Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Time to Get Back

    … to where I once belonged — this hiatus from blogging has gone on long enough. Obviously a lot has happened in my life of late, what with a wedding and all, but there’s certainly been a lot more going on in the world at large about which I would have liked to have spouted my drivel.

    That said, what’s done is done, spilt milk, yada yada. Look not here for tales of phony anti-war rangers and rumors of blog feuds, shows of sockpuppets and college instructors turned darkly psychotic blog commenters. Now, had you been following the fine sites on my blogroll, you’d be quite familiar with all of these tales already.

    Speaking of my blogroll, there’s a few things I want to point out before I once more unto the blogging, dear friends.

    The Mudville Gazette‘s Greyhawk, the founder of the MilBlog webring, has gathered up several of the best MilBloggers around for a new and appropriately-titled group project: MilBlogs. It’s certainly worth checking out repeatedly; several of the contributors were already on my blogroll and others soon will be.

    GunnNutt, blogger and devout supporter of the troops, has left behind her old site for one more dedicated to her self-appointed and much-appreciated support role. Please visit her at Semper Gratus.

    Lastly — though I know I’m missing a million things I’d wished I’d pointed out over my break — I would like to send out a hearty congrats to long-time blogroll denizen, Phil Gray of Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), for his completion of a long journey with a successful defense of his doctoral dissertation. Now maybe he too will get back to blogging.

  • Quote of the Week, 30 JUL 06

    They wish to hell they were someplace else, and they wish to hell they would get relief. They wish to hell the mud was dry and they wish to hell their coffee was hot. They want to go home. But they stay in their wet holes and fight, and then they climb out and crawl through minefields and fight some more.

    —Bill Mauldin

  • As Promised, Wedding Photos

    First Dance

    The first dance for Mr. and Mrs. Gunner
    May 6, 2006

    More photos in the extended entry for those that are interested.

    (more…)

  • Not-Quite-Back-Yet Link Dump

    Okay, call it a Maui honeymoon hangover, but I’m not really back to the blogging yet. I’ll try to put up a few things, but I doubt I’ll get too serious until I’ve finished moving in with my new bride and setting up my new Fortress of Solitude in the upstairs office. Oh yeah, some time in the near future I hope to have some pictures for y’all of the joyous nuptials of Mr. and Mrs. Gunner.

    Still, I don’t want to leave you empty-handed tonight, so heres a few links worth your time.

    The Troops Have Moved On

    Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease.”

    So said Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, describing a war that put 11 percent of our citizens in uniform and had by that point killed nearly one of out every seven soldiers. That his words are relevant again now is a troubling indicator of our national endurance.

    We are at the outset of a long war, and not just in Iraq. Yet it is being led politically by the short-sighted, from both sides of the aisle. The deterioration of American support for the mission in Iraq is indicative not so much of our military conduct there, where real gains are coming slowly but steadily, but of chaotic leadership.

    Somehow Operation Iraqi Freedom, not a large war by America’s historical standards, has blossomed into a crisis of expectations that threatens our ability to react to future threats with a fist instead of five fingers. Instead of rallying we are squabbling, even as the slow fuse burns.

    […]

    This confusion, in turn, affects our warriors, who are frustrated by the country’s lack of cohesion and the depiction of their war. Iraq hasn’t been easy on the military, either. But the strength of our warriors is their ability to adapt.

    […]

    Soldiers are sick of apologizing for a sliver of malcontents who are not at all representative of the new breed. But they are also sick of being pitied. Our warriors are the hunters, not the hunted, and we should celebrate them as we did in the past, for while our tastes have changed, warfare — and the need to cultivate national guardians — has not. As Kipling wrote, “The strength of the pack is the wolf.”

    Go read the whole thing. Hat tip to Blackfive.

    Final Salute

    A flag-draped casket.
    Rifle volleys.
    Taps.

    These are the images of war that many have seen since the beginning of the war.

    There are many more images that haven’t been seen before.

    For Marines stationed at Buckley Air Force Base and the families they touch, the images are unforgettable. According to Maj. Steve Beck, they should be.

    This is a stirring presentation that shows how the American military honors its fallen and helps their families take the beginning steps down the road to healing. The Rocky Mountain News put it together for last Veterans Day, and I’ll send a hat tip to Florida Cracker for linking it on Memorial Day. Today may seem a day late to bring it to your attention, but I don’t feel that it is — our military pays such tribute and shows such care any day of the year.

    New-to-me Blog: History Post

    Welcome to Anthony Tully’s Online Discussion log of various musings regarding history, political science, current events, and fields of expertise like Naval and Romano-Byzantine History. Be sure to visit our website for a look at some of my Pacific War articles and information on just published full study of the Battle of Midway.

    If the name Anthony Tully doesn’t ring a bell, please review this post where I asked Santa for a copy of the new book Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Santa may not have come through for me in this case, but critics and historians have voiced much love for work of co-authors Jonathan Parshall and, yes, Anthony Tully. Hat tip to Frankenstein at General Quarters. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve e-known both Mr. Tully and Frank for several years on my favorite discussion forum and have long valued their thoughts on history, religion, military and political matters.

  • Carnival of Liberty XLVII

    This week’s installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community’s Carnival of Liberty is up over at New World Man. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.

  • Memorial Day: USS Arizona

  • Memorial Day 2006

    [The following is a modified posting of last year’s Memorial Day postings. New Memorial Day content wil follow]

    Tomb of the Unknowns: Changing of the Guard (embossed)
    The Sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknowns

    If you have not seen the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, I’ve witnessed it more than once and highly recommend it.

    The guard is changed every hour on the hour Oct. 1 to March 31 in an elaborate ritual. From April 1 through September 30, there are more than double the opportunities to view the change because another change is added on the half hour and the cemetery closing time moves from 5 to 7 p.m.

    An impeccably uniformed relief commander appears on the plaza to announce the Changing of the Guard. Soon the new sentinel leaves the Quarters and unlocks the bolt of his or her M-14 rifle to signal to the relief commander to start the ceremony. The relief commander walks out to the Tomb and salutes, then faces the spectators and asks them to stand and stay silent during the ceremony.

    The relief commander conducts a detailed white-glove inspection of the weapon, checking each part of the rifle once. Then, the relief commander and the relieving sentinel meet the retiring sentinel at the center of the matted path in front of the Tomb. All three salute the Unknowns who have been symbolically given the Medal of Honor. Then the relief commander orders the relieved sentinel, “Pass on your orders.” The current sentinel commands, “Post and orders, remain as directed.” The newly posted sentinel replies, “Orders acknowledged,” and steps into position on the black mat. When the relief commander passes by, the new sentinel begins walking at a cadence of 90 steps per minute.

    The ritual is slow. It is determined. It is meticulous. It is touching.

    The majesty of the ceremony lies in its detailed, determined nature. It shows that our honored dead are not remembered only one day a year by our military — their memory is unfailingly revered . Their sacrifices receive tribute constantly from both comrades and strangers. Such is as it should be, both in the military and among all of the citizenry that value the freedoms and security that have been bought and paid for in blood and sacrifice. Our heroes deserve their special day, but their honor deserves our hearts throughout the year.

    (On a side note, the above photos were taken by my then-girlfriend-now-new-bride. The photo of the ceremony was perfect in every way but one, a slight discoloration I was unable to overcome. In desperation, I tried the embossed effect and was quite happy with the outcome.)

  • Going to the Chapel

    Well, today’s the day. Wish us luck.

  • Carnival of Liberty XLIII and a Personal Note

    This week’s installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community’s Carnival of Liberty is up over at Searchlight Crusade. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.

    As an unrelated note, this is possibly my last post until after my wedding this weekend, and maybe even until after my honeymoon. I cannot recommend enough the fine members of my blogroll — they do a wonderful job of keeping me informed and entertained.

  • Six Arrested in Minn. Antiwar Rally

    Okay, I lied. One more post before I call it a computing night. Sorry, but I’m motivated by disgust.

    I told y’all about the vandalism done to ROTC buildings at two N.C. universities this week. Well, now a recruiting office in Minnesota has fallen prey to paint and protest.

    Six people, including a man who allegedly splashed paint on a recruiting station, were arrested Friday following a rally of area high school and college students at the University of Minnesota to protest the war in Iraq.

    Police estimated the crowd at more than 200 people, who chanted and listened to nearly a dozen speakers for about an hour.

    […]

    When it came time for a march downtown, organizers changed course and went to a U.S. Army and Navy recruiting station near Washington Avenue and SE. Oak Street.

    One person, with face covered and dressed in all black, splashed a bucket of red paint on the station’s windows. Other protesters pounded the windows and scribbled messages including a peace sign over a sticker of the American flag.

    “They’re exercising their rights,” said Army Capt. Val Bernat, adding that campus police alerted the office days earlier of a potential incident. “However, we don’t appreciate the vandalism.”

    The protest group then dispersed at the nearby Coffman Memorial Union, where police arrested the man who apparently threw the paint, according to campus police Deputy Chief Steve Johnson. Five others also were cited for disorderly conduct and released, Johnson said.

    As military workers began cleanup outside the rented storefront, a group of students pitched in.

    “They disgraced our country and our military,” Ole Hovde, 19, a freshman, said as he wiped down the windows.

    Hat tip to Michelle Malkin, who adds the following:

    This is not “freedom of speech.” This is vandalism. It is a crime. The punks responsible for destroying property and trying to intimidate our volunteer military and potential recruits need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

    OpFor‘s Charlie Munn looks at one of the story’s pictures and questions the imagery entailed.

    For the life of me, I don’t understand this. From the picture, I get the symbolism: red paint=blood, but the peace signs? What this image shows me is the inherent fallacy of the “peace” movement. These protestors, who advocate a “peace” in our time, are actually demanding inaction in the face of genocide, murder, and ethnic cleansing. Millions of people should be allowed to die, according to this logic, but if one US combat brigade moves to stop it (and heaven forbid if it lines up with US national interest) then the only recourse can be “No Blood For Oil.”

    This picture shows me that the modern peace movement has blood on their hands. They have blood on their hands from the deaths of thousands of South Vietnamese that we didn’t help after our withdrawal. They have blood on their hands from the genocide in Cambodia that occurred when the “Domino Theory” came to fruition and Pol Pot got to enact his crazed thesis of societal equalization and wealth distribution (communism carried to its ultimate end state, where children killed their parents with machetes at the behest of the government).

    Mr. Munn goes on, citing more blood to date and potential blood to come. He’s right.

    I look at the picture, though, and I see shades of future dhimmitude brought on by misplaced and misdirected idealism. It is not the radical Islamist enemies fighting to destroy our civilization that sacrifice for these protestors’ freedom, but those enemies would quite happily bring the the peace of slavery or death to these idiots stained literally in paint and actually in blood.