From DADT to, In Your Face

Since first enacted, under Bill Clinton in 1993, the policy known as 'Don't Act, Don't Tell' has governed the way the Services have handled the inevitable inclusion of homosexuals and lesbians. Essentially, the policy recognized what all of us have known, that some in uniform have not been as forthright about their sexual proclivities as others. On the surface, the policy was there to promote order and discipline in an environment where these are not just hallmarks but crucial to mission success. It also gave silent consent to those practicing homosexuality to continue to serve as long as that practice was kept in private.

Gleaning any number of politically engineered surveys with specifically crafted questions aimed at people in uniform has provided a seemingly mixed accounting of perceptions of these sexual practices and both sides of the argument have used the data to sway the argument one way or the other.

While I am sure this engineering of craft gives some sense of power to the ideologues using the results, literally everyone in the argument seems to not have understood the ultimate price that will be paid for this gaming.

Societies throughout time have struggled with this issue. It is not new and we are not more advanced because President Obama will be signing a piece of paper this morning that will put us on par with the likes of Sodom, Gomorrah, Sparta, Pompei, the Roman Empire, ancient Greece, et al. But once again we are witnessing our government's failure to consult the annals of History to see the fruit of their decisions. Each of these aforementioned societies fell into ruin after having followed the same course of action our Congress and the White House just took. It is also worthy to note, that almost every vote, and every signature given to repeal this policy has been given by men - and women who have never donned a uniform in defense of this nation; Men and Women who on the low end of the scale receive $174,000.00 a year to safeguard not only our physical security but our moral underpinning as well.

The surveys given to the Warrior community that seemed to suggest the vast majority will welcome this policy change have been ever so cleverly crafted in a way that caused the respondent to consider whether or not he hates the person rather than the practice. Adm Mullen refused to answer Senator McCain's question on this issue because the Admiral knew of the deviously designed disingenuous structure of the questions. These questions were specifically designed to produce a result that upper echelon leadership could live with and to persuade proponents of DADT to 'move over'.

In their rabid zeal to darn the fabric of American society, they have thrust onto our military yet one more untenable item to deal with and this, during a time of war. If anyone thinks this will not have a detrimental effect on the state of morale and effectiveness across the board, you are naïve and foolish. This is especially true in a Service as intense and masculine as the Marine Corps. I have long believed that the axiom 'the Marine Corps builds men' to be inaccurate. The fact is men come to the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps trains them to be the finest Warriors the world has ever seen. Members of all of the other Services will tell you something similar. But I am convinced that men who come to the Marine Corps, a service that promises pain - in large quantity, are answering a clarion call. They don't join because the Marine Corps is a 'tolerant, all accepting' organization; it is because the Marine Corps squares off with danger - and destroys it with men genetically pre-disposed for the rigors of intense combat.

If Congress wants to 're-structure' something, they should look into their own souls and do a little re-tooling there. This latest unconscionable act by this morally stunted government will prove to have been one of the decisive nails in the coffin awaiting the sarcophagus - and the grave of this nation.

It should give pause to us all to consider the eventual plight of each and every nation in history that has openly traveled this route.

Members of Congress should glean the pages of history; secular and Biblical to see what happened to those men and women who have set their nations on the course this sitting government just has.

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

A Note of Encouragement and Warning For Allen West

The last two weeks have provided a flurry of 'activity', at least by Washington DC standards. The murder of 6 American Soldiers in Sangin by an Afghan man posing as a recruit wanting to become a border patrol/policeman caused Maine's Olympia Snowe to demand she be 'kept in the loop' about policy changes within the Pentagon designed to reduce or eliminate traitors in our midst. Unfortunately; Senator Snowe has been deceived or is self deluded in her assessment of the problem.

She apparently still sees this as the aberrant act of an individual rather than what it truly is; another manifestation of the true heart of a true believer in the actual, literal doctrines of Islam. In that; the Taliban, Al Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood and for that matter Muslims everywhere have succeeded by once again successfully side-tracking an otherwise intelligent person, a westerner, an American and by some accounts a Christian from a core truth about the religion of Islam. Given that Ms Snowe's primary concern is narrowly defined to showing compassion for the family of a murdered constituent, she unwittingly gives aid to an enemy content to keep their enemy off balance.

