The Social Engineering Of Our Military

The systematic destruction of our armed forces!

Note the juvenile presentation and the juvenile tone of the video below...

WATCH: The Navy is training its members to create a "safe space" by using proper gender pronouns.

Here's their new instructional video, which is modeled after a children's show:

Via @Kredo0 https://t.co/9lsBXKFMTa pic.twitter.com/t7DbiVCO2J

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 20, 2022

This social engineering is also taking place in the US Army:

West Point cadets taught critical race theory, including addressing 'whiteness,' docs show. 

Madness afoot!

Musical Interlude For Memorial Day

(For politics, please scroll down)

Memorial Day weekend is, or should be, about so much more than cookouts and the opening of swimming pools. Rather, it is, or should be, a time for solemn remembrance.

Additional reading: The poem "In Flanders Fields" and The WWI Origins of the Poppy as a Remembrance Symbol. 

Memorial Day 2021

This Memorial Day Weekend, amid shopping for bargains, getting together with family and friends after all the months of pandemic lockdowns, and enjoying the traditional Memorial Day Weekend cookouts, let us remember the significance of Memorial Day: honoring Our Fallen, who made the ultimate sacrifice.  

Gone, but never forgotten.

American military cemeteries around the world:

For many, the concept of honoring Our Fallen holds the deepest kind of personal significance:

   

Surely we can all find time to do some reading appropriate for this weekend...2021 Memorial Day: 30 facts, meaning and history to celebrate this holiday.

"A Date which will Live in Infamy"

Silverfiddle Rant!

I wrote this years ago to commemorate Pearl Harbor day.  The chances of our nation being attacked militarily now is almost nil.  An ignorant and debased nation of people easily propagandized is vulnerable to a variety of more subtle, non-violent attacks. Nonetheless, the lesson still applies.

My wife and I took our kids to a museum here in town on December 7th a few years ago. While there, we had the good fortune to meet a WW II Navy veteran who had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. We also encountered the famous WW II picture of the Frenchman crying. These two contrasting encounters taught my family a lesson that I want to share with you.

At the beginning of our tour I spied the aging sailor wearing a veteran’s garrison cap emblazoned with the words “Pearl Harbor Survivor.” I crouched down and quickly tutored my children on the man’s significance upon that historical landscape. Fortunately, the kids grasped the meaning of the moment and we approached the gentleman. A mellow, unassuming man, he treated our questions with kindness and received our thanks with humility.

At the end of our museum tour we came face to face with the elderly veteran’s polar opposite: the picture of the Frenchman crying. Many of my fellow Americans would probably enjoy hearty anti-French belly laughs at this picture, but I feel only sadness.  This is the face of  people everywhere who lack the means or the will to defend their freedoms. This is the face that trades death and destruction for subjugation and humiliation.

I felt just as compelled to introduce my children to the Frenchman crying as I did to the aging hero. I directed my kids’ attention to the picture and asked them to describe it. “He’s crying,” and “That man is sad,” were the answers I got. They could see his distress and wanted to know what had caused it.

I told them this is how you end up when you're unable or unwilling to fight for your freedom. I told them that if they were not prepared to risk their lives for their country, they had better be prepared to stand on the street crying as the conquerors march by. I insisted they study the picture some more, observe the pain on the man’s face, notice the tears running down his cheeks. “Remember that face,” I told them, “and may that never be you.”

Reliance on Maginot Lines and international organizations provides a sense of security--up until the inevitable failure of such contrivances. Then, alas, it is back to blood and steel. Sadly, we are all too human after all.

The veteran and the Frenchman stand in stark contrast. Taken together, they remind us of two unyielding truths: The opposite of war is not necessarily peace, and freedom is never free.

---
As of September 2020, "according to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 325,574 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive in 2020." (National WW II Museum)

Memorial Day 2020

(with a hat tip to Bunkerville for the first video below)

This Memorial Day, please remember to pause long enough to honor our fallen.  They more than deserve that honor.

American Cemeteries around the world and the number of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice:


Note: the above is the soundtrack opener for the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.

 In honor of our fallen, the Armed Forces Medley, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra and, my "alma mater," the Choral Arts Society of Washington:

How the West was Lost

Silverfiddle Rant!

"Matthew is a highly decorated Green Beret who is being tried for killing a Taliban bomb maker," the president wrote. "We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!"

-- President Trump

From Fox News:

President Trump has granted clemency to two Army officers accused or convicted of war crimes and restored Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher to the rank of chief petty officer after he was docked a pay grade after being convicted of posing for a photo with a dead Islamic State (ISIS) fighter, the White House announced Friday.

Our military must be a professional fighting force, not a marauding band of undisciplined Mongols, and our training at every level hammers that home.  For this reason, we have Geneva Convention and Law of Armed Conflict training, and severe punishment for violations.

Having said that, are our Rules of Engagement too strict? Have Western Powers improperly injected too much liberal humanitarianism into the norms of waging war?

Is our government's concept of war outdated?

Military victory in Iraq or Afghanistan was never, in fact, a real possibility. The very nature of war has changed so much in recent decades that military victory as we tend to imagine it, with winners and losers emerging after a fight with an unambiguous end, is utterly obsolete.” (The Myth of Victory)

For whatever hidden motives, our government consciously decides to jump into unwinnable wars, and will never provide the materiel and manpower to even try to win those wars. This sets up a sick dynamic with the military services, because most military people, by their nature, thrill to the prospect of doing the impossible against all odds. 

I could end with fill-in-the-blank platitudes, but I've already bored everyone with them over the years, so I'll end instead with a question:

Can We The People do anything about this, and if so, what?

Related:  America Can't Win Afghanistan's Civil War for Kabul.

Veterans Day 2019

Every act of service, from those who serve stateside in peace, to those who have perished abroad in war, contributes to the freedoms we so often take for granted. Thank you, veterans, for fulfilling your oath.

Important related reading: 5 Facts to Know About Veterans Day.

75 Years Ago On The Beaches Of Normandy

Honor The Greatest Generation....

The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune.  Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944.

Reading for today, from The Last Longest Day by Richard Fernandez:

...It was an all-out throw of the dice. A maximum effort. There was no plan B if it didn't work. Had it failed, Eisenhower would have said: "Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." The consequences of defeat would have been incalculable....

[...]

...It is for the current generation to decide whether to build a new dark age of universal surveillance or one of expanding freedom. It is for the present to decide whether to succumb to new cults or keep the flame. The men of the Longest Day have done their job. Only the living can still make history. The past has already made it.

Read the rest HERE.  Worth your time.

The American military cemetery in Normandy, 2003

Claude and Kenneth, two of my cousins, served on the beaches of Normany during Operation Overlord — one cousin in the US Army and one in the US Navy. They were 19 and 21 years old. Miraculously, they both came home physically whole. But psychologically, Claude and Kenneth were forever changed and never again slept through a night without nightmares. Both of my cousins died young, one at the age of 39 and the other at the age of 44.

Veterans Day 2018

(For politics, please scroll down)

Please read: 5 Facts to Know About Veterans Day (from the US Department of Defense).

Remembering D-Day, June 6, 1944

The Silent Wings Museum commemorates the 74th anniversary of D-Day

Read and watch the videos at 5 Fast Facts About D-Day, June 6.

Today is the the 74th anniversary of the Allied invasion that changed the course of history — for the better:

What "Comrade In Distress" Looks Like

Because a stroke on September 15, 2009, deprived Mr. AOW of the ability to walk any more than a few steps, we have wheelchair ramps at our house: one from the street to the front door and one from the aforementioned ramp to the Little House (Mr. AOW's man cave since 1982).

Graphic by Stogie

We paid not a single dime for these two ramps because Mr. AOW's fellow veterans from the VFW and the American Legion built those ramps according to the guidelines of Comrade in Distress.

Recently, we needed another kind of ramp built so as to access The Red Shed, our big tool shed, which has always needed a ramp so that tool boxes and lawn equipment could be moved from therein. The original ramp, the one that Mr. AOW himself built in 1978, caved in years ago, so I had it replaced about eight years ago. The quality of wood used in that first replacement ramp was poor; as a result, it rotted out and became not only usable but also hazardous — a matter brought to my attention a few weeks ago when our realtor wanted to enter the Red Shed. His foot went right through that rickety ramp!

So, Mr. AOW called his Comrade in Arms Mike S., who came over as soon as the spring monsoons ended.  Mike is a Vietnam War Era veteran.  In other words, not a young man.

Syria

Surface to air missile fire over Damascus during the US-led raid on Syria.Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018

U.S., UK, France strike Syria in first coordinated action against Assad

Wise move?

Necessary move?

Related reading... Timeline of Syrian Chemical Weapons Activity, 2012-2018

and

Commentary: In Syria strike, the real danger is Russia.

Veterans Day 2017

Related reading with video: Veterans Day - November 11th 2017

No Justice For Staff Sgt. Mark Allen?

In the search for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away without a weapon from the field of battle, Staff Sgt. Mark Allen suffered a grievous head wound and was left unable to speak and is paralyzed over much of his body.

Read more HERE.

Those wounded in searching for deserter Bowe Bergdahl got this lame apology from said deserter as the defense opened their case in court.

Staff Sgt. Mark Allen before he was wounded

Staff Sgt. Mark Allen with one of his therapists

The Allen Family

What might some form of justice be for Staff Sgt. Mark Allen?  My opinion below the fold.

