I want to take this opportunity to congratualte my buddy SGT Negrodamus on his selection for the Green-to-Gold program at UT Austin!. He set about doing it, got it done, and was rewarded for his persistence. Fuckin-A man! Neuro-biology no less!  

     If you want to read a day by day account of one soldiers ongoing deployment to Iraq please stop by Talisein's blog and give it a read. Yeah there are tons of spelling errors but hey, that gives it character!   Some small samples :   5 Jul 04 Heat exhastion now has a very palpable meaning to me. I drank 10 1.5 liter water bottles today. I have not gone to the bathroom. Wow. 02 Jul 04 SFC Calangelo called yesterday's operation an abortion...

Stripers      In part one of this article I addressed some of the administrative changes the Army has made to the promotion system in the last 20 years or so and how they have resulted in a lowered promotion bar for the most part. While this is an important facet of the promotion system I feel that the philosophical changes accompanying them are actually carry more gravitas.      In days gone by the Army Sergeant was the backbone of any un...

I just can't resist, this image is too damn funny:) I won't leech from Allah's site though so to see it you have to click here . also here .   Yes the Army was in fact told not to use rounds manufactured by Israelis... original article posted here . Hat tips to Allahpundit and Spoons .

     This is an excerpt of a piece I first read in 1996. It opened my eyes then to a world of posibilities. My wife once asked me what sparked my interest in politics and military science and at the time I didn't know but I think that this piece was the prime mover. Upon giving it solid consideration I realized that what other countries do does in fact matter here at home. That day I ceased to be an isolationist like so many back home in Minnesota who think that we should j...

     The Army and GEN Schoomaker in all their infinite wisdom are very concerned with their soldiers off-duty safety. In keeping with this worthy philosophy they have commisioned a 47 minute DVD for mandatory viewing by all active duty Army personnel. Sounds normal enough....      This DVD is so bizarre that the 12 or so soldiers I watched it with were all completely taken aback. Apparently the Army hired a Mississipi State Trooper to deliver his messag...

     Dharmagirl wrote a good series of articles recently regarding the dangers children face when using the Internet. Most people feel that their kids should be protected from online predators who are aggressively seeking these kids out. Well let me tell you something, the kids are hunting too.      I am not sure at what point American girls became this needy. I have had an AOL account that I have used very infrequently over a few years (it is ...

     Dharmagirl recently wrote an article dealing with her experience investigating online pedophiles in the Yahoo! chat rooms. I made a comment about the AOL version of this but I thought it warranted an article all it's own.      AOL has been attempting to turn around its flagging fortunes by promoting itself as "the kid-safe internet provider". To this end it has many parent customizable features like the ability to turn of Instant Messaging,...

Here is the new poop on this already bizarre Army news item.  Money quote? " Again, WTF-ery abounds." Kudos Pseudosoldier.

      I have been hearing retarded rumors online running the gamut from the CIA killing Berg to "he was already dead!" (as though that would make any difference). I was never able to find enough gumption to get into it with these crackpots but the kind folks over at Intelwire have done it for me. The article is worthwhile not just for the debunking but also to expose you to some of the more virulent conpiracist hoopla out there. Knowing your enemy is half the battle. ...

      Parapundit has been running a series of pieces regarding the possibility that the United States was spoon-fed bad Human Intellegence (HUMINT) reports regarding WMD in Iraq by Chalabi vis Iran. I have no particualr insight into the facts behind these specific reports but Parapundit seems to lack a bit of understanding regarding the reliability of of HUMINT when they say things like this : "They need the level of talent (particularly in science and tech...

     As a child I used to love Andy Rooney's end bit of 60 minutes. I enjoyed the critical thought process he would apply to everyday things like soap. That being said, I never paid much attention to the man's political opinions until fairly recently.      I completely disagreed with the points Mr. Rooney made in his article " Our Soldiers are Not Heroes " and had not found much else to agree with him on recently as he focused mainly on the War where h...

I guess the media don't feel too bad about the 18 civilians killed here because the US didn't do the killing. Therein lies the rub. Our culture is held to a far higher standard because people expect us to be decent! Since no one expects it of these sorts of cultures (read Islamic extremists) then their atrocities go by the by. Will we see Newsweek giving this the coverage they gave the wedding party incident or the horrifying Israeli incident of last week? Honestly I doubt it will get a mentio...

This is listed on AKO but since civilians do not have access to it.... here ya go. SECDEF-ALMILACT 03-04--MESSAGE TO SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN AND MARINES The reports of detainee abuse by American Soldiers in Iraq are deeply troubling. Those who have not upheld the high standards of our Armed Forces must be held accountable. With honor, the men and women of our Armed Forces must maintain our focus to secure a stable and free Iraq and to win the global war on terrorism. We ask that ...

I am sure Iran would be only to happy to cooperate in this little gem of a plan : (edit - Shroeder didn't mention Iran this is sarcasm on my part. Hat tip to Gerry Atrick for the heads up on vagueness) "I have doubts whether NATO is the best instrument available to bring stability there," Schroeder told reporters after meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. Schroeder, who ruled out any role for German troops in Iraq even before the U.S.-led invasion, said Iraqis would pr...