By RU Contributor Solomon G.

Ahhh… So there I was on my couch. Relishing in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan for what has to be the 54^th time. Bullets piercing the air, explosions shaking my walls via my surround sound system and the cry of war filling the room… Perfect! I’m not really a war movie junkie, but I can’t resist this type of action captured on film, especially when there’s some authentic historical content and true heroism being portrayed. These brave young men are part of what Tom Brokaw called- “The Greatest Generation”. Men and women that didn’t fight for fame or recognition, they fought because it was the right thing to do.

In February 1944, Executive Order 9419 established the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) to recognize the achievements of many of those young war-fighters. Basically, the Bronze Star Medal is awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding achievement, or by meritorious service not involving aerial flight. The “V” or Valor device is added to the medal when it is earned through an act of combat heroism. Criteria for the medal adjusted slightly over the years, but the basic idea is that the medal is awarded for those that kiss ass in combat.

Recently, a couple of Air Force NCOs received BSMs for their role in the War on Terror while serving in Afghanistan. They didn’t put some bad guy in the crosshairs of their Barrett M82 sniper rifle and make his head explode to reduce a threat on their team during a fire fight, nor did they secure a HVT during a midnight raid that went haywire. They “accurately executed operational funds in support of counter-surgency efforts”. Yep. That’s what they did in a nutshell. They were both comptrollers or “money handlers” that were awarded one of this nation’s highest military honors for putting dollars on target. I’m certain there is much more to their citation than what I just suggested, but at first glance, I had to say Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Once this story went viral, the net exploded with thousands of blogs about how it was wrong for them to receive the medal and how the military (AF) is demeaning such a prestigious recognition. So much negative criticism hit the AF.mil site that the story was eventually removed! Think about it though. Did their efforts meet the intent of the medal? Did they serve meritoriously in a combat zone?

When I think of a Bronze Star Medal recipient, I think of Senior Airman Michael Malarsie, a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) member who also recently received a BSM with Valor for his efforts while deployed to Afghanistan back in January of 2010. SrA Malarsie was supporting an Army infantry unit when he stepped up with his team mates to clear a foot bridge of explosives. Unfortunately, a member of his team detonated an IED, instantly killing him and throwing Malarsie from the blast site, rendering him unconscious. He woke to find his team in the middle of a firefight. He was treated and patched up by the team medic, but was blinded and suffered a broken jaw. Despite being badly wounded, Malarsie did what he could to support his team… Until the second IED exploded that further injured him and killed another airman, along with the medic that just treated him. But still, he fought on by handing out his ammunition to those that could return fire. Eventually they were rescued and the rest as they say is history… BAMF, kick the shit out of the enemy, Bronze Star with Valor history.

Today, this warrior is still on active duty. That’s right SrA Malarsie is 100% blind and on active duty working as the Administrator of the Recovering Airman Mentorship Program at Lackland AFB. This program provides aid to recovering service members and their families. Tough kid…

Your opinion of who is most deserving of the BSM will definitely vary. I have my own impression of the type of warrior who has this medal pinned to their chest. Either way, the criteria for this medal is open to interpretation. It was originally established with the best intentions in mind. Whether or not you believe staying inside the wire in hardened facility while performing your duties as a money handler is equally as deserving as confronting the enemy in a face to face gunfight is irrelevant. Both acts fall within the established criteria for the Bronze Star Medal.

Our warriors perform hundreds of acts down range everyday that are deserving of the BSM, unfortunately they are not all captured on paper and submitted for recognition. I don’t have one and don’t think I’ve done anything remotely deserving of one, but I am proud to serve with these warfighters that have truly earned this award…. Unapologetically.

Now, back to the movie…Our boys are about to storm the bunker…

When Jacob was expelled from school for beating Chunder Maclin with a cafeteria chair, his father sat him down and explained to him the he was proud of him, but that Jacob had to contain his anger, keep it stored away and at bay.  He knew what was inside Jacob, what dwelled within him, what Jacob had the potential to become.  Jacob was gentle by nature, meek, quiet, shy, never confrontational.  His expulsion from school had shocked everyone.  Everyone expect his father.  Somehow he had known, as only a father might.   

Jacob’s sister, Aubrey Rose, was raped when she was only 16.  An academic prodigy who was accepted to Michigan State University when she was but 15 years old, she wasn’t ready for the realities of grown men.  The rapist was a resident assistant in her co-ed dormitory, a 22 year old graduate student who not only raped her, but threatened to have her kicked out of school if she didn’t frequent his room at night that first semester.  On home for Christmas break, she broke down one particular night and told then 19 year old Jacob what was happening to her.  As she poured her story out to him, he sat and listened, brushing her hair back from her sobbing face, holding her tight.  When she was finished, he kissed her on the cheek and left the house.  He drove four hours that night to Lansing.  By the next morning he was back, and the resident assistant was dead, wrapped in a tarp and buried under ten feet of dirt in Kensington National Forest.  Years later, a troop of boy scouts would find the body, and the Livingston County coroner would remark to all who would listen about the skeleton with fractured orbital sockets, missing the entire lower half of its jaw. 

What Jacob’s father knew was that there was a manic, unbridled power inside Jacob, a strength born of necessity, a frenzy found in the wild.  That day in the cafeteria with Chunder Maclin, and that night at Michigan State, the animal had awoken. It was a thing that Jacob had long repressed, a thing he thought no longer existed.  It was a purity of spirit, a beautiful realization of honesty that now began to stir….

It began as a detachment, an awareness that he was at once both within, and outside of, himself.   Sorry poured the gas onto the back porch, splashing it onto the concrete steps, the siding, the glass door, and into the living room.  Samuel stared outside, fingering the packet of matches in his hand, grunting as he stood, relieving the pressure on Jacob’s back.  Samuel barked something to Sorry in Japanese, smiling as Sorry answered back.  As Jacob rolled to his back, Samuel looked down and smiled as he stomped a heavy foot into Jacob’s stomach.

Jacob gave in to the animal, gave into his vital impetus.

When the resident assistant cracked open his door, Jacob kicked with every ounce of his strength.  All the students were home for Christmas break, and no-one heard the crunch of wood splintering from the metal hinges as the door flew inward, smashing into the resident assistant and sending him toppling backward…

Jacob rolled to his side, facing Samuel, and bit into Samuel’s knee.  Samuel howled in pain and surprise, leaning back and spinning away.  As soon as Samuel’s balance was off, Jacob sprung to his feet, bringing his knee hard into Samuel’s groin…

The RA wobbled to his feet, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses and muttering a surprised “What the f-.”  Before he could finish his question, Jacob was on him, smashing him in the face with his fists, each containing a roll of quarters wrapped in electric tape.  Shards from the RA’s glasses punctured his skin as he once again topped backwards.  This time he rolled onto his side, arms wrapped around his legs, crying and wailing as Jacob approached him, “No!  P-p-please s-stop!”