The latest release of secret documents squirreled to wiki leaks director Julian Assange by a misguided and morally challenged Private First Class Bradley Manning has put everyone in government on the edge of their seats. This particular brand of treachery is not in league with that of Snowe's concern but will almost certainly produce repercussions throughout the military and diplomatic communities.

The content of private conversations, the disposition of troops in Afghanistan, language not 'friendly' to the Muslim hordes or their prophet, and a myriad of other things our blinded leadership has not considered will undoubtedly be used as propaganda and to fuel the blood lust of the hate filled adherents of this demonically conceived ideology. Are Manning and Assange enemies of the state? It depends upon the century in which you are asking the question. 100 years ago or even during WW II, they would both find themselves at the end of the hangman's noose. Today…..

The latest and greatest is, of course, the assessment of our strategy (s) in Afghanistan. By all accounts, there 'appears' to be progress. On the one hand, the Taliban seem to have been denied maneuver room. Much of the credit has been given to the covert ops side of the equation but it is quite clear that troop saturation in former Taliban strongholds is just as likely a reason.

If this proves to be so and given the incredibly poor showing of our Afghan 'counterparts', exactly how long should a reasonable man expect this to last? On the other hand; the winning hearts and minds campaign seems to be lagging. Apparently you can't win over an Afghan and true believer in Islam with 'treats'. Look; the fact of the matter is that Muslims in general and in particular Afghan's are pragmatic and opportunistic when it comes to their handling of infidels. Any gain is a win even if it means taking money and goods from the foolhardy and unknowing only to use it against them at some future date.

We have been unprepared for this kind of asymmetrical combat since day one and not because we aren't smart enough or our Warriors willing enough but because academia and their damaged prodigies now in politics and upper echelon military circles have opened the gates and accepted the wooden horse. There is absolutely nothing that can be done to change the minds of this current crop of leaders because they were in fact very properly indoctrinated by the academic authority figures of their day. They never stood a chance of becoming the kind of critical thinkers that would dare question the authenticity of the teachings they received in the great institutions of indoctrination.

Having had those lessons recently bolstered by the claims of our newest and, apparently, favorite advisory committee, The Muslim Brotherhood, why would they feel compelled to question it especially given the incredible opportunity to use something like COIN during the course of their individual careers? Unfortunately, for many General grade Officers, dusting off an old strategy like COIN is akin to a perverted game of Risk; what's not to like?

Enter Colonel Allen West. Colonel West, soon to be Congressman West has been selected to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. Given the content of his campaign speeches and especially those dealing with this particular issue, it is apparent, for the moment, that he could be the greatest ally our Warriors have inside the beltway; someone knowledgeable of the military, the battlefield, Islam and with the tenacity of a dog with a bone. My encouragement to Colonel West is to never forget 'your first love' and never forget that an appointment inside the beltway by reason of a won election is first, foremost and always, service. You must never forget that service comes with a cost to the one serving - and always be prepared to pay the price.

You will be dragged out and scourged as a hate-monger.

You will be reviled by those of lesser character and lesser understanding of the issues.

You may find yourself only serving one term because the electorate is fickle and largely without intestinal fortitude.

Compromise is the forte of the unprincipled and in this case will get Warriors killed - for political gain as it has been doing for far too long!

You will, however, be held in the highest esteem by the only group that really counts right now, especially during a time of war and that is, the Warrior community. Those who have chosen to put their collective backsides where their beliefs and hearts lie are in the end, the only ones that matter because their lives are the only ones truly at risk for the benefit of us all.

You can, in fact, be the one person in that miserable place we have dubbed 'the Dark City' that can turn this around and in the process, save lives - American Warrior's lives and maybe, just maybe, in the process hand to the American people the one thing they have forgotten counts in time of war; a victory.

God Speed!

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard