The USMC Laughs At Your Puny Snow, South Korea:
The thought of wrestling bare-chested in the snow-covered wilderness with your mates wouldn’t cross many people as a great way to spend a winter’s afternoon, but a unit of marines couldn’t wait to cover themselves in the white stuff during an exercise in South Korea.
U.S. Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary force, deployed from Okinawa, Japan, larked about with a unit of South Korean marines while they took a quick break from a set of gruelling endurance drills in Pyeongchang-gun.
The troops were in the region to hone their skills, in temperatures below minutes 20 degrees Celsius, under a scenario where they must defend the country from a possible attack from North Korea.
The revealing images were captured by photographer Chung Sung-Jun and show the men marching around the wilderness in perfect formation, wearing just boots, combat trousers and woolly hats.
The marines are later seen embarking on skis, as they cross the frozen terrain, often carrying a large pack and holding rifles. In a number of the images the elite troops are barely visible as they use their camouflage to hide in the snow.
This is a first for the top story in the news roundup: I have nothing to add. Except… I hate the cold. And snow. And winter.
https://twitter.com/BKactual/status/691839740308488192
As long as we are talking about politicians, here’s my worthless Iowa Caucus prediction: Trump wins with Repubs, and he wins huge. Bernie wins by a comfortable margin among dems. Hillary Clinton, upon hearing news of her loss, murders six campaign aids with a handgun, self-immolates, and wakes up in Hell where Adolf Hitler defecates on face with runny diarrhea for all eternity.
Navy Forgets To Add Oil, Destroys Battleship:
The USS Fort Worth, a Navy littoral combat ship, has suffered extensive gear damage while docked at a port in Singapore. The Navy is blaming the incident on a crew error.
According to reports, the crew failed to use sufficient lube oil, leading to excessively high temperatures on the gears. Debris also found its way into the lubrication system, which also contributed to failure, Defense News reports. The crew did not follow standard operating procedures.
Immediately following the incident, ship repair experts arrived on the scene to assess the damage. Until the investigation wraps up, the ship will remain at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore.
Behold Religious Fanatic Cult Leader Ray Mabus In All His Glory:
From corpsman to infantryman, submariner to special operator, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has insisted that every Navy and Marine Corps job be opened to qualified women. It allows women to compete on a more equal footing with men, it recruits a much larger portion of the nation’s workforce and graduates, and he’s argued, it’s only fair.
Many of these moves have come over strenuous and strident opposition.
The first was the undersea fleet. Mabus came into office in 2009 and aggressively pushed to open it to women…
I know, I know. It’s getting old reading about me hammering Ray, “I don’t give a shit about your study” Mabus, but this is a great article from the Navy Times that nicely illustrates how demented this political hack really is. Ray Mabus is not on the job to ensure a strong Navy. He is not there to make sure our ships and sailors are the best in the world. He is not there to guarantee the future lethality of our Marine Corps.
No, Ray Mabus was placed in that job by Barack Obama for one reason: To place women in combat jobs for which they are woefully unqualified. And he is carrying out that authority with a vengeance, despite incredibly rigorous study results and pretty much every Marine and Naval Special Warfare operator on the planet being dead-set against it. Recall that we extensively detailed the results of the Marines’ 9-month long study, which concluded beyond a shadow of a doubt that integrated infantry teams performed significantly below the capabilities of male-only integrated teams. Mabus’s response? Dismiss the multi-million dollar study with a wave of his hand and doing what he was placed there to do anyway.
And, as I’ve also said multiple times in the past, this goes way beyond mere performance in the field. This has significant sociological ramifications, which nobody outside myself or Sofrep is even talking about. Can’t wait for the SF guy to tell the wife that he’s going off to train in the jungle for three weeks with the 3 new crossfit hottie SF chicks while the wife sits home fat and pregnant. I’m sure that’ll go about as well as telling the wife you just infected her with the herp that you caught from a Thai hooker. Apparently, I’m not the only one:
…”There is no way they will be able to stop fraternization,” one wife told Navy Times in 2009. “I will never be at ease.”
