July 2010 - Argghhh!

Here at the fortified compound that is Castle Argghhh!, we'll be hosting 24+ people to celebrate the 2nd on the 4th - the 2nd Amendment, on the 4th of July. They are, after all, intertwined, protestations by gun haters notwithstanding. It should be a fun day, as we mix babies, young folk and elder folk, retired military with lifelong civilian, etc. An 8lb brisket is smoking, and there'll be burgers, brats (both pronunciations) and hot dogs, plus whatever sides the horde brings. This evening...

For all of you who have ever received a flag from your "adopted" troops stationed in the various corners of the globe with the notation, "This flag was flown..."...it flew from a flagpole that looked a lot like this, in surroundings that looked a lot like this, in a sky that looked a lot like this.Fly it today. It wasn't meant to sit neatly folded, wrapped in plastic to protect it from the dust, tucked away in a desk drawer, out of sight.Celebrate the Nation it represents...

SSG Sal Guinta is most likely going to be the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions occuring after Vietnam. Well done, Staff Sergeant, regardless of how it actually transpires! And yes, I do think the collective we - milblogs and our readers - beat this drum until others heard it and took up the issue of the Medal of Posthumous Honor. And I think it made a difference, once the questions started coming from Congress. I understand fully vetting this Medal. But years? No. Not years...

News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

Missa Beth is gonna like this one...

We lurves our Canadian bretheren and sisteren . Even the tankers. In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect. - William Jefferson Clinton Canada is not really a place where you are encouraged to have large spiritual adventures. - Robertson Davies, 1913 - 1995 If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid...

How do we get from Kilcullen's 28 Articles, arguably the basis for the FM 3-24, to laminated cards for troops that instruct them to only patrol in areas where they will not encounter enemy activity? (I paraphrase that instruction, but it amounts to the same). Or, ROE's that are interpreted so strictly that troops believe they mean they are not allowed to defend themselves?There are some who will believe that it is a matter of fear of discipline under the UMCJ. This is likely part of the problem...