Samuel dropped to his knees, moaning loudly as he dropped the matches, hands instinctively going to his bruised manhood.  Sorry dropped the gas can, pulled a knife from his waistband and charged Jacob, mouth set in a grim line, eyes narrowed and focused…

 Jacob knelt, his knee on the RA’s chest as he reached for his face, hands intent on punishment.  “Pleeeeaaaaassssssse….”  The RA’s shrill scream faded into garbled whines, the wet sound of spilled life pooling around them both.  Jacob sat back, breathing heavily, his hands cut and bruised.  The RA moaned through his broken face, a bark that was half cry and half cough escaped his throat.  The animal within compelled Jacob to finish…

Jacob launched himself at Sorry, left hand knocking the knife out of Sorry’s hand, right hand finding purchase on Sorry’s throat.  Sorry punched Jacob with both hands, peppering him with blows to his stomach and ribs.  Jacob was beyond pain now, and he squeezed with renewed strength.  Sorry’s blows turned desperate and pushed hard into Jacob’s chest.  Jacob returned the push, and Sorry suddenly pulled.  Jacob continued pushing Sorry back until they both tripped over the dropped gas can.  His momentum carried him over Sorry, slamming the older man to the ground, and breaking the grip that Jacob had on his throat.  Jacob rolled to his feet but Sorry was already up and running off out of the house.  The older man recognized the threat that Jacob posed and fled into the woodline.  Jacob started out the porch door after Sorry then stopped as he heard the moan back in the house. 

Samuel was still there, slowly getting to his feet, doubled over and shuffling to the front of the house.  Jacob strode back into the back room, grabbed Samuel by the hair and dragged him out the back porch into the back yard.  Jacob was now fully immersed in his other self, his true self, and Samuel’s death was the only thing that mattered.  Samuel fell and Jacob spun him to the ground kicking him in the stomach as he fell.  Samuel feebly tried to fight back, and Jacob punched him in the throat, dropping the big man 10 yards behind the house.  He went back into the house and came out with the matches and the gas can.  No sound came from Samuel’s screams as he burned.

By Grin and Barrett

Doesn’t everyone read the Rhino Den?  In the annals of American literary accomplishments, we have Stephen Crane, Stephen King, Steven Pressfield (that’s a lot of Stephen’s), Mad Magazine, Reader’s Digest and ….the Rhino Den!  So I guess it is just a base assumption that I have that whatever is written on the Rhino Den, is read as well.  But you know what they say about assumptions, they make and ass out of you, and ….Ron Maclean.  Within that framework, I have to ask this question:  Mr. Maclean, didn’t I just write about this?!? In fact, I believe my exact words were…

“Listen, I have the utmost respect for athletes who put it all on the line, who approach every down like it is the game-winning play, contest every basket, run down every wide receiver, continue on after getting hacked, cross-checked, or forearmed.  I got it; they are studs, no doubt.  But they are not Soldiers.  They do not truly put their lives on the line, let alone in defense of home and country.  They do not leave weeping widows, orphans, parents who have to bury their children.  Their injuries are concussions, broken ankles, jammed fingers, ruined shoulders.  A Soldier’s injuries include loss of eyesight, missing limbs, chronic migraines and PTSD, horrific deformities and death.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the opportunity to re-package something I’ve already written and re-publish to the masses, but do I really need to?

Lest I lose a faithful reader who is unaware of your transgressions, let me fill in the Ranger Den faithful first.

Ron Maclean, color commentator for the New York Rangers, recently made this absurd comment during the pre-game warm-ups for the Rangers game against the Washington Capitals:

“You can’t help but be struck by the players and the way they’ve played these games.  They are like police officers, they are like firefighters. You can’t fight fire with ego. The pain these men have faced, the price they keep on paying, the hearts they keep on lifting.”

Then, faced with criticism on all fronts, he “clarified” his remarks with this:

“We never know if we’ll have that spirit.  The bravery, the resilience.  As I made clear, the hockey games in no way compare.  However Sports has proven a worthy training ground in nurturing the qualities which beget that spirit.  To say he plays like a firefighter or a policeman would instantly conjure the traits an athlete most desires, especially in New York and Washington…”

Uh, yeah.  No duh Jackass!  But just because someone “conjures the traits” you so desire, the qualities of character you would wish to emulate, does not mean that you also posses them!  Yes, firefighters and police officers have many qualities to be emulated, admired, and praised.  That does not, however, give you the right to compare athletes with them.  I admire the writing style, research, and thoroughness of Steven Pressfield and Michael Crichton.  Two men that I think embody everything it is to be a successful writer.  Therefore, according to your logic, I can compare myself favorably with them?   Yeah, that’s awesome!  Right where I want to be…wait a minute, this isn’t too bad.  I kind of like this formulaic approach to self betterment.  Okay, I think that George Clooney and Daniel Craig are handsome and rugged.  Presto!  Let me look in the mirror….suspenseful interlude….Wow!  Look how handsome I am now!.  Okay, this is great!  Let’s see, Lionel Messi…check.  Usain Bolt…check.  Georges St-Pierre….check.

I can’t imagine the embarrassment that Maclean has caused for those Rangers and Capitals hockey players, innocent pawns in Maclean’s campaign of stupidity and doucheration.  His inability to grasp the basic truth of selfless service astounds me.  Comparing professional athletes with First Responders and Military personnel should be a common sense no-no, but it continues to prevail, continues to happen all the time.  Mr. Maclean, you blew it with your initial statement, then bungled it even further with your clarification.  Let your one way ticket to Douchebagistan serve as an example to all others in professional sports that the “sacrifice, pain, and price to pay” for a professional athlete is NOT the same as that of a police officer, firefighter, or American warrior.  Don’t compare it.  If you wish to mention the sacrifice of our heroes on 9/11, do it with reverence, do it with humility, do it with thanksgiving, and for the love of God, keep it out of your color commentary.

Veterans are increasingly getting involved in our government and increasing their activism in general. One program involved with this is Vets for Freedom, and one such man is that group’s co-founder, David Bellavia. Bellavia is a former Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army and author of House to House. He is also a recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and New York State Conspicuous Service Cross. He is now running for congress as the Representative for New York State’s 27^th Congressional District.

I conducted a phone interview with Mr. Bellavia to find out what his positions were on issues that specifically affect the military and veterans. Here’s what he had to say.

 Q: Do you miss serving in the Army?

 A: Oh everyday, everyday of my life. My biggest regret is the way things kind of went with the way I got out. Especially when it came to some of the decorations, they had a little different standard back then than they do now. Essentially what they wanted to do with my Infantry career was put me out to pasture in a museum somewhere and talked about [me] staying in TRADOC the rest of my life. I just never got the feeling that I would get the chance to do what I wanted to do, and it’s something I regret every single day. When you’re in combat and you’re able to do thing that defy odds and you and your men are able to do thing that you never thought you could do, you get this false sense of superiority; and when you see your friends die after you’re out of the military you feel like there was something you could have done to save them… and the amount of guilt… That’s why I’ve tried to dedicate so much of my time and my efforts to actually making a difference and doing something, because it’s the only thing that fills my heart, that I’m actually still serving.

Q: What is your main motivation behind this run for congress?

A: You know what, I want to serve my country. I think that military service, of all the different values… I run my candidacy on the principals of Honor and Integrity. I could go through all the Army Values but the fact of the matter is that these are [two] words that nobody understands, very few people outside of uniform understand, and elected office… I just think that decisiveness… When a veteran and especially an infantry man or combat arms, a war veteran… A combat veteran understands decisiveness. We don’t need an 80% risk assessment to make a decision. Sometimes we look around and realize this is the best thing to do and let’s do it. And there’s far too many indecisive leaders out there that don’t understand the importance of getting out there and doing something. Don’t just talk about it, get something done. I got twelve brothers and sisters now that are in the House of Representatives. I’ll automatically caucus as soon as I get in. I’m really proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with those combat veterans and tell the Baby Boomer generation, “Listen, God bless you for your service but it’s time for you to move aside and let our generation come in and handle this thing.”

Q: If elected, will you work to increase the size of the military, keep it the same, or shrink it?

A: Listen, 17% of our budget is spent on defense, 60% of our budget is on entitlements. At this time, with our operational tempo, with this administration increasing the battlefield… Look at the Democrats, they love the Air Force, that’s their branch of service right there; there’s no commitment to it. We can go anywhere and knock out satellites and terrorist camps and everything else; the fact is that now more than ever we need a robust military. Not the way it was back in a 1992 number. General Schoomaker talked about 75,000 infantrymen. General Schoomaker talked about more research and development into our military. Especially now the number one killer of democracies in the world is debt. Now more than ever we need to have a strong military presence. Now more than ever we have to act like a super power, and take the punk nations, these rouge nations. China has their first air craft carrier group and they’re buying it with our debt money. Now is the time when we need to be bigger, just like Reagan taught us, and there’s no excuse to cut defense spending right now. And you know what, [Obama] talks about we need to employ all the combat vets coming home, well with all due respect Mr. President, you shouldn’t have laid off 100,000 veterans. They had jobs and careers. Keep these boys in, increase the Marine Corps. I still believe that when we increase special operatives, we cheapen them. I think that sometimes in the efforts to get more Rangers and more Green Berets, we dilute the system by lowering the standards, so I would just encourage more studs to go to a higher level but that PFC, that SAW gunner, we need ten times [of that] than what we have now.

Q: Following up on that, you do want to increase military spending if it’s possible?

A: I’m going to find a way to do it. There’s so much fraud, waste and abuse; now I believe you can increase military spending with the money you have now dedicated to military spending. I think there’s a whole of things we’re wasting money on, especially when it comes to the nation building that we’re doing in Afghanistan. We’re just throwing [money away]. We’re wasting a lot of stuff. I mean, look at the… what was it called, the Crusader? It was a LASER guided cannon that the Army came up with. What we did is we took this billion dollar cannon that would have had LASER guided… essentially 155mm guided JDAMs. But we just killed the entire program and we killed the munitions. We could have very easily kept those munitions that were LASER guided, or coordinate focused, and we could have used those in the current Paladin system. So I don’t think we use our heads when it comes to the money we spend.

I would find ways to cut entitlements and to keep our military strong. Missile defense, I would consider part of that plan. In pacifying Iran, I think the best way to do that is to have a strong naval presence. I think the Navy is one of the branches of service that we’ve neglected for far too long, as far as research and development goes and putting out more ships; and by the way that increases jobs. The more that we put into defense industry, the more jobs that are created in America. I also don’t want to see these defense contractors forced to work with [other] countries, outside of America. The F-35 is a great example; we’re making more F-35s for NATO countries than we are for our own.

Q: Which is better budgeting when it comes to national defense; more technology and a smaller force, or a larger force with perhaps more training but less technology? You kind of answered part of that, but if you could expand on that a little bit?

A: I really think that’s a situation where you could have it both ways, when it comes to smart technology. For example, this new rifle that we’ve got, the XM, this future weapon with the helmet; that stuff’s nonsense. Do we want air-conditioned suits and motor cycle helmets and little 40mm rockets on your hand? Those are fantastic but at the end of the day, we still have kids out there that are still shooting Mossberg shotguns. There’s a world out there screaming for 870s, there’s a world out there scream for a larger ballistic on the NATO issued round; that’s where the technology needs to grow. I’m very careful and I’m very passionate about training, good quality training. I see that the more some of these politicians want to increase our maneuver warfare stencil that we have right now… They want more Rangers, they want more Delta guys, more SEALs; but the fact of the matter is they’re elite for a reason and if you just say we’re going to need 30,000 more special operatives across the board, you’re going to start lowering standards and I think the more you lower standards, the more you put men in harm’s way.

I’m a firm supporter of Warrant Officers running combat arms platoons. I think that mold would make us a far more effective military. I have nothing against Lieutenants at all, but I believe that [a] Warrant Officer running an infantry platoon would be the most effective and deadly [method]. And also it would increase retention, especially for gentlemen who have come through the NCO system. There’s a lot of people who want to make an E-10 rank. I think that’s complete nonsense. There’s no need for that. Let Warrant Officers run infantry platoons, let these Lieutenants become XOs of their platoons, and watch the effectiveness we have [increase].

Q: Should the US be considering more strongly the possibility of military action in Syria, Iran, or North Korea?

A: I think we need to have a plan. One of the things that just absolutely devastated me was the idea that we don’t have a plan. We have people in the Pentagon, for the first time, coming up with ways to take out Syria! I want a Pentagon and a DOD that has a plan to take out Canada. I want a DOD that has a plan to defend out nation in any way it needs to be defended. I don’t know what the importance of Libya was, and yet Syria who is a known enemy of the Americans, a known enemy of the Israeli people, and has 20,000 Katyusha rockets pointed towards Tel-Aviv and Hebron. This is something we have to be prepared to [deal with]. I think if there was outrage over what was happening in Libya, losing civilians left and right; I don’t see how you can look at Bosnia or you can look at Kosovo and think that this is a mission that we still need to be involved in today and yet ignore those guys.

I think intervention is definitely something that should be on the table. As far as Iran goes, I don’t see how this administration has any teeth to any of their Iranian policies. We have to consider every single enemy; to have a plan for [them]. North Korea is obviously the most difficult. North Korea is the one that’s going to take the most precision and the most tact, because of the fact that Seoul is basically eliminated the first time that you cross the border.

But as far as Iran goes and as far as Syria goes; I’m not interested in rebuilding Iran but there are a ton of people in that Green Party, there are a ton of people that are ready to take over that nation. Where in Iraq we didn’t have that middle class, we didn’t have a middle class that was able to replace Saddam, we [do] have that in Iran. As long as we’re not ready to occupy that thing and we’re ready to just destabilize it and create a vacuum, get the Islamists out, the Mullahs, take out the Ayatollahs, and let the middle class run their country, I’m all about it. I’ll be the congressman that not only votes for it, but I will resign and enlist to fight it. I think that’s an important step, if you’re not ready to sacrifice yourself then I don’t think that you should vote to send men into the war.

Q: Do you think the U.S. Consider a first strike option with any of those countries, or should we wait for an aggressive action towards us?

A: Absolutely. I’m all about premeditation. If you feel that there’s an imminent threat, I think that… What did they used to say, General Maddox used to say, “strike the rattle snake while it’s coiled”? There’s no point whatsoever in waiting for cities to burn and innocents to die if you have ability to control it. [If] you know that they’re moving vessels and they’re preparing for a strike, they’re massing troops, [then] we still have an obligation to do the right thing. I’m all about preemptive measures.

Q: Moving on the Arab Spring movement, do you think that the current regimes in Egypt and Libya can be considered potential allies in the Middle East?

A: Not at all. I think that Arab Spring was about food riots. There’s a whole lot of things that you could point to with the Arab Spring; how president Bush dropped the ball and President Obama kicked the ball down the hill, but the fact of the matter is with the Islamic Brotherhood, I don’t see how there’s any common ground. If you won’t even acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist you’re never going to be a [friend] of the United States.

We really had the momentum, we really had the ability to tell Mubarak, “look, there are such things as benevolent dictators”. It’s the way the Middle East is, but you don’t get it. You know, some of these people have never been there, they don’t understand it. Mubarak, he didn’t like musical theater, he didn’t like books being written, but you know what? The Gaza Strip, the West Bank, these areas didn’t have the infiltration that they’re going to have now. Right now the Sinai Peninsula is the sieve, and there are people coming over there ; they’re holding up in the Palestinian strongholds with the radicals. It’s a bad day for America, it’s a bad day for Israel. So I find no commonality with them until they recognize Israel.

Q: What is your stance on Guantanamo Bay,  and military tribunals vs. civilian courts for terror suspects?

A: I have some problems when it comes to American citizens being tried. Article 3 of the Constitution is pretty clear. Section 3 talks about rather than treating American citizens as enemy combatants, I think they should be charged with treason. When an American’s charged with treason, it’s an open court process. But when it comes to foreign nationals, Guantanamo Bay is the only solution we have. No one’s put up anything else, and if these guys are on the battlefield, I trust the military system.

Now what I do have a problem with, and I’m very disappointed in the veterans who have been elected to congress (some of these guys I consider brothers), but we have kids in Leavenworth right now that have done some things that obviously are not legal and they’ve done some horrible stuff but let’s look at the way that they adjudicated their sentencing; let’s look at the way the military system treated them. We’re releasing known killers of American soldiers, we’re releasing people that have planted IEDs and taken out eleven heroes at a time ,and yet we got kids in there for taking out a known terrorist? It’s the same thing.

What I would do is open up an investigation on every single person at Leavenworth and I would ask for reduced sentences on all of them. If we can tell a terrorist at Guantanamo Bay, “We’re going to release you because you’re no longer a threat to the population of America, you’re a threat to men and women overseas,” then I would say the same thing to those kids in Leavenworth. I would say “You’re not a threat to America, you’re a threat to the Iraqi people so I’m puling your visa; you can never go to Iraq, you can never go to Afghanistan,” and give them back their lives because we have a double standard out here and it’s unnecessary.

Q: What is your stance on the Patriot Act?

A: You know, I have a lot of issues with the Patriot Act. I think when it comes to picking and choosing, I don’t think the Patriot Act should be broadened. I find nothing wrong with getting a warrant for any of these internet searches or tapping phones or getting into people’s lives. If you’re not an American citizen and you’re living in this country I can do whatever I want with you. I believe doesn’t apply, ’cause you’re not a citizen. If it’s a phone call between two foreign parties we can maybe stretch those rules, but when it comes to American citizens living in the country, [checking] emails, going into people’s phone calls; you know what, our founding fathers would have… There’s no difference between [that and] what King George was doing in the times of the Revolution. [With] the intent of what the founders wanted, I don’t think that that’s necessary. We have an open society and we’re going to be victims of people that exploit our open society, but I think it’s just a matter of having a strong… a big stick, defending out culture and our way of life overseas and domestically. And as far as the provisions of the Patriot Act, I have problems with it.

Q: What is your position on co-pay for Tricare Prime?

A: I love how we’re talking about Tricare, we’re talking about military benefits, we’re talking about retirees getting a thrift savings plan instead of a pension; but we have no problems with Medicaid. We want to fundamentally change Medicare for people who paid into a system for forty years but we have no problem block-granting Medicaid to people who have no intent to pay it back.

These are not entitlements. People that signed, people who put their hand on the Bible, whether you’re in the Coast Guard or you’re in the Army Rangers, you are not saying… you are making a statement that you are prepared to die for your country. We’re really going to start cutting corners on insurance? I mean, I’m blown away at that.

I would actually double down, especially on combat vets. I would propose that the Iraqi government pay reparations to any family member that lost a loved one in Iraq. I would ask the Iraqi government pay reparations to anyone that lost a limb or eyesight out there. For us to attack insurance, for us to attack… these are not entitlements, they were bought and paid for, they were earned. They were earned the old fashioned way. It really is one of the things that really just infuriates the hell out of me.

Q: With veteran unemployment being 12.1% last year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, do you have any plans to help veterans get jobs upon leaving the military?