75 Years Ago Today

One of the World War 2 veterans  in our family stated the following about that infamous day, and he enlisted in the US Navy the next day:

"My heart came up into my mouth when I heard the news."

Also note this warning about losing our American heritage:

Curmudgeon's excellent comment to this thread:

The bonds between the crew members of the Arizona have lasted far beyond the ship’s loss on December 7, 1941. Since 1982, the US Navy has allowed survivors to be interred in the ship’s wreckage upon their deaths.

Following a full military funeral at the memorial, the cremated remains are placed in an urn and then deposited by divers beneath one of the gun turrets. To date, more than 30 Arizona crewmen who survived Pearl Harbor have chosen the ship as their final resting place. Crew members who served on the ship prior to the attack may have their ashes scattered above the wreck site, and those who served on other vessels stationed at Pearl Harbor that fateful day, may have their ashes scattered above their former ships. In 2011, only 18 of the 355 crewmen who survived the bombing of USS Arizona were still alive. Today there are only six. All of them are in their 90’s or older. This will be their final commemoration appearance.

If you have never visited Pearl Harbor or the Arizona Memorial you are missing one of the more poignant testaments to the madness of man’s inhumanity to man.

Game Changer?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know about this:

Ten U.S. sailors and two U.S. riverine command boats – small shallow-water patrol craft with minimal technology or defenses – were detained Tuesday [January 12, 2016] after a mechanical failure caused the boats to drift into Iran’s territorial waters near Farsi Island, U.S. defense officials said. There were nine male sailors and one female sailor on board.

After Iran impounded their vessels, the video shows the crews being taken to what looks to be a closed-off room with white walls and rugs. The crew removed their shirts and shoes; it was not clear if the Iranians required them to do so. The male sailors are wearing olive T-shirts, and the female sailor is wearing a long-sleeve shirt and a head covering.

The US Navy personnel have been released.

The images and the video broadcast on Iranian television:

Veterans Day 2015

(Discussion thread for the GOP Debate of November 10, 2015, is HERE)

Obama's Inexcusable Response To The Chattanooga Jihad Attack

Eli Arnold is pictured planting a flag outside the Chattanooga National Guard recruitment center targeted by Mohammed Youssef Abdulazeez.

From No explanation by Obama on flags not lowered to half-staff for Chattanooga shootings (dated July 20, 2015):

The White House provided no explanation Monday amid questions over why the president had not ordered flags across the nation to half-staff in the wake of a Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting that killed five servicemembers.

Spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama offered condolences last week and may speak to veterans at VFW conference Tuesday about the shooting, but he had no further comment.

Obama has issued presidential proclamations that lowered flags at federal facilities and military bases after many mass shootings, including attacks at the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Hood in Texas, and Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut. The lack of a proclamation following the deaths of four Marines and sailor in a possible terrorist attack Thursday by a 24-year-old Muslim man rankled some and spark online outrage.

“I don’t have more information about the status of the flag over the White House,” Earnest said, responding to a question at a daily briefing Monday with the press....

Read the rest HERE.

Let us remember that Obama ordered the lowering of United States flags when Nelson Mandela died in 2013. But not for five of our servicemen slaughtered right here on our home soil?

Obama, the Commander in Chief, hasn't so much as picked up the phone and spoken to the families of our fallen in Chattanooga!

GRRRRRR!

Related reading: Fallujah-in-Chattanooga by Tammy Swofford.

Concluding portion:

Lance Corporal Skip Wells was a highly trained, professional United States Marine. He was “armed” with a cell phone. He used his “weapon” to text the last known words attributed to him:

ACTIVE SHOOTER

This is the real tragedy. It is the tragedy of an unarmed U.S. Marine.

Read the entire essay HERE.

Motivation And Investigation (With Addendum)

The following appear to be the last words of Chattanooga jihadist Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s brief-lived blog, published on July 13, 2015:

"To give us a complete understanding of the message of Islam, and the strength the live by this knowledge, and to know what role we need to play to establish Islam in the world."

A blog post in his name also stated:

This life is short and bitter and the opportunity to submit to Allah may pass you by

Read all of Abdulazeez's blog posts HERE.

About the investigation: William Killian, the DoJ Official Leading #Chattanooga Jihad Shooting, Previously Vowed to Criminalize Criticism of Islam.

Also see DOJ: Social Media Posts Trashing Muslims May Violate Civil Rights.

The impromptu memorial at the Military Recruiting Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee:

Photo credit: Kevin Liles for the New York Times

ADDENDUM: The faces of the fallen Marines in Chattanooga. Please take a moment to look and to read.

Click directly on the photos below to enlarge them:

Multiple Shots Fired In Chattanooga: Armed Forces Career Center AND Navy Recruitment Center

What I've been following and posting about today at Infidel Bloggers Alliance....

FOUR MARINES KILLED!

From Reuters: