Posted on 03/27/2010 12:59:55 PM PDT by worst-case scenario
It's been said that the military is always preparing for war. That is true. We prepare for combat every day. We ran 5 miles today to the rifle range and shot nearly 200 rounds a piece at targets and then ran back. However, we also pray for peace. I would love one day to be completely unnecessary. But alas, I am a realist, and I know that day will never come.
The headlines of the last week have reminded me more of glimpsing at the S2 Daily Briefing Sheets while in theater or the Al-Jazeera than the NY Times or the Washington Post. Think about that for a moment, let it sink in.
Before I get into the main premise of this article - I need to make two statements here.
First and foremost , when it comes to the back and forth of who did what to whom and why - I don't give a @!$%#. It doesn't change the action. In life we're judged by our actions, nothing more, nothing less. One of the greatest things of the military is when it comes to an enemy, the politics behind the situation - don't matter in accomplishing that mission. For the military , life is simple in that regard.
Secondly, Regardless of your political ideology, you've earned the right as US Citizens to say your piece - no matter how wrong it may be. That is your right, and I will give my life to protect it.
(Excerpt) Read more at christopher-calbat.newsvine.com ...
Not that I’ve had a whole lot of luck hunting deer, but even I know that’ll never work.
I don’t think the “Coming Unpleasantness” will provide an extended opportunity for using tanks.
I see the one where the guy hoped the Sgt steps on an IED was deleted.
Let the thread be a set up. No doubt there is a war room or “fusion center” with trolls here. F them and the syphlitic horses they call girlfriends. We can all read the Constitition. I will not have it “interpreted” for me by some clique of Hugo Chavez wannabees. They want to take our freedom, they better pack a lunch, it’s going to be a LONG day!
There’s a reason Switzerland was never invaded by its far more powerful and often bellicose neighbors: a tradition of armed self defence.
500 taliban fighters are tying down how many troops in Afghanistan with rusty AKs?
Has any occupying army ever tried to subdue a nation with over 100 million scoped deer rifles that can hit at 500+ yards? Tried to occupy their own country against its own will? NEVER.
I disagree. IMO blue vs. red is going to be a slug fest lasting years...
I didn’t say the Coming Unpleasantness won’t persist for an extended period of time; I just don’t think it will involve a lot of tanks.
Unfortunately, I see secession followed by on a Civil War with Red States vs. Blue States, mano a mano.
It’ll be a war of one-shot engagements, if God forbid it comes to pass due to the tyrants trampling our Constitution.
How do you divide the states when the real split is urban-rural?
He wrote some more just now.
“A rewrite of a Marine’s call for peace and pause that had been reduced into sheer irrelevance....and an apology.
News Type: Opinion — Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:04 PM EDT
us-news, military, peace, us-government
By Sgt C USMC
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(I want to apologize to all of you who posted your thoughts and feelings regarding the prior article - I de-published the article to rewrite it to this, and it will not re-publish. I understand many people put a lot of effort into those comments, as I put a lot of effort into my replies. If any of the Newsvine community can tell me how I can get the comments back , I will gladly do so. My biggest apology is for my failure as a moderator. I should have done a better part to keep the conversation to the topic at hand and avoid responding to derailing comments.)
This is intended to be a rewrite of the article that was written - because some people obviously DON’T get it.
The article I wrote yesterday was intended to be a call for peace, and a moment for pause. In all honesty, it was merely my venting after reading dozens of headlines regarding the type of violence in the US that I was more accustomed to seeing on the daily intel briefing sheets while in theater. I never expected the response I got, and I must admit while some of the comments that I received were some of the greatest thoughts and words I’ve ever seen - some were words I’d hope no human being would never utter to another. My family and myself were threatened, if for no other reason than because my opinions differed from someone else’s. Obviously, the intent of my message was convoluted and lost. This is an attempt to correct it.
Every service member has sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. There’s no grey area to that. It’s as black and white as it gets.
I nor any service member wants to combat civilians in this or any other country. I don’t know how many times I can reiterate that - we do not want it to happen. Even as we prepare for war, we pray for peace.
We lace up our boots every morning in an attempt to preserve the freedoms that democracy has awarded us. We all love our country, and we would give our lives to protect it and its way of life.
Military members must have faith in the system of Government, or the whole chain of command and system of military discipline falls apart. We are rarely given all of the details of our entire mission, and instead are expected to complete seemingly ambiguous tasks in support of that mission with the belief that we are doing the right thing . When we find an order illegal , we’re obligated not to follow it, and report it.
So call me naive, but yes. I do have faith in the Constitution and the mechanisms inside of it to correct itself and removing people unworthy of holding office. If I didn’t , I never would’ve taken an oath to defend it. You just can’t defend part of the Constitution, or the parts you agree with. It’s all or nothing. I choose to defend all of it ,even the parts I may disagree with.
Probably the most foolish choice of words I chose to use in that article were the words ‘civil war’ . I just shouldn’t have written them. But I could think of no other way to articulate what I felt it would require for the military to become involved. A civilian uprising wouldn’t be sufficient, it would require an all out civil war.
Much of the comments reflected on this poor choice of words - and successfully derailed the conversation from a call for peace and to use the democratic system to resolve our differences, to people arguing over who’s side would destroy who. I’ll admit, I too was guilty in that regard - and my attempt to compare military and civilian life easily came across as boisterous and hostile, even though its’ intent was to be succinct and concise. For that, I apologize.
BUT DON’T YOU @!$%#ING GET IT?!? In a war, no one wins. Even if you’re not wounded, it doesn’t mean you leave whole. The images, the feelings, the thoughts never leave you, they’re forever etched into your mind, and they become a part of who you are. It’s been said that “the people who die in war are the lucky ones - they don’t have to live with the memories of what transpired.” As morbid as it sounds, in many cases its true.
And to what end ? What would be left AFTER this ‘war’ was concluded ? Would anything really change ? Or would we slowly sink back into the quagmire of the status quo, resort back to what’s comfortable, and then future generations will be arguing over the very reasoning behind this conflict , just as we now debate the real reason behind the civil war ? What would our children, and their children say when they look back at this point in our history ? Seriously, what does anyone expect to gain from fighting their friends, family, neighbors over a difference of opinion ? That’s what this really boils down to - people are screaming for blood because they feel differently than someone else.
If that’s not the definition of madness, I don’t know what is. It needs to stop. Now.
The senatorial elections are coming in November 2010. Everyone who feels passionately about this country , one way or the other, should get out and vote for who THEY think will best represent them . The same in November of 2012. This is your Constitutional right - this is your step in democracy. You get to choose who represents you and your views in the Government.
If you choose to vote using force instead, not only will you fail in your attempt, but your cause will suffer on account of your actions. You will hurt not only yourself, but also every individual who ever aligns with that cause in the future. Consider that when you’re making your decision - our causes are not typically portrayed by our most noble or thoughtful members, but rather the most crude and thoughtless. They forever taint what might otherwise be a worthwhile message.
So once again, I , an NCO of Marines, call on all people both military and civilian to exercise your Constitutional rights and participate in the democratic process. I urge you to stop reacting, and start instead thinking and considering. I urge you not to immediately dismiss opinions other than your own.
I urge you to open your minds and consider that maybe, just maybe, there’s not a single one of us who has all of the answers, and that includes myself.
In short, I urge all of you - to treat everyone else as you would want to be treated, whether you agree with them or not.”
Maybe in blue areas guerrilla warfare, I see the red states pulling out with Texas in the lead and Dallas as it's capitol. A also see a conventional war blue vs, red (unfortunately).
All they would ever see are ordinary men and women trying to go about their business. Some would smile and chit-chat and hand them their IDs. Most would be grumpy ... and hand them their IDs. None of their IDs would say "I'm an anti-government rebel." The troops would stand around dealing with POed civilians.
Meanwhile, traitors would disappear with little or no evidence of what happened. When you outnumber the bastards 1,000 to 1 you don't even need guns for weapons. Just opportunity and ingenuity.
They should stop threatening and insulting the American people. That just makes Americans think they shouldn't exist. When you deal with people with honesty and respect they hardly ever think about revolt or mayhem. We are not animals we are men and we know the difference between respect and insults, between honest differences and a con game. We know the difference between the Constitution and Karl Marx.
That's an excellent question. If the legislature of say Arkansas says we go with Texas, then that entire state goes. There doesn't need to be consensus. The Union fought the first Civil War with copperheads everywhere and draft riots in NY. If some in Arkansas want to do a counter insurgency, go ahead. I'm not seeing that there. The real problem is say Atlanta. There may be riots if Ga goes with Texas. These can be quelled. Plus conscription will make all Georgians soldiers.
I’ve written three long novels on these premises, and I still have a hard time seeing how the regions split. Okay, Texas maybe goes alone. But states like PA, that are evenly split on population urban vs rural, but 90% of the territory is rural...
Look at the Spanish, Bosnian and Lebanese civil wars to see how ugly it gets when cities go to war with themselves, and when the “lines” are a shifting patchwork. It’s beyond ugly. Makes our CW1 look like a very polite gentleman’s duel.
I stand by that this guy needs to be psychologically checked out.
Odd. I could have sworn that in his last rant, which he deleted, he told me how Marines are going to wipe opposition right off the face of America.....because, you know, he runs 5 miles to the range and 5 miles back. I guess he wasn't ready for 10,000 patriots to call BS on his rant, so I doubt he has the slightest clue what 3 million or so pissed of Americans can do. He's had his 15 minutes of fame.
Yeah, I guess it was a big mistake to fight WW2 against the Nazis and Imperial Japan.
The Marines who died from Guadalcanal to Okinawa would disown this creep SGT C--t.
You know I've been thinking about this lately, and it occurred to me that our Civil War was in many ways an historical anomaly...not unique, but certainly rare in its having started with fairly well demarcated geographic lines. Most internecine conflicts start on religious, secular, linguistic, tribal, etc. grounds and mature into geographic divisions as the groups consolidate or assert control over an area, but not many have started out with firmly drawn lines.
During the revolutionary war a third of the population was loyalists. Same thing. Most of them just watched and did nothing.
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