“I don’t want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t, then you’ve got, the army, Iraq, I don’t know, something like that. It’s not as bright. So, that’s my little commercial for that.” No, that’s not the latest John Kerry reelection ad. Those are the words of Stephen King speaking before Washington, D.C. area high school students at a writing symposium at the Library of Congress on April 4th.

Talk amongst yourselves. Personally, I think he’s a moron. His words are about as fictitious as his writings!

I learned an important lesson on April 1st - People are gullible!! I also learned that you can draw a lot of attention by saying the right (or wrong) thing on a military blog. Not long ago the military tried to crack down on military bloggers with new and improved regulations (we didn’t take it lying down!). In an effort to prevent drawing unwanted attention by Big Brother, I humbly offer some rules to those military bloggers concerned about crossing the line (and how to avoid it).
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Ahhh, the National Intelligence Estimate. We are probably the only country in the world who publishes one for the whole world to tear apart. Everyone remembers that last one that came out last summer.
After all, it was hailed by the defeatists in Congress.

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Carhartt, the work/outdoor clothing giant, maker of the best work clothes in the known world, has done something amazing. Carhartt will be sending 750 pairs of their extra thick ECWCS (Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System) thermal underwear and 5,000 pairs of wool socks to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team “The Rock” of the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade (Sep) “Sky Soldiers” currently serving in the Kunar Province of western Afghanistan.

About three weeks ago one of the volunteers from Keystone Soldiers was able to obtain the name of Mr. Prewitt who retired as an executive from Carhartt, Inc. and currently serves on their Board of Directors. Mr Prewitt is also a retired Colonel of the Army National Guard. Through Mr. Prewitt we were able to contact the President of Carhartt, Inc., Mr. Valade, who was instantly open to our request and asked that we send something in writing. Within twenty four hours of receiving our written request Mr. Valade’s office contacted us. Now, about one week later, we have learned that Carhartt, Inc. is donating 750 pairs of heavy weight thermal underwear and 5,000 pairs of wool hiking socks to the 173rd, 2-503. Their donation exceeded our requested amounts.

I’m not a paid employee of the company, but if you’re in the market for something they sell, perhaps you can give them some patronage.

“(I saw) what happens to regular soldiers, the hate, the racism, the total disrespect for humanity that develops,” [Mexican-born combat medic Agustin Aguayo] said, noting that as a medic he had not killed or hurt anyone.

I find this interesting considering the good Soldier hails from California - the home of “disrespect for humanity” (my apologies to the rest of you from California). The fact is that the military is most racially diverse organization in the country. We have more minorities employed and in leadership positions than any other organization. Our Equal Opportunity is robust and consistent. Those that ARE racist or hateful are immediately dealt with.
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So diplomats (ie: government employees) are upset and angry that the State Department is going to force foreign service officers to man the Baghdad embassy. Boo hoo!! I’m sure I was supposed to cry or feel bad at some point for these government employees (did I already mention they were government employees?).

Normally, I probably wouldn’t care. At a State Department whine-fest recently, a “46-year Foreign Service veteran” complained that an assignment to Iraq was “a potential death sentence” even though only three State Department employees (none of whom were FSOs) have been killed out of the 1500 that have been assigned to the embassy. The guy that complained, Jack Croddy, obviously didn’t read his job description when he chose to become an FSO:

When making assignments, however, the needs of the Service remain paramount. Some officers may not serve in positions related to their career track during the first two assignments. Officers who come in with critical language skills should expect to serve in positions using their language skills in their first or second assignment. Later, as mid-career officers, they may be required to serve again in a country which uses that language skill. All officers are considered worldwide available and must be prepared to go where needed.

As a Soldier, I think it would be very easy to be offended by the comments of these diplomats (government employees). I just CHOOSE not to be offended. The military is a voluntary organization. We get sent to Iraq whether we want to go or not. We’re government employees. People volunteered to be FSOs. They get sent to Iraq whether they want to go or not. They are government employees.

What gets me is Croddy’s question “who will take care of our children” if they are killed. Mr. Croddy has insurance just like Soldiers have insurance. Maybe we should institute a military-style “family care plan” in the State Department if he is so worried about the unlikely chance that he will get killed. These people volunteered to work for the very department that is tasked with foreign service. It should be no surprise that they are being forced to do their jobs. Much like in the military when a Soldier refuses to go where he is legally told to go, I hope these FSOs face harsh punishment and/or get fired.

Another thing about this whole story that bothers me are the arguments these people are using about “if they’re so adamant that we have to serve in iraq, why doesn’t Bush send his children there?” This is a non-argument. I think it is absolutely hypocritical of these people who are so anti-military and enlistment and yet bring up the “make the Bush twins serve” argument. That’s an oxymoron. The military, like the State Department, is voluntary. I don’t know of ONE job within the government that people haven’t volunteered to serve in. The Bush twins aren’t over there because there is no draft. They are not over there because they did not VOLUNTEER to join the military or State Department where they can get sent. These arguments only make the originator of it seem petty, confused, and idiotic. The fact is that there are family members of Congressmen and Senators that are in or have been to Iraq. Granted, there aren’t very many, but that is their choice.

Stop whining State Department employees and do what I am paying you to do. I don’t care what your personal view of this war is. You have a job to do. You aren’t paid to have an opinion - you’re paid to do the work of the State Department. Man the embassy or find a job at Taco Bell!! No, not Taco Bell. I like it there. Go to McDonald’s!!

There are a lot of “veterans” organizations out there establishing political action committees (PAC) lately. The war in Iraq has become as much of a polarizing topic to vets as it has to politicians and public at large. I find this highly disturbing. Since when did victory at all costs become polarizing? How can people actually disagree that we need to win in order to stay safe and ensure a secure planet? What happens in Iraq after we leave, good or bad, is not going to stay in Iraq. If Iraq fails, other nations will follow suit. If Iraq succeeds, like it is, then other nations will also follow suit.

With that said, I had a choice to make with regards to providing my time and talents (yes, eating copious amounts of Tootsie Rolls is a talent) to a particular group in the form of writing. Being an active duty Soldier, it is difficult for me to be an active advocate or activist on Soldier issues. As someone who has a spark of interest in one day running for public office after my military service, a natural choice would seem to be VoteVets. According to their stated goals, VoteVets is organized to “Elect Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to public office – regardless of party” (emphasis added). As a matter of fact, it’s listed as their first goal.

So, I found it a bit odd that under their “Our Candidates” section, they only have eight people listed as running or in office as veterans. More interesting is that Major Eric Egland is not one of them. After all, Eric meets the other two stated goals of VoteVets which is to ensure that those “who have failed our troops, Veterans, and nation on matters regarding the war and Veterans’ issues” don’t get supported and to “fight for Veterans in the future”, something that Eric Egland is quite uniquely suited for. He recently wrote a book titled “The Troops Need You, America” and also founded “Troops Need You”, a charity that continues the American wartime tradition of mobilizing citizens directly in support of our troops. He is indeed fighting for veterans NOW.

When one looks more closely at the list of VoteVets candidates, one can easily see that the organization is in violation of its own stated goals. There is not one Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, Independent or other third-party candidate anywhere to be found on the list. They are ALL Democrats. So much for “regardless of party”. Even the VoteVets board of advisors is full of Democrats. Heck, one even ran for president! They’re almost as bad at the VETPAC, um PAC. Their list of fourteen 2008 candidates are running for office “regardless of VETPAC endorsment or party affiliation” are ALL Democrats. No mention of Eric on that site either.

The choice seemed pretty clear to me that if I wanted to align myself to a group with integrity and an eye towards victory, I should contact Vets For Freedom. Vets For Peace SOUNDS like a great name since that SHOULD be the goal of every veteran. War is hell and it sucks. Veterans put their lives on the line every day to maintain peace. We don’t want war. We are the ones that die in them. But, we do it anyway because the result is worth the sacrifice. Don’t get me wrong, every vet in VoteVets has my respect for their military service. I just with they had the integrity to tell the truth about their purposes. Or at least change their stated goals. Naturally, anyone who pays any attention to current events will know the truth anyway, but it would be nice if we didn’t have to.

There was a point back in the day that I was aligned with a similar group as VoteVets called OpTruth. OpTruth ended up changing their name to Iraq Veterans Against War (IVAW) Iraq and Aghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) when it became obvious there was nothing truthful about them either (author’s note: I made a typo in mentioning this organization. IAVA is the successor to OpTruth, not IVAW. Either way, Paul Rieckoff is a partisan hack who tries to silence vets who don’t agree with him - like me! Thanks to Eli for pointing this out while not addressing the point of this post in any way.). I was personally contacted by Paul Rieckoff to join the group and even asked to take part in an interview on Al Franken’s radio show when I was in California. When Paul found out that I was a pro-mission, pro-victory Soldier he pulled me off the interview with some lame excuse about not wanting to hurt my career - even though I made it clear that I had permission from my public affairs officer and every commander in my chain of command to take part in the interview. My profile was constantly edited to basic information. When I commented on the profile of another Soldier who I actually worked with and called him out for outright lying about his experiences, I was reprimanded by Paul for “attacking” another member. I didn’t realize that integrity checks were considered attacks.

As an active duty Soldier, I have a unique perspective about all these so-called troop support organizations. I’m not a big fan of PACs at any level. I cherish my membership in the American Legion and VFW. They put their money where their mouth is. They speak up for the troops - ALL of them. That’s how I feel about VFF as well.

For those that aren’t aware, I also run a website called They Have Names. The purpose of the site to honor my fallen brothers and sisters. This week’s hero is SPC Joseph A. Graves. Please take a few minutes to learn about this heroic young American.