Category Archives: stolen valor

More About Awards

Since there is no horse too dead, nor any cat too flat, let me suggest the following modifications to our Armed Forces awards chart:

Awards edits

Let’s have a look at the ones I would can, and why:

Defense Distinguished Service Medal- The same as the Distinguished Service Medal, except GOFOs get a separate one for doing something “joint”.  Rescind it, and either replace with the DSM, or the star for additional awards of DSM.

Defense Superior Service Medal- The “joint” equivalent to the Legion of Merit.  Another 0-6/GOFO bauble.  Get rid of it.  Award the Legion of Merit, or stars for additional awards.

Defense Meritorious Service Medal- You got it, the “joint” MSM.  Rescind.  Award MSM or stars for additional awards.

Joint Service Commendation Medal- Notice a trend here?  You have a service branch, presumably.  Make the Joint HQ convince your service branch that you rate your service branch’s Commendation Medal.  If they can’t, maybe you shouldn’t have one.   Certainly not some “joint” equivalent.  Rescind.

Joint Meritorious Unit Award- Precisely the same rationale as the JSCM above.  Except for the collective.  If your outfit was that good, your service branch should award as appropriate.

Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal- Never understood creating an expeditionary medal for wars in which campaign medals were sure to be minted.  I might be able to see it for guys in the Philippines and elsewhere, not in IRQ or AFG.  BUT, we have the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for that.  Rescind, and replace it with the AFEM.

Global War on Terror Service Medal- This formerly held the position of “Dumbest New Award”, but has been overtaken by the Drone Medal.  Get rid of it.  They already have the National Defense Service Medal for those who didn’t deploy.  (Formerly known as the CNN Medal.  As in “You saw Desert Storm on CNN?  Me too!”)  Rescind without replacement with a current equivalent.

Armed Forces Service Medal- “Significant activity”?  Are you kidding me?  Rescind without replacement.

Humanitarian Service Medal- Another non-warfighter feel-good award.  Get rid of it.  After Hugo ripped through South Carolina, Marines from MCB helped out cutting and clearing trees, and delivering water, etc.  The base CSTAFF spent a formation droning (!) on and on about how they worked twelve hour days for two weeks to help out.   Meanwhile, the Drill Instructors continued their 140-hour work weeks for the entire two year tour.  So the Sgt from base motors was awarded this thing while my Sgt Senior Drill Instructor got zilch, and had his NCM downgraded to a NAM.

Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal- Makes the Humanitarian Service Medal look like the Iron Cross.  Away with it.

Overseas Service Ribbon- Another “everybody gets one” trinket.  You were PCS overseas, with all the concomitant bennies that the UDP bubbas pumping to WESTPAC didn’t have.   Want a ribbon for being OCONUS?  Ride a gator freighter for 200 days.  Or do Camp Hansen unaccompanied.

Recruiting/Drill Instructor/Marine Security Guard Ribbons- Wrong, wrong, wrong.  No “special duty” ribbons on a Marine uniform.  Lousy idea from jump street, let’s get rid of them most rikki tik.

These are, of course, in addition to the Distinguished Warfare Medal, hereby unofficially known as the “Stays in Vegas” Medal.

Before you ask, yes, at least three of these are ones I am authorized.   By comparison, my Dad came home from the Pacific, after eleven landings and almost three years, with four ribbons.  One was a Navy Good Cookie, and another was the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with four battle stars.   Along with a PUC.  He got a WWII Victory Medal on his way out in ’46.  In 1991, we had people sit at Al Jubayl for two weeks and come home with five.

amin_dada_lgdownload

It would do us well to have senior Officers that look like warriors instead of Idi Amin, or BG McSoulpatch.   Just sayin’.  Any others I failed to mention that should go?

About these ads

18 Comments

Filed under Afghanistan, Air Force, army, history, iraq, marines, navy, SIR!, stolen valor, stupid, Uncategorized, war

Mandate Without End

The news today is that Obamacare is now the law of the land.

The Federal Government can now mandate that citizens buy a product, under the guise of calling that transaction a “tax”, which falls, with that twisted bit of logic, under Federal authority.  Was it so long ago that the Obama Administration and the lame-duck Congress that passed the bill declared unequivocally that Obamacare was NOT a tax in any way, shape, or form?

Make no mistake, the discussion is not of “health care”, as is so often mentioned, but health insurance.  And be not mistaken in the slightest, either, that the old axiom holds true.  Who pays the piper, calls the tune.  The Federal Government will have the say on just what this new health insurance mandate will cover.  And what it will cost.  By extension, they will eventually be the de facto determinant of what such care will be allowed, and as importantly, what will not be allowed.   Actuarially, those that are horrendous insurance risks will see their premiums drop dramatically, while those whom are good risks will see theirs rise.  Because the Government says so.  No longer am I being insured on MY risk categories, but on everyone else’s too.   Any incentive to live healthily and responsibly vanishes in the foul miasma of collective responsibility and forced egalitarianism.  Expect costs to insurers, and businesses who must provide, to skyrocket.  Just what a struggling economy needs.  Oh, and those who cannot “afford” to pay for the mandate?  (Cigarettes, alcohol, tattoos, and other priorities notwithstanding.)  The rest of us pick up the tab for them, too.

Our health care system, which cares for three hundred million people with a quality unmatched for its size on the planet, will find itself short of doctors and nurses, and worse, of those willing to enter the medical field, once the real and lasting effects of nationalized health care begin to have effect.  Shortages?  Rationing?  Count on it.

What is worse, and oh-so-predictable, is that there will be no accountability in how anything that is controlled by the Federal Government is run.  No incentive for efficiency, no profit motive, no customer satisfaction concerns.  Like the VA, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the IRS all rolled into one.

That jolt you felt was the accelerator of the eco-friendly hybrid Obamamobile being mashed to the firewall as we are propelled down the road to Statism.   A Statism where the constraints of the enumerated powers and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments are no longer even given lip service, and an omnipotent Federal Government hands out individual freedoms like so much royal patronage, along with forcibly collected tax revenue, to politically favorable groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or some other self-defined and liberally-acceptable criteria.  Perpetuation of a voter base, and of power, bought and paid for from the taxpayers’ wallets.  Laws for thee, but not for me.

Daily across our country we have law enforcement entities at all levels routinely violating individual freedoms, TSA badgering and assaulting law-abiding Americans, an Attorney General who ran guns to Mexico illegally, resulting in the deaths of 300 Mexican citizens and a US Border Agent, in order to make a case for gun confiscation in THIS country.  And we wonder how such things could happen.  Today’s ruling shows us how such things happen.  In fact, such things are inevitable results.  Rampant, unchecked authority and abuse of power on the part of Government entities being codified and excused.  And more, much more, is to come.  That is also inevitable.

When the Solicitor General made his rambling and disjointed arguments before the bench for the mammoth socialist Nanny-ism of Obamacare, he was essentially asked “Where does it end?”   If this, what next?  Where does the limits of government authority over individual choice stop?   He never did give an answer.  Because the answer is that such doesn’t end.  Precedent is a very powerful tool for government usurpation of power.  We have been given, thanks to Chief Justice Roberts, a Mandate Without End.

How sure am I?  I’d bet my two Navy Crosses on it.

13 Comments

Filed under Artillery, Personal, Politics, stolen valor, Uncategorized

Uniformly Stupid? Part 2

See Part 1 here.

I’m on the road, so I’ll be doing some “best of” posts. Right now, this is the most searched for post. 

While most people in the Army spend just about all their time in a working uniform like the ACU, there are occasions when something a little more formal is needed.

Since the late 1950s the standard Army Service and Dress uniform for most soldiers has been the Army Green Uniform. Folks in the Army almost universally refer to it as “Class A’s”.

When the uniform jacket is removed, the Army Green Uniform can be worn as the Class B uniform, suitable for most office environment jobs. When I served as a recruiter, most days we wore the Class B.

No, that's not me...

No, that's not me...

The problem with the Army Green Uniform was simple. It was ugly as sin in church. There was an alternative, however, one with a great history dating back practically to the first days of the Army. The Dress Blue Uniform.

Female Officer and Male Enlisted Service Dress Blues

Female Officer and Male Enlisted Service Dress Blues

There’s a reason why the trousers are a different shade blue from the coat. Back in the days of the Old West, when cavalry troopers wore the blue uniform as there work clothes, they would routinely remove their coat, roll it up and carry it strapped to the back of the saddle. The trousers faded from the sunlight and wear and tear, but the coat didn’t. Hence the difference.

Service Dress Blues were always an optional item for enlisted personnel. You could buy them, but you didn’t have to. Since they cost a lot of money and there were relatively few occasions to wear them, most junior folks did without.

Back in 2005 or so, the Chief of Staff of the Army made the decision to do away with the Army Green Uniform and modify the Blue uniform to replace it.The new variations are shown below.

The Army Blue Uniform

The Army Blue Uniform

Personally, I wish they had done this about 25 years ago. I always hated the Green Uniform, and as soon as I could, bought a set of Blues. And anytime I had a chance to wear them, I did. One fairly common occasion was the “Dining Out”. A Dining Out is when a unit, typically a battalion, has a formal banquet, with spouses and sweethearts invited*. This is a social occasion run on military lines- the colors are presented, the chaplain gives the invocation, there are a couple of (usually brief) speeches, and maybe some awards and recognitions. Then there is usually some dancing. The important thing is, your best girl gets a chance to put on her best dress and go out to be seen. Chicks dig that.  Since a lot of guys didn’t own Dress Blues, they made do with the Army Green Uniform with a white shirt and a bow tie.

Your author, center, in Dress Blues, flanked by two friends in Class A's.

Your author, center, in Dress Blues, flanked by two friends in Class A's.

Incredibly, I managed to save this picture, but lost the picture of my date. You’ll have to take my word for it that she was stunning. Really. The two guys in the photo were great friends and fellow warriors, but neither was all that attractive….

*You could invite your spouse, or your sweetheart, but NOT your spouse and your sweetheart…

10 Comments

Filed under 120mm, Afghanistan, anthropology, armor, army, ARMY TRAINING, Around the web, ducks, gaza, Georgia, girls, guns, history, infantry, Iran, iraq, islam, israel, Load Heat, marines, navy, obama, ossettia, Personal, planes, Politics, recruiting, SIR!, space, stolen valor, stupid, Uncategorized, war

Some people should keep their cakeholes shut.

I just spotted this asshat over at Just One Minute and also at Blackfive.

Bryan Fischer, who judging by his bio hasn’t ever witnessed anything more valorous than a state senator giving a speech, seems to think that the Medal of Honor has become feminized. In reference to SSG Guinta’s investment with the Medal of Honor, Fischer has this to say:

This is just the eighth Medal of Honor awarded during our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Sgt. Giunta is the only one who lived long enough to receive his medal in person.
But I have noticed a disturbing trend in the awarding of these medals, which few others seem to have recognized.
We have feminized the Medal of Honor.
According to Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal, every Medal of Honor awarded during these two conflicts has been awarded for saving life. Not one has been awarded for inflicting casualties on the enemy. Not one.

First, Fischer (and McGurn of the Wall Street Journal) is factually incorrect in his assertions. Of the eight Medals of Honor bestowed so far in the War on Terror, not all have been simply for saving the lives of fellow soldiers. In fact, the very first one awarded, to SFC Paul Ray Smith, was explicitly for engaging the enemy in desperate straits. That his fight had the effect of saving his fellow soldier’s lives was undoubtedly a factor in the award. But he earned is award by engaging the enemy.

Fischer seems utterly clueless about the circumstances that lead to acts of valor. When everything is going well in a fight (and here, well is a very relative term), there is no need for anyone to engage in heroics. Indeed, it would likely be counterproductive. It is only when things are deep in the shitter that an individual can possibly perform above and beyond the call of duty. Not surprisingly, those desperate moments usually see our soldiers at grave risk. So the aspect of saving a fellow soldier’s life is almost inherent to the award of the Medal of Honor.

Secondly, how is rewarding the bravery of men whose actions define “selfless sacrifice” in any way “feminizing” the Medal of Honor?  Selfless sacrifice is the heart and soul of soldiering. From the minute a man (or woman!) raises his hand and takes the oath of enlistment, he agrees to put the needs of his fellow soldiers, his unit, his service, his entire country, before his own desires. That willingness is at the very core of the warrior ethos, the very set of manly attributes Fischer seems to think we have ceased to honor. There’s a reason we call it the “service” and not the “personal gain.”

I would tell  Fischer to stick to his ministry, but just looking at his writings, I’d say he’s pretty crappy at that, as well. Maybe he should just crawl back under the rock from when he came.

7 Comments

Filed under army, ARMY TRAINING, stolen valor, stupid

Jonn gets a two-fer

We’ve talked a few times about Stolen Valor and the idiots who claim honors that aren’t theirs.  Jonn Lilyea, at This Ain’t Hell has made it his personal mission in life to uncover and shame these creatures, and to facilitate as much as possible their prosecution.

Right now, he’s got not one, but two asshats on the front page. I’ll never understand these people.

Comments Off

Filed under army, stolen valor, stupid

Stolen Valor getting attention in the news.

ABC news takes note of the phenomenon of people claiming honors that are not theirs. Mostly the report is about efforts to overturn convictions based upon a supposed right under the First Amendment to lie your ass off.  I don’t know how the courts will eventually rule on this, but to me, it’s a no brainer. Virtually every Stolen Valor case I’ve seen has been someone trying to get something based on “their service.” Maybe not a direct monetary transaction, but like the case of Xavier Alvarez, trying to gain stature in the community, to gain political power. If you ask me, gaining political office via a fraudulent representation of your history isn’t exactly protected speech.

2 Comments

Filed under army, Politics, stolen valor, stupid, war

A couple of Stolen Valor updates.

First, there’s a little more information on General McSoulPatch.

This Ain’t Hell covers it here, here, here, here and here. Like I said, I hate these guys. TSO and the fine folks at TAH go and get these guys. Keep it up.

Second, there’s a different case in the news, brought to our attention by the moral degenerates fine folks at DoublePlusUnDead.  I’m pretty sure TAH brought Rick Strandlof (aka Rick Duncan) to our attention  before. But now his defense is arguing that his fraudulent claims are protected speech. Jenn cautioned in our post Monday that there would likely be a First Amendment challenge to the SVA. I guess she’s smarter than me. I’m a stalwart defender of the First Amendment. Having said that, Strandlof’s attorneys’ and “civil liberty” groups  arguments doesn’t seem to hold water to me:

On Tuesday, the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties group based in Virginia, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Strandlof’s case attacking the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act.

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said the law is poorly written and should not be used to prosecute people for simply telling lies.

“You have to redraft the law to prove a particularized damage,” he said. “If you run around Denver and yell out, ‘I got the Medal of Honor,’ you are guilty of the statute the way it is written.”

First, I would argue that by fraudulently claiming a decoration didn’t earn, he has diminished the value of the award to individuals who have earned it. Both in the military and in civilian life, there is value in being a decorated servicemember. Secondly, he solicited funds from people, justifying in part the trust people placed in his fiduciary duty by virtue of his decoration. And thirdly, his defense claims he has bi-polar disorder, but have not in any way shown that such a disorder causes him to truly believe he earned such an award, nor that he is unable to distinguish right from wrong in this case, making such an argument superfluous.

I’ve met a ton of people in bars and such who claimed to be some variant of super-soldier or another. For the most part, I just ignore them. If they’re just trying to impress some girl to get her home, that’s a venial sin(but still a sin!) as far as I’m concerned. But to present yourself to the public as a decorated veteran to enhance your standing in the community, solicit funds, or to advance a political or commercial agenda or career, is, and should remain, outside the bounds of protected speech under the First Amendment, and certainly subject to sanctions under criminal law as regards fraud and misrepresentation.

Any big brained law types wanna put me some knowledge?

10 Comments

Filed under army, marines, Politics, stolen valor

Stolen Valor- Not even slick about it edition

UPDATE: I hate these guys. TSO at This Ain’t Hell eviscerates these guys. Seriously, if you are some loser thinking about claiming honors that aren’t yours? Don’t. TSO will hunt you down like Obama going after your wallet.

The ever wise and wonderful CDR Salamander brings us this dickhead.  Most of the pitiful creatures that claim honors they didn’t earn at least TRY to stay within the bounds of plausibility. How anyone at the victory party for new Houston mayor Annise Parker could believe this… thing… might be an Army officer, much less a general officer, is beyond me.

This person is committing a Federal offense. Under the Stolen Valor act he can be, and should be prosecuted. If you know who he is, contact CDR Salamander at the link above. Let’s help nail this turd, and save the respect so many of our people have for those that earned it.

68 Comments

Filed under army, Around the web, Politics, stolen valor

Stolen Valor… again.

Why do people do such stupid things? A cop, who had served as a Marine, claimed to have been awarded the Silver Star. He hadn’t. And someone called him on it.

Here’s the stupid thing- as a member of the Marine Mafia, he already was gonna get a leg up from any other Marines that he worked with. There’s a fraternity there that college Greek communities could only wish the had. Lying about it wasn’t going to get him additional acceptance in that community. It got him expelled.

4 Comments

Filed under Around the web, stolen valor

Stolen Valor, Escaped Mental Patient Edition

I’m not a Ranger, but Roger’s Rangers Standing Orders have been around the infantry for a long, long time. Here’s number Four:

4.  Tell the truth about what you see and what you do.  There is an army depending on us for correct information.  You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don’t never lie to a Ranger or officer.

And why is it you shouldn’t lie to a Ranger or an officer? Well, in this case, it is because there will almost certainly be someone to catch on  to the fact that you are not only a liar, but a criminal and a nutjob.  In this case it was phony vet “Rick Duncan” who wasn’t even a vet. And the guy calling him out is the outstanding TSO over at This Ain’t Hell.

…“Rick Duncan has been active in Colorado Veterans issues and politics forabout two years, thru an organization called Colorado Veterans Alliance (CVA). He introduces himself as a former Marine CPT, a Naval Academy Graduate and wounded & disabled veteran from an IED in Fallujah, Iraq….

Uh, no. Turns out he wasn’t any of those things.

…Yesterday, the FBI requested that we arrange a meeting with Mr. Duncan/Strandlof, and not alert him to the fact that the FBI wanted to question him. At the meeting, an FBI Special Agent identified himself, asked him if his name was Duncan or Strandlof, in which he answered “Both.” The FBI escorted him away for questioning, and later arrested him on an outstanding warrant in El Paso County…

Those two quotes are from the Colorado Veterans Alliance, an organization founded by “Rick Duncan”. Duncan was also closely aligned with the IVAW, or Iraq Veterans Against War. The IVAW seems to have had a couple problems vetting the veracity of its members and associates claims to service. Why am I not surprised.

I understand that there are veterans of Iraq (and Afghanistan) that served honorably and genuinely oppose the war. I’m OK with that. This is America, and we all are allowed to have our own stance on the issues of the day. But sometimes, organizations become so convinced of the righteousness of their cause that they ignore very clear warning signs emenating from obvious frauds becasue the words from those liars fits “the narrative” that they have a vested interest in promoting.

4 Comments

Filed under ARMY TRAINING, Around the web, iraq, Politics, stolen valor

Stolen Valor, Chutzpah Edition

Hey, if you are gonna impersonate a soldier, why be just a Corporal in the Rangers? Why not be a Major General in the Special Forces?

Seems he forgot to pin on his flaming douche.

Seems he forgot to pin on his flaming douche.

Go over to This Ain’t Hell and read the evidence for yourselves. For you Army guys in the crowd, let’s play “What’s wrong with the uniform…”

Do I have to tell you how much I hate people that lie about or inflate their service?

11 Comments

Filed under army, Around the web, Personal, stolen valor

Stolen Valor Revisited

There’s a lot of people that hate the Iranian regime because they’ve had people stoned to death. My problem with the whole issue isn’t the means of execution, but rather the subject of said stoning.

They pick the wrong people. Here’s one guy I wouldn’t cry too much about if he got beaned with a brick:

The odious Jesse MacBeth made a splash on the anti-war front when he claimed to be a former Army Ranger who personally had participated in war crimes.

It was all a lie, of course. MacBeth had enlisted in the Army, but was discharged before even completing basic training for “unsuitability.” Soon after, he hooked up with Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and started his campaign of smears against the good names of oh-so-many fine American soldiers.  When he was quickly shown to be a fraud, he was subsequently prosecuted for receiving VA benefits to which he wasn’t entitled. Trust me, the punishment wasn’t severe enough.

MacBeth now claims he was a patsy of IVAW. If he wasn’t a lying liar, his story would have a good deal of credibility. John at This Ain’t Hell.. has been the go-to guy on this topic, literally for years. He’s made it his personal mission in life to hold these turds accountable. You do not want John to focus on you in that manner. Go visit John and give him some thanks for the great job he does following up on this loser and the horrible people at IVAW.

3 Comments

Filed under army, ARMY TRAINING, infantry, Personal, Politics, stolen valor