVD Jessica Simpson movie, Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous. I'm not surprised that Hollywood didn't put this in the cinema, since it seems to involve a largely sympathetic portrayal of the U. S. military. The closest thing that I have to a complaint is that Simpson's character's "Army" training is mainly Marine Corps training--but I'm more than willing to overlook that faux pas.

I'm looking forward to this release--February '09!--and, if I'm correct in my assessment of the picture, kudos to Ms. Simpson for having the courage to make it!

New Video on Democrats and Iraq

Why are people voting for Democrats again?

The Sentiment Overseas

Speaking to the Future...

On the way home from annual training, I stopped at Wendy's for lunch. As I was eating, I overheard a conversation between the young man who had served me and another customer. It turned out that the customer was, like me, a former U. S. Marine--and the server was getting ready to ship to Marine Recruit Training ("Boot Camp") in San Diego, CA. The former Marine had attended Boot at Parris Island, SC and was making the typical pained noises about "Hollywood Marines," so I got up quickly and introduced myself as a graduate of San Diego. I returned to my seat, from which I heard him deliver his parting lesson: the best way to make it through Boot was to "keep your head down and blend in to the background."

After some thought, I got up from my salad and walked back to the counter. There were no other customers in line, so I called the young man over to talk. "I'm going to disagree with my fellow Marine," I said. The young man smiled uncertainly. "No matter how well you try to blend in, you will get attention from the Drill Instructors. I say, if your platoon is doing something that you can do balls-to-the-wall and really show your stuff, do it. Not just because your platoon will respect you for it, but because no matter what you do for the rest of your life, I guarantee you that you will remember Marine Corps Boot Camp. So you might as well make it a memory worth having.

"What you can't do is, A) Get injured--they'll recycle you, which would suck--and B) Take it personally. No matter how personal your Drill Instructors try to make it, telling you that the platoon is out island-hopping because of something that you did, it's just a game. The platoon is out island-hopping because island-hopping is on the schedule. It's just your day to find out how you stand up under the pressure, and taking it personally makes it worse.

"Good luck in my Corps, and I know you will do great things."

Here I am!

This is just a note to let everybody know that I'm here and okay.  I've packed my cell phone away, since I can't use it in the building where my school is located, or in the billeting where I'm staying.  If you need to get in contact with me, use my Google address until I get back home.

--
Jason C. Diederich, 3°

Somebody Finally Paid Attention!

Too bad I'm not in that branch of service anymore.

The United States Marine Corps has added a new Combat Fitness Test component to their PFT. It will consist of three events: a half-mile boot and utes run (that is, a run performed while wearing fatigues and combat boots), a repetitive lift of a 30 pound ammo can, and a sort of combat-oriented obstacle course.

I've been saying for years that "physical fitness" is not some ambiguous measurement generated by moving around for the sake of moving. "Fitness" literally means "being fit for" something. The military physical fitness tests should all be associated with skills and movements related to the most demanding military activities. My recommendation has been 20-yard dashes (to simulate the 3-5 second squad rush).

The Military Supporting Obama?

Luke Rosiak reported today on Open Secrets that Barack Obama is recieving donations from troops abroad at a six-to-one ratio to John McCain (and approximately 1.5 to one from all military personnel). Total donations to the Obama campaign from troops abroad were just over $60,000.00.

Wondering why my fellow servicemen were selling out my country, I got in and did some research myself. I came up with the following totals:
all personnel listing "army" as employer: $5,942.00
all personnel listing "navy" as employer: $1,000.00
all personnel listing "air force" as employer: $1,300.00
all personnel listing "marine corps" as employer: $0.00 (OOH-RAH!)

Now, I'm no great shakes at math, but that seems to fall a bit short $60,000.00.

Can anyone clarify where those other numbers came from?

100,000 Rally in Tbilisi

And call on Ukraine and others to permanently withdraw from the CIS.

This occurs as Georgian forces and civilians continue to evacuate before the gigantic Russian onslaught. The conflict in Georgia is a conflict for the future of democracy and the future of Eurasia. Georgia, like Ukraine and neighboring countries, have had more than enough repression under Russian regimes (putting a red star up in public will get you thrown in prison in Hungary, for example). Several have petitioned for membership in NATO. We certainly owe Georgia that--we should accept them in immediately, and turn the G-8 into the G-7 by kicking Russia out. I would argue that we owe them more than that--the tiny country had the third largest military presence in Iraq, after the U. S. and Great Britain.

I've read a recommendation that we also boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics... but that's six years in the future. I hold out hope that diplomacy can repair our relations in the area by then.

UPDATE: The Georgian rally is posting U. S. flags and chanting "Unity with the West." President Bush, to my knowledge, is still at the Olympics.

Russian and Georgia

Several days ago, Russia invaded the country of Georgia, with the apparent intention of taking over the country. Here is an example of actual imperialism at work--the Russians are attempting to re-establish control over the entire area that used to be the USSR. Where is the outcry from the American Left? You know, the guys who are constantly complaining about "American imperialism" and "colonization?" When are the people who have been picketing against the Global War on Terror for the last seven years going to start objecting to this land-grab for oil? Hell, Ukraine--in much more danger than any American Democrats--has had the backbone to stand up to the Russian aggression and refuse to allow them access to Ukrainian ports.
And what about civilian deaths? The U.S. invasion of Iraq was the most surgical military operation in history--we took out an entire army while civilians watched safely from balconies a few blocks away. Russia has already deliberately bombed apartment buildings and a civilian airport--and they're fighting a country with an identifiable uniformed army, not a paramilitary suicide squad hiding in crowds of civilians.

