Names of the Seven

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  By Bouhammer | March 20, 2013 - 11:22 pm | ,
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DoD just released the names of the 7 brave warrior Marines who lost their lives while training to be the defenders of our country. As a career Mortarman and someone who has trained with Marine Mortarman this one hits especially close to home. I hope and pray that God wraps his arms not only around these young men, but especially their families and loved ones that they have left behind.

God Speed and Semper Fi…

Private First Class Joshua M. Martino

Lance Cpl. David P. Fenn II

Lance Cpl. Roger W. Muchnick Jr.

Lance Cpl. Joshua C. Taylor

Lance Cpl. Mason J. Vanderwork

Lance Cpl. William T. Wild IV

Corporal Aaron J. Ripperda

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/103832/names-seven-marines-killed-hawthorne-incident-released#.UUp4rb92H_Q

NSFW- Very Motivating Video

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  By Bouhammer | March 7, 2013 - 12:01 am | , ,
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NSFW- Not safe for Work

This video is not meant to be played around children or those that are offended by rough language.

Regardless if you are a Soldier or a Marine, or just a patriotic American, this is a very motivating speech by a Gunny (Marine Gunnery Sergeant) to his Marines the night before they launched a major operation to take back Marjah from insurgents. This is how we talk in the Infantry (Army or Marine), it is not vulger to us and pretty much nobody is offended. They are only words, and don’t hurt near as bad as getting shot or blown up.

He knows how to use humor and realistic situations to motivate his men. Bravo, Gunny…you did good.

 

Hmm, the good news isn’t so good I guess

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  By Bouhammer | February 26, 2013 - 12:17 pm | , ,
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Coming hot off the presses….

The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan incorrectly reported a decline in Taliban attacks last year, and officials said Tuesday that there was actually no change in the number of attacks on international troops from 2011 to 2012.

The corrected numbers – from the original reports of a 7 percent decline to one of no change – could undercut the narrative promoted by the international coalition and the Obama administration of an insurgency in steep decline.

So it seems that a “clerical error” continues to try and support the notion of faking progress.

In mid-December, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said “violence is down,” in 2012, and that Afghan forces “have gotten much better at providing security” in areas where they have taken the lead role. He said the Taliban can be expected to continue to attack, “but overall they are losing.”

On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Panetta was “concerned to learn of the errors” and was only very recently briefed on the matter.

“This particular set of metrics doesn’t tell the full story of progress against the Taliban, of course, but it’s unhelpful to have inaccurate information in our systems,” Little said.

I chalk it up to Panetta, who in my opinion is probably the worst Secretary of Defense this country has had in 40 years, trying to pad his legacy and resume as he walks out the door as the self-proclaimed champion of military equal opportunity.

It supports why I think he is one of the worst as he tries to spin the numbers and make it look like our warfighters are not fighting the hard fight, like they know they are. This country deserves more than putting lipstick on a pig and calling it pretty. It deserves the damned truth, as ugly as it may be. Our young men and women are not being wounded and dying for politicians to cover it up and create a great sounding soundbite on the 6PM news.

Read more at http://www.stripes.com/reported-drop-in-taliban-attacks-incorrect-1.209641

An Oasis in the desert

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  By Bouhammer | February 25, 2013 - 8:00 am | , , ,
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My good friend, Gina Elise, who is the founded of Pinupsforvets.com recently visited the very remote Marine base of Twentynine Palms to lift the spirits of the Marines and other personnel there. Well now she is heading back out into the desert to visit the soldiers of the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, CA.

She will be going there on March 9th and just like when she visits VA and Military hospitals, she likes to take gifts for the soldiers to lift their spirits and thank them for their service. Ft. Irwin would like her to bring 300 of her star-studded 2013 Calendars with her to give out, but as of right now she is aiming for 100. She is not sure she can get 300 donated by people at this point.

So to reach 100 she is asking for people to visit her store at  http://pinupsforvets.mybigcommerce.com/2013-pin-ups-for-vets-calendar/ and purchase a 1, 2 or however many you can afford to be given to these soldiers as Thank You gift for their service. You can select to have them donated to Active Duty Soldiers and in the note on your order you can specify this is for her Ft. Irwin trip.

They are only $10 a piece and I would not ask this of you if I would not be willing to do it myself. I just purchased 4 for her trip to be given away as I see $40 as a small price to pay to brighten the day of four warriors for a whole year.

I am hoping that everyone who reads these words can spare $10 to buy at least one, if not more. While on the site, be sure and pick one up for yourself too, if you don’t have one yet. If not for you, for a Veteran you know as I am sure there is someone you know who could appreciate it.

Don’t just stop there

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  By Bouhammer | February 24, 2013 - 5:48 pm | ,
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The Afghan president has ordered US special forces to leave Wardak province within two weeks.

The decision was being taken due to allegations of disappearances and torture by Afghans considered to be part of US special forces, said a spokesman for Hamid Karzai.

The strategically significant, central province of Wardak has been the recent focus of counter-insurgency operations.

Don’t just stop there Mr. Karzai, let us help you get them out of every province and in fact not just Special Forces. Lets pull ALL US FORCES out of all of Afghanistan in the next two weeks. Come on, you got it Karzai, you can do it, you and your grotesquely corrupt government and your falsely inflated numbers of an Army and Police force. We have been there since 2001, and training your forces since 2002. You surely have it all together by now. You can plan, lead and execute military operations like the best coalition partners helping you out. You can maintain your force and equipment  conduct support missions by air and provide all the medevac and other combat multipliers with ease and without our help.

So go big or go home, Karzai, kick all of our forces out, and with our forces will go all their equipment, weapons and oh yeah….MONEY. You know the stuff that pays your salary and the salary of your entire government because you can’t secure your country enough to provide a development and extraction of raw materials which could be extracted and sold on the world market in order for you to have a GDP.

I call on our Administration and Military leadership to give the Mayor of Kabul what he wants, complete control over his security forces and the security of the country. Start demolishing they new, big buildings on Bagram, shipping out all the MRAPs and don’t let the door hit us on the way out. Bring every C-5 and C-17 in our inventory to Afghanistan and start filling them to the brim with troops, ammo and equipment.

It is time to go, actually it has been time to go for almost a year now.

Oh and Mr. Karzai, don’t call us, we will call on you….when we see terrorists starting to organize and plan inside your borders again. And that calling will be in the way of JDAMs, Tomahawks and AC-130 Specter Gunships.

Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21566295

 

Revisit the attack on the 4th of July

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  By Bouhammer | February 16, 2013 - 4:50 pm | , ,
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Bouhammer’s Note-  I spent a large majority of my Infantry career as a mortar maggot (nickname for mortarman) so these guys are near and dear to my heart. I also not only served in the sister unit of this BN on airborne status but I have also worked with some of these soldiers as a DOD Contractor a couple of years ago on a trip back to Alaska. 

Around 3 1/2 years ago I wrote about a brave bunch of Airborne Paratroopers who fought  with honor and courage on July 4th, 2009.

The first post can be seen at http://www.bouhammer.com/2009/07/they-werent-old-enough-to-drink-on-the-4th/

The second post about this day can be read here, http://www.bouhammer.com/2009/09/the-true-story-on-the-heroism-of-pfc-justin-casillas/

Both were about that day in July when two young PFCs who were not even old enough to drink made the ultimate sacrifice on a day when most are popping open beers and throwing ribs on the BBQ.

As I mention in the second post,  PFC Casillas’s mom reached out to me and gave me a lot more information about her son. I was then and still am in awe of her bravery in reaching out to me and letting me know so many personal things.

Well now, my good friend Wendy has let me know about the video below that was made about this attack specifically and talks a lot about these two young mortarmen. Please take the time to watch this video and learn more about what all these brave men went through on July 4th, 2009. This isn’t hollywood or some made-for-tv movie, this is the real deal. This is what .45% have been going through.

 

Why Sequestration will ruin our military, reason #10001

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  By Bouhammer | February 16, 2013 - 12:44 pm | , ,
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So now we face the threat of not being able to even training our soldiers and prep them for war?

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the military will be able to fund training and operations for combat units in Afghanistan now and for those deploying in the summer and fall. But he says there will be delays in training for those deploying in 2014. If those training delays can’t be made up, Odierno said he would have to send forces to war that aren’t ready or extend deployments of units already there. A number of combat brigades will be deploying later this year and next year, even as the U.S. winds down the war.

So what does this mean for one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world? It means that in a time where our soldiers are not stretched too thin we can’t afford to prepare soldiers properly and send them over to combat. Some may say “they all have combat experience, why do they need trained?”. Even though that is true for the most part, it does not mean they all have experience doing the job they would be doing on the next deployment. Guys who may be Company Commanders now, were maybe a platoon leader before or even an enlisted soldiers. NCOs who may be platoon sergeants now may have been a squad leader or team leader on the last deployment.

Not to mention that new equipment has been fielded, fixed, upgraded that soldiers need to train with and train on. Like the title says, this is probably reason 10001 why Sequestration is going to be very bad for our country and our military. Congress has to work together and get past this “my way or the highway” attitude they have had. March 1st is coming and when that date hits, all is going to hell in regards to the defense of our country. What you see in the news is the tip of the iceberg. Ranges on major military bases are being shut down, DA Civilians are being prepped to be furloughed without pay, government contracts are going to be allowed to expire, equipment is not going to be purchased or even reset for it to be continued to be used. That is what I can mention publicly, but just know this…for every “bad” thing you hear in the news about what the sequestration will do to our military, there are 1000 other worse things really happening on the back end.

Maybe this news story about how soldier’s combat tours are going to get extended because the United States of America can’t afford to prepare its son’s and daughters for combat will either motivate our elected officials to work together or at least get Americans to wake up and contact their elected officials and demand action.

Right now the most important thing effecting this country is not 30 round magazines, Obamacare or broken down cruise ships. It is this, the temporary destruction of our military readiness.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/15/army-may-have-to-extend-afghanistan-deployments-as-budget-cuts-will-limit/?test=latestnews#ixzz2L5FVi6UC

Biting the hand that feeds you

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  By Bouhammer | January 13, 2013 - 3:44 pm | , ,
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On Tuesday of this last week I was asked to be a guest again on the BBC’s World Have Your Say radio program. A show that I have been on more times than I can count. Most of the time it is about Afghanistan and last week was no different.

With Karzai coming into the US last Friday to meet with the President with a beggar’s hand and a slapping hand, they decided to call. They asked me if I had an opinion on him coming into town asking for more money at the same time while he is blaming us for all his country’s woes. They knew darn well I had an opinion and I was more than willing to share it.

I used to be a fan of Karzai a very long time ago, but that respect was lost as I watched him get drunk with power. It is one thing for him to shoot off at the mouth to his own people in order to look tough but something else when he starts talking smack to Americans. I don’t know who he thinks he is, but we have a saying in the US that says “never bite the hand that feeds you”.

Hamid Karzai, who will meet Barack Obama, wants Washington to stump up for planes, helicopters, heavy weapons and other advanced military equipment for Afghanistan‘s still-shaky armed forces. He also wants more aid money to be channelled through ministries rather than spent by western aid agencies.

So when you come asking for something you really should also slam the country and government you want free stuff from.

Karzai’s government in turn has accused the west of fuelling corruption and waste in the way it spends money in Afghanistan. The finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, is pushing for more money to be put straight through the government budget to be spent by ministries like education and health, rather than channelled through foreign aid organisations.

“We believe that the way the US money is spent here, there’s a lot of waste, particularly money spent through contractors and outside sources,” Zakhilwal told the Wall Street Journal before the visit. Much of the aid cash flowed back to the US through “big consultant salaries and overheads”, he added.

So it is obvious that besides being drunk with power he is infected with stupidity. If he thinks that he is going to stand any chance of convincing an American people and Congress of continuing to give more money to his grotesquely corrupt government after giving them money and blood for the last 11 1/2 years, then he should really try to suck up a little bit.

Karzai has never stepped up to the plate to make his country truly take over the security and running the country the way it should have be. 11 1/2 years ago the SF team ODA574 helped escort Karzai into the country and keep him alive. 11 1/2 years and Karzai hasn’t been able to lead his citizens to truly stand up and care for their country. Even with billions in free money and the assistance of a huge coalition of countries, many of which gave their up their own son’s and daughters.

I think it is clear the reality is that Karzai is NOT the leader of Afghanistan or even the “Mayor of Kabul” for that matter. He needs to keep his mouth shut, take himself back to Afghanistan and do the country a favor, resign.

You can read a lot more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/07/afghan-president-washington-talks-military

Top Talk launches Jan 16th, 2013

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  By Bouhammer | January 4, 2013 - 5:55 pm | , ,
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I am proud to announce the launch of “Top Talk” on Jan 16th from 8:30-10PM ET. Top Talk is hosted and produced by CJ and myself and will be a show focused on military related affairs, the Constitution, and Patriotism. It will be hosted on BTR and will occur every week on Wednesday nights at the same time. The show’s location to listen live and catch archive shows will be at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/toptalkusa.

We will host guests that fall within the purview of the show’s focus plus we will have some new features on the show like we have never done before. There is a Facebook page established for the show at https://www.facebook.com/TopTalkUSA and a twitter account www.twitter.com/top_talk_usa. We don’t foresee any additional online presence except for these two sites. Be sure and follow the show on Twitter and “Like” it on Facebook to keep up on things with the show.

One feature we will have is a segment called “Ask Top!” The point of the segment is similar to a mix of Dear Abbey and Blackfive.com‘s Ask an Infantryman. We are looking for people to pose real-world questions to us dealing with leadership, leadership issues or how to deal with certain situations from a 1SG’s point of view. We are also looking for satirical or not-so-serious questions that someone may want to ask to get a “comical” reply by a 1SG. We will pick different questions every week from those emailed to us, written on the FB page or tweeted to us and will answer them on air. Who knows we may even respond to some on email or twitter if we know we aren’t going to get to them all on air. You can email questions to admin@bouhammer.com if you would like.

We are also planing to sell advertising spots for the show. So if your business or one you know of is interested in buying radio advertising time on a show that already has a huge military-focused fan base before it even launches please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We hope you will join us on our first and many other shows. We really think the new show, format, etc. are going to be a big hit with past fans of radio shows and new ones. Of course anything you can do to help spread the word through your contacts, Facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

If you would like a little history of the First Sergeant rank and why it has some of the nicknames it does, check out http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theservices/a/firstsergeant_3.htm