Gunner's Blog

I bumped into the signature below that belongs to a gent named TexasFred on the linked website (www.conservativeunderground.com). It impressed me so much I felt that just had to share it with you:




Semper FiWhen it absolutely positively has to be destroyed over night

JONES INTRODUCES BILL TO RENAME THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

“I strongly believe that the men and woman of the Marine Corps deserve the proper recognition they have earned.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Third District Congressman Walter B. Jones today introduced HR 34, a bill that would rename the Department of the Navy to be the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. Representative Jones has long been an advocate of giving the Marine Corps the representation they deserve as one of the four official branches of the military.

The National Security Act of 1947 spells out the mission of today’s Marine Corps and defines the Marine Corps, Army, Navy and Air Force as the four services given statutory missions. It clearly indicates that the Marine Corps is a legally distinct military service within the Department of the Navy.

Furthermore, in 1986, through landmark legislation known as the Goldwater-Nichols Act, Congress formally acknowledged the roles of each service’s commanding officer. The act stated each branch’s commander serves equally as a member of the Joint Chiefs and, when called upon, as military advisors to the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Counsel, and the President.

“There isn’t a subordinate relationship between the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marines Corps,” Jones said. “They are equivalent parts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it is time that the Department of the Navy recognizes their equal status. This legislation is not about changing the responsibilities of the secretary, reallocating resources between the Navy and Marine Corps or altering the course of the mission at hand. Rather it is about showing the nation the true meaning of the Department and recognizing the overall importance of the Marine Corps to our national security.”

“I am encouraged by the overwhelming support I have received for this change from so many members of our armed forces. With their backing, I will continue to work diligently to see this bill through the House. I am committed to making the unity between the Navy and the Marine Corps a known fact. They have operated as one entity for 229 years. This legislation will ensure the department they share exemplifies that fact.”

Jones had previously introduced legislation that would change the name of the Navy’s leader to be the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. That legislation received wide support from many prominent figures including two past Commandants of the Marine Corps and three former Secretaries of the Navy. It was also endorsed by the Fleet Reserve Association, one of the largest organizations representing enlisted personnel in the naval services.

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Congressman Walter B. Jones please contact Kristen Quigley at (202) 225-3415.

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Gunner's Comments:

I agree with Congressman Jones in the strongest terms possible, and feel that this is long overdue.

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Walter Reed Hits Storage Crunch for Donated Items
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2004 – Good-hearted and compassionate Americans have given so much to help wounded servicemembers and their families that Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials have run out of storage space for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gifts received each week.

With space maxed out at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for storing donations for wounded troops and their families, such as these prepacked rollaway suitcases donated by a group from Lowell, Mass., Walter Reed officials have stopped accepting donations until enough items on hand have been distributed to free up space. Officials suggest supporting the troops through organizations highlighted on the Defense Department's "America Supports You" site at www.americasupportsyou.mil on the World Wide Web. Army photo(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.

As a result, officials said the hospital will not accept any more gifts until February or later to allow time to distribute the huge amount gifts already in storage. The 40-by-60-foot storage room is filled to its 12-foot ceiling, according to Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Lee, noncommissioned officer in charge of the center's Medical Family Assistance Center.

Lee said the room is stuffed with break-away pants, nonperishable food items, prepaid phone cards, stuffed animals, gift bags, DVD players and movies, CD players and CDs, videos, luggage, blankets, vests, sweat suits and much more.

"We've received a massive donation from the G. Gordon Liddy (nationally syndicated radio) Show and many significant donations from many other places, including the Joint Staff Group at the Pentagon," Lee said. "We've been extremely well blessed. We have about 10 tons of donated items, not including mail. I'm only speculating, but we're probably close to 200,000 pieces of letter mail. Most of it contains phone cards. It's phenomenal."

Lee said his 15-by-30-foot office received so much mail that it became "nonfunctional about three weeks ago." Space was found to store the mountains of mail. But Lee noted that mail keeps coming in.

"It's very common to receive a letter with a single 30-to-60-minute phone card in it," Lee said. "Typically, it will be from a couple in their 80s. And one of them read, 'My wife and I decided not to buy gifts for ourselves this year. We heard of the outcry from Walter Reed and we wanted to use the money we would spend on Christmas gifts to buy the soldiers a phone card.' We receive hundreds of those -- letters like that -- on a daily basis."

Lee recalled a group of 25 to 30 people from Lowell, Mass., who chartered a bus to Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to deliver about 250 prepacked rollaway suitcases to patients and their families. "They had everything a person would want when they come out of (the war zone) – phone cards, stationery, sweats, sandals, candy, games (and) disposable cameras," he noted.

Noting that there were several Vietnam War vets in the group, Lee said their prevailing sentiment was, "We will not let happen to this generation what happened to ours." "That's the battle cry from all the people we receive letters from who served in Vietnam," Lee noted.

Though Walter Reed isn't accepting donated items for a while, Lee said other ways exist for people to help the hospital's war-wounded patients. "You can't turn off American generosity, so we're asking that instead of physical items, what would work really well for us is to help support some of the organizations that support us so well," Lee said.

He suggested sending monetary donations to such organizations as the Helping Hand Chaplains' Fund, American Red Cross, Walter Reed Society and the Fisher House Foundation at Walter Reed. Interested people can find information on these and other troop-support organizations at the Defense Department's "America Supports You" Web site.

Money would help servicemembers and their families with living expenses, transportation, meals and other needs at Walter Reed and Bethesda, Lee said. "For example, when we determine a family is in a financial distress, we direct them to the Walter Reed Society for a grant," Lee said. "The Fisher House at Walter Reed provides travel back and forth for the patients no longer funded by the government. And they put these families up in very nice accommodations for almost nothing."

The National Naval Medical Center, where the patients are mostly sailors and Marines, receives tons of gifts, too, but not in the volume as Walter Reed. "We're still accepting donations, but we're asking people to donate to the Semper Fi Fund," said a hospital spokesman.

Semper Fi Fund