Posted on 01/10/2005 4:43:38 AM PST by The Mayor
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 1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar. |
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Surely you bluff!
I am encased in a stealth shield -- ..:))
ooops, you surely are.. : )
Hold the fort, brave warrior --
Night, Rus..:))
G'Night M'Lady!
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Read: Eccl. 1:1-11; 12:13-14
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. —Ecclesiastes 12:13
Bible In One Year: Genesis 33-36
What's the point? This question came to mind as I watched my grandsons' dog fetch a ball for me again and again.
What's the point? That's what the writer of Ecclesiastes asked as he thought about the monotonous cycle he observed in nature and in life—the same things happening year after year, generation after generation.
What's the point? That's what a retired businessman was asking, in effect, when he told me he would just as soon die as live any longer. He had seen and done everything he had wanted to do. Now he had reached the place where life held more pain for him than pleasure.
What's the point? Here it is. A few years before a friend of mine died, he said, "Life is a wonderful experience. It's marvelous to see that God keeps nature going in its pattern. It's wonderful to know that we're here to love God above everything and to love our neighbor as ourselves. It's comforting to believe that all our sins are forgiven because of what Christ did on the cross. And it's exciting to think about the eternity God has for us. It sure is great to be alive."
Life can be depressing when God is left out. But how exciting it is when He is at the center! —Herb Vander Lugt
"Every Marine's a rifleman," Chief Warrant Officer
Timothy Soignet remarked Nov. 2 amid the pop and crack of scores of M-16 rifles
firing at Chosin Range at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
That's why, the range officer said, nearly a fourth of the 12 weeks of recruit
training given at Parris Island is devoted to rifle marksmanship.
Wearing a wide-brimmed campaign hat that shaded his eyes from the bright
afternoon sun, Soignet noted that 300 recruits were assembled on the range that
afternoon to practice firing their M-16s at 50 stationary targets mounted 200
yards away.
The targets, he noted, are pulled down and put back up by recruits, with the
action supervised and synchronized by range officials for safety.
Safety is paramount on the rifle range, the warrant officer said, noting his
primary marksmanship instructors keep an expert watch on goings on.
Soignet said range cadre also instruct recruits on the finer points of
marksmanship, noting that improper sight alignment most often contributes to
inaccurate shooting.
It's also important that the recruits learn to use gentle pressure on the rifle
trigger to "squeeze off" their shots rather than to abruptly jerk back the
trigger, which most often results in off-target strikes, Soignet explained.
Marksmanship instructors also examine the target strike patterns displayed in a
data book carried by recruits, the warrant officer said.
The data book "is sort of like the 'bible of shooting' for the recruits,"
Soignet said. Recruits use the books to improve on their shooting.
"They can reflect back at the end of the day" and work on their mistakes, he
said.
OOPS! Thank YOU for posting the Military Prayer List! Was just about to do that!
A Contrast in Character
By Brady Stump
In the small town of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a nationally recognized public speaker and Vietnam Veteran delivered a message of courage and hope to an enthusiastic crowd. Up the coast, at a rally in Virginia, a Democratic presidential candidate was also delivering a message of similar themes to an equally enthusiastic crowd.
To my knowledge, Clebe McClary and John F. Kerry have never met. Their two stories have very similar beginnings. McClary is a decorated war hero and Vietnam Veteran. After surviving a ferocious midnight attack by a Vietnamese suicide squad that left him with one less arm and eye, McClary was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver Star.
Kerry also fought bravely in Vietnam. Kerry earned his stars as the commander of a patrol boat, where he was wounded in battle three times. When his service was completed, Kerry also earned three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver Star, just as McClary did.
However after returning from Vietnam, the two war hero’s lives would begin to track in much opposite paths.
After recovering from 39 surgeries, McClary would return from Vietnam and begin an illustrious public speaking career that would impact thousands of lives. Many speaking engagements, from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams, would follow. Still, McClary would always feel most at home when speaking on messages of bravery and courage with his fellow men and women of the Armed Forces. These speaking engagements would take McClary to United States military bases all around the world.
Kerry returned from Vietnam a changed man as well. The same men that had served so bravely on his patrol boat and those that had fought fearlessly in the rice fields of Vietnam were now taking the brunt of Kerry’s attacks. Kerry had now joined a new army. Kerry now stood beside actress Jane Fonda, in an all out assault on his fellow Vietnam Vets. In the following months, Kerry would play a vital role on the attacks of the psyche of the American Vietnam Veteran.
Kerry would first play an integral part in the “Winter Soldier Investigation” hearings, where he would assert that United States soldiers often committed acts of torture, murder, and rape, while serving in their respective tours of duty. After the “hearings,” Kerry would go onto speak before Congress saying that it was our soldiers who were committing the atrocities in Vietnam, not the enemy. Kerry would always deliver speeches thick with anti-war rhetoric, yet very thin on hard facts backing up his accusations.
Additionally, Kerry would go onto pen a book, The New Soldier, to further raise his stock with the anti-war crowd and lower even further the self-esteem of his fellow Vietnam Veterans. This book featured an insulting cover that mocked the patriotic and legendary image of the Marines raising the American flag in the battle for Iwo Jima, by showing the flag upside down.
Kerry’s final act of solidarity to the “Hanoi Fonda” movement came when he supposedly threw his military medals over the fences guarding the capitol building, during a protest in DC. We would later find out that these medals were not his own, but a fellow Vietnam Vet duped by the cool anti-war Kerry. Kerry was smart enough to know that these medals may come in handy someday during a congressional, senate or even a presidential election run.
I mention these facts because I was in the crowd the other night when McClary spoke. There is something he said that night that I cannot forget. He spoke of his fondness for fellow Vietnam Vets and lifting up their spirits over the years through his speaking. He talked about the 56,000 plus names on the Vietnam Memorial. McClary then spoke of the thousands of additional honorable Vietnam Vets who probably took their own lives after the war. He spoke of their negative portrayal on TV, in the movies and by activist groups after the war. The unfair and horrific assault on their character drove many Vets to lose all self-worth and pay the ultimate price via their own hands.
Now the man that played a major role in the ferocious attack on the character of the American Vietnam Veteran is returning for a new tour of duty. Now Kerry expects these Veterans to forget his attacks on their character and service to country, and participate as political pawns by lending their support to his upstart campaign.
One man chose to build up and give hope to our Veterans, while another broke them down with character assassinations and false accusations. The contrast in character is apparent to me and surely to our honorable Vietnam Veterans too.
I hate to see a Military Monday go by without it..
Hi eveyone. Reporting from work. We're STILL without power. There are about 3,000 households left in our county (out of about 18,000 that originally lost power last Wednesday). All the ice has melted but the tree crews continue to cut out downed trees before electricians can work on the lines. Reports are most should be up and running by tonight. This is getting VERY VERY old. I am actually looking forward to doing dishes and doing laundry (AND flushing toilets!) I'm even longing to hear Rusty drinking cold fresh water out of the toilet bowl. YIKES! Have a great day!
P.S. Mega prayers for our military men and women past and present. Thanks, as always, Rus for posting this. Okay...back to work!
Sure hope you get your power back today. :( Can't believe how long you've had to 'rough it'. It is good you had the hotel room for showers and getting dressed for work, etc. Guess you've had lots of 'take-out' food in the last several days!
I hope you get it back soon, I know how impossible life can be when power is out so long.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2005 -- It's called ScanEagle, and it has already
saved the lives of many Marines.
ScanEagle is an unmanned aerial vehicle that the Marines used during Operation
Al Fajr, the coalition operation to remove insurgents from this city.
The ScanEagle system, developed by Boeing and the Insitu Group of Bingen,
Wash., had its baptism of fire during some of the heaviest urban combat Marines
have been involved in since Hue City in Vietnam in 1968. The UAV performed
flawlessly, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force officials said today.
