Day of Infamy

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. 72 years ago today we were attacked by the Japanese on a Sunday. My rate didn’t exist back then. There were Ship fitters, Molders, and Metal smiths. There was mass confusion. There were questions of whether or not it was a drill.

Many people in the chain of command lost their minds. Some got fired. Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John William Finn won what was widely considered to be the first Medal of Honor to be awarded during World War 2. His citation reads as follows:

The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to

FINN, JOHN WILLIAM

Lieutenant, USN.

for service set forth in the following Citation:

For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and return the enemy’s fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning airplanes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

In the Hollywood blockbuster Pearl Harbor, a character resembling him makes an appearance. He fought back with what he had. I am willing to bet he didn’t think twice. His friends were in danger and he acted. He had sailors under his command who needed a Chief’s protection. He did his best to protect them. He later became an officer in the USN. That is why his citation reads Lieutenant and not Chief. By the time his citation was approved, he was an LT.

It is a good day to take stock. If my base was attacked, what would I do? Men like AOC Finn are my heroes. They faced the enemy and did it well. He is still spoken of with reverence in training sessions about honor and valor.

Pearl Harbor Day is often swept under the rug. Not in this house. We are watching a documentary on Pearl Harbor. We talk about it with Pocket Monkey and his buddies. It is my mission to never forget.

We attended a Christmas party today. It was found amusing by some that it was held on Pearl Harbor Day. Pocket Monkey got some good swag, and we gave some to our friends.

That is all. Fall out, and carry out the plan of the day.

OMG. He’s Got a Gun!

We have recently been doing site sales for Boy Scout popcorn. Washington is an open carry state. When one of my neighbors happened to our sale, openly carrying his pistol, one of the Cub moms almost pooped. I had to explain to her the way things work. The following is a rough approximation of our conversation.

“OMG!. He had a gun!” said Cub Mom.
“He was open carrying. There was a good chance he meant no harm. Besides, he’s my neighbor, and I have spoken to him before,” said I.
“Can he do that? Is that legal?.”
“Yes. And if someone is open carrying, it is highly unlikely that he is up to no good. Matter of fact, I am willing to wager that if someone tried to rob us, he would be the first person to draw down and defend us.”

Cub Mom went on to ramble for a few more moments, while I tried to explain that if people are open carrying, it is a good thing. I don’t personally open carry because I don’t want the hassle. Some A-Hole might call 911. However, if a fellow citizen wants to open carry, go for it. I know who can back me up when the fertilizer hits the ventilator.

At least half of our adult leaders have concealed carry permits. They have a weapon at almost every meeting. It is irresponsible not to. My paperwork is in progress to renew my CCW. You may bet your last pair of shoes that I will carry when my permit is renewed. I want 10 chances to tell a bad guy no.

I knew that man was my neighbor because I have spoken to him. On of the reasons was because he was open carrying. I asked him if any A-Hole had called 911 on him recently and he chuckled. As a country, we need to get back to loving and trusting our neighbors. They are the ones who defend us. They are the ones who watch out for our loved ones when we are away. I might seem old fashioned, but some things just work.

That is all. Fall out and carry out the plan of the day.

Cracker barrel

In the many BSA camps I attended in my youth, Saturday night snack/fellowship was a mix of several snack foods. In that vein, this post will have several comments on the multiple thoughts in my head.

Constitution Day. I was once given a pocket copy of the US Constitution by a Master Chief I worked for. His unsolicited explanation was that every sailor should read what they have sworn to defend. I agree.

Military bases arming everyone!? It might surprise you to know that the military has a large number of people that remind one of Barney Fife. Fireman Pokey from the Auxiliary Ship for one example. During OIF, my CG considered arming the engineering rover and watch officer. That idea got no traction because some of the engineers in both watch stations had issues. COs can authorize personal weapons on base, but rarely do for the aforementioned reasons.

PRT and diets Ask any Southern or Southernish person you know, and they will tell you that no matter how much you church up a veggie soup, if it doesn’t have meat in it, it is tedious to eat.

Clearances. I have one. The screening was quite tedious and the process lengthy. I suspect that some “sacred” groups get more of a pass than others. There are several things that the check goes over, some of which would fail you for owning a gun under current law.

Race and other factors. Predictably, there was no liberal outcry over the skin tone. Their house of cards is falling down around their ears, and would be amusing if it wasn’t so perilous to this once great country.

