Bouhammer eating Crow

Many times on this blog I have been unkind to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. I have called him many names and berated decision he has made and things he has said. My friend over at the blog War on Terror News and I have argued about Karzai and what kind of person he is. I think WOTN had some inside information and was probably close to Karzai early in the war. I figured that was the only reason he was quick to defend him.

I must now say that after reading the newly released book “The Only Thing Worth Dying For” by acclaimed author Eric Blehm. I have a review being written up this weekend on the book as I just finished it last night. I was very moved and impressed by the book. Not only was I impressed by the American Special Operators that the book is about, but also President Karzai himself. This book does a phenomenal job of explaining the tireless effort Karzai was putting into convincing the world how important Afghanistan was prior to 9/11 and the character of the man in the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom.

I have a new found respect for Hamid Karzai as a result of this book, so I will be the first to admit I have may have been wrong in some of my opinions of him. It doesn’t mean he is still that way, but he is a politician now. People change with time and experiences and sometimes the change is not for the best. He does say things every once in a while that I think is ungrateful and disrespectful of the assistance our country has given him, especially in the blood we have shed and the lives lost. But, I have to admit even if he does or says things now that I personally don’t like, I do like the way he was in the beginning.

There are many leaders in our own country whom start off honorable but let politics and Washington corrupt their character, so it must just be a human nature thing. I can’t expect Hamid Karzai to be better or more perfect than our own American elected leaders.

So as I said, I will freely admit that I may have been wrong about him and I will weigh my words much more carefully in the future as to not appear as one of those back-seat experts.

Changing minds, Changing Culture

This is Change I can believe in. What used to be a country that murdered women for showing their faces and treated them worse than dogs, now we have women teaching the men life-saving skills.

U.S. Army Spc. Jamie Groce, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, shows Afghan National Army soldiers how to splint a leg during a combat life saver course at Coalition Outpost Sabari, Afghanistan, on Jan. 16, 2010. DoD photo by Sgt. Jeffrey Alexander, U.S. Army.

Pitchfork Brigade update on the Goatee General-UPDATED

Update on The Goatee wearing hipster Douche, MacManus.

As you may or may not know, the amount of traffic and interest into the story that this and many other blogs put out on Monday was so great that it brought this website down. It was too much for the plan I was on with my hosting provider. So because of that they migrated me to a new higher capacity plan. It really stunk for me since this site was off-line while it was enjoying one the highest readership periods ever, but I guess having too many people reading your blog is a good problem to have.

Anyway, we (other milbloggers and myself) have gotten a ton of information on this douche and we are pretty sure he knows that we are on his trail (we have found where he is trying to erase his footprints on the internet). We have his name, address, phone numbers, and other important identity information about him. I can say on behalf of myself and the Bouhammer blog and I am pretty sure all the milblogs out there that covered this, we are so very flattered, thankful and humbled that we have the readership that we do.

When we milbloggers find a topic like this one that we all feel is important enough to band together on, we refer to ourselves as the “Pitchfork Brigade”. Our “pitchforks” are our blogs and you, the readers. All of you are amazing and your passion for topics as important as this is inspiring. I will never be able to say “Thank You” enough and to as many people as I should. I am humbled that a blog I started to keep family and friends informed about my Afghanistan deployment has grown and blossomed into what is has.

For now let me just say that our blogs, through you the readership has gotten enough attention from the media and other people that this is now out of our hands and in the hands of the proper folks that need to focus on this matter.

UPDATE
The links below go to the blog of “This Ain’t Hell”, where TSO has put in a lot of time and work. He has done a great job and deserves all the credit on the blog posts he has put together.
Michael Patrick McManus Chan, aka General Ballduster McSoulpatch Chan comes from his boyfriend/husband/whatever.
What we know about General Ballduster McSoulpatch (Employment)
What we know about General Ballduster McSoulpatch (Education)
General Ballduster McSoulpatch, The Timeline
Apparently the FBI thinks this is no big deal

Again THANK YOU very much

Bouhammer….

Bouhammer.com Blog is back up and running

Just a short posting to tell all the readers of this site that the Bouhammer Afghan and Military Blog is back up and running. This site has been migrated to a more robust and highly available web hosting platform which should help speed up the site and ensure it does not have performance issues the next time it gets thousands of hits in a short time period.

Guest Blogger; Life in the Military as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer

Bouhammer Note- The posting below was written by my very good friend “Moose”. I have known Moose for 20 years and we have always maintained contact with each other, even though we were both being stationed all over the world at different times. He has opened up his heart and his life in this posting. As he told me, “If one person’s life is saved or changed because of reading this, then it is all worth it”. The reality is that many senior leaders are intimidated to never seek help or are just plain scared too. We hear stories all the time of both NCOs and Officers taking their own lives when they think there is no other option. This is why Moose wrote this posting. To hopefully show that there is always hope, there is always another option, and taking one’s life is never an option.

Even though I have known Moose for so long and we have spent hundreds of hours together I never knew about a lot of this until he sent this letter to me a couple of weeks ago. I was emotionally moved after reading it, because my heart went out to him. I love him like a brother and consider him one. The story you are about to read is a grown man, a family man, a soldier and a leader who even though he is not currently leading troops shows that he still cares for all soldiers. It also shows that he is willing to expose every deep dark secret he has in order to save their lives or at least turn their lives around before they make the mistakes he has made.

Life in the Military as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer

(The Life of Moose)

At a very young age I was forced into being different, wanting to be a part of something. Wanting to be loved, and just cared for. I was molested (Raped) at the age of 7. For 7 years I was on constant alert, always checking my back, and making sure I never found myself in the predicament I did before.

At the age of 14 I found the release from this bondage, Alcohol was my new friend.

My family decided to move from the Virgin Islands to Maine when I was 14, again a fish out of the water so to speak. I quickly adapted to the Maniacs way of socializing, Party… Boredom was the great truth for us teenagers. What is happening, Nothing, where is the party at… Let’s go.

Blackout drinking was how I started my three and a half decade of drinking and using career. I soon found that I was taking things into my body, that I asked what does this do to you after I swallowed it down with Alcohol. The result was always the same, I became the center of attention at all High School events on and off school grounds. The crazy kid from the Islands, I socialized with everyone, manipulating everyone into doing exactly what I wanted them to do for me. I finely figured out how to belong, how to be loved because I had something you wanted. Alcohol and Drugs.

After turning 18, I decided to allow the local police catch me for minor theft at a local store. Monday I went to school and my Art teacher tore my 4 year scholarship to Pratt institute of Art in New York in front of me and the whole class. That Friday I joined the Army for 4 years as an Infantry man this was in April 1982. I truly joined thinking that Alcohol and Drugs wouldn’t be tolerated in our service, man was I sadly mistaken. Coming in post Vietnam era go figure, the norm was to use and drink before every morning Physical Fitness section. Then do it all over again the next day.

Soon the Army figured they needed to have some control, the urinalyses was brought into battle the use of Drugs in the Military. Being a smart Alcoholic I found out how long something stayed in your system and used these items totally gambling on when the next piss test would happen. I was lucky for 28 years.

As the years went on, I knew I had a problem; I was always the one the guys would have to help into the Barracks, the one that ended in Czechoslovakia on a train, before the wall came down. It seemed that I had a problem, so I attempted numerous times to stop drinking. 4 years in the service I decided to get married and have two sons join me in my insane world. That lasted 13 years before she decided I was hopeless, helpless and completely out of control. This completely devastated me so I enrolled into an Army Re-hab center in Georgia, with the intent of fixing myself so I could get my family back.

I stayed dry for 15 months, and one day while sitting the beach in North Carolina a voice said in my head, you don’t have a drinking problem, you got sober for you’re soon to be x-wife. This started another 8 year binge. I took all my baggage and decided to take another woman hostage, never clearing any wreckage of my past. By this time I had 18 years in service and holding the rank of sergeant first class. Completely out of control, I was introduced to pain medication for the injuries I had acquired while in the service. My current wife was starting to get on my case about not coming home at night, drinking and driving and forgetting almost every aspect of our life. Then opiates came into my life, like God himself was answering my prayers. I soon made Master Sergeant and became a leader of 240 Soldier companies; the entire time I did this I was high. I had stopped drinking completely by this time for over four years. In the Military the Doctors didn’t care about who you were, just that you could be in and out of their office in 10 minutes. Next!

All this time no one knew I was a full fledged addict, only myself. Six years had gone by in a blur, two tours to War and one peace keeping mission. Still using, by the time I came back from Iraq this last time, I found myself held up in my room. Smoking marijuana at times and taking massive amounts of Oxycotin. I was drinking Vodka every day, my existence had become the nightmare I had so wanted it to be. Self sabotage was my watchword, stealing, lying and cheating; it seemed normal.

Now I was about to be promoted to the highest rank an enlisted Soldier could obtain, and I was miserable. The addiction had taken over every aspect of my logical thinking, my decision making process was completely distorted. I wanted to stop so badly, but I just couldn’t allow myself that peace and serenity.

In 2009 I was read a charge sheet by my commanding officer. The charge was solicitation of a controlled substance from lower enlisted Soldiers. That day I had an out of body experience, and the moment of clarity that AA s talk about in the program. I said I had a problem and that I need help, it felt like I was sitting in a bathtub full of nasty water and he pulled the plug. 35 years of distrust, manipulation, and horror drained into the sewer.

I went to rehab in California, and came back to Hawaii and did a two week program with the Military substance abuse program. Then I was told to go back to a different job, because needless to say I was fired from the previous one. This is where the wreckage of my past hit me like a ton of bricks. I started to lose my mind, and all I could think off, was to remove the obvious problem, me.

After 10 days in the psych ward and now on anti-depressants, I found a sponsor, we started working the steps and needless to say I was put into service. After surrendering to a higher power, and working the steps of AA with another alcoholic, only then have I come to know the word serenity and the sense of peace I have been looking all my life. I have just over a year of Sobriety, which is a true testament that this program works, a miracle on earth. I have received punishment for my actions, and I might be told to retire, but this is all good. I choose today not to dwell on the past, or shut the door on the future; I choose to live in the present because this truly is Gods gift to me.

One door closes another opens, for a reason I might not see right now, but in Gods time it will be clear. In closing this letter, I truly would like to thank this program, and the young Soldier that turned me in the day in February. She saved my life, my marriage and I have found a place I finally belong.

Pitchfork Brigade, Stolen Valor Imposter Wanted- UPDATEDx5

The milbloggers across the country are uniting today to put out a question to all who read our blogs if anyone knows who this idiot is. The guy you see in the pic above and the ones below was spotted at George R. Brown Convention at the Annise Parker for Houston Mayor Victory Party on 12/12/2009.

This guy is such a fraud, it is not even funny. Let me start with that he portrays himself as a one-star general. Since he has a unauthorized soul-patch goatee, one could only assume he is retired. I am not an age-guessing expert, but I would bet a paycheck this guy is not 40 years old. As an infantryman the first thing I noticed after his goatee was that he has a CIB with two stars on it. The CIB or Combat Infantryman Badge is a coveted badge awarded only to those in the Infantry for performing the job of an infantryman in combat. The CIB is awarded based on periods. The period that covered Vietnam went all the way through Somalia in 1993. The next period was from 2001 through present. For this asshat to have a CIB with two stars means he had to have served in the war in Korea in the 1950s.

There are so many things wrong with this friggen idiot that I can’t even begin to count the ways. Besides the British parachutists wings, he also has SAS (Special Air Service) wings, US Jumpmaster Wings, HALO wings, Pathfinder Badge and Air Assault Wing. He also has not one, but TWO Distinguished Service Crosses. The DSC is the 2nd highest award behind the Medal of Honor. Then throw onto that two Silver Stars, at least one Bronze Star, at least one Purple Heart and then many, many other medals. This guy breaks the stolen valor act so many times it isn’t even funny.

What he is doing is a completely disrespectful to all of those who has served or are serving in uniform, regardless of branch and regardless of what awards anyone has. By wearing this uniform, he is ambassador of our military and all that it stands for. I will keep updating this posting through the day with the URLs of all the other blogs covering this waste of oxygen.

If you think you have a lead on who this guy is, please contact me at admin@bouhammer.com

UPDATE #1and#5- Blogs that are covering that are part of this Pitchfork Brigade Action

CSI milbloggers — [Mrs Greyhawk]

Meet General Ballduster McSoulpatch — [This Ain't Hell...]

Wanted for Stolen Valor — [A Soldier's Perspective - Marcus]

Pitchfork Brigade, Stolen Valor Imposter Wanted — [Bouhammer]

Poseur Alert- Do you know this wanker? — [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]

Launch the ready pitchfork — [CDR Salamander]

Stolen Valor Scum – wanted! — [Hooah Wife]

Stolen Valor- Not even slick about it edition — [Bring the heat, Bring the Stupid]

Can you Identify this poseur? — [From my position... On the way!]

Do you Recognize This Man? — [Boston Maggie]

MilBlogs’ APB… — [Little Drops..... Into the pool of life]

Do you know this Brigadier? (Updated) — [Castle Argghhh!!!]

Just When You Thought Monday Couldn’t Get Any Crazier… — [The Sniper]

Picture of the Day: Anyone Know Who This Fraud Is? UPDATE — [ROK Drop]

Do You Know This Asshat?… — [Exile in Portales]

Stolen Valor Alert — [Ace of Spades - LauraW.]

UPDATE #2

The IMPOSTER appears to have a name, Michael Patrick MacManus.Â More Pics of this guy from his personal friendster.com account are HERE.

His LinkedIn Profile is www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltenzin

UPDATE #3

My good friend over at thisainthell.com has compiled a lot of the information about this a**hole. I am re-posting it here.

Now,Â read some of this guyâ€™s horsehit:

Male, 44, Domestic Partner, Houston, TX

Interested In:
Friends, Activity Partners

Member Since:
Jun 2003

Hometown:
Singapore & Hamden, Connecticut!

Company:
U.S. Army, Purdue University, Stanford University, Samaya, Inc. (a dot.com start-up!)

Michael Patrickâ€™s URL:

profiles.friendster.com/buddhaboy

Schools:
Singapore American School, Attended 1969 – 1981, Class of 1981
Hamden High School, Attended 1981 – 1984, Class of 1984

Other education:
Defense Language Institute (DLI), 1984-1985, German

College/University:

Stanford University, Attended 1999 – 2005, Class of 2005, Ph.D., Bio-Psychology
Yale University, Attended 1997 – 1999, Class of 1999, Masterâ€™s Degree, Cognitive Psychology
Purdue University, Attended 1988 – 1993, Class of 1993, Bachelorâ€™s Degree, Psychology

Occupation:

Ask Me! www.myspace.com/budddha5

Affiliations:

Not enough?Â How about his Linked In profile. I screen capped it all, so we good.

Current Presidential Affiliate, Houston Base of Operations at GeneWize Life Sciences
Past Linguist / Educator / Sports Psychologist at EF – Beijing Olympics 2008
Personal Security Detail at 110th United States Congress, 1st Session
0-5 / LTC at US Army
Bodyguard / Interpreter / Intelligence Officer at Department of Defense / Departmenf of the Army
Vice President of Asian Operations at Samaya, Inc.
see lessâ€¦

2 moreâ€¦
Education Assumption University
John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School
Purdue University
Defense Language Institute
see lessâ€¦

This is where it gets fun:

Personal Security Detail
110th United States Congress, 1st Session
(Government Agency; 501-1000 employees; Political Organization industry)

May 2007 â€” September 2007 (5 months)

PSD (Personal Security Detail) for a member of the U.S. Congress from the state of Texas.

Ah, life in politics! I just LOVE the longevity of it all.

0-5 / LTC
US Army
(Government Agency; 10,001 or more employees; USA; Military industry)

1984 â€” 2004 (20 years )

Been ALL around the world. I have seen the elephant.

Bodyguard / Interpreter / Intelligence Officer
Department of Defense / Departmenf of the Army
(Military industry)

November 1984 â€” November 2004 (20 years 1 month)

Interpreter / Bodyguard: PSD (Personal Security Detail) for several different General Officers (0-7 thru 0-10) Speaker of 9 languages. Been ALL OVER the world. Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence Officer: Situation-specific Intelligence gathering and analysis. Advisor to the Commander-In-Chief (1995-1999) regarding S.E. Asian Affairs, with a specific focus on Thailand, Cambodia & Laos.

Vice President of Asian Operations
Samaya, Inc.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Networking industry)

July 1997 â€” February 1999 (1 year 8 months)

VP of Asian Operations. Facilitated meetings between our CEO, President, CFO, COO and Founder with SUN Microsystems, Microsoft, 3-COM, Nortel, Thai Government Agencies and the Thai Royal Family.

Damn, dude went from LTC to BG fast as shit didnâ€™t he? Must have seen the elephant and all that. Butâ€¦..How did he go from LTC to BG when he was working as VP of Asian Operations?

This is interesting:

Defense Language Institute
BA , German. Tested out of French, Italian & Thai , 1984 â€” 1985

Activities and Societies: 1985 Soldier Of The Year, U.S. Army – Defense Language Institute
Special Operation Forces w/ a speciality in Personal Protection Details, Intelligence and PSYOPS (Psychological Operations)

Soldier of the Year, eh? Thought he was an officer?

Well, he dresses like one. (Kidding) He is on far right.

MORE:

After 20 years in the U.S. Army, I was forced to retire due to the â€œDonâ€™t Ask, Donâ€™t Tellâ€ policy that forbids gay men and women from serving openly in the US Military.

At the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) Equality Ball at the Mayflower Hotel, those of us who have been a vocal force against this damaging and unconstitutional policy are quite confident that our new Commander-in-Chief President Barack Obama will sign an Executive Order to abolish the â€œDADTâ€ policy. Yes We Can!
Peace,

Michael Patrick McManus, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, Retired

And, more withÂ shifting retirement dates. Donâ€™t you just love a blog swarm?

While stationed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1986, then-Sergeant McManus served as Then-General Colin Powellâ€™s personal bodyguard and interpreter; Sergeant McManus came out of the closet as a gay man in 1993 at a Memorial Weekend Requiem in San Francisco honoring the Unknown Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Soldiers

U.S. Army Captain Michael McManus revealed that General Colin Powell knew he was gay while McManus was serving as his personal bodyguard, and that it made no difference to the general. While stationed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1986, then Sergeant McManus served as Powellâ€™s bodyguard and interpreter, and it was during that time that Sgt. McManus â€œcame outâ€ to him, confiding to him that he was gay.

According to McManus, Gen. Powell, who was at that time the commander of the U.S. Army Fifth Corps, replied, â€œWhat do you want me to do about it? As long as youare doing your job well, that does not matter to me. And you are doing an excellent job.â€

Capt. McManus came out of the closet as a gay man publicly on Saturday May 29, 1993 at a Memorial Weekend Requiem in San Francisco honoring the Unknown Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Soldiers. The event was sponsored by the San Francisco Area chapter of the GLAAD and endorsed by many organizations, including the Alexander Hamilton Post of the American Legion.

McManus chose the San Francisco requiem event as the time to come out publicly because he â€œcan no longer be a part of an organization that promotes and supports such blatant discrimination. It is time for people to realize that sexual orientation is a fundamental part of a personâ€™s identity, just as being Asian or African-American.â€

Capt. McManus [in 1993] planned on being vocal about the militaryâ€™s gay and lesbian ban. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves and holds a top secret security clearance. Still fighting the â€œDonâ€™t Ask, Donâ€™t Tellâ€ policy, Michael retired from the US Army in Feb. 2008 at the rank of LTC (Lieutenant Colonel).

UPDATE #4

Here are some more web traces of McManus

cid-dd0a5c6fadb9fbb7.profile.live.com/

wink.com/p/Michael-Tenzin-Chophak-McManus-w:39419EB32

CJ Grisham, Man of the Year

Head over to my friend, David Bellavia’s website, to check out why he has nominated my good buddy CJ Grisham MAN OF THE YEAR.

He does a great job highlighting this fact in his unique Bellavia way (and all without one F bomb, which is quite an a accomplishment for those of you who know David )

davidbellavia.com/2010/man-of-the-year-2009-persecuted-military-blogger/

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