Saturday, December 31, 2005

Corporal Jonathan K. Clarke USMC: Someone You Should Know

Michael Fay gives the story of a man who has made his job - checking ID's at the lunch hall to prevent a suicide bomber from getting in - a real morale booster for everyone he checks. Some people improve the lives of everyone they meet. God Bless Corporal Clarke.

Hat Tip to Blackfive, for the "Someone You Should Know" meme. Don't miss Lance Corporal Pascal Cisse, USMC, either.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Miserable Donuts: An Army Broken?

Major John Tammes says that Representative Murtha is exaggerating the intelligence:
As anyone who has read this blog knows, The Inner Prop and I served in Operation Enduring Freedom V (Afghanistan, March 2004-March 2005). We stood at the end of the longest sustained supply line in the history of human conflict. We were in war-torn Central Asia. Af-frickin'-ghanistan. We had decent food, e-mail, phone (OK, sometimes they weren't always working, but almost all the time) excellent medical support, good pay, regular (if slow) mail. We had a PXs at most of the larger bases, and coffee places sprang up too. We had so damned much ammunition that we needed to build a bigger ammunition supply point at Bagram, AF. We had so many vehicles that we were constantly squabbling over where to put them all - and we had enough up-armored ones too. Our supply warehouses were stuffed with clothing, boots, body armor and the like. "Living hand to mouth" is the worst lie of the bunch.
Murtha has a reasonable worry - that the Army will suffer in Iraq as it suffered in Vietnam. But worries aren't realities.

Friday, December 02, 2005

Another Soldier's Plea

He says, basically, that we should listen to an honest man, George Bush. Best lines:
It’s sad that so many Iraqis and others are dying over here. However, when you discover you have cancer the treatment is always the same - attack it at the source. You don’t wait for it to spread. And when is the last time you heard a doctor putting a limited timetable on cancer therapy? I can picture it in my mind. “Mr. Smith, we have seen some progress with your tumor. It’s shrinking. But we need to move on now. The timetable for treating you has passed. Good luck.”
Via Instapundit. (Who else?)