25 May 2009
Remembrance - Memorial Day 2009
We are here to play, Comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers sailors and Marines, who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead? We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security, is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains, and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon the Nation's gratitude—the soldiers and sailors widow and orphan.

We are so blessed to live in the United States of America. This blessing comes in large part because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.

Please let us remember and reflect upon the lives of such brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. Let us also remember those who are at this time deployed in far away lands serving with honor in the war on terror.

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Posted by: CS
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04 May 2009
Soldiers Die When Leaders Cater to Opinions and Popular Opinion
A fantastic Op-Ed in the Washington Times today written by Andy O'Meara, a retired U.S. Army Colonel. Thomas McInerney a retired Air Force Lieutenant General and Paul Vallely a retired Army Major General.

Our rules of engagement punish service-members for nonlethal acts, such as threatening captured enemy agents. In this bitter war, the armed forces have imposed strict rules of engagement upon our forces while our enemy beheads and tortures noncombatants. Strict enforcement against our forces wins us no mercy from the terrorists. Just ask Daniel Pearl.

Meanwhile, we are asking a lot from our people. They must fight the enemy with great restraint. Even the appearance of transgression of the rules of engagement is punished severely by military courts. It is time for a public debate regarding the double standards that bind our hands in battle but impose no restraint on the enemy.

Our soldiers are fighting under the most difficult conditions and are being second-guessed by military lawyers and bureaucrats in snug offices in safe, rear areas. We need to remember that life is a lot messier at the front.

More at Bouhammer's Afghan Blog

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Posted by: CS
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