NSN-No **** News

[DocGreek]

Ellie.....I see that you're on this site. That article, about TBI, and effects of PTSD, being treated by the Military.....I'd like some more info, that's more specific, about HOW the Military, is going to treat these problems. Got any other info??.....Doc Greek

[thedrifter]

Inauguration from space picture (no reallyit is)

This photo was taken from a "security" platform published tofday to the media. The other pictures of people doing improper things will be published tomorrow!

Posted by Maj Pain


Ellie

[thedrifter]

PATRIOTIC RAPPEL




U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Robbie Bean and Senior Airman John Ostrowske rappel with the American flag during the opening ceremony of an Arenacross 2009 series dirt bike race event in Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 17, 2009. Both airmen are pararescuemen assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Libby Stevenson

Ellie

[DocGreek]

DRIFTER.....I foolishly thought that you are a Moderator. You post so much, how do you have time to work? Do you really read any of the posts, here at Leatherneck? If you DO read the posts, as a moderator, why don't you discipline members, who DO NOT fill out their Profiles, completely?? When I signed up, as a Platinum Member, I don't remember ANY strict rules about filling out my profile....WHY?? I do not care if you don't like me, I'm an azzhole, but should be the same rules for ALL MEMBERS. YES???.......DISCOURAGED...Doc Greek

[PaidinBlood]

You're not an a$shole, DOC just a pain in ours!

[DocGreek]

Sorry, I got pizzed, but I tried to put my point across, as nicely, as any old fu**er would. If I offended Ellie, I'm sorry, BUT everyone knows, that what I bit**ed about......is true!! The pain, in my knee has gotten so bad, that when I sit on the POT, it's a bear to get back up!!! SORRY, Ellie!.......Doc Greek

[thedrifter]

DRIFTER.....I foolishly thought that you are a Moderator. You post so much, how do you have time to work? Do you really read any of the posts, here at Leatherneck? If you DO read the posts, as a moderator, why don't you discipline members, who DO NOT fill out their Profiles, completely?? When I signed up, as a Platinum Member, I don't remember ANY strict rules about filling out my profile....WHY?? I do not care if you don't like me, I'm an azzhole, but should be the same rules for ALL MEMBERS. YES???.......DISCOURAGED...Doc Greek

Doc

We try to inforce the rule as much as we can....We have our methods...

We always weed out the phonies

Ellie

[thedrifter]

February 03, 2009
Team improves future prospects for Afghan village



KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 21, 2009) – Members of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province visited Zirat village this month to assess the effectiveness of completed projects and to develop ideas for future initiatives.



Until February of last year, the main income for the villagers was earned by harvesting poppy. Since the eradication of poppy production, the villagers have turned to other methods to provide for their families. To assist in the effort, the PRT built a canal that feeds into the farmlands, allowing villagers to maximize farm production.


“With the canal, they are able to spread the water and grow wheat in the winter and corn in the summer, as well as saplings, fruit trees and nut trees that we planted for them,” Army Master Sgt. Ryan Bodmer, PRT noncommissioned officer in charge, said.


Some villagers expressed an interest in sources of income other than farming. Kathrin Lauer, representative for the U.S. Agency for International Development assigned to the PRT, met with a group of women seeking ideas for potential jobs.


“What they told me was with the eradication of the poppy, they simply do not have enough money,” Lauer, a Washington Terrace, Utah, native, said.


Lauer suggested the possibility of making money by learning an intricate Afghan embroidery technique used by women in Kabul and Jalalabad.


“An Afghan American, living in New York and working in the fashion industry, saw that the embroidery the Afghan women do is so unique that it sells well in the United States,” Lauer said.


The road to improving quality of life in the province involves building from the ground up, Army Lt. Col. Lawrence Pickett, PRT senior civil affairs officer, said.


“The focus here in Nuristan is construction,” Pickett, a Macomb, Ill., native, said. “There have been no schools or road networks built [here] in the last 30 years, so the PRTs are constructing new roads, schools and medical facilities that have never been in this province.”


PRT members said they hope to build a better future for the province’s people, once step at a time.


“We put in a tremendous amount of work in a day,” Bodmer said. “We work from sunup to sundown and beyond. I know each and every one of us here is going to work hard toward handing over a better, safer and more stable Nuristan to the next PRT.”

Posted by Maj Pain


Ellie

[thedrifter]

A message from an appalled observer....a lesson in history

"SHALL WE HIRE A MONUMENT ENGRAVER TO GO TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND ADD THE MISSING WORDS ?
A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:

Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington , DC . I got an unexpected history lesson.


Because I'm a baby boomer, I was one of the youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, Veterans of 'the greatest war,' with their families. It was a beautiful day, and people were smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled around the memorial, reading the inspiring words of Eisenhower and Truman that are engraved there.

On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy--the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.

One elderly woman read the words aloud:

'With confidence in our armed forces, with the abounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.'

But as she read, she suddenly turned angry. 'Wait a minute,' she said, 'they left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important part. Roosevelt ended the message with 'so help us God.'


Her husband said, 'You are probably right. We're not supposed to say things like that now.'

'I know I'm right,' she insisted. 'I remember the speech.' The two looked dismayed, shook their heads sadly and walked away.

Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, 'Well, it has been over 50 years; she's probably forgotten.'

But she had not forgotten. She was right.

I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading ---

'Flags of Our Fathers' by James Bradley. It's all about the battle at Iwo Jima .

I haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to read because it's a graphic description of the WWII battles in the Pacific.
But right there it was on page 58, Roosevelt 's speech to the nation ends in ' so help us God.'

The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war! But they couldn't fool the people who were there. Roosevelt 's words are engraved on their hearts.

Now I ask: 'WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF
HISTORY?????????'

Send this around to your friends. People need to know before everyone forgets.

People today are trying to change the history of America by leaving God out of it, but the truth is, God has been a part of this nation, since the beginning. He still wants to be .... and He always will be!

If you agree, pass this on and God Bless YOU!

If not, May God Forgive You!"

Posted by Maj Pain

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Happy Valentines you meat heads!

http://www.onemarinesview.com/



Repeatedly courtmartialed for breaches of etiquette and deportment, Jiggs (always soon reinstated) led a pampered and overfed existence in the glow of publicity and stardom as the first Marine Corps mascot in 1922. Happy Valentines from "Jiggs"....What a life, we will have a cigar for ya jiggs!

Posted by Maj Pain

[thedrifter]

February 14, 2009
Posted by Maj Pain
An encouraging letter from a commander in Iraq!

Below is a letter from one commander in Iraq. This just goes to show how much we are pulling out of the city area of Iraq and have turned it over to the Iraqi's. But you dont hear that in the news!

These are the final newsletter comments that I will send while deployed with our Marines and Sailors to Iraq,


and what a deployment it has been! From Habbaniyah, Saqlawiyah, and Lake Thar Thar, to Rawah and Anah and Rutbah, to the Sahl Sinjar Airfield and the expansive western Ninewa Province, this battalion has covered an extraordinary amount of ground over the past months and our Marines and Sailors have approached every mission, assignment, and operating area with resolve, dedication and spirit. I have been consistently impressed with everything - absolutely everything - they have done for this battalion and for our mission in Iraq. Our success rests on the sturdy shoulders of the hundreds of Marines and Sailors throughout this great battalion - and they have never failed.

Fittingly, at this time, one word comes to mind - thanks! Thanks to all of our wonderful families, our wonderful wives, our great friends, and our superb support networks for everything, they have done for all of the Marines and Sailors in 1st Battalion, 2d Marines, particularly over the past seven months. Your love and support for our Marines and Sailors has been consistent, easily noticeable, and heartfelt, and I owe you my personal thanks and gratitude. It has certainly been my pleasure to command these extraordinary men during our tenure in Iraq, as it has been throughout my tenure in command, and your love and support has enabled them to focus intently on their mission and achieve so much for the citizens of Iraq, our Marine Corps, and our United States. As I have often told them, there is no more honorable thing that a man can do in his lifetime than what they have done in preparing for and executing this highly important mission in Iraq. When you see your Marine or Sailor when he gets home, thank him for being an honorable man and for being so faithful and loyal to a cause much bigger than himself. Clearly, not every man is of this ilk - our men are.

Regarding those who are so selfless, who sacrifice so often, and who accomplish so much, the question is often asked: where do we find such men? My answer is simple - we find them throughout the ranks of 1st Battalion, 2d Marines!

Long live 1st Battalion, 2d Marines, and success to our Corps!

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,

LtCol Winand
Commanding Officer
1st Battalion, 2d Marine

Ellie

[thedrifter]

February 17, 2009
The Fairness Doctrine-Read This

Legislation currently is before Congress that would reinstate a federal communications policy known as the "fairness doctrine." The legislation, entitled the "Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1993," is sponsored in the Senate (S. 333) by Ernest Hollings, the South Carolina Democrat, and in the House (H.R. 1985) by Bill Hefner, the North Carolina Democrat.

It would codify a 1949 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation that once required broadcasters to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance."

The fairness doctrine was overturned by the FCC in 1987. The FCC discarded the rule because, contrary to its purpose, it failed to encourage the discussion of more controversial issues. There were also concerns that it was in violation of First Amendment free speech principles. The legislation now before Congress would enshrine the fairness doctrine into law.

What does it mean to you and I?
It means that the FCC would determine what is “fair” & “balanced”. This means in their opinion they would review your broadcast show and determine if it was fair. If they deemed it not to be fair, they would revoke your broadcasting license. "Fairness" or "fair access" is best determined by FCC authorities???? FCC bureaucrats can neither determine what is "fair" nor enforce it.

Thus, the result of the fairness doctrine in many cases would be to stifle the growth of disseminating views and, in effect, make free speech less free. This is exactly what led the FCC to repeal the rule in 1987. FCC officials found that the doctrine "had the net effect of reducing, rather than enhancing, the discussion of controversial issues of public importance," and therefore was in violation of constitutional principles.

You have to ask why is attention only going to radio broadcasters? Why isn’t it going to one sided business loosing newspapers as well? Think about it!

You think radio broadcasts are the only thing that will be shutdown? Guess again. Every military blog or (one sided view from the front) will be assessed…ok, shut down. Almost all milbloggers are already facing tough manipulation through the DOD let alone the FCC weighing in on the fact. I’m sure all the moonbats out there would differ but have they served in the military? Have they done a blog while they were in the military? No, they haven’t. Why do so many milblogs have alternate names instead of the actual authors name? Think about it.

The last time I checked the Constitution said “We the People……….”

Simple Solution
If the fairness standard is reinstituted, the result will not be easier access for controversial views. It will instead be self-censorship, as stations seek to avoid requirements that they broadcast specific opposing views. With the wide diversity of views available today in the expanding broadcast system, there is a simple solution for any family seeking an alternative viewpoint or for any lawmaker irritated by a pugnacious talk-show host. Turn the dial.

Some points/facts taken from the Heritage Foundation
CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN HERE: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

An example letter to your congressman: (feel free to use at will)
17 February 2009
Congressman XXXXXX XXXXXXXX
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Congressman XXXXXXXX:
Currently there is legislation before Congress that would reinstate a federal communications policy known as the "fairness doctrine.” The doctrine's supporters seem not to appreciate just how much the broadcast world has changed since 1949. With the proliferation of informational resources and technology, the number of broadcast outlets available to the public has increased steadily. In such an environment, it is hard to understand why the federal government must police the airwaves to ensure that differing views are heard. The result of a reinstituted fairness doctrine would not be fair at all. In practice, much controversial speech heard today would be stifled as the threat of random investigations and warnings discouraged broadcasters from airing what FCC bureaucrats might refer to as "unbalanced" views.
The fallacy upon which the doctrine rests concerns the idea of "fairness" itself. As defined by proponents of the doctrine, "fairness" apparently means that each broadcaster must offer air time to anyone with a controversial view. Since it is impossible for every station to be monitored constantly, FCC regulators would arbitrarily determine what "fair access" is, and who is entitled to it, through selective enforcement. This, of course, puts immense power into the hands of federal regulators.
I do not feel the freedom of our country should include the restriction of what I can or cannot listen to. Additionally, I especially do not need a specific organization restricting the very freedom nor the freedom of speech.
While I fully expect you to support this legislation, I ask you not to climb onto this particular bandwagon.
Sincerely,
XXXX X XXXX

Posted by Maj Pain

Ellie

[thedrifter]

February 23, 2009
No chance taken.

There was no chance taken in the HBO premier of “Taking Chance”. A story about a wounded warrior coming home after giving his all in Iraq. Another warrior realizing some pain and feeling guilty for not being deployed.

There is a scene where a Colonel in a briefing is figuring the correct number of replacement troops to send to Iraq to replace fallen warriors and most of his advisors in the conference room hadn’t deployed yet. He asks their advice and they recommend a lower number to send. He ends up siding with what the deployed commanders were requesting vise what his non deployed Marines were recommending. My better half hates watching any sort of military movie with me because I will call out mistakes and discrepancies. I found myself saying yip, that’s exactly how it is, looks, sounds. I have had the honor to meet the airplanes at Dover to escort the heroes off and coordinate them with . They are heavy. Ice melts but the very first thing we do when we walk up to the flag draped coffins on the plane is pull out and replace the American flags that have been tainted or has flaws. The movie was exactly how it goes. Being one of the last escorts to depart is heart wrenching because you get mentally worked honoring warriors time and again only to wait for yours. The movie wasn’t melodramatic; I would have been the first to call it out. The movie tried to capture the overwhelming awe of honor displayed when these warriors are on the move. There is nothing you can say when being an escort that will show the honor due, the casket usually does it all.
If you didn’t get to see the movie it is coming out on CD soon. Semper Fi & God Bless all of those who gave all.

Posted by Maj Pain

[thedrifter]

February 27, 2009
Another Battle on the housing front (Military)

http://www.onemarinesview.com/

This is actually getting alot of attention from congress and throughout the military services. I hear alot about it here in Washington DC. We wiill see the outcome it produces. Maj Pain

The orders came while Navy Lt. Adam Diaz was winding down a one-year stint in Baghdad: Report to the Navy Annex in Arlington for a new assignment in April. -- Given the military lifestyle, the prospect of a move came as no surprise to Diaz, 31, who has spent his adult life in the Navy.

The shock came when he spoke with his wife, Stephanie Diaz, about the value of the Jacksonville, Fla., home they bought in June 2006, near the height of the housing bubble. -- "Hey, by the way," she recalls telling him. "The house has been valued for about 50 grand less than when we bought it."

The housing crisis is hitting military families particularly hard, according to real estate agents and service member advocacy groups. Many who bought during the boom and must now relocate because of fresh orders are faced with selling their homes at a big loss. They are finding few buyers, or even renters, particularly in the hardest-hit markets. That is leaving some families facing options including renting at a loss, separation from their loved ones or, in some cases, foreclosure.

The issue has caught the attention of Congress, which included language in the economic stimulus package to compensate service members who sell their home at a loss or have been foreclosed upon because they were forced to move after a base closure, reassignment or a combat wound required them to be relocated near a health facility. The program also covers surviving spouses of those killed in combat.

Under the new provision, the government will cover 95 percent of a loss if a service member is forced to sell. The government can also choose to acquire the title of a home by paying off the balance of a service member's mortgage or paying the owner up to 90 percent of the home's previous value. No dollar ceiling has been set.

The $555 million undertaking expands the Defense Department's Homeowners Assistance Program, which helps military and federal personnel whose homes have lost value because of a base closure. The new measure would likely help the Diazes, and would expand the homeowner assistance program to as many as 17,000 claims, according to the office of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who sponsored the measure.

The program does not cover all military members facing a loss because of a home sale.

In an attempt to limit the number of claims, the program applies only to a service member's primary residence, and only to homes purchased before July 1, 2006, roughly the time the market began its free-fall. The Army Corps of Engineers said it has not determined what proportion of families will be eligible.

The prospect of foreclosure is particularly daunting for career service members, as credit checks are required to gain security clearances. The increased financial stress comes at a time when many active service members have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, military advocates said.

"We have an all-volunteer force, and we are asking them to deploy overseas to fight the global war on terror," said Michael Hayden, deputy director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America, one of the largest military advocacy groups in the country. "And yet we are also in the midst of all this crisis, and the one thing we shouldn't have to burden our service members with is trying to manage their mortgages."

That argument resonated with legislators who sought to help people such as the Diazes, who thought that buying their four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a new Jacksonville subdivision for $252,000 made sense. With the real estate market booming, Diaz figured they would at least be able to break even when they moved.

Today the home is worth about $50,000 less, according to information the couple found on home valuation Web site Zillow.com. A nearly identical house across the street sold for about $185,000, the couple said. They still owe about $217,000 on their mortgage, so selling now would mean taking a loss. Renting would probably leave them $400 to $500 short of covering their monthly mortgage payments.

During the years of easy credit, use of the Department of Veterans Affairs' guaranteed home loan program fell considerably. Mike Frueh, an assistant director of the program, said higher-risk products such as adjustable-rate mortgages and no-down-payment loans became popular with military members.

Thus the origination of government-backed mortgages for veterans and active-duty members plummeted 73 percent from fiscal year 2003 to 2007, before ticking up again in 2008. During those housing boom years, the VA program offered fixed rates for 30 years and did not change its underwriting practices, which required financial evaluations and credit checks, Frueh said.

Last fall, new legislation allowed service members who were struggling with subprime loans or other types of mortgages to refinance into a VA loan.

R. Joe Gladden, a retired Navy captain and Gainesville real estate agent who caters to military clients, said subprime or other high-risk loans were not necessarily the problem for military members. Gladden and Susan Wallace, a Chantilly mortgage broker who works with him, said generally military families make good clients because they maintain excellent credit and are decisive when it comes time to buy.

Wallace said that many of her military clients asked for adjustable-rate mortgages and no-down-payment loans because their investment was often intended to be temporary. "If you were a military person and moved to the D.C. area, but you are moving again in three to five years, it made sense," Wallace said.

Both now are inundated with calls and e-mails with tales of woe from families who are stuck in homes that have fallen in value. On his business Web site, Gladden has sponsored a forum for people to post such stories.

One who did was 30-year-old Christina Messer of Arlington. Her husband is stationed at Fort Myer as an honor guard. The couple bought a $438,000 condominium in a new low-rise complex in Arlington in the summer of 2007. They used a no-money-down loan, with interest-only payments for the first five years. They anticipated moving in a few years, and thus saw no point in paying down the balance, said Messer, who spoke on the condition that she be identified by her maiden name so as not to affect her husband's career.

The problem now is that they cannot sell the home for the value of the mortgage, nor can they find a renter. Messer's husband has orders to relocate to Texas in April. She fears they will face foreclosure or bankruptcy.

"We are talking to a few real estate agents about a possible short sale, but that is just like filing for a foreclosure," she said, referring to a sale when a property is sold for less than the balance on the mortgage. "It stays on your credit record for the same amount of time and affects your credit very harshly -- he could lose his rank."

Because they bought their home in 2007, the couple would not be helped by the provisions in the stimulus measure.

The Diazes, meanwhile, watched the stimulus debate with deep interest and are hopeful the new program will help them. They spent Presidents' Day weekend in Northern Virginia, looking at homes in Lorton and Woodbridge, as well as some Alexandria apartments.

"We are going to be looking at everything, just about everything, just because we are not sure," Stephanie Diaz said. She said that once they are certain they are covered by the new plan, they will immediately put their house up for sale.

By Alejandro Lazo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 25, 2009; D01

Posted by Maj Pain

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)
Posted By Maj Pain

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)

I love MRAPs. You have to teach your warriors to slow the hell down on turns because they get a bit filled with adrenalin when the **** hits the fan and can roll the beasts.


I had several MRAPs under my command this last tour and yes, they are awesome and save lives. They are designed to decentagrate as they are attacked with an explosion to disperse the energy with their “V” style hull. They can go just about anywhere except under water….not so good there. Everyone in this MRAP survived the 500lb IED.So take that you scumbags trying to kill us, you failed,again. Although my Command & Control truck in the convoy was a Hummer, we liked to lead with the MRAP. Hell of a blunt object to attack the enemy with. Semper Fi