Another thought, and one that gets lost on the (pro-Obama) media, is that Obama's first reaction to this situation was to tell both sides to cease fighting. While McCain took the time to ascertain what the situation was and called for Russia to stand down, Obama demonstrated that he has no more credibility in foreign diplomacy than a second-rate elementary school playground monitor--casting the victim of violence into moral equivance with the instigator.

UPDATE: The Georgian ambassador to the U. S. is on FOX News, and has confirmed that Russian troops are targeting civilian centers. He is calling for international aid against the overwhelming Russian forces.

UPDATE:My prediction is that Russia will attempt to divide Georgia in half and take the half with the oil. If they keep it, they'll move on the other half in a few weeks.
They should be stopped--by us. We owe it to the Georgians.

Chaos and Anarchy

The Associated Press has actually run an article stating that America is winning the Iraqi front of the Global War on Terror.

John Kerry At It Again...

Well, at least he didn't mention "Jenjis" Khan this time...

Senator Kerry was just on FOX News explaining how the Surge was EXACTLY the WRONG tactic to take, and how all of the success in Iraq is really due to the Awakening--which was completely uninfluenced by the Surge. Of course, he went out of his way to say how the American troops--who had nothing whatsoever to do with the destruction of al Qaeda and stabilization of Iraq--as "the greatest troops in the world." I wonder whether it was a Freudian slip when he said that they had been "unleashed?"

Obviously, this is all nonsense. While the Awakening has been instrumental in defeating al Qaeda in Iraq, it would never have occurred had the United States not shown its resolve in sending the Surge in the first place. Quite simply, you cannot fight a war half-heartedly; when you fight a war, fight a war.

Sorry I don't have video to link yet; I'm sure someone will post something on YouTube soon...

Another Province Handed Over

Well, this is one of the poorest-written articles I've seen professionally published... I'm going to have to go over it again to see if the actual name of the province is even mentioned--the reporter seems to trip over himself trying to report incidents of violence in-country. However, according to the AP, we have handed another province over to the Iraqis, and there is hope that we may hand them ALL over by end-of-year.

The Surge is Dead... Long Live the Surge!

As I posted earlier, the Surge in Iraq is over.

Michael Yon thinks that not only was the surge successful, but that the war is over (be sure to review his slide show for statistics; he may be right!).

The Pentagon apparently agrees; and the surge in Afghanistan is ready to start... within weeks!

Iraqi thoughts on Obama

Read the article here:

The New York Times, not exactly the most unbiased of sources, today ran an article on the opinions of Iraqis regarding the potential election of Barack Obama (note: not regarding the upcoming election in general). The reporters even went so far as to interview the brother of one of three terrorists who attacked U. S. troops outside of Baghdad International Airport on 25 Jun 2008 to find anti-U.S. sentiment.

Even the most ardent Obama supporter--who was excited for no reason other than that he heard that Obama has Muslim relations--said that Obama's plan for immediate withdrawal of U. S. forces was a bad idea. The general interviewed in the piece was DEFINITELY opposed to the idea--“Very difficult,” he said, shaking his head. “Any army would love to work without any help, but let me be honest: for now, we don’t have that ability.”

The Surge Ends

The troop surge in Iraq ended today. I have no special news at this time, but I expect more soon.

al-Maliki Demands U. S. Withdrawal!

Or not so much, as it turns out. His own office misquoted him, and has been trying to correct the error for over a day now.

Marine Corps is Falling In Love With My Favorite Workout

I discovered CrossFit almost a year ago. Unfortunately, there are no facilities suitable for their WoD's here in Jefferson City, and I can't yet afford the equipment on my own. I'm incorporating their principles as much as possible into my own workouts, however, and hopefully someday I'll be able to partipate for real. For now, the endorsement of U. S. Marines using the program.

Senate Testing Alternative Weapons

As much as the Army likes to gripe about M-16A2--designed by a U.S. Marine--and its derivative M-4, it seems unhappy that the Senate is re-competing the M-4 against other weapons. Although the M-4 has no particular deficiencies--other than the preference of many operators for a larger round--there have been many technological advances in weaponry since its design.
The M-4 is a carbine version of the M-16A2 service rifle, which was designed by a U. S. Marine and introduced for service in the 1980's as the world's longest-range standard issue service rifle. It has since been matched by at least two other service rifles, and the M-4 was later introduced as a specialized close-combat version. The M-4 has become immensely popular in military units because most combat takes place closer than M-16's 800-plus-yard range.

INVICTUS

Cheese-eating surrender monkeys...er, anti-victory protesters, such as Senators Reid and Obama and Representative Paul, would have you believe that they have the overwhelming support of the U. S. military, who are desperately trapped in a war they were duped into fighting.
Well, let's put aside my usual objection of being SIX YEARS INTO the war with an ALL-VOLUNTEER FORCE. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is even better. Here is General David Petraeus re-enlisting 1,215 soldiers today--on Independence Day--in Baghdad: