Of Thee I Sing

" I yearn for blind devotion - unthinking, unwavering - a cause,
a thing, a principle worthy of absolute loyalty.
A truth self-medicating, a love unabating, something - anything - to which I relinquish all personal responsibility.
Semper Fi, 'til Death Do Us Part, In Nomine Patris, Let's Go Mets.
To the true believers, the lucky few, of thee I sing.

Mary Shannon, US Marshall
In Plain Sight

KABOOM! Happiness Is Diggity!

KABOOM is KABACK....... kinda!

In his own words:

After the Washington Post article ran about Kaboom, I signed with Wm Clark Associates, a literary agency based out of New York. A few months after that, I signed a book deal with Da Capo Press, and the print version of Kaboom should be out in late 2009 or early 2010.

Kaboom was one of my fave milblogs . Written by Lt. Matt Gallagher ( Lt.G) during his deployment to Iraq from 2007-2008, it chronicled the day to day challenges and dangers faced by his platoon, a Stryker unit named "Gravediggers".

Lt. G's narratives were poetic, evocative, entertaining, frightening, infuriating and thought provoking - but never an indictment of the war.

First Impressions
Machine gun fire crackled in the distance as I sat down to type this. Fitting, in that “for real, dude?” kind of way. Yes, for real. Dude. Machine guns. And not the ones that fire blanks.

Here are a few additional, often unrelated, thoughts, after my first day spent in the combat zone of Iraq.

-- I’m not sure what this means in the larger socio-political sense, so I’ll just state the facts: Baghdad International Airport, the place that served as the epical climax of Third Infantry Division’s Thunder Run in 2003, and the place where SFC Smith earned a Medal of Honor in that same year, now has Subway and Pizza Hut. Take that however you see fit.

My platoon and I cannot get out to our combat outpost quickly enough. Even with the perks of the nigh-2008 Iraq War, the FOB is still bursting with Brass, 2-hour meetings that last 1-hour-and-45-minutes too long, mind-numbing regulations, and Fobbits. (See updated military terminology.) I’m not saying there’s not a place in the Army for those things, I’m just saying that that place isn’t where the Gravediggers want to be.

Kaboom had garnered a large following - tens of thousands of hits weekly- when in June 2008 it was abruptly and unnecessarily shut down by the Army brass over a post dated May 28, 2008 - "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage " - which had not been vetted by a supervisor.

A Tactical Pause

Due to a rash posting on my part, and decisions made above my pay-grade, I have been ordered to stop posting on Kaboom, effective immediately. Though I committed no OPSEC violations, due to a series of extenuating circumstances I did not go through the normal vetting channels. It’s totally on me, as it was too much unfiltered truth. I’m a soldier first, and orders are orders. So it is.

"To much unfiltered truth" yet "no OPSEC violations." While I don't know this to be true, I suspect that Kaboom was likely shut down by the supercilious Officer whose ego had been bruised by a somewhat unflattering, albeit very honest, portrayal of himself in that dispatch of May 28th.

A year ago, I was saddened and angered by the silencing of Kaboom the blog.
One year later, I eagerly await the release of Kaboom the book.
Lt. G's voice is no longer silenced. And American's will be wiser for having listened to it.
I'm excited and very happy.

Whaddya know!! Lt. G is right!! Happiness is Diggity!!!

Don't Tear Me Down - Widget

Don't let the ACLU succeed with yet again in attacking & denigrating our Veterans.
Please Sign The Petition.
Help Save the Mojave Desert Memorial Cross which honors WW1 Vets who paid the ultimate price.
FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE.

The Devil Looks After Himself

In observing President Obama these past few weeks --- from his all out war against the intelligence and military communities; to his date night in NYC meant to honor a promise to his wife made during the campaign but fulfilled when everyday Americans are losing their jobs, their homes, their dealerships, their shops, their companies; to his impromptu hamburger runs surprising his adoring fans; to his speech in Cairo, which served NOT to eradicate the darkest tyrannical forces in the Islamic world, but instead sold out the west by advancing the false meme of Arab victimization at the hands of outsiders; and to his visit to Normandy to commemorate the heroes of D-Day, a traditionally somber & dignified occasion which turned into yet another ego boosting event replete with adoring masses clamoring to shake his hand, take his photo, and just "BE" in his presence --- I am reminded of a Hollywood power player who I worked for at the time.

Replete with adoring fans who constantly clamored to shake his hand, take his photo, and just "BE" in his presence; surrounded by an entourage & pussy posse who shadowed him constantly; his effusive charm and unbridled charisma effectively concealed the darkness that lay within him. He was, at his core, sinister.

A man who had willingly made a Faustian agreement; selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for all the accouterments of power.

While attending an event where this power player was holding court and basking in his own celebrity, I watched him, yet again, easily seduce a room full of people convinced of their own moral fortitude and deep intellect while worshipping at the alter of personality.

As the bartender passed me the iced tea I had moments earlier asked for, he looked at me intently and whispered a prescient warning that sent a chill running through me.

" Remember, chica, El diablo se ocupa de él mismo. The devil looks after himself"



Must Read:

Obama The Humble
The Cairo Disaster