I feel sorry for the wives. But hey, who cares what they think, right? If you wanna make the omelette, ya gotta crack a few eggs. And psychopath Ray Mabus is opening up a goddamn egg-heavy DINER right about now. And listen to this nut:
One push they have been forced to get on board with is gender neutral uniforms. The idea came from Mabus’ first Army-Navy game in 2009, when he watched Army cadets and Navy midshipmen march onto the field.
“The cadets marched out in absolutely gender-neutral uniforms. Mids marched out and you could tell what the women wore by their covers,” he recalled. “If we ask another group to wear a different uniform, can you imagine the trouble we’d get in?”
TROUBLE FROM WHO, YOU TITANIC TURD? You’re in charge, for fuck’s sake! Who is he going to get in trouble from… the media? The opinion makers? TWITTER??? Holy shit. And then this bureaucratic buffoon goes into his eye-glazing gibberish:
“It’s not an arbitrary thing. It’s not just, I woke up one morning and this is what I decided,” he said. “There are reasons to do this, and whether conscious or unconscious bias, whether just viewing women differently as sailors because, if women are qualified to meet any of the standards and any of the occupations, why should we treat them differently?”…
My God, I passed out halfway through that blather. What are those reasons, Ray? Because Obama and Ash Carter would fire you if you didn’t do your monkey dance as they yanked on your marionette strings? An honorable man would tell them to pound sand, but of course, Mabus has no honor. He was never in the military, so like the President and SecDef Ash Carter, has no particular loyalty or allegiance to the institution. He got to be head of the Navy the old-fashioned way: He was the bureaucratic turd that stuck around the longest and managed to rise to the top of the bowl.
Before I get all the emails, a quick review on my stance on gender-equity in the military. In a vacuum, I support it. But, because I know that eventually, standards WILL be lowered to accomplish the objective, in real life, I cannot support this insanity. It will start with one extraordinarily physically gifted, heavily-groomed female that receives extensive personal training that no male would ever get in order to make it through Marine Recon, BUD/S, Pararescue Indoc, or the SF selection. This, in turn will result in the idiotic media saying, “See? DERRRRR GIRLS CAN DO IT TOO DERRRR DERRRR.” Then the questions about why so few females? will start, NCOs will be leaned on to increase numbers, and the inevitable degradation of standards, morale, and readiness will be the result.
Also, huge pet peeve here: Why is it, that every time they quote some former military guy in these stories, they always print one from the most timid, mealy-mouthed pussy they can find? Is everyone just so freaking scared of being “mean,” that they can’t bring themselves to say anything that goes against the acceptable narrative? Listen to this guy:
…“He (Mabus) has been open to ask and answer questions others of a more conservative background would not,” said retired Capt. Jerry Hendrix, a former naval flight officer, adding that he learned firsthand as an aviator during integration in the early 1990s that women are effective in combat.
“Mabus is sincerely interested in opening opportunities,” he added. “And as a father of two daughters, I have to respect that.”
Listen up, Hendrix. It’s one thing to allow women to fly planes. I don’t have any problem with that. It’s quite another to allow them into elite special operations units merely to accomplish your twisted sociological jihad.
And he ISN’T EVEN CORRECT. Anyone remember former Naval Aviator/affirmative action incompetent Carey Lohrenz? She was eventually taken out of the F-14 fighter platform because she was so dangerous, nobody would fly with her, DESPITE having multiple chances to improve that no male pilot would ever get, afterwards launching a 7-year, multi-million dollar lawsuit against the journalist that had the TEMERITY to write about what a disaster she was. (Lohrenz lost.) That was in the early 1990s, Hendrix, you DOOFUS, when you were in. What, you don’t remember that? Slipped your mind? Or you just didn’t want to be so gauche as to point it out?
And you having two daughters means nothing. I could have ten and I still wouldn’t think this is a good idea. Fuck.
I Say We Respect Their Wishes:
The Black Student Union at UC Irvine is calling for the university to dismantle its police force, which the student organization alleges has failed to address safety concerns for black students on campus.
The group sent a letter to campus administrators Monday demanding that the police department and any additional “paramilitary force presence” be abolished in three to six months.
“The university does not adhere to black student concerns … regardless of instances of black death and police violence,” the letter states. “Therefore, our demand does not call for the reform of UCIPD, it calls for the dismantling of this institution’s presence in its entirety.”
The group said it was not referring to a campus event but to what it believes is anti-black sentiment held by police. The letter points to a perceived increase in police violence around the country since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles after the acquittal of four white LAPD officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King.
University officials said they have no plans to abolish the police force but will continue to encourage dialogue with the student union.
Why? I mean, they’ve caved to every other demand these groups have put forth. I find myself in full agreement with the BLM movement on this one. But why stop there? I’ll go further: Not only do I support abolishing the police force at UC Irvine, I call for the abolishment of the police forces in every black neighborhood. It is high time that we ended the reign of terror of the governmental forces.
Hey, I’m just agreeing with many other activists who have called for the same actions. Undoubtedly, once these pigs have left the streets of Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Gary, Camden, New Orleans, etc., the clouds will break, the birds will sing, and the little school children will be able to safely play in the streets and playgrounds, secure in the knowledge that those filthy porkers have vanished, replaced by the watchful eyes of Tron and his crew.
The movement appears to be gathering steam:
The student group also started a petition at Change.org that by late Thursday had gathered 257 signatures in support of dissolving the university police force.
As Usual, Air Force Leads The Way In Common Sense:
A review of active shooter cases by the Air Force has confirmed what gun rights advocates have long been saying: Firearms in the hands of good guys are often the best bet for stopping massacres.
The military branch earlier this month sent out a letter to its base commanders around the nation reminding them that they can authorize subordinates to carry guns, even while off-duty and out of uniform. It also established three programs to help ensure that armed service members are in a position to protect their bases.
“None of these programs gives the installation commander authorizations they didn’t already have the authorization to do,” Maj. Keith Quick, the Air Force Security Forces Integrated Defense action officer, said in a statement according to Military.com. “We are now formalizing it and telling them how they can use these types of programs more effectively.”
Great move. However, I’m puzzled by that last statement in bold. Is the Major implying that it has ALWAYS been up to the commander’s discretion to allow service men and women to carry firearms on base, and that nobody has ever done it? I don’t know a lot about that rules on this, but it sure sounds that way from that statement. What, were they all just afraid of allowing it? Clue me in on this.
Hamilton Watch Company To Release Epic Sofrep Writer’s Bonus “Frogman” Watch:
Hamilton Watch Co., whose tagline touts its combination of “American Spirit” and “Swiss Precision” has reached into its archives to create the Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman — a professional-grade divers’ watch that not only references the brand’s history as a provider of watches for the United States Navy but also its very first appearance in the movies.
The Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman, which makes its world debut at the upcoming Baselworld watch fair in March, evokes the submersible watches that Hamilton built in the early 20th century for naval “frogmen” teams and particularly the model featured in the 1951 movie, The Frogmen, which marked the first time a Hamilton watch was seen onscreen. (Since then, of course, the brand has made numerous appearances in the movies, notably on the wrists of Elvis Presley in 1961’s Blue Hawaii; Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in 1997’s Men in Black and its sequels; Bruce Willis in two Die Hard films; and, most recently, Matthew McConaughey in 2014’s Interstellar.)
Looks pretty goddamn sweet. If anyone from the Hamilton Watch company is reading this, feel free to send me a watch to try out. I will shamelessly guarantee a great review, even if it ends up being a piece of shit.
Dep. Commander of RTB Is America’s Greatest Hero:
Lt. Col. Robert Risdon — a deputy commander for the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia — was headed back home Tuesday after a trip to Alabama and stopped in a Taco Bell for a late bite to eat.
While eating at the Greenville, Alabama, restaurant, Risdon saw two brothers — 9 and 12 — come inside from the rain.
“They were both soaking wet,” he told WTVM-TV, adding that they weren’t there to eat — they were trying to earn some cash selling homemade desserts.
They approached Risdon to see if he was interested. With no cash on hand, he asked the 12-year-old — “a very, very nice boy,” Risdon told the station — if he and his brother had eaten yet that night.
The boy said no, so Ridson remedied that.
Nice story about one of the bosses at Ranger Training Brigade. Although… taco bell? Look, I love taco bell, Risdon. I would eat a goddamn GRIP of those crunchy tacos. I’m talking at least ten, no problem. However, I am a crusty retiree. You’re supposed to be a lean mean killing machine, bro. Maybe hit the salad bar next time.
In all seriousness, good on him. This is how you get the next generation interested in the military, by setting the example of being a someone they can count on. RLTMFW, you bastard.
Yet Another Afghan Unit Deemed Unfit For Duty:
The Afghan army’s National Engineering Brigade, a key support unit, is hardly capable of operating independently, despite extensive training by American instructors, the US government watchdog for Afghanistan’s reconstruction said in a report.
The National Engineering Brigade (NEB) was formed in 2013 to provide logistical and other support for the Afghan National Army (ANA). Like in any other army, the new brigade’s combat tasks included mine clearing, demolition, building and repairing buildings, roads and power links.
The US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) – a task force whose official mission is to “defeat terrorist networks & insurgents by developing effective governance” in the country – has been in charge of making the NEB “fully capable” by 2014.
Go read the whole thing. Strap in, because it’s infuriating. Recall that we here at the News Roundup also covered the Afghan Air Force’s inability to maintain a single C-130 plane, despite years of training.
But the US government’s watchdog for Afghan reconstruction, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said Thursday this goal was too optimistic and did not match reality.
“Knowing the challenges experienced with training ANA soldiers in the past, such as low literacy levels and soldiers not reporting for work, USFOR-A may have been overly optimistic in believing that the NEB could achieve a ‘partially capable’ level in 8 months, let alone a ‘fully capable’ level within 10 months,” said the report, quoted by Stars and Stripes.
So, other than not being able to read, and not really wanting to go to work, everything is going swimmingly. Jesus.
The watchdog’s report said the Afghan army itself is partially responsible for delays in sending soldiers for engineering training and in providing the equipment necessary for training. The brigade was initially allocated $29 million for engineering equipment and vehicles, with NATO’s Combined Security Transition Command–Afghanistan responsible for purchasing it. But much of that equipment never reached the brigade, SIGAR’s report said.
I’m shocked… SHOCKED I TELL YOU. Are they implying that there may be a bit of corruption in the legions of the Afghan military? Nah.
“The NEB lacked initiative and only planned when USFOR-A advisors urged them to do so. Most significantly … the NEB was not capable of carrying out its mission,” SIGAR said, citing an October 2014 assessment report.
In other words, they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to leave the base and go do their jobs. Unbelievable. How many times have I said it now? Afghanistan is a black hole of corruption, despair, incompetence, and evil. GET OUT NOW.
Whoops. I almost forgot: No story on Afghanistan is complete without the fanatical Neo-con warmonger that can’t see reality because the truth is hard:
“What we’ve learned is that you can’t really leave,” one Pentagon official said on condition of anonymity. “The local forces need air support, intelligence and help with logistics. They are not going to be ready in three years or five years. You have to be there for a very long time.”
No, we don’t, you jerk. Listen up, because I’m going to say what nobody in print or television media will ever say, regarding the Afghanis not being ready: I. Don’t. Give. A. Shit.
In the past, one could make an argument that leaving would be a betrayal of promises made, etc. That argument may have held water after about 6 months in Afghanistan. It’s been 15 freaking years; that ship has sailed. They must now sink or swim on their own. If one more American meets their death in that crap hole because the Afghan security forces are unwilling/unable to do their job, it is a disgrace. I’ve had it. HAD IT, I TELL YOU.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Navy has long been a scientific leader, outfitting its ships and sailors with some of the most cutting-edge technologies. However the sea service is returning to its roots and teaching sailors how to navigate using the sun, moon and stars.
Celestial navigation is an art that harkens back to the time before the United States was founded. It was long considered one of the most important educational requirements for mariners, but was largely discontinued a decade ago by the Navy as platforms relied more heavily on computers and global positioning systems.
In 2011, navigators and assistant navigators once again began receiving celestial navigation training at the Navy’s Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, R.I., said Lt. Cmdr. Kate Meadows, a spokeswoman for the Naval Education and Training Command. Now, starting in summer, the training will be required in C School for enlisted quartermasters, who assist navigators.
Good stuff. This is why the infantry and SOF still teach map and compass, after all. Shit breaks… and now, shit gets hacked. Good on them.
Demotion Reversed For Stinking, Corrupt VA Hack:
PHILADELPHIA — An administrative judge has reversed the demotion of one of two Department of Veterans Affairs senior executives accused of using their positions to transfer to easier jobs at the same salary and receive huge relocation packages.
Kim Graves, director of the St. Paul, Minn., regional benefits office, was demoted and transferred earlier this month. Judge Michele Schroeder issued her ruling Wednesday in Chicago, just as a similar hearing began in Philadelphia for senior executive Diana Rubens, who was also demoted.
After a full day of testimony before the Merit Systems Protection Board, Rubens took the stand Thursday morning, spending four hours answering questions about allegations that as the Under Secretary for Field Operations in Washington, D.C., she used her power to become director of the Philadelphia regional office and collect an incentive package of nearly $275,000.
To recap: These two VA executives are thieves, liars, frauds, scoundrels, and chiselers. You can read the back story here, along with my frothing rant.
The charges Rubens is fighting were less severe than the conclusions in the initial VA Inspector General report. Instead, Rubens was accused of using poor judgment that gave the appearance that she had not acted in the best interests of veterans.
In testimony that ranged from emotional to apologetic, Rubens cried as she spoke about her service and admitted that parts of her answers during the investigation were inaccurate. She said that having read her IG testimony 10 to 15 times, and having reviewed binders of notes, emails and documents, she realizes she made mistakes.
She cried. The last refuge of the complete scoundrel. Crocodile tears to show they didn’t really MEAN to steal hundreds of thousands of tax dollars while our veterans wait years to get an appointment. And now it’s ok, because she feels super bad about it. And check out this nugget:
“I have reread my IG transcript more times than I’d like to think about because every time I want to kick myself for relying so much on my memory,” she said. “In hindsight, I just flat out got it wrong.”
You know who has to rely on transcripts? Liars. Liars who told a bullshit story and can’t keep track of all of the bullshit in aforementioned bullshit story. This woman should be in jail.
VA To Allow Smoking of Stickiest of the Icky?
Despite the men and women of the United States military being forced to risk life and limb to protect the agenda of the federal government, those who return home wounded from the battlefield are not given the same freedom to take advantage of statewide medical marijuana programs as the average citizen. Instead, the Department of Veterans Affairs has done everything in its power to prevent vets suffering from conditions ranging from chronic pain to PTSD from using cannabis products as an alternative to addictive pharmaceuticals, going as far as to implement policies that disqualify those who test positive for THC metabolites from receiving other, crucial VA benefits.
However, a bipartisan legion of U.S. House and Senate members recently stepped up in an attempt to strongly persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs to stop running interference with the health of military veterans when it comes to their choice of treating wartime ailments with cannabis. In a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, the 21 Congressional enforcers advised the department to reconsider its current directive, which prevents physicians employed with the VA from providing veterans with recommendations that would allow them to take part in medical marijuana programs.
“According to the current directive, VA providers are prohibited from completing forms seeking recommendations or opinions regarding a veteran’s participation in a state-sanctioned marijuana program,” the letter reads. “This policy disincentivizes doctors and patients from being honest with each other.”
The penned crack at twisting the arms of VA gatekeepers comes four days before the department’s current policy on this matter is set to expire. The goal is to pull the political wedge out of the ass of VA officials and get the department to relax the rules against cannabis, a substance legal for medicinal purposes in 23 states and the District of Columbia, so that veterans can be allowed the same right to all available treatment options as the rest of the population.
HURRY. UP.
President Barack Obama will make the first visit during his presidency to a U.S. mosque next week, the White House announced on Saturday, as the administration tries to promote religious tolerance at a time when rhetoric linking Islam with terrorism is becoming more voluminous.
The problem isn’t with Islamic terrorism, resulting in staggering body counts, with mutilated corpses laying in pools of their own blood. It’s with all of you jerks TALKING about it, you see.
On Wednesday the president will visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a sprawling community center in the the city’s western suburbs, that serves thousands of people with a place of worship, a housing complex and schools, according to its website. It is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest Muslim centers and describes itself as aspiring “to be the anchor of a growing Muslim community with diverse backgrounds, democratically governed, relating to one another with inclusiveness and tolerance, and interacting with neighbors in an Islamic exemplary manner.”
Uh-huh. They hit all of the liberal buzzwords. It’s almost like they’ve learned to manipulate our foolish public-relations society.
On Saturday, a White House official said in an email that the president is making the visit: “to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.”
What is it with Obama and the Muslims? Has he made a trip to see the victim’s families in the San Bernardino massacre?All of those pesky Americans who got in the way of the Islamic terrorist’s bullets are just super annoying. Islamic terrorists, I may add, that his administration was quick to wave into the country without a second thought. How about the 9/11 victims? Any soldiers’s families who have lost their brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers to the IEDs of Islamists around the world?
This is some sort of mental disorder. This fanatical belief that, no matter how many atrocities Islam continues to perpetuate world-wide on the reg, far-left weirdos like Obama must keep up this charade that Islam is JUST LIKE Lutheranism. It isn’t just him, either. Remember those six Canadiens who were murdered by Islamists in the Burkina Faso massacre? Brand new Lady-boy Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was so outraged, he led a moment of silence… in a mosque:
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — Justin Trudeau led a moment of silence for the victims of this weekend’s terrorist attack on a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso, an outrage that left six Canadians among the dead…
…Trudeau was speaking on Sunday at a restored mosque in Peterborough, Ont., which was firebombed in the aftermath of deadly attacks in Paris last November, a slaughter for which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.
Most of his remarks focused on the “reprehensible” crime perpetrated against the mosque, saying it doesn’t define the community, nor the country, and that the “criminals” who carried it out failed in their attempt to sow hatred and division.
You catch that? He added in a few words about the people murdered only after he blathered on about the poor mosque for an hour. But back to Obama:
“The President believes that one of our nation’s greatest strengths is our rich diversity and the very idea that Americans of different faiths and backgrounds can thrive together – that we’re all part of the same American family. As the President has said, Muslim Americans are our friends, and neighbors; our co-workers, and sports heroes – and our men and women in uniform defending our country.”
At the Islamic Society, the president will hold a round table with community members, the official said.
For years Muslim Americans have lobbied the president to visit a mosque in order to counter the perception that Islam is inextricably linked to terrorism…
He never goes anywhere else. Does he visit any Arab Christian churches, to show support even as ISIS and other Islamist groups mount a genocidal erasing of the 2000 year history of Christianity of the middle east? Of course not. He doesn’t care, because he doesn’t sympathize with Christians, or Jews, or Buddhists, or any other victim of Islamic atrocity. But if someone writes a critical word about Islam, he freaks out, taking to television to wag his finger at us and trot out his Attorney General to criminalize speech critical of Islam. I find it amusing that everyone ridicules Scientology, for example, as filled with corruption and engaging in ruthless tactics, while tap-dancing around Islam, which not only is also filled with corruption and ruthless tactics, but engages in staggering levels of barbarism and atrocity around the globe on a daily basis. Funny, that.
It’s almost like the President waited this long because they couldn’t find a mosque that didn’t have some sort of ties to radicalism or something. Remember that shady Phoenix mosque that the Garland, Texas shooter attended? Recall that the imam of the San Bernardino Mosque was caught lying to the FBI about knowing shooter Sayed Farook. (Has he been arrested for lying to law enforcement, by the way?) But I’m sure this mosque is squeaky clean:
..It also is the mosque of the family of Adnan Syed, whose conviction for murder drew huge global interest when his story was told through the radio podcast “Serial.” The series was made because of the activism of a friend of Syed’s family from the Islamic Society, Rabia Chaudry, a Greenbelt lawyer who advises law enforcement about Islam, the Baltimore Sun reported in 2014.
The second home of a cold-blooded murderer, whose Islamic lawyer from the Islamic society that makes sure police don’t look to closely at mosques is working tirelessly to set free. Oh, and with deep ties to infamous jihadi Anwar Al-Alaki, mentor to Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hassan. Seems legit. God, I grow weary of these stone-age men in robes. Whether it’s Bill Cosby or a crazed Imam, a good rule in life is to never trust a man in robes.
WASHINGTON – A Kansas City military charity has reclaimed a service dog it donated to a veteran after he lied about trying to save a fellow soldier’s life in Afghanistan.
The group Food Industry Serving Heroes took the Boykin Spaniel from Brandon Garrison earlier this month after threatening legal action. A Stars and Stripes investigation in September detailed how Garrison, a former Army specialist hailed as a hero in Kansas, lied for years to Sgt. Christopher Wilson’s mother about being at her son’s side when he died on the battlefield.
“In light of everything we’ve discovered this dog never should have been given to [Garrison],” said Paul Chapa, a founder of the nonprofit group.
In 2007, Wilson was deployed to the Korengal Valley with the 10th Mountain Division and was manning a firebase when he was struck and killed by recoilless rifle fire in a Taliban attack. Garrison, 29, had not held Wilson as he died, despite the story he told the sergeant’s mother, and was instead in the main sleeping tent at the nearby Korengal Outpost, where he spent his deployment inside the wire as a vehicle parts clerk…
COME ON, GUY. You were there. You did your part. Not everyone can be Audie Murphy, man. Sheesh.
..Garrison could not immediately be reached for this story. He told Stars and Stripes in August that the lie about Wilson’s death felt real to him and that the Army should not have sent him to the Korengal Valley because he had emotional issues.
I was initially hesitant to trash a guy that, for all his faults, was at least there. He deployed, he served his country, etc. I mean… maybe he just got caught up in them moment, told this one little white lie, and then couldn’t take it back.
..But Garrison’s fellow 10th Mountain Division soldiers, who were outraged by his lie about Wilson, said he was a lackluster soldier who embellished his combat injuries. His supervisor in Korengal Valley called him a “compulsive liar.”
Oh. Never mind.
Navy Drops Hammer on Officer in Corruption Investigation:
A federal judge on Friday sentenced a Navy officer to 40 months in prison for providing confidential ship routes that enabled a Malaysian contractor to bilk the Navy out of at least $20 million.
Lt. Cmdr. Todd Dale Malaki provided the routes in exchange for cash, the services of a prostitute and luxury hotel stays in Singapore, Hong Kong and the island of Tonga.
Malaki is among nine defendants who have pleaded guilty to bribery charges including the case’s central figure, Singapore-based executive Leonard Francis. The gregarious businessman bribed Navy officials with extravagant gifts to obtain information that helped his Glenn Defense Marine Asia steer ships to Pacific ports with lax oversight, where Francis’ company submitted fake tariffs and other fees, according to the criminal complaint. Francis is awaiting sentencing.
Malaki’s defense attorney, Jeremiah Sullivan, said his client has taken responsibility for what he did.
“He dedicated 26 years of his life to serving the Navy and his country and he let everyone down,” Sullivan said. “It pains him that he hurt so many.”
I love that line from the defense attorney shysters. He’s TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY, you see, so we should all just go home. Just SAYING you take responsibility doesn’t really mean anything. I mean, if I murder someone, and tell the judge that I “take responsibility,” what have I actually done? Nothing, is the correct answer. I wonder how he got away with it for so long?
In 2010, Misiewicz caught the world’s attention when he made an emotional return as a U.S. Naval commander to his native Cambodia, where he had been rescued as a child from the violence of the Khmer Rouge and adopted by an American woman. His homecoming was widely covered by international media.