Gun control and information control. There were a number of violations of current gun laws, presumably due to no one wanting to be called racist. 3 firearms misuses in 3 states would be enough to get most people DQ’d for any firearm purchase, as well as almost any government clearance. A certain Senator from Cali is realizing that “undocumented journalists” have the power to upset the liberal’s apple cart and is trying to compartmentalize and dissect the 1st Amendment in ways reminiscent of how they butchered the 2nd. Everyone laughed at gun guys when we predicted this. By the way, there is no such thing on the civilian market as an AR-15 shotgun. There is an under barrel grenade launcher with beehive rounds for the M-4 that is highly illegal on the civilian market. Dude used the VP’s preferred weapon, but no one in the propaganda arm of the DNC wants to make the VP look dumb(er). Instead of outlawing guns, why don’t we outlaw murder? Oh, wait, we have? How come there are still murders? That was a rhetorical question.

General food for thought. If you open carry, a revolver makes you look like a cowboy. Some guns make you look like a lunatic. I know that is dumb, but image carries a lot of weight.

That is all. Fall out and carry out the plan of the day.

Dad stuff

Pocket Monkey has been bored for the past couple of days. Apparently, being on summer vacation while your Dad is working is horribly torturous. Yesterday afternoon, we played catch with a baseball and a few neighbor kids started playing, too. Until the ball got accidentally launched into a briar patch that none of us were equipped to overcome. Today, we played pass the soccer ball. I am not a big soccer fan, but time spent with PM is worth its weight in gold. We also had some shenanigans in the local concrete swimming hole.

Tomorrow I get to help with a teambuilding clean-up project and play softball. I love softball. I have been known to play until I can’t feel my extremities.

We now have a neighborhood raccoon that my idiot neighbors like to feed. I want to nail it with a crossbow, but the neighbors are not convinced. Have I mentioned that Washington has a large amount of tree huggers? If the crossbow is off limits, I want to take Pocket Monkey and make a snare or deadfall trap. Because these are unattended traps, that will also leave fewer witnesses. Give me some parachute cord and an hour, and I will make some magic. Add a machete, and my creativity is almost Disney-like. I almost feel like they guy in Caddyshack chasing gophers. I want to dispose of the varmint. I briefly considered using the .22 because it tis the quietest gun I own. I live inside city limits, so that idea landed squarely in bad idea territory.

I shall keep you apprised. Fall out, and carry out the plan of the day.

Navy SEALs

We have a phraase in Navy leadership.  It is “Don’t be afraid to call the baby ugly”.  It is a form of forceful backup.  Basically, right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of rank.  This Navy SEAL gets it.

Via http://moonbattery.com/?p=11507 is a rant of epic proportions.  My favorite part is here:

You do not speak for me or any American military man because though you may now be Commander in Chief, you are not the man to whom we can point our sons and say “This is the American dream, this is American exceptionalism, this is what I wish for your future”, because you Sir are NONE of these things. You Sir, are the antithesis of American Exceptionalism. Your idols are Saul Alinksi and Karl Marx and your revolutionary dreams and anti-American ideals poison your every policy. Your every action betrays the fact that in your soul you do not understand what it is to be an American, not what America truly is. Your agenda from the beginning has been to get rid of and kill everything that is and ever was American. You who so easily dismisses America’s greatness and bows to foreigners… YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME. YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE NAVY SEALS. YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE MILITARY MAN AND you SHALL NOT claim as your prize that which you have not earned. The Navy SEALS are NOT a campaign slogan to be bantered about for play. Nor are our accomplishments, including the demise of Osama Bin Laden, yours to claim.

Follow the link above.  It is a good rant.

Blogroll

I have added http://armedandamphibious.wordpress.com/ to my blogroll.  I like his gun stuff and wit.

Civil liberties

Via http://mostlycajun.com

1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War. The government (Britain) was coming to get the guns.

Via me:

I support Ted Nugent.  As you no doubt know, he said something unpopular and some bureau-weenies got their red diapers in a bunch.  The fact he speaks well of the federal cops investigating him is a testament to his character.

“I have never made any threats of violence towards anyone,” Nugent said following the meeting, according to CNN. “I met with two fine, professional Secret Service agents,” Nugent said in a statement. “[It was a] good, solid, professional meeting concluding that I have never made any threats of violence towards anyone. The meeting could not have gone better. I thanked them for their service, we shook hands and went about our business. God bless the good federal agents wherever they may be.”  The full story is here http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/secret-meeting-ted-nugent-obama-comments-issue-resolved-210612592.html

I have some good memories of watching Wanted: Ted or Alive with my shipmates and cracking up at the way some city slickers act in the boonies.  I used a similar line of his on my very anti-gun anti-hunting Auntie.

Auntie,  “Hunting is mean and pointless.  Just buy your food from the store.”

Me, “Why Auntie, do the animals show up on the store’s doorstep with a suicide note taped to their horns?”

She was irritated at that for a while.  Long live the American Spirit and men like Uncle Ted.  He supports the military.  I shall attempt to leave you with a video.

http://youtu.be/Zh0iDVsmLqw

Gun Stuff

I am from WV.  I grew up around guns.  When I turned 21 I wanted to buy a pistol before I wanted to buy a beer(I turned 25 before I finally got one due to duty locations and such).  I regularly read gun blogs.  I currently own 1 pistol, 2 bolt action rifles, and a shotgun.  The shotgun was inherited from my late paternal grandfather.  Dad is safekeeping it until I return east.

The pistol is an SW 99 chambered for .40 cal.  I am competent with it and I enjoy carrying it and shooting it.  When my CCW was active, I carried every time I went to Utah just because I could.

My first bolt action rifle was a Marlin .22 Buckaroo.  I got it when I was 8 years old.  I can plink all day and only spend 40 bucks.

My hunting rifle is a Winchester Model 70 chambered for .270.  “The Rifleman’s Rifle”.  I bought it in CA.  The 30-06 version was used byUSMC sniper plattoons in Vietnam.  I opted for .270 because of where I typically hunt.

I also have a .50 cal Kentucky Long Rifle in blackpowder.  It extends my hunting season and I remember Hawkeye using a similar rifle in Last of the Mohicans.  Dad bought one for me and brother to when we were in junior high school.

 

 

 

The combat mindset

The shooting in Florida has generated some discussion in the house as to who was right and who was wrong.  First things first though, there is a reason a jury is made up of 12 men and not 2.  All human life is valuable, and the decision to take a life is not to be made lightly.  No one gets a prize for guessing the verdict before the jury.  I don’t mind discussions about my beliefs.  It is good to defend what and why I believe.

I believe, based on Holy Scripture, that there are certain very clearly defined reasons to take another life, i.e. capital punishment(Deuteronomy has several instructions regarding this).

Now for the practical side.  There is a 5 step scale from white to red.  White, orange, yellow, red, black.  Either extreme is bad.  The question I posed to Mrs. Snipe is this:  If I ever find my self in the same situation, do I shoot the guy or let him possibly injure me for life.  I know my answer.  I typically walk around SoCal in orange.  Orange is aware but not hostile.  White is oblivious.  Black is likened to being blacked out while drunk.  Neither is a good place to be.

I can second guess the guy all day long.  I wasn’t there.  End of story.  How he allowed the assailant to get so close baffles me.  Again, I wasn’t there.  As a formerly licensed CCW guy (it expired while I was overseas), I really hope the guy is found innocent.

If I was there, here is what I hope I would have done.

Professional presence.  You’re on watch. Check

Simple verbal commands. “Stop. Turn around. Step away.”

The next steps may be skipped based on the situation.  At all times, mind the reaction gap or survival gap.

Soft controls.  Basic judo.

Intermediate weapons.  OC spray, baton, etc.  When I got my CCW, the instructor highly advised we get some sort of state legal intermediate option.  He emphasized that shooting someone is permanent, and even if you did it right, a legal hassle.

Hard control.  Punches, kicks, biting, etc.

Finally, we get to deadly force.  Last resort.  Order of halt when appropriate(see verbal commands above.)  All lesser means have failed or cannot reasonably be employed.

My arm-chair quarterbacking simply wonders how he let the guy get so close.  If I was in the same situation, I believe I would have fired, if I couldn’t use any of the other methods.  I hope I would never let an assailant get that close.  My Dad was fond of saying, “It is better to be judged by 12 than carried by six”.  I agree.  All steps in the deadly force chain above are public knowledge.  Other services do it slightly different, but the same overall intent.

New link

I am adding http://www.ma-rooned.com/ aka JAYG to my blogroll.  He was linked by a couple of other blogs I read regularly.  Dad lived in MA for awhile.  He seems like the kind of guy my Dad would have made friends with if given the chance.  Jay has my support.