Gunner's Blog

Congressman worried that our Marines and soldiers in combat will be distracted by sound bite mentality of television news

Washington, D.C.- In a letter yesterday to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones asked the Secretary to restrict media coverage of military men and women engaged in direct combat. Jones fears that the presence of camera crews may eventually jeopardize the safety of American troops.

“I am deeply concerned about the increasing presence of media coverage in combat engagements,” Jones said in the letter. “As you know, our troops are forced to make life or death decisions in a split second. Recent events have highlighted the complexity of recording combat situations and placing those recordings in the proper context of the overall battle. Media coverage provides only a brief and often distorted view of what our men and women are facing in combat. It is unfair for our troops to be constantly monitored by cameras and have their every move recorded and subjected to public opinion based on a sound bite or two minute video segment.”

In the letter, Jones acknowledged the importance of the media in informing the American public but explained he was concerned that the scrutiny of the camera may lead to the loss of life in the future.

“Mr. Secretary, I am requesting that you restrict media coverage of our military men and women engaged in direct combat,” he said. “There must be a balance between the need for media coverage and the difficult and complex missions being carried out by our brave troops. I pray that a Marine or Soldier in the future will not lose their life because they hesitated due to concerns that their action would be recorded by the media, reported out of context, and scrutinized by public opinion before all of the facts are presented.”




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

The New York Times > Education > Court Allows Universities to Bar Military Recruiters: "Universities may bar military recruiters from their campuses without risking the loss of federal money, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled today. "

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: The Last Mile: "Wars are fought for political ends. Soldiers can only do so much. And the last mile in every war is about claiming the political fruits. The bad guys in Iraq can lose every mile on every road, but if they beat America on the last mile - because they are able to intimidate better than America is able to coordinate, protect, inform, invest and motivate - they will win and America will lose. "

Hello everyone:

I got the e-Mail below my signature from a retired USMC Brigadier General. It sounds as if our GI's need a little help. So, I did a little research, and came up with the following URL:

http://www.iraqwarveterans.org/landstuhl_needs.htm

Check it out. They are asking for cash, new clothing, ruck sacks, gym bags, DVD's, etc.

Regards, Gunner

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Hello all,

During our Thanksgiving talk with D. in Germany, we mentioned that we have read about the overload of injured at Landstuhl Hospital. She confirmed this, and added that there is such a shortage of clothing for the injured that the poor guys are left in their battle-soiled uniforms--stained with blood and other body fluids--sometimes for days.

They desperately need sweatshirts and sweat pants, as well as underwear, T-shirts and sox for both males and females. She stressed that the Red Cross insists that they can only accept NEW clothing, not even neatly washed slightly used items. D. tried to donate 2 very good winter ski jackets, which she had washed, but the Red Cross insisted that they were tired of having to deal with stuff left in pockets, etc.

D. is kind of disgusted with some of the rigid rules of operation the Red Cross is using. Several of her friends have offered to volunteer at the hospital, perhaps reading to patients or helping just by visiting and holding a hand, but the RC has a 2 month mandatory training period for volunteers before they can help!

I am spreading the word, hoping that each of you can make some contacts to encourage others to help. D. will be sending me an APO address, which means that you will only have to pay postage to New York.

If anyone has any suggestions of where we might get the best prices, please share them with me and I will pass them on. Any contacts with WalMart, Kmart, or other sources who might donate? These are not Xmas gifts; these things are needed NOW!

Maybe we can find a bargain on Eagles sweatshirts!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, in our safe, cozy homes, wearing our clean, comfortable clothes.

P.

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Postcards From Iraq

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: November 21, 2004

... Readers regularly ask me when I will throw in the towel on Iraq. I will be guided by the U.S. Army and Marine grunts on the ground. They see Iraq close up. Most of those you talk to are so uncynical - so convinced that we are doing good and doing right, even though they too are unsure it will work. When a majority of those grunts tell us that they are no longer willing to risk their lives to go out and fix the sewers in Sadr City or teach democracy at a local school, then you can stick a fork in this one. But so far, we ain't there yet. The troops are still pretty positive....

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

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Thomas Friedman has a habit of hitting the nail on the head. I wish that
I could post the entire article, but, copyright laws prohibit that. However,
I can provide you a link to the article, but, the NYT requires a fee to see
some of their website. I am not sure, but, I think that this column is in the
"free" section for two days, after which one must pay to view. At any rate,
here is the link - try it, maybe I am wrong, and you will be able to see the
whole article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/opinion/21friedman.html?ex=1102041930&ei=1&en=c5ca42b0047ecc52

Regards, Gunner

JONES STANDS WITH THE AMERICAN LEGION IN DEFENSE OF AMERICA’S BOY SCOUTS

Congressman calls upon the President to stand up for Boy Scout troops on military bases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Third District Congressman Walter B. Jones today joined with the American Legion in admonishing the Pentagon for not standing up to the ACLU in defense of the Boy Scouts of America. In an announcement yesterday the Pentagon said that, as part of a settlement with the ACLU, it has agreed to warn its bases worldwide that they cannot be a sponsor of any non-governmental organization such as the Boy Scouts. This has long been a Department of Defense official policy but has come into question more recently with a lawsuit filed by the ACLU in 1999 against the DoD claiming that bases were wrongly sponsoring scout troops. They specifically targeted the Boy Scouts because it is a group that requires members to believe in God.