A: I would increase incentives to re-enlistment, I would increase our benefits while we’re in the military, but I would also want those veterans to maintain unemployment for a ten month period when they left the military, and allow them to also seek employment while they were receiving the benefits; and obviously some tax breaks and some incentives for businesses to hire veterans.

I think it’s [the unemployment rate] actually higher than that. The U6 rating is far more accurate than the department of Labor Statistics. We’re talking about people that have quit looking for jobs, entrepreneurs that lost their jobs, that number is much higher.

Q: What is your position on fast-tracking citizenship for illegal’s immigrants who were brought here by their parents as children,  and now that they’re adults they want to enlist in the military?

A: You know, I actually have a charity that actually deals specifically with that. First of all I don’t believe in anchor babies, I believe it’s unconstitutional, and just because you have a kid in the United States doesn’t necessarily mean they should be an automatic citizen. We’re the only western country that actually does that. But if you join the military and you serve for over four years, and you go to combat, I believe that your family should be naturalized; your immediate family, your wife and your kids. If you lose a son or daughter, a Rafael Peralta situation where your parents are not citizens and your son or daughter gives [their] life, I believe your parents should automatically be American citizens as well.

Q: If you had one thing to say to veterans and service members, what would it be?

A: Get active! This is our time. We saved the world with a rifle, we need to save our country [with] elected office. 1948; John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, came to the House of Representatives based on their veteran resume. We need to start running for office, we need to start joining School Boards, we need to run for community positions, town counsels, and more importantly we need to vote! We need to set it up so that  [the right] people receive the vote; we need to take back our government from people who have shown that they’re poor stewards. The military is the perfect institution to do that. Democrat and Republican, it’s a bi-partisan military and we have to be focused on leading in civilian clothes the way that we do in helmets.

I have a particular routine I adhere to in my morning commute to work.  I start the day with a prayer for wisdom, grace and strength, and I thank God for the majesty of those beautiful Alaskan mountains I pass through on the way in.  After my moments of thanksgiving, and my morning ritual of counting moose on the Palmer flats, I get my morning fix of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the morning.

Today, as I carried out this daily routine, I heard something that really troubled me.  Chris Carter, the studtastic wide receiver for the Vikings who torched NFC North defensive backs for so many years, spoke of his need to put “bounties” on opposing team’s defensive players that he felt threatened him and his well-being; that harbored him bad intentions.  Specifically, he mentioned the threat he felt from then Denver Bronco’s player Bill Romanowski, and his contention that Romanowski vowed to end Carter’s career.  Carter, in turn, put a bounty on Romanowski, offering team-mates an unspecified reward for keeping Romanowski in check.  The thing that bothered me with this whole situation isn’t the fact that Carter felt he needed to be protected, but the fact that Carter felt he needed to pay his teammates to have his back.

As a Soldier, this confuses me.  In an earlier post I wrote, “Grammatical Retirement – Going to War,” I wrote of my disdain for athletes who wax poetically about being a Soldier, going to war, and dying for their brothers/sisters.  The differences between a professional athlete and professional Soldier are both narrow and wide at the same time.  When it comes to going to war, that gulf could not be wider, and evidently this also applies to protecting our own.  Why on earth would Carter feel he needed to pay his teammates to do what every Soldier, Marine, Airmen and Sailor would do without even thinking about it?  Brothers and sisters in law enforcement and emergency services understand this as well.  What is that thing we do without thinking about it?  We protect our own!  I don’t go into a hostile situation with the promise of reward.  This, to me, isn’t even fathomable!

“Hey bro, we’re seriously hitting the shit today.”

“Yeah, I know man.”

“Well, brother, can I ask you something?”

“Sure man, anything.”

“If it all goes to shit, would you do me a favor and watch my back?”

“Weeeellllllll….”

“There’s a cool hundred dollar bill in it for you…”

“Ah, hell yeah then!  You got it bro!”

“And if some Taliban scumbag gets a bead on me, if you take him out, I’ll throw you another hundred.”

“Bet!  You got it man.”

Never seen that exchange?  Yeah, me neither.  Cause that’s not how we do things.  We automatically have each other’s backs.  I’d like to think we model our protective instincts on that of Sparta.  Spartan culture was one of protecting your brother before yourself.  When the Spartan mother told her son, “Come back with your shield, or on it,” it was because to lose your shield meant you exposed the man on your left to peril.  That same ideal of protecting your own is alive and well today in our military, seen every day in Afghanistan and other hot spots around the world.

We don’t offer rewards; No Rolex, no new SUV, no trip to Hawaii.   But what we do offer is so much more precious, so much better; the camaraderie of kindred spirits who would lay down their lives for each other, with no other reward than knowing that your brothers and sisters would do the same for you.  Carter and Romanowski can occupy the media with bounties and bad intentions, while we continue to keep watch over our brothers and sisters, and over you.

By RU Contributor L.R. Hale

Life is filled with many joys, both predictable and unpredictable.  Life is also filled with many negatives, some brought on by one’s very bad decisions, others by simple fate.  Lastly, things will happen in one’s life, and no matter what one does, the inevitable will happen. One of those inevitabilities, because we suck air into our lungs, means that one day, we will exhale one last time.  Immediately, Death will pull over, roll down the passenger window and yell, “Get in!”  How we get to that point is determined by fate, health, stupidity or any combination of those three.  So far, in my fifty years of sucking in oxygen, I’ve came close a few times to taking the ride with Death, but only to see him cruise on past and just wave.  Well, he waved once.   On another occasion, he just drove by and laughed.  I think both times Death felt sorry for me.

It was October, 1985 and I was assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 3d Ranger Battalion.  My Section Leader, Staff Sergeant (SSG) P, was working on his Master Parachutist Badge, and had set up a “proficiency jump” for us, after a line company made their jump.  The plan was simple and easy: they would jump out, and the C-130 with us in it, would circle back over Fryar Drop Zone and then our small section would make our jump.  This way, SSG P would get credit for being a Jumpmaster for a Combat Equipment, Mass Tactical, Night Jump, and we could each get a nice 2-3 second door position before exiting the aircraft.

The moment until I was at the door was uneventful.  The line company exited with no issues.  The plane circled back around while SSG P assumed his position at the right, rear door, and started giving the commands.  I was #2 in line, behind another soldier.  We were hooked up, ready to go, waiting on the green light.  I should add here that a proper exit from a C-130 on a static line jump is to hand the static line to the jumpmaster, place your hands outside the door and jump UP and OUT, immediately placing your hands over the reserve, locking the elbows tight to the body and keeping your legs together.  In a perfect world, it’s a blast.

I’m not sure what happened after I handed my static line off to SSG P.  He later told me it looked like I tripped and fell out the door.  Before I even knew what was going on, my parachute was open, and I was hanging upside down, with my feet stuck in the lines, above the risers.  My first thought was, “Hale you’re gonna die.”  I am floating to earth on an otherwise beautiful night with a full moon, under a T-10 parachute with a rate of descent of 22 feet per second.  If you execute a proper Parachute Landing Fall (PLF) with feet & knees together, hitting all the proper points of contact, you still land with a jolt, but get up and walk away.  All I knew in those brief moments was that if I landed on my head, I’ll probably die, or end up in a wheelchair for life, holding a pencil in my teeth to write important words like, “I want oatmeal”, and “Change my diaper.”

Not sure what to do, I started kicking my legs and after a couple of seconds, I suddenly swung down and was hanging under the ‘chute the way I should be.  I immediately grabbed my reserve handle and looked to off to spot other jumpers and make sure I had the same rate of fall.  After that, I looked up and checked the canopy and didn’t see anything wrong with it.  The rest of the descent was without incident and I did my PLF.  As I released buckles and got out of the harness, the adrenaline wore off and I noticed things were blurry.  I reached up with my right hand to check for my glasses.  My high-speed birth-control glasses, along with the sports band, were gone, but my helmet and chin straps were intact.  Lowering my hand, I noticed a cut on my wrist where my Timex used to be.

I organized my gear and started to fold my ‘chute when I noticed the risers.  They were twisted…TWICE.  Between falling out of the door and when the parachute fully opened, I had rotated twice through the risers, with my feet catching in the parachute lines when they went tight, at the opening shock of the main canopy.   I then realized how close I had come to falling to earth totally entangled in the ‘chute, looking like a mass of dirty laundry flapping in the air, with a muffled scream coming from the inside of the bundle.  It wouldn’t have taken but a split-second difference while the main canopy was deploying to end up with a terminal outcome.  After I had my gear organized, I “rucked up” and went to the assembly area.  SSG P was there and I told him what happened.  That’s when he told me it looked like I tripped or just fell out the door.  He said that after I handed him my static line, I never had a door position and I certainly didn’t jump up and out.  Back at battalion, I felt some soreness on my legs, so I dropped trousers to inspect.  Across the back of both legs, near the knees, was a bruise that was the exact width of the risers.  My First Sergeant and Company Commander both agreed it was a close call and I needed to jump again soon to get it all out of my head.  I did, with no issues, but I knew Death had just cruised past and waved.

It was 1990, sitting in the NCO Club in Giessen, Germany, drinking wine with a First Lieutenant.  I was legally separated from my first wife, The Succubus, so I was free to sail the open seas.  I was in a tremendous slump, and to use another sea analogy, I was to the point in that classic cliché, “Any port will do in a storm.”  Sitting across the table from me was The Drunken Harbor.  Maybe that’s why she was there with me, and draining the wine, she could’ve been thinking the same thing I was.  She certainly was as drunk as I was.  I’m POSITIVE I heard her tell me she was going through a divorce and her estranged husband was in the States.  POSITIVE.

The evening and drinking progressed, with no perceivable limit on the drinking and the evening coming to the obvious conclusion, unconsciousness.  We decided to leave for her quarters.  Outside the club, I used the payphone to call a taxi.  There are two kinds of taxis in Germany: taxi cabs and mini-cabs.  Taxi cabs are usually Benz’s and Audi’s, operated by Germans, and are the safest due to the German’s respect for the road.  Mini-cabs are usually VW Rabbits and other small cars, operated by foreigners, which we claimed were Gypsy’s, who didn’t seem to give a shit about the rules of the road.  They are cheaper than cabs, but you take your life in your hands with their driving skills.

I called for a German cab and we staggered out near the road, using each other for crutches.  All I knew was I needed to get laid as quickly as possible before I passed out.  Google didn’t exist then, but if it did and you Googled Shit-Faced Individual, my picture would have appeared.  In the midst of our slurred conversations, I looked over and saw a driver standing outside his VW Rabbit, just standing there and staring at us.  It was obviously a mini-cab manned by a Gypsy, ready to steal a fare.

I told him, “That’s okay sir, we’ve already called a cab.”  His response made my nuts shrivel.  “I’m not a taxi driver…that’s my wife!”  I jumped up expecting to have to defend myself from him.  To be honest, it’s an ass-whipping I probably should’ve gotten.  He just stood there, so I started walking away and looked over my shoulder and said, “Y’all are fucked up.”  When left no other option, a good insult is really the only mature thing to do.

Just then a car pulled up and it was an E-7 from my unit, and he hollered, “Hey, Sgt. Hale, you need a ride?”  I hopped in to his car and it was one of those extremely rare moments when an E-5 issues a command to an E-7, “Sergeant First Class, get me the fuck out of here NOW!”  He told me as we were driving down the road, that when he got in his car, he recognized the 1LT’s husband staring at us and thought, “Shit, Hale’s gonna get his ass jumped”.

I don’t know, maybe the alcohol caused a massive hearing impairment on my part when it came to her explanation on why she was there.  It’s possible she just straight-up lied to me about her marital status.  I have no idea why he just stood there and didn’t walk up behind me and put his foot up my ass.  If I was in his shoes, I would’ve whipped some ass fast, hard and repeatedly.  In this day and time, people like me end up in the morgue.  So, as I hauled away that night, Death, thankfully, only rode by laughing.  He did honk, wave and then called me a dumbass.  That’s close enough for me.  I’m in no rush to have him pull over and roll down his window to talk.

LR Hale

CEO of Spirit Airlines Ben Baldanza

By RU Rob

I have been following the story of how Spirit Airlines jilted 76 year old Marine Veteran Jerry Meekins out of a refund after his physician forbid him to fly.  The thought crossed my mind that Spirit Airlines could potentially earn Douche of the Week honors, but after listening to Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza spew nothing but complete horse-shit, I am convinced that the real douche here is Baldanza.

The story goes something like this: Mr. Meekins has terminal esophageal cancer.  He had pre-purchased a $197 flight from Florida up to New Jersey to visit his daughter who was having surgery.  Mr. Meekins was told by his doctor that he couldn’t fly due to his medical condition.  At first, Jerry sought a refund for the ticket but was denied as he did not purchase “flight insurance” on his ticket.  Jerry then requested that the ticket be transferred over to his daughter so that she could come visit him in Florida.  This too was rejected by the doucherifous customer service department.

Well, we Veterans don’t exactly like to be told no without any good reason.  So Jerry went and protested the decision of Spirit at the Tampa International Airport with a few of his friends and from there it caught fire.  He may be 76, but this Marine still has a lot of fight left in him. A Facebook page titled “Boycott Spirit Airlines” was created and as of this writing has over 30,000 “likes”.

Then, in a move to make his Airline appear even douchier, CEO Ben Baldanza had to go and open his cock-holster comparing Mr. Meekins situation to a homeowner with no policy calling up an insurance company after his house burns down.  Really, fucktard? There is a fundamental difference between someone who has not paid a cent for services and someone who has.  Benny-ha-ha, you are a prime example as to why our economy is in the freaking grave, you don’t give a rat’s-ass about your customers.

I have flown Spirit Airlines before, found their aircraft to be disgusting, their staff unprofessional and their attitude towards their passengers horrible.  It really doesn’t surprise me that they would stoop to this doucherific proportion. Upon doing a little research on Spirit Airlines, it would appear that I am not the only one who feels that way.  Skytrax, the world’s largest airline review site, has Spirit Airlines rated at 3.1 stars out of 10.  That folks is pretty damn shitty.

If it weren’t for the fact that there are safety regulations in place I am sure that Spirit Airlines would pack bodies into an aircraft like Drill Sergeants did to trainees during basic training.  Standing nuts-to-butts in the back of a cattle car where there is always room for one more.

Spirit Airlines leads the US carriers in complaints against them by almost double that of the nearest competitor.  When asked why the entire country believes that the douchey behavior of Spirit Airlines triggers so many complaints Baldanza again opens his bull-shit-spreader and compares the Airline industry to a restaurant  saying “if…out of every 100,000 customers, 8 of them said they didn’t like your menu, would you change your restaurant?” No, dumb-ass I wouldn’t but I sure as hell would at least listen.  For every rule there is an exception, did you not learn that in douche-school?

Just so you know, Spirit Airlines has been fined by the FAA in the past for customer service missteps, and is the king of hidden fees.  For example, Spirit is currently mulling the idea of charging $100 for carry-on luggage and also doesn’t even offer complimentary glasses of water on their flights; that will cost $3. Spirit is also the only carrier in the United States that does not offer active duty service members any sort of discount or relief from baggage fees when they are traveling on official orders.  WTF over?

So, Mr. Balls-on-chin (sorry, meant Baldanza) and Spirit Airlines, I hereby sentence you to Douchebagistan.  Seeing as how many douchetastic nominations we have seen lately, we will need a comparably crappy carrier as a currier for our crusty curmudgeons!

Ranger Up Nation, why don’t you head on over to the Boycott Spirit Facebook page, give them a liking and leave a note that Ranger Up sent you to support by fire.  Copy your posts in the comments below and I will give a T-shirt to the snarkiest one!

By Kelly Crigger

“I don’t want to work in a cubicle,” you tell the world as you get ready to retire from the service. “When I retire I’m going to be my own boss. Not gonna work for anyone.” 

Pump the brakes, kid. Let’s think about this.  

When you do a job you hate, in a tiny cubicle, for a giant corporation with asshole supervisors that doesn’t give a shit about you, it’s easy to turn it off. It’s easy to jump out of your seat at 5 o’clock, dust your hands off, go home and forget about it. It’s easy not to let it bother you…at all. You can sit at your desk and blankly stare out the window or pretend to do work and still get a paycheck because the profits and losses of the company don’t concern you. The corporation could be uber profitable or flirting with complete shutdown, but as long as your piggy bank keeps getting stuffed, it doesn’t matter.  

And if you aren’t passionate about the job, you don’t leave with it on your mind. You don’t get in the car and obsess over how to make it better. You don’t look around at every little thing other companies are doing and ask, “how can I do that for my business?” 

On the opposite side of the galaxy is the entrepreneur who started a business either because he loves it or he has a syphilis-like burning desire to make tons of money. But here’s the drawback – when you do something you love, something that keeps you excited all the time and pervades your soul, you cannot turn it off. Ever. It’s always there. Every time you have a good idea or a moment of creativity you ask yourself how can you apply it to your business. Every time you laugh at a commercial, you ask yourself how you can be that funny with your product. Every time you see and ad, a marketing event, or even a protest, you ponder why you are or are not doing those same things or how effective they might be if you did. Owning a business is like having an STD. It never goes away…ever.  

The worst part about doing something you love is that you love it more than you should. Everyone around you has to compete with it for your time. Your wife, your kids, your dog, they all want you to snap out of it, stop thinking about the business, and give them some attention. They all want you to put the phone down, step away from the computer, and be there. Really be there too, not blankly staring out the window wondering about the things you think you should be doing. And that’s a very difficult thing when you run your own business. 

Don’t have a family? Entrepreneurialism may be right for you then. But before you make the leap into the unknown, keep in mind that there’s something to be said for a job that you just don’t give a shit about.

In the last installment, we covered the different types of students you can expect to encounter in your typical expedition through higher education. However, the simple fact is this: no matter how difficult it is to get along with some of your peers (having visions of right hooks and roundhouse kicks while they’re speaking and trying not to act on that), the reality is that none of them will be grading your papers; none of them will be critiquing your work and passing you through the class.  

That special authority falls on the professor – the one who has spent most of their life in education and, for the most part, has a world view reflecting exactly that. Here’s how to deal with the different types you meet and how to pass their class without butt-stroking them into irrelevancy like you want to. 

The philosophy hipster: 

In every college there is a philosophy professor who is in his mid- to late-twenties. His hair is a bit longer than it should be. His shoes are more Manhattan-ish than anything else in your town. He wears skinny jeans.  

Yeah, you know the guy. And yeah, he’s annoying as hell. But he’s really not that bad, because he’s still in that phase where almost everything is “deep” and intriguing. All you have to do is quote a lot of philosophers who were considered important at one time. Even if the people you’re quoting are in direct opposition to each other, the hipster will think it’s totally cool because to him, everything is acceptable. Aristotelian thought? Sure! Nihilism? Absolutely! Moral relativism? Maybe! Just use a lot of Latin terms like reducto absurdum and ex nihilo and you’ll do great. 

 The cranky, female English professor: 

Though I somewhat covered this in part one, it is important to address again as this is a staple of every University in existence (I truly believe that it is a requirement to be an accredited school: “do you have a bitter woman teaching English? Yes? Okay, you’re official”).

Here is the biggest tip I can offer that will get you through those classes (and this applies to everything from English 101 up through world literature): English professors like to ask multiple versions of the same question. Yes, it’s ridiculous; yes, it’s redundant. But you still have to get through the classes. So figure out ways of – get ready for it – rewording the same answer. Yeah, I know, it sounds stupid – but it works. 

Professor: “Was Dante’s vision of hell meant to inspire those who read it to avoid it?” 