ScanEagle is a relatively low-cost UAV at $100,000 a copy. But it's real worth
was giving Marines in Fallujah a real-time picture of the enemy and helping
them close with and kill insurgents without becoming casualties.
Driven by a small propeller, the aircraft can stay airborne for 19 hours on
just a gallon and a half of gas.
It is a "launch-and-forget" system. A catapult launches the 40-pound aircraft,
and a computer operator just clicks the cursor over the area of interest. The
aircraft operates autonomously.
The cameras -- either for day or night -- have enough definition to identify
individuals and show if they are carrying weapons. "This was a true advantage
for us during the operation," said Marine Col. John Coleman, chief of staff for
the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. The rules of engagement were such that
Marines could not engage unless they were sure the proposed target was carrying
a weapon or intent on harming coalition forces.
ScanEagle enabled commanders to ascertain targets and provided specific
coordinates via the Global Positioning System.
The system can also track moving targets. ScanEagle gives commanders at several
different levels real-time video. With the explosive growth of using the Web in
warfare, commanders many miles away can direct the system.
All of this is not bad for a system designed to find tuna fish. Insitu
developed the aircraft to be launched and recovered by tuna boats. Fishermen
would use the UAV to spot schools of tuna.
When the Marines needed another UAV system, they contracted with Boeing in June
2004 for ScanEagle and the contractors to run it. Four Boeing employees
answered the call, and ScanEagles were soon flying missions over the most
dangerous city in Iraq.
The UAV is small and tough to see, said Marine officials. The contractors put
the mufflers pointing up so that the enemy couldn't track the aircraft by
sound. The Marines operate the aircraft at a very low altitude and lost only
one to enemy fire during the weeks of intelligence gathering leading up to
Operation Al Fajr.
The Marines already use the Pioneer UAV and have access to other UAV
information. The ScanEagle has a small footprint. Manning for the system is
small, and all the system needs to operate can be carried in four Humvees.
The Pioneer, one of the oldest UAVs in the inventory, needs a runway to operate
from and several C-130s to transport the system. And it requires 120 people to
operate it.
Marine officials are impressed with the ScanEagle system, and have shown the
system's capabilities to Army, Navy and Air Force officials.
Marine officials do not know the true extent of the system's use. "You never
really know until the Marines push the capabilities," Coleman said. "Our young
Marines are the experts. They know what they need, and they have the knowledge
to try new methods and stretch the capabilities of most pieces of equipment."
Related Site:
1st Marine Expeditionary Force [http://www.i-mef.usmc.mil/]
Hi, Billie. What a cute graphic. I'm sending you a little Texas humor. Enjoy.
Texans In The "After Life"
St. Gabriel came to the Lord and said, "I have to talk to you. We have some Texans up here who are causing problems. They're swinging on the pearly gates, my horn is missing, barbecue sauce is all over their robes, their dogs are riding in the chariots, and they're wearing baseball caps and cowboy hats instead of their halos. They refuse to keep the stairway to heaven clean. There are watermelon seeds and pig feet bones all over the place. Some of them are walking around with just one wing."
The Lord said, "Texans are Texans, Gabriel. Heaven is Home to all my children. If you want to know about real problems, call the Devil."
The Devil answered the phone, "Hello? Darn, hold on a minute." The Devil returned to the phone, "O.K., I'm back. What can I do for you?" Gabriel replied, "I just want to know what kind of problems you're having down there."
The Devil said, "Hold on again. I need to check on something." After about 5 minutes the Devil returned to the phone and said, "I'm back. Now what was the question?" Gabriel said, "What kind of problems are you having down there?"
The Devil said, "Man, I don't believe this....Hold on." This time the Devil was gone 15 minutes. The Devil returned and said, "I'm sorry Gabriel, I can't talk right now. Those darn Texans have put out the fire and are trying to install air conditioning."
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