An Important Day In History

Today, 139 years ago, the Army of Northern Virginia was compelled to yield to the overwhelming power of the ruthless invader. Actually, they were compelled to yield mostly by hunger. I've said it before: Tactics wins battles but LOGISTICS wins wars. People complain about how long the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq is taking. I would remind them that Southrons have lived under occupation for 139 years.

GENERAL ORDERS No. 9.
HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, April 10, 1865

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them. But, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

By the terms of the agreement officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous considerations for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.

R. E. Lee, General

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD

Lunch and Learn

I had a very interesting lunch today. The chow hall was pretty crowded today so we were all scrunched in pretty good. I ended up sitting with four young Devil Dogs all E4 and below. In between their discussions of "If it is good Friday then why can't we eat good food, fish sucks" they were discussing Iraq. Bear in mind that these Kids were in Iraq for the war last year and this year they are in Africa and when they leave here they will either go back to Iraq or to the Stans. The Marine Corps is a very small piece of the Naval Service with only 3 active MEFs (Marine Expeditionary Force which essentially consists of one Marine Division, one Marine Air Wing, and one Force Service Support Group. Roughly equivalent to an Army Infantry division with more Air and much less Armor and Artillery) and they are all very, very, very busy right now. The thing that struck me most about these Devil Dogs is when there fish sucks conversation turned to Iraq and the Marines engaged there. It could be summed up in one word: ENVIOUS. They all would rather be out there in harm's way than is our comparatively safe corner of Africa. They all wanted to do what Marines do, engage the enemy. We here the constant flow of crap and drivel coming from the news media delivered courtesy of CNN. I saw about twenty minutes of the 11 Sept Commission hearing and I was truly embarrassed for our country. I fail to see how our elected representatives are so out of touch with nation. How can they use an attack on our nation as an excuse to wage partisan warfare. That is a rhetorical question because I know the answer. The only way they can be that disconnected from the needs of the nation and their responsibility as elected officials is because they have broken the faith with everything that is dear to the American character. Bitch and moan about the President all you like but DO NOT UNDERMINE HIS EFFORTS TO DISCHARGE HIS RESPONSIBILITIES TO SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. You cross the line from loyal opposition to disloyal, and seditious when you go there. That's what bothers me so much about John Kerry. He is a man that spent less time in Vietnam than I have in Africa on this deployment. He abandoned his shipmates to leave early under questionable circumstances. Once safely away he turned on his shipmates and attacked them accusing them of atrocities that he never saw but knows for a fact occurred. Since my Father-in-law and Father both served in South East Asia, I can only assume he accuses them of these alleged atrocities. In my opinion, he broke the faith. In my mind that makes him a man of such questionable integrity that he should not be allowed to hold ANY ACCOUNTABLE POSITION private sector or government. The politicians don't get it. A large portion of the American public just doesn't understand; But rest assured those four 18 to 22 year old Devil Dog's understand. They might not be able tell you who bombed Pearl Harbor (thanks to government schools) but they sure as hell know right from wrong and what we need to do in Iraq. The keep the faith, in fact they make the faith. It makes me proud to serve with these kids. The most very best thing about serving in the military is that you spend your time surround by the cream of the American crop.

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD

Breaking News

According to a recently recieved email:

AP and UPI sources report that the french Government announced today that in the light of the Madrid bombing, france has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide."

The only two higher levels of terror alert in france are "Surrender" and "Collaborate."

Hmmmmm........Makes sense to me

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD

Please Ignore The First Part Of This Post 'Cause It's Personal And This Is A Family Blog

Getting all antsy and twitchy (No my Dearest Bride, it is so all that unusual) going home soon. I really am ready to get on home. I need some serious hot monkey *****CENSORED***** with my Bride and a Loco Burrito from Los Cazadores. In that order. Unless......My Bride could feed me the Loco Burrito during the hot monkey *****CENSORED*****!?! The very though of it makes me need some special time with *****CENSORED***** sock. Oh Baby, I am ready to go home! Most importantly, I really miss my family. I am so very uncentered without them. Lots of crazy stuff happening in the HOA lately. I am debating 'bout telling y'all about the funniest, big brass ballsiest, brain dead STUPIDEST thing that was attempted by an one of the commands enlisted Marines. Not sure if it is appropriate to write about, it's not a security concern just kind of embarrassing to the command (For that matter, all human beings everywhere). Let's just say the moral of the story, (or maybe the punchline) if I am able to tell it, is:

Never, but never try to cheat a East African hooker

This will be an "official" deployment Sea Story (Can they be Sea Stories when we ain't at sea?) that I tell will my Grandkids (When they are old enough. I can see it now "Back in Ought Four, we had to say ought 'cause Bin Laden stole the number zero, during the War Against Terrorism and I was in Africa, this Dumbass Marine went and........") When our Colonel briefed us so we could spread the word as an object lesson for the junior troops I laughed until I almost puked. That is Darwinism in action for you. The Kid who pulled that stunt needs to be banned from breeding lest he contaminate the gene pool. Remind after I have redeployed, then it might be safe to tell the whole story. It's a doozy (seriously though, this Marine is probably gonna end up in front of General Courts Martial, so it really ain't funny).

Now for something completely different. Go over to Citizen Smash's site and read the after action report from OPERATION NEPTUNE SHIELD. I think I can safely speak for my shipmates (can Army Doggies and Zoomies actually be Shipmates? Since we ain't on a ship does it even matter?) and say "Thank you Smash we really do appreciate the Protest Warrior's support!"

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD

A Little Miffed

Let's talk about Mercenaries for a moment. If you are not aware, a recent post over at Daily Kos refers to the loss of four private sector military contractors in Iraq. Mr. Kos opinion of the worth of these men is roughly akin to:

"...I feel nothing over the death of mercenaries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are trying to help the people of Iraq make a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them."

That wounds me on personal level. Here on my camp, I am surrounded by "mercenaries". In fact, I think there might be more "mercenaries" on camp than actual service members. They cook and serve our food, they wash our vehicles, they do our laundry, they clean our toilets, they build and maintain our facilities, the run our power generation, they operate our waste disposal, they provide firefighting services, they provide transportation, the run the Morale, Recreation and Welfare operation, they provide internal security, they built my tent, they provided me with a bed, they operate our supply support activity, they repair our vehicles and equipment, they service our weapons, they manage our ammunition, in short they do just about every nasty little job we depend on to do our jobs but don't want to do or even think about. Without them, the Lance Corporal manning a 240G on the perimeter would spend about three quarters of his time scrubbing a shitter or washing dishes. I for one am damn grateful that these "mercenaries" are with us! Many of them are former military, some are "old timers" who though they are too old to wear the uniform again still want to serve, some were medically disqualified, some just want to help, some are following the American dream but THEY ALL SERVE. Their contribution are just as important to me as those of the troops under my direct authority. Without them, there are simply not enough of us to do the job at hand because three quarters of our time would be taken up cleaning the toilets, cooking the chow, and counting the widgets! Today the Tail to Tooth ratio is roughly ten to one, meaning for every 1 trigger puller there are 10 logistics troopers supporting him. With out these "mercenaries, that ratio would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 to 1. Contractors are a force multiplier that allows us to focus our efforts where they need to be, where they must be. Defeating, Denying, Disrupting trans-national terrorist operations in our AOR. The service rendered and the lives of the contractors who support us in the mission are every bit as precious to me as those of my Sailors, Marines, and Soldiers. They should be to you as well.

Mr. Kos, I feel very sorry for you.

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD