Comments on Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide ...

From an old LT (also mustang) who told the AF to %...

2008-07-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

From an old LT (also mustang) who told the AF to %$#@ it: Ya done right, son. You need to go where your head and your heart tell ya to go. I did that, myself, and went the way of the "Purge of '91." I can't say I miss it, or miss what the AF has become in my absence. Too much BS, too much politics, and too little real work. For someone who was "dismissed," I had a helluva great party going out the door, and many of my men still keep in touch.

Cheers;
the0wl

I did 21 years in the army as a grunt. The same th...

2008-07-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

I did 21 years in the army as a grunt. The same thing happens from PVT/2LT to MSG/LTC. At some point you just have to do what's right for you and tell the 'careerists' their path is not your path and cut away come what may. I'd have been happy to serve in your platoon!

Good luck. Only you know what you need to do. Fuc...

2008-07-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Good luck. Only you know what you need to do. Fuck everyone who thinks they know better, and fuck your superiors who have been/will be childish because you won't bend to their will.

It is best to leave on your own terms. Go forth and do great things and don't look back.

It's sad, but true: I spent the day today with a ...

2008-06-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

It's sad, but true: I spent the day today with a very-recently retired Marine Corps officer, who was responsible for developing a thing of beauty (doesn't matter what), but he started off by saying, I was retiring within the year, so I was free to do what I wanted.

That's what it took for the Corps (and also the Navy and some civilian agencies) to benefit from this innovation: The freedom from hope of career advancement.

Respect.

2008-06-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

Respect.

You're the only one that can decide what makes the...

2008-06-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

You're the only one that can decide what makes the job tolerable. Please keep that skinny butt in one piece, and good luck! Keep writing. You are awfully fucking good at it. Keep walking, thin man.

I don't have the information to say whether this i...

2008-06-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

I don't have the information to say whether this is a good decision or not in terms of which choice is better overall for you or the nation, but I defer to the guy what is in the situation. You wanna go Rodger Young, go for it. And if you want help later on I can provide, then just let me know. Try to only make enemies on purpose, eh?

It took me a little time, when a much more junior pup, to realize that sometimes the competent guy I was counseling shouldn't always be pushed into things he wasn't ready for or wasn't suited for. It takes a little ego reduction to remember that just because you think it's a good idea doesn't mean it really is so. The Ranger school non-goer has a point.

That and it's tough to be a really good link between higher and the guys actually immersed in the work...

My question: If Lt G doesn't take this assignment,...

2008-06-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

My question: If Lt G doesn't take this assignment, will he still be able to take the sequence of steps necessary for him to become GEN Petraeus or at least COL McMaster someday?

"A bullshit tasking will eventually come down the ...

2008-06-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

"A bullshit tasking will eventually come down the pipeline, and I got a rubber stamp with your name on it."

What'll the Army do, send you to Iraq?

Good on ya, LT!

For a really good school out East, consider UT Kno...

2008-06-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

For a really good school out East, consider UT Knoxville. One of my best friends in the world got his paper there, but the community is excellent. They will accept both your weirdness and your contributions as a soldier.

If you go to a coast school you'll very likely be dealing with a bunch of twits who will treat you like a retard because you served or act like retards because they didn't. It's a lot different when you have to face the enemy without your platoon backing your play. Because you refuse to toe the line of leftist extremism, you will be their enemy.

Also, if you decide to spend some guard time (where you can pick up some XO time without abandoning your post), the Tennessee Guard doesn't suck like some of the coast states will. By the time you're eligible to pick up another tour the war in Iraq will be over...or the war in Iran will just be warming up.

LT... although your choice may come across as sel...

2008-06-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

LT... although your choice may come across as selfish, at the same time your logic trumps the selfishness.

Why take up an XO slot that would be more beneficial to an officer who plans on staying in?

On a different note, your higher up comes across as a petty officer by not accepting your choice and instead planning on punishing you for it.

You pissed on his parade, and not he's going to take his ball and go home.

You're an officer I would have been proud to have served under.

Unfortunately, the military needs more officers like you and less like your higher up.

- a Former Marine Grunt

"I came here to fight a war, not to build a resume...

2008-06-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

"I came here to fight a war, not to build a resume."

where were u in 03/04 in sadr city???? my plt coulda used u instead of the asskisser we had.

just my take:1) I moved over to XO because I'm sta...

2008-06-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

just my take:
1) I moved over to XO because I'm staying in. I miss my platoon every day, it's just not the same. I'm a part of "The Man" now, rather than "The LT with the guys."