Me: “Dante believed that hell existed and wished for those who read his work to understand its torment.” 

Professor: “Dante wrote extensively on Hell. Was there an intention of influencing the reader in a certain way?” 

Me: “Hell, in the writings of Dante, is a description of the ultimate punishment and therefore a lesson in teaching about morality.” 

See what went down there? Yes, it is tediously redundant, but it is (on summarized scale) exactly what one has to deal with to get through English classes. And somehow, beyond all rational thought, it works brilliantly for getting a good grade. 

The goofy math professor: 

Remember the nerd from part II of this series? This teacher is the grown up version of that guy. It’s entirely possible that he will fully geek-out about your military background, but tread lightly for the same reasons as described in the warning about the nerd – you may end up hearing about how he played tuba for some 4-star general at the most important military ball ever held (this, by the way, is a real story from yours truly. I couldn’t make that up). 

Though it is very possible that several other types of math professors exist, I have no idea – as you can see, I’m writing words to you and not pages of equations. I’m one of those special liberal arts kids.  

Humanities: 

Good heavens, where do I even begin with this one… Humanitiesis generally the department that houses classes like “gender studies” and “ethno-centricity in the modern age.” You know – the stuff that truly matters in the real world. 

I’d like to give you some grand piece of advice, but the truth of the matter is that these people infuriate me. Usually you’ll have to sit through lectures by some professor who not only wrote their own book, but makes it required reading for the class. Their hubris is only exceeded by their unwillingness to look at anything that even closely resembles hard data, thereby basing every single teaching point in the class on how Western culture is wrong. And they will have beautifully-made graphs, charts, and videos that show…absolutely nothing in the way of hard facts supporting their theory, but you will – and this is a guarantee – be shouted down and called a racist, misogynistic, immoral, prejudiced, and Neanderthal if you challenge what they say. 

Bribes, back-door deals, selling your soul – do whatever it takes to get out of these classes. 

The tenured, 60+ history professor:  

This is a tough one because this one can be either the coolest professor you ever have or the absolute worst. An example of the latter, I can offer the following (I’m a history guy, so I’ve had every type of history professor known to mankind:

An upper-level 20^th Century history class I took was taught by a baby boomer who loved to go on long-winded rants about, well, everything under the sun. Oil? Evil. Government? Clearly evil. Capitalism? Worst evil ever. One day he went on a particularly emotional rant about the Vietnam War. Maybe he’s a vet and has some good stories after all… I thought to myself. He bore his soul. He laid it all out on the table. He broke down in tears.  And… he had never been in the military. 

Umm, say again last, over? Yeah, this guy wept like a baby about a war he had never seen except on TV. Was his brother killed? No. Sister? Mother? DOG??? Nope, nada, negatron, Batman. He was just so sad that we had been there and that the evil American capitalist regime had raped a poor, innocent land. And we had to hear about his sadness in excruciating detail and through multiple lectures (lectures which had absolutely nothing to do with any tested material, by the way). I got an A in the class by writing a tome about the space race – I think he graded it high because he knew even less about science than I do. 

However, there are history professors that will simply blow your mind. The type of guy that, no matter what war you bring up, he can give you 35 examples of previous wars through history, how they were similar, where and how they were fought, and how the current conflicts we are involved in really aren’t that unique. This guy will show you that there is an immense amount of knowledge to be gained from studying military history and how it applies to the modern age (bring up a couple Youtube videos of Victor Davis Hanson for a shining example of this). Professors like that can make it worth it because they will challenge you while still understanding what you’ve been through (even if they personally have not). They have spent so much time studying war that they at least have respect for the guys who have been involved in one.

So, how do you get through a history class you’re struggling with? Step one: email me. Step two: tune in next time for my wickedly-fast rundown of American history, which will end this series on college. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry; or you’ll fall asleep. Whichever.

Until then, consult the CIB Chaplain for guidance and RTFU!

High time we retired another overused, under-thought phrase popular in today’s lexicon.  This time, however, the object of my grammatical frustration is not due to military abuse of the vernacular, but to that time honored tradition of wannabe-battle-tested “heroes” (see professional athlete) using militant language to describe sporting events.

The dictionary defines “war” as both an armed conflict between nation-states, and as active hostility or contention.  In and of itself, I have no serious beef with athletes referring to emotionally charged and significant athletic events as “going to war with the opponent.”  Just like I have no issue with corporate executives who paint a campaign of “going to war” with the competition.  Where exactly does this cross the line?  Where does the acceptable use of the phrase “going to war” begin to irritably grate on my skin?  When I hear phrases like these:

“We’re going into battle!  My teammates are my Soldiers, and we’re in a serious battle!”

No stud, they are not.  And neither are you.

“This game is going to be a war, nobody’s backing down, I’ll die for my teammates!”

Uh… sure.  Sure you will.

“This field (court) is our battlefield, we’re either going to survive or die out there today!”

Reaaaally?

“My teammates were my brothers/sisters, and we went into war, into battle together.”

No….you….did….not.

Listen, I have the utmost respect for athletes who put it all on the line, who approach every down like it is the game-winning play, contest every basket, run down every wide receiver, continue on after getting hacked, cross-checked, or forearmed.  I got it; they are studs, no doubt.  But they are not Soldiers.  They do not truly put their lives on the line, let alone in defense of home and country.  They do not leave weeping widows, orphans, parents who have to bury their children.  Their injuries are concussions, broken ankles, jammed fingers, ruined shoulders.  A Soldier’s injuries include loss of eyesight, missing limbs, chronic migraines and PTSD, horrific deformities and death.

This isn’t a pissing contest between Soldiers and athletes, it’s a reality check.  The reality is that our brave men and women sacrifice more than most people can possibly imagine.  No matter how many Welcome Home banners stream, no matter how many folks shake our Soldier’s hands at the airport and thank them for what they have done, there is no way to accurately describe or convey the physical, emotional and mental fatigue that accompanies a Soldier’s deployment, and subsequent return home.  Going to war is a sacred act, an integral part of the warrior’s spirit, a life and death pact with brothers and sisters in arms.  It is the pinnacle of worth, achievement and purpose for a Soldier; one that cannot be processed, canned, and sold as a catchphrase.

Unfortunately, it is treated that way.

Flippant rambles about going to war, going to battle, and the ever popular I-am-a-Soldier, litter the athletic field of play like discarded groupies after a playoff victory bender.  Convenient one moment, forgotten the next.

Going forward, we Soldiers will stick with our intramural sports and leave the big leagues to you.  When it comes to matters of war and sacrifice, however, why don’t you leave it to the professionals?