Difficult to Watch

I know there are those out there that say they suffer no ill effects from an experience in Iraq, Afganistan or other theater of battle, but I am not one of those. I am in no way a pussy, nor do i think we should just stop and go home. I know what we are doing is creating a battlespace in which to engage an enemy that desires nothing more that to wipe the United States and Israel from the map.

I have just been watching the Discovery/Times channel and the new series Away at War. The series follows a National Guard Engineer Battalion through a year in Iraq and jumps back and forth from the battlefield to the homefront. There are true heros in the piece and there are those that border on subversives, but the raw truth of the series is so real that I found myself breathing faster and at one point breaking down and having to call my wife. I was suffering a mild to moderate combat stress reaction as I have so many times taught in classes for the Army. The reality of the evnts that the combat veteran has lived will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Many will go on and exhibit no outward signs. Others will have these fleeting moments of emotion and then there will be those that will not be able to continue to function as a normal productive member of society.

I am a warrior. I have proven myself in battle. I have been the angel of mercy for my fellow soldiers. I have bled for our nations cause and been awarded medals for valor. All of that said, the one thing I didn't expect to bring home will be the thing that will stay with me the longest. My life has changed in so many was since my deployment. Oh how I miss the battlefield. Oh how I love my family. The two cause such conflict in my life today.

Great site

Please go to the this site. If youare a blue blooded American you wil stand up and salute when you see this! God Bless the USA!

"Preventive medicine is a well placed shot group!"

http://www.minibite.com/america/forgotten.htm

A normal response to an abnormal situation

I just had such an intense experience on LL's blog. We have been debating the proper use of combat forces and for some reason I find myself getting so angry at having to defend many of the leaders that I cursed when I was there. The clarity of my minds eye now allows me to analyze the situation so much more clearly. I feel like a child that has come of age and realize that my parents were right.

LL, know that I am not in anyway angry at you. Your posting stirred up many emotions that I guess were suppressed. I can see the flag you mentions, waving in the wind, and I too feel sadness for the loss of such great patriots. But I also know that this country has always sent it's sons to bleed for liberty and as the majority would say, they were willing to give their life so that others may live free. In the song, God Bless the USA, Lee greenwood sings that "the flag still stands for freedom" and by God it does. All over the world, regardless of the political pissing contests that some want to start, the average Joe on the street will still say that the USA means freedom to them in some way and that the flag is the forward projection of that ideal. I was so proud when I put on my right should flag for the deployment and even more proud that the US Army has decided to make it a part of every soldiers uniform now. I love that flag. I have bled for that flag and will do it again if I can. But more that that I love what it stands for. LIBERTY!

And Todays Sermon is......

(name) is a retired preacher in McComb, MS.

To my friends and family:

What I have seen since Katrina:

The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.
Black, white, Hispanic, oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.
Christian people giving, giving, giving.
Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.
Neighbors going door to door helping one another.
Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.
Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.
People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because
shelters are full.
Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for weeks serving it.
The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do
in a crisis.
FEMA doing a wonderful job in getting help to us.
The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.
The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.
Four hundred crewman from everywhere bringing back the power to our
homes, churches and businesses.
Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.
National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mccomb along with Kentucky
policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of McComb, Pike County
and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina).
Drug dealers working outside shelters.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly,
without sleep, doing the job God called them to do.

WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN:

The ACLU setting up a feeding line!
People for the American Way helping in the shelters!
The NAACP doing any work whatsoever!
The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters!
Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations!
I could go on but you get my message. Its the Christian people with
love and compassion who do the work. The gripers in Congress should
come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you
listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy, and all you sorry loafers we refer to
as Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as to what this
life is all about here on the gulf coast.

Boy, I feel better now!
(name)

OIF 1 The Beginning

I was assigned to a combat engineer battalion as senior medic for the deployment to the "undisclosed location in the middle east" from a medical training unit. I had put my name on the list as a willing volunteer to be deployed earlier in the political events leading up to the invasion. I knew this would be my last chance to get in the game before I clocked out at 20.
Pre-deployment was a rush job from mobilization to boots on the ground was 32 days. That is very fast for a National Guard heavy combat battalion considering the number of people and the amount of equipment to be moved. Nevertheless we got all of our check marks from the MOB BN and away we went for acclimatization while awaiting our equipment to arrive by sea.
The surreal experience of landing in the middle east was tempered by the thoughts of my family and the issues left undone. I was finally here. After 16 years of preparing I was going to get in the game and to top that off I was in the starting lineup. Operation Iraqi Freedom 1, OIF 1, (although at the time we didn't know there would be more that one OIF).
As we exited the plane into the bright desert light the wave of heat was impressive. At first my impression was that it may have been just the heat from the engines after a long trans-Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arabian desert crossing, but as we move further and further away from the aircraft I quickly realized that the jet engines had nothing to do with the oppression I was experiencing. Within a half and hour we were already beginning to look for water and by the next morning I had started my first IV in the "war".
Next came the official Swipe In to the theater to prove each individual was there, the only problem was that very few of us had the high speed CAC card needed to digitally enter the country so the admin remfs had to manually key all our information in. Boy were they pissed. Here we are taking up their valuable time by not being high speed enough to have the digital cards. Damn National Guard Pukes! I couldn't help but notice they were sitting in an air conditioned Toyota Landcruiser with the window cracked just enough to slide an ID card in and that we were standing in the sun wearing enough gear to weight down an Army mule. Not to mention that we had on body armor, kevlar and had our weapons. The closest thing to a weapon I saw any of them wield was the mighty stylus of their laptop signature pad! HOOAH! Welcome to the war boys and girls!


TBCL8TR......

Blame Bush......for what?

From and e-mail disscussion I had with ll:

I know what you mean. I have just been in a
> conversation with a fellow veteran about how the
> fucking bleeding heart bastards fucked up our
> military in the mid 90's and that it has cost
> soldiers lives! Fucking cry babies cut the funding
> so bad that support units couldn't even fire their
> weapons and now we are having to retrain them before
> they deploy because so many have been hurt and
> killed because of it! An they blame Bush for the
> casualties! Fucking pussy's haven't got a clue!

Vince Flynn

If you enjoy real to life, detailed covert thrillers then Vince Flynn is the author for you. I would encourage everyone to check out his latest offering, Consent to Kill, availible soon in hardcover through your favorite outlet.

The Blondage Effect

I have recently experienced something strange somehow refreshing. A deviant Republican! I have been a closet Free Republican for a long time, but was unsure of how I should act. An angel in the form of a bogger appeared before me and has shown me the way. For this I am ever greatful and hope to be able to repay this favor someday.

This is my first blog and i hope it will allow me the opportunity to expand my horizons and serve as an outlet for the frustrations we all feel by having to act like we are cold and asexual beings because of our political beliefs and affiliations.

I invite all to participate, but to my fellow OIF and OEF warriors I say welcome home and feel free to discuss anything without fear of persecution. We are the Kights of our time. The Gladiators, the WARRIORS! Be proud!

"Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."