A golden boy, in other words.
The Navy’s intelligence boss and his deputy have been without a security clearance for more than two years. Now a lawmaker on the Senate Intelligence Committee is calling foul, saying it’s unfair for senior leaders to keep their jobs while rank-and-file intelligence personnel are removed routinely for losing their access to secrets.
Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch, director of naval intelligence, and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, director of the Information Dominance office, have been hamstrung since November 2013, when their high-level clearances were suspended amid an investigation into their ties to “Fat” Leonard Francis, the Malaysian contractor at the center of the largest bribery scandals in Navy history.
Killer of Navy Sailor Sentenced; Father Is Moron:
U.S. Navy sailor Matthew Snow “was willing to give his life for his country” but then “he died a hero” nearly three years ago while saving the life of his new girlfriend, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes said Friday.
Without Snow’s bravery against knife-wielding attacker Paul Charles inside a Boca Raton home, “we would be here for a double-homicide,” Chief Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis told the court.
Convicted by a jury last month, Charles was quiet before receiving his sentence: mandatory life in state prison without parole for the death of Snow, 22, plus 30 years for attempted first-degree murder in the stabbing of Vanessa Vandermeeren-Sanchez. She was Charles’ ex-lover and the mother of his 5-year-old son.
The jurors rejected Charles’ bid for immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Defense attorney Jack Fleischman said his client will appeal the convictions, but “is deeply sorry for what happened.”
Well? He’s sorry, you guys.
Charles showed up at Vandermeeren-Sanchez’s home in the 500 block of 53rd Street with a knife on March 25, 2013, intending to kill her because he was feeling jilted over her new relationship with Snow and angry over a child-care fight, Ellis said.
Charles stabbed the 24-year-old woman 12 times in her chest and arms, before Snow intervened and fought the intruder, said the prosecutor, who wanted a second life sentence for Charles on the attempted murder count.
Snow stumbled out of the house with two wounds in his chest, bleeding badly, and collapsed outside. He never regained consciousness and died a week later, according to court testimony.
This is so terrible. Rest in Peace, Snow. It’s too bad that your new girlfriend’s ex was a complete psycho. And listen to the father of the scumbag; this is classic:
Robert Charles of Lantana, the felon’s father, pleaded for mercy from the court. The U.S. Army veteran told the judge that Paul Charles is a good man who loved raising his boy and, today from jail, continues to be concerned about the child’s well-being.
Robert Charles said his son worships God and is not a violent person who used guns and knives to hurt others.
Charles, I beg to differ, but that’s pretty much EXACTLY what your kid was: A violent person who used a knife to hurt others. Oh, and the second to last refuge of the scoundrel, after tears? Religion:
“This is what we do,” he said, raising a bible in the air with one hand. “This is what we have as our weapon.”
We have this bible, and this butcher knife. Freaking jerk.
This Man Plays Ping Pong With Penis:
Thank you, Chuck Runamok, who sent me the story of the man killed because he was masturbating to porn in his car while driving, but that didn’t even make the cut. Additional thanks to Annica and Notasheep for the story of the woman who lives like a cat. THAT didn’t even make the cut, even though she’s obviously Batshit Cray.
Nope, what we have for you this week is the world’s greatest athlete. A man, like Muhammed Ali, who transcends mere sports and shows us what we can achieve as humans. I’m speaking, of course, of this man, who returns a ping pong serve with his dong. We don’t know who he is, or how we became blessed with his presence… Perhaps, like Jesus, he is the messiah come to save us all from eternal damnation, only to vanish when we proved unworthy of his gifts. Whoever you are, sir, we bow in recognition of your extraordinary feat.
Fair warning: Not safe for work:
https://twitter.com/naevaypal/status/692085921156591616
He was losing the game, but after this shot, he pulled ahead. PULLED A HEAD, he said.
Speaking of pulling ahead, have you seen our new kick ass military book club? I can’t wait until the first meet up with Drago…You can join here.
Thank you very much. @BKactual.
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