“The idea that sponsorship of Scouting by American military units is ‘unconstitutional’ goes beyond the absurd, even well past the point of stupidity,” American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus wrote yesterday to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. “How is it the government can fund chapels on military bases, and Chaplains in the military, but not accommodate Scouting? Why is it that the rank of Eagle Scout is an attribute highly sought in candidates for military academies, but will soon become unwelcome on military bases? How is it the Congress can sanction Scouting by issuing them a federal charter, but the courts can declare them ‘outlaws?’”

“I strongly support the American Legion in their defense of the Boy Scouts,” Jones said. “Military tradition points toward a partnership with the Boy Scouts that has lasted for almost 100 years. The Navy even has their own scouting organization known as the Sea Scouts whose parent group is the Boy Scouts of America. I am outraged to think that the Pentagon and the Administration would bow to an organization like the ACLU. Bases have chapels and chaplains who are financially supported by the government. If those in power just bow down to the ACLU on this account, what is to say that their next target won’t be chaplains on bases?”

Congressman Jones has also sent a letter to President Bush asking for his attention to this situation.

“As Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Services I respectfully request that you investigate this matter further,” Jones said in the letter. “Many of the men and women in the military who live on these bases have children who may want to be a member of the Boy Scouts. These devoted parents who serve this nation do not make much money as it is, and sadly they are sometimes asked to give their life in defense of freedom. If a base commander decides that the base should sponsor a local chapter of the Boy Scouts for the children of these parents, why should they not be allowed to do so? The ACLU has continuously attacked the Boy Scouts for one simple reason: it is an organization founded in a commitment to God and morality. I know you share my passion to protect America and keep it a moral nation, and I hope that you can urge a reconsideration of the Defense Department’s decision to compromise its values to a group like the ACLU.”


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

SERIES OF VETERANS BILLS PASS CONGRESS

Jones pleased to announce funding for medical facilities in Greenville and Wilmington

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Third District Congressman Walter B. Jones and the House of Representatives today voted to pass three bills to improve veteran’s health programs and benefits. H.R. 3936, S. 2486, and S. 2484 were all previously amended and passed by the Senate and today were passed by the House unanimously by a voice vote.

H.R. 3936, the Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 2004, includes a provision to authorize over $1.2 million each to VA hospitals in Greenville and Wilmington, North Carolina. It also authorizes an increase of $24 million in grant funding for assistance to homeless veterans.
“I am delighted that North Carolina is slated to receive this extra money for two of its veterans’ facilities,” Jones said. “Veterans are such an important group of individuals who deserve to receive tangible symbols of our gratitude to them for their great service to our nation. This funding for our area clinics will help give North Carolina’s veterans the best care they deserve in both Greenville and Wilmington.”

The other two bills passed were the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2004 and the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004. Together they will enhance veterans programs for education, housing, employment, and medical benefits as well as reform the compensation system and work schedules of doctors and nurses in VA health care facilities. Some of the changes and new benefits include an increase in educational assistance allowance, an additional $250 in dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for surviving spouses with at least one child under 18, an increase in housing grants for the disabled, and clarifications to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

“Today was a great day for America’s veterans,” Jones said. “The measures passed today will help improve the quality of life for veterans in North Carolina and all across the country.”



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

The Marine as seen by.........

Himself: A Stout, Handsome, Highly-Trained Professional Killer and Female Idol, who wears a star sapphire ring, carries a finely honed K-Bar, is covered with a crisp cammie cover, and is always on time due to the reliability of his Seiko Diver's Watch.

His Wife: A stinking, gross, foul mouthed bum, who arrives home every 6 months or so with a seabag full of filthy utilities, a huge ugly watch, an oversized knife, a filthy hat, and a h**d-on.

Headquarters Marine Corps: A drunken Brawling, HMMWV stealing, women corrupting liar, with a star sapphire ring, Seiko watch, unauthorized K-Bar, and a f***ed up cover.

His Commanding Officer: A fine specimen of a drunken Brawling, HMMWV stealing, women corrupting bullshitter, with a star sapphire ring, fantastically accurate Seiko watch, finely honed razor sharp K-Bar, and a salty cammie cover.

Congress: An over paid, over-rated, tax burden, who is however, indispensable since he will volunteer to go anywhere, at any time, and kill whoever he is told to, as long as he can, drink, brawl, steal HMMWV's, corrupt women, kick cats, lie, sing dirty songs, wear filthy cammies, big sapphire rings, over-sized knives, Seiko watches and really f***ed up covers.

Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States: "Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem. "

General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army: ". . . these Marines have the swagger, confidence, and hardness that must have been in Stonewall Jackson's Army of the Shenandoah. They remind me of the Coldstreams at Dunkerque."

Admiral Chester Nimitz, U.S. Navy, of the Marine Corps battle for Iwo Jima: "Uncommon valour was a common virtue"

General Douglas MacArthur, US Army: "I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!"

Lieutenant Colonel T.R. Fehrenbach, US Army in "This Kind of War": "The man who will go where his colors will go, without asking, who will fight a phantom foe in a jungle and mountain range, without counting, and who will suffer and die in the midst of incredible hardship, without complaint, is still what he has always been, from Imperial Rome to sceptered Britain to Democratic America. He is the stuff of which legions are made. His pride is his colors and his regiment, his training hard and thorough and coldly realistic, to fit him for what he must face, and his obedience is to his orders. As a legionaire, he held the gates of civilization for the classical world... today he has been called United States Marine."

An Anonymous Canadian Citizen: "Marines are about the most peculiar breed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it was some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they own, making themselves up to look like insane fanatics with haircuts to ungentlemanly lengths, worshipping their Commandant almost as if he was a god, and making weird animal noises like a band of savages. They'll fight like rabid dogs at the drop of a hat just for the sake of a little action, and are the cockiest SOB's I have ever known. Most have the foulest mouths and drink well beyond man's normal limits, but their high spirits and sense of brotherhood set them apart and, generally speaking, of the United States Marines I've come in contact with, are the most professional soldiers and the finest men I have had the pleasure to meet. "

General Pershing, U.S. Army: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle! "

General Mark Clark, U. S. Army: "The more Marines I have around the better I like it! "

General Johnson, U. S. Army: "I can never again see a United States Marine without experiencing a feeling of reverence. "

Richard Harding Davis, war correspondent (1885): "The Marines have landed, and the situation is well in hand. "

An Anonymous U.S. Marine: "I recently attended a Kansas City Chiefs football game at Arrowhead Stadium. It was their annual Veteran's day salute so members of all the services were asked to participate in the festivities.
A color guard for the National Anthem was provided by the Buffalo Soldiers Association. They looked very sharp in their 1800's era U.S. Army Cavalry uniforms. Following that the U.S. Navy parachute team put on an impressive display that brought great cheers from the 78,000 football fans in attendance. Shortly after that we were treated to the truly awesome sight of an Air Force B-2 Stealth bomber flyover as well as a few other aircraft. All of these sights were truly appreciated by the crowd (especially the B-2) who let it be known by their cheers. I expected that was all that we would see of the Military that day.
I thought we would see a high school or college marching band during halftime. Few watch these shows anyway because they have to use the head or grab another beer (or two) during the intermission. Shortly before half time, however, I looked down on the sidelines near the end zone and saw the Silent Drill Platoon forming up. As the halftime started the players left the field and the announcer came on the public address system and advised us of the Platoons performance. Many of us Marines have seen these performances in the past and they are always awe-inspiring. I did not expect that the large "civilian" crowd of football fans would be as appreciative of the Silent Drill Platoon as they had been of the high-tech B-2, or the daring of the Navy parachute team. I however was on the edge of my seat. As the Platoon marched onto the field it was very noticeable that the crowd was growing quieter. Soon the Platoon was fully into their demonstration and the stadium was silent.
From high in the stands upper reaches where my seats were I was able to hear the "snap and pop" of hand striking rifle. Both big screen scoreboards displayed close ups of the Marines as they went through their routine. As they completed their platoon demonstration and lined up for the inspection the crowd began cheering as the Marines twirled their rifles in impossible fashion. Then came the inspection. Again the crowd fell silent and watched intently as rifles were thrown, caught, twirled, inspected and thrown some more. Each well practiced feat brought a "wow" or "did you see that?" from those sitting behind me or next to me. I sat there in my silent pride as I watched my brother Marines exit the field. A young girl behind me asked her mother a question about how the Marines learn to do the things they just did. The mother replied "They practice long and hard and they're Marines, so they're the best."

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I got this in an e-Mail from a retired USMC CWO4 Gunner and PhD. I apologize in advance to those that might find anything offensive in the foregoing words. However, I am positive that very few (or no) US Marines would take any offense at all.

Regards, Gunner

KRT Wire | 11/12/2004 | Foreign fighters now reviled by Fallujah residents: "SAKHLAWIYA, Iraq - (KRT) - The fighters came to Fallujah last year with piles of cash, strange accents and a militant vision of Islam that was at once foreign and fearsome... "

I hope that everyone is having a great Veteran's Day, and we all remember what this day stands for.

I hope that all of the Veteran's have a fantastic day, and wish to thank them for what they have done for our country.

Warmest regards to all,

Gunner