July 2010 - BlackFive - The Network of Care

New Kid on the Block

An F-22 Raptor soars through the skies on its way to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, July 2, 2010. The first of 20 F-22 Raptors, the U.S. Air Force's most advanced fighter jet was scheduled to be dedicated at the base July 9, 2010. The ceremony...

Published Wed, Jul 14 2010 5:13 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Picture of the Week

Team Rubicon - Mission to the Thai-Burma Border

As many of you know, I'm an advisor to Team Rubicon. Here's an interview with Co-Founder and President of TR, Jake Wood, which aired on VH1. Team Rubicon is conducting a training mission that will help the people of Burma. Here are the details...

Published Wed, Jul 14 2010 4:35 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Team Rubicon

Dealing with Julian Assange

It occurs to me that the best thing the military could do toward marginalizing Wikileaks is to just let Julian Assange do his thing. The more people see of him, the less likely they will be to uncritically accept his next Collateral Murder video. Case...

Published Tue, Jul 13 2010 8:09 AM by BLACKFIVE

Medal of Honor history: Roberts and Barfoot

41 years ago in Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, Sergeant Gordon R. Roberts' platoon embarked on helicopters to assist another company who was surrounded and heavily outnumbered by the NVA. Once Roberts and his men arrived, they were pinned...

Published Tue, Jul 13 2010 3:12 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Someone You Should Know

General Mattis for President, Take Two

General James N. Mattis is taking over as CDRUSCENTCOM, to the great pleasure of one Ralph Peters. I can't blame Mr. Peters for his enthusiasm. General Mattis is a truly outstanding example of what a Marine general ought to be. Back in 2006, I had...

Published Tue, Jul 13 2010 2:16 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Military, Current Affairs

NBC Los Angeles Slideshow on Pendleton Marines

I'm not sure how to get a direct link, but if you follow this link to a story about how some Pendleton Marines are doing ridealongs with LAPD to see if they can pick up some skills -- which is pretty good in its own right -- you'll see a link...

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 12:21 PM by BLACKFIVE

ITC- Is Turkey still an ally?

Turkey is a member of NATO and has long been held out as an example of democracy and secular society in the Middle East. That has been changing since Prime Minister Erdogan came to power in 2003. He and his Justice and Development party have led the country...

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 6:30 AM by BLACKFIVE

The Internationals

...John Adams described the goals of 1776 as “objects of the most stupendous magnitude … in which the lives and liberties of millions yet unborn are intimately interested….” Unlike the doomed men of the 1930s, the internationals of the American revolution...

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 3:48 AM by BLACKFIVE

Hard Corps (The Warrior Song)

New version of the Warrior Song made for the Marines:

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 1:49 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Military, Music

Bill Ardolino On Patrol in Afghanistan

The Long War Journal's Bill Ardolino is on a patrol in Karamanda. His latest dispatch is posted at the Weekly Standard - here's a taste:...The meeting’s topic was grim. The previous Saturday, on June 26, the Taliban detonated a buried roadside...

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 1:04 AM by BLACKFIVE

When the media attacks a veteran's wounds...

Nick Popaditch - a medically retired Gunnery Sergeant, wounded in Fallujah, received the Silver Star - is running for Congress in California. We have stated/posted our support of Nick throughout his recovery, his retirement and now in this new fight....

Published Mon, Jul 12 2010 12:48 AM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Bust Their Chops

USMC Training Video

Interesting stuff they're doing out at 29 Palms.

Published Sun, Jul 11 2010 7:47 AM by BLACKFIVE

Information Operations: Cartoon Edition

That is the most brutal and effective political cartoon I've seen in a very long time. Now, the question for those of you who are interested in studying information operations, PSYOP (or MISO) is... why? It's not a trick question, but the answer...

Published Sat, Jul 10 2010 1:14 PM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Military Humor, Religion

Truth or Fiction?

First, read this article by a military history professor about one of his students. Then, read this piece by Jim Lindgren at the Volokh Conspiracy. What do you think? [H/T Greyhawk and reader Gary B]

Published Sat, Jul 10 2010 1:06 PM by BLACKFIVE

Filed under: Bust Their Chops

In the Wake of GEN McChrystal: On Giving Interviews

COL Stephen Boylan, a PAO famous in the blogosphere mostly for tangling with everyone's favorite sock puppet, has some advice for officers who are considering giving an interview to some member of the press. As a supplement, or an alternative: the...

Published Sat, Jul 10 2010 4:19 AM by BLACKFIVE