July 2010 - Argghhh!

A sage philosopher once said: **** No truer words have seldom been spoken, for a new noble use has been found for them...

So, this is the guy who hates watermelons so much...07/17/2010 - A U.S. Navy SEAL sniper waves to the crowd during a capabilities demonstration at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va., July 17, 2010. The demonstration was part of the 41st UDT/SEAL East Coast Reunion celebration, which is held to honor UDT/SEAL history, heritage and families. (DoD photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Stan Travioli, U.S. Navy/Released) Now it can be revealed - the crackerjack reporting staff here at Castle...

...another hole in a family's heart. And another marble flower blooms in the garden of stone. Comes an email from Castle reader and history addict John McKay : I buried one of my former students today, PFC Jacob Dennis of the 4/23 Strikers, but wanted to pass along to you that one of your "redlegs" did him righteous - BG Larry Dudney, the CO of the 48th BCT & TF Phoenix in Afghanistan, gave the military eulogy and did a right fine job. Jacob was a mortarman, and BG Dudney mentioned...

Leave it to The Marines to *er* flush out the source of the WikiLeaks...

Which is just one more thing that he and Fuzzybee don't have in common. However, FbL and the Armorer of Argghhh! (abbreviated AoA, which also stands for Angle of Attack, and nobody ponders "John" and "angles" using the same synapses) *do* share one thing: A Birthdate in late July.And *this* birthdate is -- John's.Fortunately, he's easy to shop for. Guns or ***. And if you can find a way to combine the two, so much the better.I usually wait until the last minute to...

Pentagon recommends Medal of Honor for a living soldier Yes, I'm pretty sure I know who it is. No, I won't say. Promises made, promises kept.

The media lately has been full of reports about an up tick in attacks in Afghanistan. The latest is a suicide attack on the compound of a USAID contractor that killed four. The media has reported one or more attacks per day in the last week. This reporter indicates that they seem to be an attacks against development programs aimed at civilians to shore up the Afghan government. That is likely, but it may have a greater purpose. As I indicated in a comment on the subject of withdrawal time lines,...