2)Most field grades I've come into contact with are absolutely illogical, so yeah, you probably are fucked. It's like they get their brains zapped at Major school, and forget what it's like on the ground. I wouldn't expect too much understanding on their end, not that it seems like you were. What you did took guts- however, if your field grades are like mine, you've now become a target. Good luck with that.

Take care bud.

I roll out of the wire everyday to bask in a third...

2008-06-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

I roll out of the wire everyday to bask in a third-world cesspool craving my attention for nothing more than the most basic human need - hope. Is there a bigger picture than that, or just different vantage points from safer distances?

lt G: You. Are. The . Man.
right move........

your writing is awesome. You tell it like it is. I...

2008-06-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

your writing is awesome. You tell it like it is. I think people are scared to stop you because they dont want to be portrayed unkindly in the great war novel you are destined to write. keep it up, and keep it real.

Stick to your guns. In seven and a half years the...

2008-06-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Stick to your guns. In seven and a half years the only staff time was the ten months before I got out. The only job I ever wanted was to be a platoon leader, and with the same boys for 34 months (OIF I)...then they moved me next door to commander (OIF III). Any field grade that tells you it is more important to be an XO than to stay with your platoon is full of it, this fight is on the streets not in his maintenance meetings on the FOB...focus on your boys and everything will take care of itself.

1. Do what you want to, LT.2. Don't let your super...

2008-05-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

1. Do what you want to, LT.
2. Don't let your superiors, troops, murmurings about the "greater good" -or anything else sway you.
3. Life is real, real short and you might as well live it the way you want to.
4. They ask why. Best answer: Because.
V/R JW

The Gravediggers are very, very fortunate to have ...

2008-05-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Gravediggers are very, very fortunate to have a platoon leader like you. Good job on dodging that bullet Lt.

Keep writing and keep your head down.

Kudos for sticking to your guns Lt. Staff can put ...

2008-05-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Kudos for sticking to your guns Lt. Staff can put a lot of pressure on you when they want something. I turned down the S-4 Plt. Sgt. job twice because I didn't want to deal with their bullshit. Stay alert.

Sgt. B.

should take it best for the men best for you. If y...

2008-05-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

should take it best for the men best for you. If you can help change things that were fucked up maybe it would save the lives of your crew and the next to go in. just my .02

LT G:I very much - I say again, VERY much - respec...

2008-05-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

LT G:

I very much - I say again, VERY much - respect your wish to stay with your troops. But ... I'm going to go against the grain here and say you ought to move up to XO. Why? Because you said this:

"I’m that too skinny, crazy-eyed mustang who drives a hippie van with a McGovern bumper sticker and keeps his hair long and actually read the counterinsurgency manual rather than pretending he did, even quoting it during meetings and out in sector in this era of recentralized warfare, remember?"

... emphasis on all after "hair long" (but liking the part before it, too). By your own admission, LT, you're one of the (surprisingly!) few officers responsible for this counterinsurgency mission who's taken the effort to learn in-depth counterinsurgency strategy.

Therefore, it seems to me that the greater good would be better served by widening your influence from your platoon to your company. Right now, as a PL, if you get it, that means your platoon gets it. Move up to XO, though, and that means your company gets it, at least as far as your CPT and 1SG allows. So again, IMO, as much as it may pain you to move away from your soldiers, you can do more good by widening your area of influence.

Why is it the suits always think that doing duty w...

2008-05-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Why is it the suits always think that doing duty with them is what every "Soldier" wants to do?

I hope option A is best selling author, because I know I for one will be standing in line waiting for the first issue of your novel.

What was he thinking...taking you away from our fr...

2008-05-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

What was he thinking...taking you away from our front row view. Although I am sure you would provide us with the best view from any point.

You and the Gravediggers take care!

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blo...

2008-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 05/29/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.

This is a random suggestion, but if you're interes...

2008-05-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is a random suggestion, but if you're interested in the Spanish Civil War, you might consider getting in touch with a man named Ira Latour. Ira's a World War II vet, a former art history professor at California State University, Chico, and a big Spanish Civil War buff who has spent a lot of time in Spain and might have some interesting thoughts on studying the Spanish Civil War. He's a very, very nice guy (I interviewed him for my college thesis on WWII) and easy to talk to. If you're interested in contacting him, his website is www.iralatour.com. And if you're not, you might just check out the website and look at his (spectacular) photography. Just a thought.