What, No Beer 33, or Ba Mui Ba?

THE setting could have been any typical Central European beer garden. There were long rows of wooden tables stained in dark, rich hues; half- and full-liter beer mugs hanging from metal racks; and two beautifully crafted brass decoction tanks used for mashing traditionally brewed beer. But on this warm afternoon in November, I wasn’t in Plzen, or Munich, or Bruges. I was at the Hoa Vien Bräuhaus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. read more

Stolen Valor Act

Hi Sgt. Grit,

 

I just read on the Internet that the 9th District Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional. Apparently it is OK to lie about military service, but a crime to make heated, loose-liped remarks against an elected official. The Courts would have us believe that Freedom of Speech is absolute, but we know differently. read more

Airport Security

Airport security

 

The best idea that I've heard so far. Go for it!

An engineer (ex-NASA project director) has what I think is the near perfect
solution for airport security!

Here's a solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the airports:

Have a booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate

any explosive device you may have on you.

It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be none of this crap about

racial profiling and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial.

Justice would be quick and swift. Case Closed!

Perspectiv​e

An Army grunt stands in the rain with a 35 lb.  pack on his back
15 lb.  weapon in hand, after having marched 12 miles, and says "This is shit."
An Army Airborne Ranger stands in the rain with a 45 lb.  pack on his back, weapon in hand, after having jumped from an airplane and marched 18 miles, and says with a smile, "This is good shit!"
A Navy Seal lies in the mud, 55 lb pack on his back, weapon in hand, after swimming 10 miles to shore, crawling through a swamp and marching 25 miles at night past the enemy positions, says with a grin, "This really is great shit."
A Marine, up to his nose in the stinking, bug-infested mud of a swamp with a 65 lb pack on his back and a weapon in both hands after jumping from an aircraft at high altitude, into the ocean swimming 12 miles to the shore, killing several alligators to enter the swamp, then crawling 30 miles through the brush to assault an enemy camp, says, "I love this shit!"
An Air Force officer sits in an easy chair in his air conditioned carpeted BOQ room and says
 
"The cable's out?  What kind of shit is this?" read more

Good stuff: B-17 and B-25

B17 and B25 WWII Bombers over and around Arizona's Superstition Mountains and Saguaro Lake.  The photography is HD, the planes are gorgeous, and, most notably, it is shot as the B17 takes off from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ and then flies over the Superstition Mountains.  to the east of Apache Junction and then on to Roosevelt & Canyon lakes on the east edge of the Phoenix valley.  The backdrops are stunning.  Music is from the mini series John Adams.  Great combo. read more

Rest in Peace

I was in boot camp in 1952, can't remember my platoon number but at San Diago.

Our Sr D. I was Sgt Little, all six foot five of him. Well Sgt Little liked his refreshment just a little too much for our Jr. DI.

Sgt Little would come in at around six AM, lay down on his bunk and inform the Jr. DI to wake him at 7 AM for muster out on the parade field. The Jr. DI,( I can't for the life of me remember his name) got fed up with this and in our last week ordered four of us to pick up Sgt. Littles bunk with him in it and carry it out onto the parade field.  We all fell in and as was custom marched out on to the parade field with all of the other Platoons. When the Col. saw the bed in front of all the other pltoons, he questioned " Who and what the f–k is that sleeping on my parade field"? read more

3/5 Afghanistan

 

Bing West files a report from his time embedded with Third Platoon of Kilo Company, Fifth Marine Regiment, in Sangin. His March dispatch adds another anecdote about the issue I raised in January: that the US Marines seem more aggressive than their predecessors in the volatile district, and Helmand province as a whole, and the Taliban react to this difference accordingly [emphasis mine]: read more

Hero

You're a 19 year old kid.  

You're critically wounded and dying in.

The jungle somewhere in  the Central Highlands of Viet Nam .  

It's  November 11, 1967.    
LZ (landing zone) X-ray.  

Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so   intense from 100 yards away, that  your CO (commanding officer) has ordered  the MedEvac helicopters to stop  coming  in.  
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know  you're not getting out.  
Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and  you'll never see them again.  
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the  day.  
Then  – over the machine gun noise – you faintly hear that sound  of a helicopter.  
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But.. It doesn't seem real  because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain  Ed Freeman is coming in for you.  
He's  not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call  and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire  anyway.   read more