Let the voting begin…

This Ain’t Hell has started the voting today for the biggest poser… Go cast your vote

http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=30800

Tags: America's biggest poser contest, Stolen Valor

This Ain’t hell takes on Mike Yon and Paul Rieckhoff

Man oh man, for those of you who read “This Ain’t Hell” on a regular basis, you know that I’m a BIG fan of both Mark and Jonn.  This week they went after Paul Rieckhoff for wearing a Special Forces Tab and a Bronze Star which are in question.  It’s more of the bloater syndrome then Stolen Valor.  You can’t get in trouble for that now so they post it online.  Sort of like that old LA police show…Just the facts Sir and that is what you get with these guys.  The Facts via their own records, nothing secret about a FOIA. 

Michael Yon started defending Rieckhoff which I’m surprised about because Mike did go through the whole “Q” course and that SF Tab means something.  I bet since Mr. Yon doesn’t like me (Milkook Marine) and I decided to wear one (which I can’t nor would I) he would jump my stuff and go on about it for eons.  A little double standard there on Mike Yon’s part.

 What really made me chuckle was the FOIA on Mike Yon and the ID card picture they pasted on This Ain’t hell of Yon.  He acts like it was stolen from Fort Knox when it was his ID card picture in his file that was released with the FOIA.  Anyway, if you want to take a peek into the background of Mr. Michael Yon, Combat blogger/Writer living in Thailand, go check this out. 

Here is the post from TAH:

“Apparently, someone is interceding in this little battle between Paul Rieckhoff and reality, so I feel it’s incumbent on myself to provide this interloper with all of the facts. I tried to post as little of Paul’s file on the internet as possible because it seemed that he was not too receptive to that. I’m not a completely heartless being. But, Rieckhoff’s minions are bringing this down on him.

Here’s his citation for his Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) for merit during his tour ofIraq. Notice the dates which span his service there;April 5, 2003throughJanuary 28, 2004;

Now, if you look at his letter, he says that his Bronze Star Medal (BSM) was awarded effectiveMarch 17, 2004. Since the Bronze Star is for merit and can only be awarded for service against an armed enemy, and since the ARCOM was already awarded for his entire service in Iraq, unless the BSM was awarded for the last three days of service in Iraq not covered by the ARCOM, it makes no sense that his unit would have given him the BSM for the same period for which they awarded the ARCOM, because a BSM for merit is just a super-ARCOM.

Now, the Army might have decided to upgrade the ARCOM to a BSM, but then the ARCOM wouldn’t be on his DD214, yet there it is and there’s the citation for the ARCOM. Rieckhoff admits that he’s never seen orders or a citation for the BSM.

And Michael Yon is going to defend Rieckhoff against my charges. Michael Yon doesn’t understand anything about awards, either. He spent only 4 years and 11 months in the Army (how much did you understand with a couple of years of service?) and none of it in combat and more than two years of that was as a student (yeah, I have Yon’s records, too). So when you read Yon’s defense of Rieckhoff tomorrow, remember that Yon’s experience in the matter is non-existent, since he’s never had to deal with combat awards.”

But Yon is getting involved just so he can raise money again in a war against the Milkooks. But none of my fellow Milkooks so much as linked to the post I did on Rieckhoff. So, it’s just me, Mikey, all on my lonesome. Give me your worst. I guess he’s hoping for some of that IAVA money, because those Thai hookers ain’t comin’ cheap for a fat, old bald guy.

Tags: awards, FOIA, Michael Yon, MilKooks, Paul Rieckhoff

“America’s got Posers”

Hey Guys

My buddy Mark Seavey from This Ain’t Hell has put together one of the greatest contests going and I am honored to say that I get to help knock down 96 losers and shape the field for the 64 slots we have for this years greatest poser contest.  I feel like a judge on “America’s got talent” only we’ll call it, “America’s got Poser’s” or the Ultimate Loser contest.  Mark, thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me the honor of helping out.  Here are the links to this year’s best, please go check them out and tell me what you think…

I warn you, that you may get addicted to chasing these turds down.  Since it’s allowed by the law to Steal someone’s Honor, it’s our job to ensure that we expose them for what they really are!!!  Tell me which ones you think are the worst offenders and why. I would love your input!

Semper Fi, Taco

Albert “Sensei Dick Munch” John

Alex “Subway Sandwich Shop Commando” Popovic

Andrew “Purple Heart Plates Phony” Bryson

Andrew “7.62 done killed my cap” Santee

Ane “Bikini Special Forces” Loyola

Angel “Snagletoothed Douchasaurus” Ocasio

Anthony “The Saginaw Forrest Gump” Vanderhoof

Armando “Cabana Boy” Codoba

Asleigh “Shrapnel slit my throat” Martel

Ayush “Major in the Navy SEALs” Arora

Bill “Psychic SEAL” Brockbrader

Bob “Bolivian Field Mouse” Duft

Brandon Lee “Phony Billionaire, shops at $1 store” Price

Brian “Wounded Mind” Camacho

Brian “Pound me in the ass Prison Bitch” Culp

Brian Leonard “T-Shirts and Tattoos make you a SEAL” Creekmur

Carl John “Hero of Every Pacific Battle of WWII” Pequignot

Christopher “Buffalonian Occutard” Simmance

Dallas “Flying Assclown” Wittgenfeld

Daniel “NG phony cop” Alloway

Daron “burned my 3 year olds butt” Soard

Darrel “Infidel Sniper” Tracht

Dave “Tiger Hunter” Groves

David Garcia “Not so Trusty” Diaz Jr

David “Toys and Total asshats” Lebrun

Delroy “The only phony Coast Guard vet in History” Bowe

Derek Kent “X-acto knife Recon” Rose

Derek “Mutant Strain of GWS” Walls

Dominic “Blue Neck Gator” Gallegos

Eliut “Mitigational Fiction” Lopez-Enriquez

Fermijon “Maggots and Rice” Marrero

Gary “The man loves a parade” Spors

Graham “IVAW Ranger Brigade” Crumpner

Gregory John “Trident and trim” Schaffer

Gregory “Slats the Euro-weenie Marine” Leveau

Herbert “Cav Secret Squirrel” Williamson

Jackie Lee “What’s a forged DD214 between friends” Climer

Jacob “read my plates bitch!” Cruze

Jake “I rethunk whether I was in Astan” Dilberto

James “Jumpmaster Noflash” Bryan

James “Effects Linger” Dahan

Jason “Prison SEAL” Truitt

Jasper Land “My moustache alone is SF qualified” Holland

Jay “Occupy Chef Zombie” Polk

Joe T. “the T is for Theft by Deception” Joseph

John “Mayor/Aquatic Secret Squirrel” Spodofora

Jomathan “The Cock Inhaler” Sharkey

Jorge “Columbian Medal of Valor Recipient” Cruz

Joseph “Who wouldn’t go AWOL from Jersey” Coyle

Kasie Michelle “Warr Bunnyy” Benson

Ken “Tri-recycled 18B Wannabe” Aden

Kyle “Dunking Bird” Barwan

Larry “The Round Marine” Gugle

Larry “Cambodian Drummerboy” Marquez

Lehn Joseph “The Long Road to Stolen Valor” Bundrick

Leo “Half my Squadron Died” Webb

Lt. Taylor “Zombie Ballduster” Kent

Marc “Gunshot in Grenada” Restucci

Mark Seymour “Wookin fa nub with a falsified ID card” David

Matthew “The Tattooed Phony” Beck

Melanie Evalena “Meth made me ugly” Gutermuth

Micaiah “Marine Terrorizer of OWS” Dutt

Michael Allen “Gwinnett County Grifter” Bradshaw

Michael “8 tons of frijoles” Frisoli

Mike “The dirty Cohiba sucking Major” Kronos

Mike “Goth Special Forces” Wilson

Mike “Secret Squirrel” Zinna

Myron “Fanciful Coot” Brown

Nathan “upside down ribbons” Seal

Paul “PTSD Counselor” Schroeder

Paul “Prince Chumming” Tillson

Richard “Senator Dickenthal” Blumenthal

Richard “Gunny Recon Seal Truck driver” Lyons

Robert “Headmaster with a Dishonorable Discharge” McDowell

Robert “72 medals and a dump truck to carry them” Vaughn

Ron “Gunny Driveway” Mailahn

Ronald P. “The Jawa” Arlt

Ronnie Glenn “Wheelchair Security Guard” Eddings

Ryan “Door to door phony” Brashears

Shedrick “Homeless SEAL” Burgess

Stephen “I done faked a GED” Chase

Stephen Frank Cio “The Fourth most dangerous NDSM recipient in the world” Burrel

Terry “From a cage to Ice Cream Man” Sallada

Thomas “Colonel, Lawyer, Minister, CEO, Phony” Hughes

Thomas “Rolling Thunder Jackass” Lowry

Thomas “45 is the new 18″ Montgomery

Tiffany “Army Barbie” Ginger

Tim “Stuttering Jackass” Poe

Timothy “Durango + Delta = Douchebag” Oliver

Tony “The Pushup Machine” Trimble

Lt Mini-Bud

Father Time, now with more bling

Fatty McQuartermillion Pounder

Gunny Pinhead

Gorilla Warfare SEAL

Warren “Vietnam, Missouri” Parker

Tags: Poser contest, Stolen Valor, This ain't hell

Remember this guy? Michael Hamilton, Poser released

Local veterans outraged over phony colonel’s early release

Tags: Fake Marine Officer, Fraudulent disability payments, how do I report someone scamming the VA, Michael Delos Hamilton, Poser Marine, VA

“Forgiving Waters” by Ken Capps

Summer book series Number two:  “Forgiving Waters” by Ken Capps

About two months ago, I received a phone call from my old Marine buddy Ken Capps, who lives out near New Bern, North Carolina.  He was busting at the seams to tell me about his new book coming out this summer.

I wasn’t surprised and but honestly a bit jealous.  Ken and I have been close friends since we met back in 1991 while stationed at VMGR 253 in Cherry Point.  Ken is the sort of man who is the “Jack of all trades” and frankly “master of them all” which is something that most men can’t claim.

He left the Corps to strike out on his own and is one of those success stories the Marine Corps should be proud of.  He had an incredible career and an even more successful one in the civilian world owning a lumber company with a large staff and a fleet of equipment that would make Weyerhaeuser Lumber down there envious.

When I came home from Afghanistan in ‘08, I stayed with Ken for a few days and we discussed plots and ideas for a book that we wanted to write together.  I talk a lot about writing a book but actually sitting down and doing it is another matter for me.

Not so for Ken, he actually sat down and pumped out a full no kidding novel and one that my daughter really enjoyed me reading to her.

“Forgiving Waters” is based in the 80’s in a rural town outside of Houston Texas.  The main character Beauregard “Bo” Lee Kelso could be modeled after Tommy Lee Jones (if anyone knows him, tell him this script is for him) as the widowed old cattle farmer who is in his final phase of life.  He is haunted by past racial hatred that was prevalent in the era that he grew up in back in the thirties.

Life changes for him as he meets two young boys, best friends who live on the boundaries of his ranch.  One is white and one black, but skin color matters not to them as they both enjoy the freedom of summer and a friendship that Bo never had as a kid.  They melt a spot in his crusty heart and help him release some past demons.

The dialogue is classic, the pace is constant and this could be a perfect Lifetime movie.  Clean, well written and timeless.  With the race issues of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin going on as I write,it would be great if this was required reading for young kids to show how times change.

I highly recommend that you include this on your summer reading list and then let your kids take it on.  You can download this from Amazon or buy a hard copy.  Please let me know what you think of “Forgiving Waters.”

Semper Fi,  Taco

http://www.kennethlcapps.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Forgiving-Waters-ebook/dp/B0085YS6CW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339817476&sr=8-1&keywords=forgiving+waters

Tags: Forgiving Waters, Ken Capps, racial tensions

USMC SUMMER LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

***Short Fuse*** IMPORTANT**** If you have a Teenage kid who is going to be a JR in High School or know of one, who would like to attend a free Leadership camp in Quantico VA the 1st week of Aug (6-11) for six days,   This past summer they only had 50 spots open, first come first serve, they are looking at expanding to 300 next summer.  check out the Power Point below.  Oh by the way, did I mention it’s free???  Please go to the Facebook link below and check this out.

S/F  Taco

******** Go to their facebook page and send a message.  Someone will email you the apps for the course.*******  https://www.facebook.com/MarinesSLCDA******

MCRC SLCDA Presentation (1)

Tags: Things for High School Juniors to do this summer in Washington DC, USMC SUMMER LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY, what to do this summer in DC?

Bloaters: The new Breed

Bloaters: The new Breed

It’s funny how some things work out. I received a phone call from Jug Burkett (author of Stolen Valor) asking if I wanted to help out a Stolen Valor researcher he was dealing with. This researcher is looking into a guy claiming to be a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart from the Marine Corps. I am always glad to help him out and also to work on Marine issues. The only problem is that my buddy Jonn Lilyea over at “This Ain’t Hell” Beat me to the punch and has already published this story. Dang I hate the Army sometimes!

In this case, the researcher did a pretty good job of getting her ducks in a row concerning this individual and through proper channels up at Quantico, was able to get an internal audit done of a former Marine named Aleksandar “Alex” Popovic, the CEO of Greyside Group. Attached here is Alex’s resume with his claims of the Silver Star and Purple Heart and then of the Internal memo done by HQ USMC that is now in this individuals record.

Alex Popovic bio

His FIOA request is a few months old and should arrive any day now. We are facing a new category of former Military guys. They aren’t Posers in the normal sense we are use to(having never served), they are more like “Bloaters”, people who claim more then they rate. In this case, Alex was a Marine, a Sniper no less and did rate some medals/ribbons but not what he claims and not the Silver Star. Doug Sterner has a pretty complete list of EVERY medal issued by branch and date. In the Marine Corps, the only Popovic that comes up close to this unique spelling is one from WWII and another one from Korea and since he was born in 1972, I doubt he is one of those.

http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/search.php

Here is the problem with “Bloaters” out there. They use these claims of false Valor to do things like promote their company as say a Wounded Veteran and apply online for jobs like the links below scoring contracts they may not deserve. Now in this case, maybe he fell off of a truck and broke his back and has a claim in with the VA. Maybe like many Marines, his knees are shot and he rates disability or maybe he rates disability (non service related) from an injury as a contractor in the war somewhere so he files as a Vet (which he is) and disabled (which he is) but not a disabled in the line of Service with the Corps type guy. All a game of words.

Here is the definition of a Service-Disabled Veteran Company from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-Disabled_Veteran-Owned_Small_Business

A business hoping to be considered “Service-Disabled Veteran” must be at least 51% owned by an individual who can be considered by the government as a Service-Disabled Veteran. The terms “veteran” and “service-disabled veteran” are defined in 38 U.S.C 101(2) and (16). The following definitions are as stated in that code. Veteran- The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Service Disabled- with respect to disability, that such disability was incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. An injury or disease incurred during military service will be deemed to have been incurred in the line of duty unless the disability was caused by the veteran’s own misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or was incurred while absent without permission or while confined by military or civilian authorities for serious crimes. Note that this definition does not require the disability to be causally connected to military service. Such disability does not require a minimum rating to be considered. A veteran with a 0 to 100% disability rating is eligible to self-represent as a Service-Disabled Veteran for Federal contracting purposes. Security funds of deposit in the scheduled amount of $12000.00 are required under Sec.8.1487, revised 2007,to ensure compliance of awarded contracts and supplies, there-of, for twelve -12- consecutive months upon classification and submission for registration under this program.

This is in compliance with (15 U.S.C 644(g)) for program institution to the SDVOSB and authorized Veteran Applicant. Upon satisfactory performance of awarded Contracts,Services and or Supply facilitation by the SDVOSB, subject depository funds will be issued back to the performing SDVOSB at the end of the 12-Month Calendar performance period at -0%- interest in favor of the U.S Government. Background For a veteran who suffers a disability while in military service, the US Government has deemed it its moral obligation to provide the disabled veteran a range of benefits designed to ease the economic and other losses and disadvantages incurred as a consequence of the disability. These benefits include Government assistance for entering the Federal procurement marketplace. To achieve that objective, agencies shall more effectively implement section 15(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)), which provides that the President must establish a goal of not less than 3 percent for participation by service-disabled veteran owned businesses in Federal contracting, and section 36 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 657f), which gives agency contracting officers the authority to reserve certain procurements for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.

In this case, here is what he lists out there for Government contracts:

Popovic Alex GREYSIDE GROUP, INC. 12801 WORLDGATE DR STE 500 HERNDON, VA 201704395 USA Email: APopovic@greysidegroup.com Phone: 7038713993 Self-Certified Small Disadvantaged Business, For-Profit Organization, Veteran Owned Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Contracts, S Corporation 519190, 525990, 541611, 541618, 541620, 561611, 561612, 561720, 561990, 611430, 611699, 928110, 928120 https://www.fbo.gov/index?tab=ivl&s=opportunity&mode=form&id=447bb75590bddcf9b41fdc95b3f4208a&tabmode=list&_so_list_sort9a15dfc9a75119393533747dabcfae37=fname%3Aasc

https://www.fbo.gov/index?tab=ivl&s=opportunity&mode=form&id=447bb75590bddcf9b41fdc95b3f4208a&tabmode=list&_so_list_sort9a15dfc9a75119393533747dabcfae37=fname%3Aasc

https://www.fbo.gov/index?tab=ivl&s=opportunity&mode=form&id=356a8281dc097ae55d4f5a0e28702e61&tabmode=list&_so_list_sort9a15dfc9a75119393533747dabcfae37=lname%3Anone

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8157f6b5eec1670b0051a1585f400c62&tab=ivl&tabmode=list&_so_list_sort062209cb40f2bfe4e213919f1c740a36=lname%3Adesc

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=32ded0019103c4ccdf28cc131d0e81a9&tab=ivl&tabmode=list&subtab=list&subtabmode=list

http://greysidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Global_federal-lawsuit-against-Rob-Caulfield_Chris-Mark_Chris-Gowins_Spencer-Geissinger_James-Kirsop-Taylor1.pdf

What if your Bio is a mix of truth and lies? What if you were able to get investors to put large sums of money into your company based off of your pedigree? This is not the first time I have seen this. There is a guy up in NYC who owns a camping outdoors store, he failed out of flight school but tells everyone he flew jets in the Navy. While this is a true statement, “he flew Jets in the Navy” he gives the impression on his store bio that he served aboard carriers in the Gulf and fought overseas which didn’t happen. He washed out. I got a ride in the back of an A-4 once and landed on the USS Lexington but I don’t tell people that I was fighter pilot.

This sort of “Bloating” is really getting out of hand. His Bio, which has since been removed from his website tells a story of glory but it’s a stark contrast with the memo from Quantico which really shows this as a normal Marine who served honorably. I’m sure his lawyers will contact us telling us to take this down or get sued, so standby Mr. Lawyer, we will be glad to go to court armed with his Bio and subpoenas for emails from him with his bio attached that he sent out. I would advise you to do some digging on your client before you accept that job. Doing a forensic study of these emails will prove they came directly from him. All this will be part of the court records down the road showing what he claims to be his record. With the FOIA from the DOD, his claims of valor via his bio and witnesses, I think we’d have a lot of fun in court and the DOD may look into his Top Secret clearance as well through this.

Semper Fi, Taco

Tags: Aleksandar “Alex” Popovic, Bloated Marine exposed, Bloater, Greyside group, Marine Sniper, proffessional Mariner, Stolen Valor, This ain't hell

Summer reading series, part one “OutLaw Platoon”

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell and John Bruning:

I have read a lot of books over the years written by folks who experienced firsthand the call to duty through different wars. These are books that place you with them as they experience the upheavals of war as seen through their eyes. This is the first book where I have witnessed such brutal honesty of what it’s like to be a platoon commander in battle and where a person has been so open about it. There are things here that are never shared in the open and will allow you to understand where are Vets have been when they deploy.

Sean Parnell puts you in the driver’s seat for a firsthand look into the battles raging daily on the Eastern border of Afghanistan. He is blunt and spot on with his depictions of life there as a young Infantry Platoon Commander with his “Outlaw Platoon” through the various battles he experienced in the course of a year or more. These battles resulted in serious head injuries to him but this guy refused to get them checked out for fear of leaving his men.

I have a new required reading for all Marine Lieutenants who desire the coveted Infantry Platoon Commanders job. There are so many leadership lessons salted away throughout the book that I can’t even begin to describe them all.

Army or Marine, Officer or Enlisted, you will find your spot in Sean’s platoon and easily identify with all of his men. The triumphs and the low points one experience’s in the field and on the line out in combat are all combined throughout the three hundred and seventy pages. You are reading about America’s newest “Greatest Generation” as they answer the call for America and set the benchmark for future generations down the road in their service to our country.

My greatest regret is not having finished Sean’s book before I was able to meet the man in person last week at a charity shooting event. He is every bit the leader that I would follow through the gates of Hell in a heartbeat! If you have a summer reading list, this is a must download book. If you have anyone serving in the military, buy this book for them and let them know they will be a better person for reading it.

To Sean, thank you for your honesty and the sharing of your life. To the men of Outlaw Platoon, I say job well done in such a horrific situation. To those men still in the fight, God Bless you all for what you are doing to protect America and continue to take the fight to the enemy.

Semper Fi, Taco

Tags: Outlaw Platoon, Police in Afghanistan, Sean Parnell

So that they are never forgotten

I have a great friend, a former Sgt in the Marine Corps named Marcus Penn, who asked if I could write something about Memorial Day for him over at YouServed. Frankly, I am honored to be able to contribute a small part on their incredible Website for this Memorial Day weekend.  He has done more then he’ll ever know to help me with the SandGram.

Then you have Ken Capps, another close Marine Corps friend (up there on the short list of guys I would take a bullet for) who has just published his first of many books “Forgiving Waters”  and has inspired me to write more.

Thanks guys, this is for our brothers who can’t be here today.

Another Memorial Day arrives and like most weekends and holidays, I will be working .  When passengers board my commercial airliner, many are confused between the two holidays, Memorial and Veterans weekend, so with my short hair and Marine Corps lanyard I hear a lot of things like “Happy Memorial Day” to which I reply “come see me on Veterans Day.”

For me on Memorial Day, I usually give pause and think about the guys I knew who are now gone.  The horrors of war that are tucked away, not discussed with friends or spouses.  During the time I spent over in Iraq and Afghanistan , pulling the trigger against the enemy was not something I experienced.  That can be a good thing but then you sometimes wish for extreme payback to an enemy who has hurt your friends through their cowardly actions using IED’s.

When Iraq comes to mind, it sometimes feels like yesterday, but then I realize that it was almost seven ago which is eons to my kids who barely remember me being gone.  It’s a good thing they didn’t see the tears from their mother when she found out that I had volunteered to serve over there just as thousands of others had done.  A scene probably played out in many households across our nation. 

American’s have left for war across the world or have volunteered to serve knowing that at any minute a conflict could come up that requires them to face the very real possibility of taking another human’s life or being killed in the process.  It’s not something we talk about to others or amongst ourselves.  You just pray that when the time comes, God gives you the strength to do the right thing and take care of your brothers in arms.

My tour in Iraq was interesting to say the least.  As the Assistant Air Boss at Al Taqaddum, I was never outside the wire kicking in doors (like the young guys did), but we were around for the aftermath of their patrols most of the time.  Our mission was to launch the rescue CH-46’s to pick up those who were wounded and more often than not we would end up helping the wounded in some fashion since the hospital was next door to our tower. 

One day in particular stands out.  I had our best Sgt. on the desk one afternoon when I left for chow.  It was a long hot miserable walk to the chow hall, made worse since the Colonel and I were required to carry our “Brick” radio everywhere so that we could be reached at a moments notice and this thing was huge! 

On the way home, the radio crackled “Sir, are you up?” Since the Colonel was on leave in the states, I knew it was me he needed. 

“I’m here, what’s going on Sgt. K?” The sun was burning down on me as my boots plowed through the fine dust wondering what our troublesome Lance Corporal had done this time.

“Sir, we have a MASS CASS (massive causalities) on the way.”  His voice very calm over the radio.  He didn’t know if they were arriving by air or ground or how many so I detoured to the hospital as the call came in that they were at the North Entry Control Point inbound, but he still no idea how many.  I needed to put eyeballs on the situation to cut out the confusion that usually follows.

This is one of those things that will get your heart pumping, not knowing how many. It could be just a few or a ton of guys you are talking about and the exact number determines how many CH-46’s you have to launch and whether or not you need to break crew rest for more helo lift. A whole slew of considerations on getting the fastest medical evacuation service to our troops.

 I arrived at the side entrance, a large unloading spot to the hospital with about 12 staff members milling about smartly.  They were all on hand because you really don’t know what you have until the doors open up.  We heard that an Army team was ambushed in their Bradley and blown up with a particularly nasty IED mixed with a sort of napalm concoction.  Everyone was pretty tense with only nervous banter being thrown about, especially from the new Sailor standing next to me.

The ambulance arrived, turned around and backed up.  The loud diesel engine shut off followed by the doors flying open and a silence settled over the group of us standing there.  Slowly, the first of four forms materialized out of the back.  He was burned beyond anything I had ever seen.  The skin was dripping off him in places.  His ears were gone along with his nose.  Pieces of his gear melted into his body and flesh charred. His guttural cries as he moved inch by inch out of the ambulance.  The young Sailor next to me vomited into the top of a small Hesco barrier that was filled with dirt when the overpowering smell of burnt flesh hit him.  The nurses were trying to be gentle with them, tears in their eyes as the Doctors and orderlies assisted their movement to the ER.  This was no doubt a horrible one as each Soldier looked as bad as the first.  Lots of emotions flash through my mind, none of them I’m able to express without being tossed out of the Marine Corps or attacked by CAIR . 

This really affected everyone standing there that day. These events were barely mentioned later, because as much as you wanted them to survive, you were watching the walking dead (I fear they knew it too).

We lost one there on the ER table, another on the flight to Ballad Air Base in Northern Iraq , followed by a third death over the Atlantic and the fourth Soldier; he succumbed to his injuries and passed on in San Antonio .

That is what I think about when Memorial Day arrives.  It’s the service members who will never return to see their families again.  The young men and women who volunteered to serve their country with no thought as to their safety, all willing to pay the ultimate price with their lives.  That is what this weekend is about so the rest of America can enjoy the time off Monday with friends. 

As you tip that cold drink, cook that steak and hang out with your friends, please remember those men and women who have served over the years to give us the freedoms we have.  They paid for it with their lives.

To those men and women, and the many hundreds of thousands before them who have passed, gone West and now guarding the gates of heaven, God Bless you for your duty and Godspeed.

Semper Fi,

Taco

Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Korean War, Memorial Day, tribute to our dead veterans, USMC, Vietnam War, WWII

Memorial Day, One speech that sums it up for me

http://mmanetcom.marineclub.com/Kelly2012
Folks forget why they get to grill out and have a day off. LtGen John Kelly really makes it clear. To all those friends/family who have paid the ultimate price in service of our country past-present.  I have to say that this is a tough read because it will make your eyes tear up, even for a Marine.  Well done General Kelly, you are blessed with powerful words.

Semper Fi, Taco

In February 2012, Gold Star Families of 109 Marines, soldiers, sailors or airmen lost in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11 came to the Marines’ Memorial Club in San Francisco to network with each other and to help each other with the grieving process. In the past seven years, we have worked with more than 600 Gold Star families.

This year, we invited Lieutenant General John Kelly, USMC to speak to the Gold Star families. Gen Kelly and his wife, Karen, are also Gold Star parents, having lost their son, 2ndLt Robert Kelly USMC, on 9 November 2010 in Afghanistan. Here are LtGen Kelly’s remarks:

I never met any of your loved ones… your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and spouses. I also don’t know how you came to know they were lost in the wars waged today and over the last ten years in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and dozens of other locations around the world. I don’t know the details, but the stories are ultimately all the same. Most often it started with a knock on the door, or a ring of the doorbell in the early morning hours by a casualty officer who’d been sitting outside your house waiting anxiously for hours for the first lights to come on. He dreaded the mission he’d been assigned that day. He was not glad to be there, but he was privileged to be there as the duty is a sacred one. It is an honor to be called to do it. Most often the casualty officer is a complete stranger. Sometimes he’s your best friend. The minute you saw him standing there framed in the doorway you knew…you knew without being told…before he uttered his first words…you knew.

After that it varies. Some then steeled themselves to walk up stairs to wake a mother, your wife, and break her heart as yours was broken only moments before. Some drove to a daughter’s place of work to tell her about a big brother now gone, and tear another heart in two. When you could you started making the calls… to your other children, your siblings, to uncles and aunts, grandparents…and friends. It’s hard to get through it but you do…somehow…you had no choice. Every experience is different, but in the end it’s all the same. A family is brought to its knees in a grief that is unexpectedly physical in its impact on the body, unbearable to the mind, and agonizing to the heart. A grief that never goes away. Not even with the passage of time.

Then begins the waiting and the heartache seems to turn minutes to hours, and hours to days. You wait because there is little left to do as the military with precision, and reverence, brings your cherished loved one home to the country they served…to rest in the good earth of the America they loved. Some of us went to Dover, others elected to wait at home not wanting to double the hurt. It doesn’t matter. In the end, it’s all the same.

Since the birth of our nation, 45 million have served in uniform. A million have died in its defense. All of them, but particularly the fallen, are part of a legend that, God willing, will never end — our America. The irony is that your loved ones who we remember this weekend came out of an America that no longer seems to value commitment, self-reliance, and selfless dedication to a cause…but they did. Rather, it seems most of our countrymen today are more interested in objects of status or what America can do for them, than serving the nation and protecting its people, and the principles for which it stands…but yours did. Most of the fallen we remember tonight were only nine or ten years old on 9/11. If they remembered anything about that day it might be the images of the burning towers, or the looks of concern and confusion in your eyes as you held them close that day as much to get comfort, as give it. A decade later, and much to your surprise I bet, they astonished you when after screwing up enough courage they marched into the room one day, or at dinner one evening, and informed you they’d decided to join…to serve. You likely, and immediately, asked yourself: “Where the hell did that come from? I never raised him to go in the service…never thought of it… never wanted him to go to war…no parent would ever want that…oh my God, what if she has to go overseas?” It’s my bet you never looked at him or her again in exactly the same way, particularly if he followed it up with: and I want to be a soldier…or a Navy Doc…or a Marine.

Even as a private citizen worlds away from the Pentagon, Baghdad, or Kabul, you know our enemy — the one your loved ones voluntarily stepped forward to fight — is slave to an ideology based on an irrational hatred of who we are. 9/11 and the scenes of devastation in New York and Washington was evidence enough of that. You also know through the media or perhaps from letters from Iraq or Afghanistan of his conduct on the battlefield with the murderous beheadings, suicide attacks, and complete disregard for the innocents of his own country and religion. All of this stands as further proof of his disdain for decency and human life. This enemy has repeatedly proven himself to be brutal and homicidal, offering no quarter and with a single focus… to kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women, regardless of the God they worship, could ever grasp. In past wars since the birth of our Republic, the burden of stopping such evil fell on the shoulders of an entire generation. Today the task is taken up by only 1% of America. The 1% all of us here tonight represent, whose children fill the ranks of our Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps in barely enough numbers to defend us all. They are men and women of character who believed in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain.

Aside from everything else you have endured the weeks, months or years since your loss, you should be proud of their decision…of their commitment… of their actions on the battlefield. Proud they stepped forward when so many others never even considered it. Proud that by this one very personal decision — to serve a cause higher than themselves regardless of the outcome to them personally— they gave meaning to two questions that have, over the centuries, defined the dedication of free and righteous men and women in the fight against wickedness: “If not me, Dad, who? If not now, Mom, when?”

If we did not have citizens willing to not only ask, but also to act on these questions, we would have lost in our struggle against the oppression of the British Empire. Slavery might never have been eradicated from our shores, and the rights of all Americans under the law might still be just a dream. The Nazis would have triumphed, the death camps never liberated and eliminated, and untold millions never saved from the gas chambers and furnaces. Communism, a cancer that killed over 100 million and sucked the human spirit from billions more during its 70 year life span, would never have been thrown onto the dust bin of history. And today, the high tide of Islamic intolerance and extremism — an empire of hate that Osama bin Laden himself proclaimed would last forever — was counted in only days after 9/11 once our country woke up and took the fight to them on their home turf. That is the kind of men and women we remember here this weekend. That is the kind of young person you raised… you shared a room with as a brother or sister…you married. Be at least as proud of their having stepped forward, as you are sad at their loss.

The comforting news to our countrymen who have decided to sit it out and watch in amazement from the sidelines at what ours did every day for them in this war against extremism, is that they were as good as any who came before them in our history. As good as what their fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. But, like those who came before them, they were not born killers. They were good and decent young men and women who, every day, performed remarkable and most often unsung acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they decided was bigger and more important than themselves. And you know that any one of them could have done something more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and college, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the most basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen — the defense of country — they welcomed it. Our kids were the best of the best of their generation, and in their unselfishness put every American ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and our people owe a debt they can never fully pay. Their reward for service is the legacy they left behind: selfless valor, the Country we live in, and the freedoms so many take for granted.

I said earlier when I started my comments that I’d never had the pleasure of meeting your loved ones, but I can say without hesitation that I knew every one of them very well. I certainly was not there in the hospital when they were born. I did not share with you the joy of their birth. I also was not at the church when they were Baptized or years later when they received First Holy Communion, Confirmation, or were married. I didn’t share the anxiety the day you took off their training wheels and let them leave the driveway for their first solo ride on their two wheeler. I also wasn’t at the sports field to see them play Little League baseball or mob ball that was supposed to be soccer…or when they went on their first overnight as a Cub Scout or Brownie. I wasn’t there for their first day of school, or their first job, or their first date or prom, or their graduation from high school or college.

I knew them all well, however, because after nearly four decades of service in uniform I’ve been privileged to know thousands and thousands exactly like them. Privileged to have known them, and honored to have taken responsibility for them from you and continue your tremendous work. To help them through the homesickness they felt at boot camp and their first duty stations far from home, to stand in for you and make sure they picked up their rooms, did their laundry, advised them to continue to stay away from drugs, drink in moderation and lead good lives, to go to church, and hang out with the right crowd. I counseled them about relationships and marriage, and helped young couples through the rocks-and-shoals of every marriage’s first year. I taught them how to balance their checkbooks, and use a credit card responsibly, and trained them so they’d be less likely to kill themselves on the motorcycle they never should have bought. All of which built on the work you did, along with their sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, neighborhoods, communities, churches, helping them achieve the greatness they already had in their hearts. I loved them all.

In some respects I knew them better than you did. I met them as grownups, never having had the opportunity of knowing them as children or adolescents. In ten thousand conversations over the years in peacetime and war, I was touched when they talked to me about their parents, and the families they loved and missed so much. About their favorite uncle who kicked them in the butt when they needed it, or a respected grandparent who lived with them. The older brother that took care of them and showed them how to use a pocket knife, or kid sister they worshiped and looked out for every day on the way home from school. About the home towns they could not wait to get back to someday. About the girl they wanted to marry — or had already — and how they wanted a family of their own, and kids that would look up to them as they did their folks.

The biggest difference in the way I knew them? I was with them in combat. I have seen them literally turn the intangibles of commitment, bravery, and selfless devotion, into real and meaningful action. In my three tours in this war as an infantry officer and commander, I never saw one hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the fire and with no apparent fear of death or injury take the fight to our merciless enemies. Day after day, the kids we came here to remember this weekend unhesitatingly climbed into trucks or helicopters, or departed the wire on patrol, and did it as if they were born to it…were indestructible…were without fear. They learned early as anyone who has truly experienced combat does, however, that fear is always with you. They also knew how random combat is, and how you have absolutely no control over whether you live or die. They also knew what can happen to you — or just as importantly to your best friend or one of your men — in an instant. They’d seen it…it’s frightening…horrible…but still they went out. The fear is at times an all-consuming constant but that is what courage is, isn’t it, pushing through the dread and completing the mission assigned regardless of how dangerous. You may or may not have ever seen that in them when they were growing up, or when you said “I do” holding their hands and gazing into their eyes… but I saw it every day. You may or may not have known him or her as one of the bravest, most courageous and committed young people our society produces…but I can attest to it.

As terrifying as combat is when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and there is no rational reason on this earth for a man or a woman to do anything but run away in horror or find a hole to hide in and pray to God for it to stop — they didn’t. When no one would call them coward for cowering behind a wall or shivering in panic in a bunker, slave to the most basic of all instincts— survival — none of them did. When the calls for the Corpsman or medic were shouted from the mouths of young kids who know they will soon be with their God — when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time — and the only sensible act is stop, get down, save yourself — they never did. It doesn’t matter if it’s an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, fighting in an upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once…they were magnificent. And please take comfort in the fact that when they fell they were not alone. When they went they were surrounded by the finest men and women on this earth — their buddies — who desperately tried to save their lives while holding their hands and comforted them, prayed with them, listened to all the little stories about their families and their homes…until they were gone. They were not alone and when the spirit left them and God in his infinite wisdom took them to his bosom, their military family lovingly wrapped them in whatever passed for a shroud and sent them home. In this, their last journey, they were never alone. At every stop along the way, they were treated with the greatest reverence and deepest respect due a fallen hero until members of the service they proudly joined brought them to you.

Over 6,000 have died since 9/11, and we their families are sentenced to a life of dealing with their loss for the rest of our lives. Thousands more have suffered wounds since it all started, but like anyone who loses life or limb while serving others, they are not victims, as they knew what they were about, and were doing what they wanted to do. The “chattering class” wants to make them and us, their families, out to be victims, but they miss the point. Those who chose to serve willingly, and the families who supported them, will have none of that. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation will never understand it when men and women of character step forward and look danger and adversity straight in the eye, and refuse to blink or give ground even to their own deaths. The protected can’t begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night. What they are missing, what they will also never understand, is the sense of commitment, joy, and honor of serving one’s country in uniform. Every service member does, as do we their families who support them, and fear for them, and, yes, will mourn for them the rest of our lives.

In my hundreds of trips to military hospitals around the country since 2003 and the start of the war, I’ve visited with thousands of grievously wounded American kids and their families. No matter how battered they were, no matter how many arms or legs they’d lost, their families thanked God they’d come home to them alive…but they also always very quietly asked me if it was worth it. I never tried to answer that question — I couldn’t — it wasn’t one of my boys lying in the hospital bed. I could never fathom the innermost thoughts of a parent who stood watch through the night at the bedside of someone they loved so much, who was so terribly wounded. Who was I to offer an opinion? And in my dozens of conversations with families of the fallen at Dover, or at gravesides at Arlington, or at gatherings like this, I’ve been similarly asked if it was worth the life of someone they brought into the world, raised and nurtured so lovingly, and so much looked forward to seeing grow and find wonderful husbands and wives, and give them grandchildren to spoil. Again, I had no right to reply because as hard as I tried to understand what the immensity of their loss might be, and the depth of the sorrow in their heart, I knew it was impossible. My sense then was it is inconceivable for anyone to understand that has not had his own heart pierced with such sadness. I learned I was right.

I’ve asked this same question of myself a million times these last months, usually when I unexpectedly caught a glimpse of him in a picture at the house, or when a thought of an earlier time came to mind, or in a quiet and unguarded moment when his loss washes over me in emotions I still can’t control. Since the day I had my turn standing in the door looking into the glistening eyes of a casualty officer, and the day I woke my wonderful wife and crush her heart with the news, and had to nearly pick my daughter up off the floor where she worked, I have desperately tried to convince myself that it was worth it. I have worked hard at believing his life was worth the sacrifice on the altar of America’s freedom. But it all came to me the day we buried him in the sacred ground that is Arlington, at Section 60, Gravesite #9480, that it doesn’t matter at all what I think. The only thing that matters is what he thought. That he had decided it was more important to be where he was that morning in the Sangin River Valley, Afghanistan, to be doing what he was doing with the Marines and Doc he loved so much and led so well in what was at that time the most dangerous place on earth. In his mind — and in his heart — he had decided somewhere between the day he was born and 07:19, 9 November 2010, that it was worth it to him to risk everything — even his life — in the service of his country. So in spite of the terrible emptiness that is in a corner of my heart, and the corners of the hearts of everyone who ever knew him, we are proud…so very proud. Was it worth his life? It’s not for me to say. He answered the question for me.

It has been my distinct honor to have had the opportunity to be with you here this weekend. In spite of our loss I am confident that our America, this experiment in democracy started just over two centuries ago, will forever remain the “land of the free and home of the brave” so long as we never run out of tough young Americans like ours who are willing to look beyond their own self interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm.

God Bless America, ladies and gentlemen, may they rest in peace, may we who loved them find peace and understanding in their sacrifice, and that the America that they so loved and protected, and gave their lives for, is forever worthy of their sacrifice. Of this I pray.

Semper Fidelis.

Tags: Gold Star Families, LtGen Kelly, Marine Club, Memorial Day