Westboro Baptist Church puts the "dam(n)" in fundamentalist

This Group makes me sick.


Now they have been sued and are in court for attacking a fallen Marine's funeral.


I hope they finally get what's coming to them. Here are some examples of their disgusting version of free speech and freedom of religion.

Here we go again.

81st Brigade put on alert for Iraq/Afghan deployment.











One thing will be different this time howver. My brother won't be there to make them look good. (Hey Anonymous. This is what a real live Sergeant First Class in the United States ARMY looks like)

Sea Story II

Time for another Sea Story,

I was a fire controlman in the Navy. What a fire control technician does is pretty cool. We maintain and operate the digital fire control system. In other words, we do all the repair and maintenance on the system that is used to track contacts from all the different sensors (sonar, radar, periscope). And we operated the fire control system by determining the range, course, and speed of different targets after evaluating the bearing data over time. Then we would figure out how to shoot those targets with torpedos, (or tomahawk missles).

Our watchstanding involved maintaining current solutions on all contacts in order to provide the Captain with an overall picture of the tactical situation.

Whenever we went to periscope depth we had to do specific things to ensure that we were certain of the "solutions" on all contacts. The Captain would come up to the control room and the OOD would inform the captain of where he believed all the contacts were. The Captain would then give the OOD permision to come to periscope depth. After several years onboard I had developed a reputation of being very good at this part of my job, (getting solutions). The Captain would receive the report from the OOD and we would begin our ascent to persicope depth. The OOD would be riding the scope and the Captain would lean down and quietly ask me, "allright, what are these guys really doing?" It was nice to have the Captain have that much trust and respect for my abilities.

Now, whenever we were at periscope depth at night time, the control room would be "rigged for black", meaning all the lights would be out. This made it hard to see. The seat I was in was within arms length of the persiscope. Now, usually when the scope was out there would be a crowd of 5 or so people standing around the periscope station waiting to "take a turn". I always found this to be annoying because they would be bumping in to me. It was usually the J.O.'s who were there to get experience (or say they were they for official reasons when they really just wanted to see outside). So I started to play a game. Remember it was dark?? Well, I would reach over in to the group and pinch one of them on the butt. Usually the guy on the scope. I did this for a couple of years (about three or four patrols) without ever getting caught. I got J.O.'s, the CO, the XO, the NAV... whoever. Then on my last patrol, we were at periscope depth, rigged for black. The Captain was on the scope. I was reaching my hand over and was just about to pinch... and the Captain says in a low voice, "fire control, if you touch me... you'll be down in my stateroom later accross a green table from me" (meaning I would go to Captains Mast [non-judicial punishment]). "Aye Aye Captain" I say.

After we came down from periscope depth the Captain came over to me with a grin on his face and basically told me that he had known all along that it had been me doing it and that I should never assume that the Captain doesn't know what's going on. But, the gig was up and I should find something else to do now.

Sea Story

My First Haircut

Life on a submarine for a new sailor (Non-qual, dink, scumbag, puke, nub) is very interesting and full of excitement. Even the most mundane of activities has an exciting air for a non-qual. I remember my first day underway. This is after I had awaken from a long sleep following finishing up my tour as a Crank (a guy on K.P. duty AKA cooks slave). I had quals to work on. So... being the smart non-qual that I was , I headed back to Machinery Two. As fortune would have it, there was a crowd of about 7 A-Gangers in AMR third level. I walked in and announced that I was ready for a checkout on some system (can't remember which one). Well, the COB (Chief of the Boat, [command Master Chief for you skimmers]) happened to be in the room shooting the breeze with the guys. He said I could have a checkout under one condition. I had to sit in the stool and everytime I got a wrong answer they would; spin me in circles, stop my spinning by grabbing my hair, cut off a handful of hair with the COB's pocketknife. Sounded good to me...


I didn't know as much about the system as I thought I knew. Wow!! there's a lot of little specific information to know for even the simplest equipment on a submarine. Like, "How many times did I have to retap the thread on the third bolt securing that pump to the deck?" I sure had a great haircut though. I looked like a Chernoble survivor! I walk up to the computer room which is just past the XO's and CO's staterooms. The XO notices me and gasps.


XO- "Sailor!? What happened to your hair?

ME- "I got it cut XO." (ask a dumb question...)

XO- "What the hell was used to cut your hair?"

ME- "It was a knife."

XO- "Did you do it yourself?"

ME- "No sir, it was done by some other people."

XO- "Who did this to you?"

ME- "You know sir, I'm so new that I can't really remember who they were."

XO- "You're not that new... Who was it!!?"

ME- "Sorry sir, I'm just not sure."

XO- "OK, where did it happen?"

ME- "Again sir, I'm so new that I don't really know my way around well enough. I'm not sure where I was."

XO- "Bullshit! You're dismissed!"


I took off and went and hid in DPER (pronounced deeper [the computer room]). Within 20 seconds you here over the 1MC, "Chief of the Boat, report to the XO's stateroom!" Well you could hear the XO explaining to the COB that he had better get to the bottom of the story regarding my haircut.


About 30 minutes later the messenger of the watch finds me and tells me to report to the Goat Locker (Chiefs Quarters). I walk in and find the COB and about 6 other chiefs sitting around in their lounge area. There is a stool, a towel, and some haircutting clippers. The COB sits me down and begins to cut my hair. He and the other chiefs visit with me, asking me questions about my childhood and my plans for the future. In the end the COB tells me, "You need to get out there and familiarize yourself with the boat and the rest of the crew now." Then he grabbed my qual card and signed it off for the system that my original "pocketknife checkout" had been for.



That COB saved my butt about a year in the future when I did something dumb on base. He had the reputation as being a mean old hardass. But, he took care of "his boys". Since the day I didn't rat him out, I became one of "his boys". That XO never did like me. But that's OK.

Medal Of Honor

Lt. Mike Murphy, a navy SEAL who was killed in action high in the mountains of Afghanistan, will receive the Medal Of Honor for his heroic actions. His parents will accept the Medal on his behalf from President Bush on October 22nd. To learn more about this great American read the book written by Marcus Luttrell, the sole surviving member of his SEAL team. The book is titled "Lone Survivor".

"Murph" wore the station patch from FDNY Engine 53 and Ladder 43 on the right sleeve of his uniform. He also aquired patches for each of his team members. They wore them so as not to forget how this war started with the cowardly attacks of 9/11/01 and in honor of the 343 firefighters who died in the line of duty with bravery and selfless dedication to the citizens of New York City.

God Bless America, God Bless the Murphy family, and may Lt. Murphy and his fellow team members who fell with him RIP, "....no greater love..."

Pagan Rejoice

Followers of Wicca have won their case and will now be able to have their Wiccan Pentacle (pentagram) engraved on their tombstones in the national cemeteries. It seems kind of odd to me however because I thought Wiccan's (aren't they the new age druids/witches/nature worshipers) would burn their dead in a funeral pyre like in the old days of Viking and Celtic history.

Oh well... maybe they'll fight for the funeral pyres next.

Pyro

Lt. Watada is a "disgrace"

Lt. Watada is the Army officer who earned his commission after the war on terror started. The Army helped pay for his education and he in turn agreed to serve. He subsequently decided that the invasion of Iraq was unjust so... when his unit is deployed to Iraq, he refuses to ship out. Pretty convenient. Hey Watada!! the invasion is over!!!!! Iraq is now occupied and the troops there are preventing a civil war and large scale sectarian violence. If all the allied troops pulled out, there would be enormous atrocities. To go to Iraq and assist in the stabilization of the legitimately elected Iraqi government is moral and just. I think you have been studying too many Democratic Party talking point memos... Didn't you get taught to think when you went to college?

Here's what Japanese-American veteran groups have to say about Watada.

liberty?

When I was in the Navy and went on liberty I did crazy things like watch movies, go to a pub, go fishing, or go sightseeing. This guy had other things in mind.

What the...?????

Early Independence Day

Because of my work schedule and because I will be away for the holiday, I must do my Independence Day post early. Please forgive my prematurity (I think I just made that word up). I am very fond of my country. For all her flaws she is the greatest country in history. First, let us remember the cost of liberty.

Revolutionary War - 4,435
War of 1812 - 2,260
Mexican War - 13,283
Civil War (Union) - 364,511
Spanish-American War - 2,446
World War I - 116,516
World War II - 405,399
Korean War - 36,574
Vietnam War - 58,209
Gulf War I - 382
War on Terror (Includes
those killed on 9-11-01) - 5,859

* all causualty numbers were taken from official DOD sources here and here. September 11, 2001 casualty numbers were taken from here. I subtracted 19 from the 9-11-01 numbers because I chose not to include the terrorists in the total.

And now some quotes from our first president...

"I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them."

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

George Wasington, 1732-1799
Commander, Continental Army
President, United States of America

Happy Birthday America!!