Blue Star Chronicles

Private Beauchamp has written his version of the actions of himself and some of the other Soldiers based out of FOB Falcon in Iraq. I’m not as angry with him now that he’s come forward and identified himself as the writer of the stories that have made their way from one end of the internet to the other. I’m not sure why I’m not. I think because from reading more of his writings it’s apparent to me that he is someone who fancies himself a writer and probably has hopes of selling his stories one day. That may not be a fair or reasonable reaction, but it’s the way I feel.

The people I’m mad about are the ones using Beauchamp’s stories to promote their own agendas. The magazines, reporters and others who will take the stories and use them to to promote their traitorous propaganda that our Soldiers are the bad guys who are perpetrating unimaginable wrongs upon the poor innocent al-Qaeda and Iranian operatives they refer to a ‘freedom fighters’.

Our Soldiers and Marines are not the callous caricatures depicted by Beauchamp. They also aren’t saints that spend their every waking moment performing social services, missionary work, giving out school supplies or happily roaming the streets of Baghdad doing good. They are Warriors performing near impossible tasks. They are trying to work with the local population while dealing with terrorists of various stripes who are doing everything in their power to kill them.

The enemy is not a helpless group of peasants just trying to fight back against the enormous superpower ‘invaders’. The enemy is sophisticated, smart, strong, clever and agile. The enemy has almost limitless resources with financing, supplies and assistance from Iran and Syria. The enemy is living in the same neighborhoods our Soldiers live. A good night’s sleep is a distant memory for our Soldiers.

My son has sent me emails during his time in Iraq and described the living conditions, the battles, the frustrations, the anger and the weariness that I imagine every Soldier feels during long deployments in a foreign land, knowing each day that the people around them are trying to kill them. He’s told me of his feelings of helplessness when friends have been killed. He’s told me about the confusion when bombs start coming in and you aren’t sure where they are coming from. He’s told me about the heavy responsibility he feels knowing that the lives of his men depends to a large extent on the decisions he makes.

The platoon leader of the company’s tank platoon was sending reports to Task Force. He was in mid sentence of a post blast analysis report when the second explosion occurred. “CONTACT, possible secondary IED, we have casualties.” My heart stopped and sank and numbness swept over my body. I immediately broke into a cold sweet. My worst nightmare had come true; I had lost Soldiers under my command. I knew both of the Soldiers well. I often joked with them when I saw them. It was the worst feeling in the world.

Our Soldiers and Marines are human beings doing the best job they can under extremely difficult circumstances compounded by a political atmosphere that more times than not works against them. The circumstances are further complicated by an American public who increasing sees them as monsters rather than our sons and daughters or the kid next door making split second decisions under fire. I wonder how any of us would perform under those circumstances.

I started sending my son links to the blogs that are writing about Beauchamp’s stories when this story about FOB Falcon started making news on the internet. He’s read the stories with interest and we’ve discussed it a good bit over the internet. He’s never given me permission to publish his emails and letters to me before, but after reading what has been written he’s had a change of heart. With his permission, I will be publishing some of his correspondence in the next few days.

You can get the lowdown on the current news about the Beauchamp story at Michelle Malkin’s blog (Thanks for the link, Michelle!). There are a few others that have good information on the story, but it’s late and I can’t get it all pulled together right now. I’ll link some more up in the morning.

More links to blogs discussing the Beauchamp allegations:
Betsy’s Page, Villainous Company has several posts and some great discussion in the comments. The Florida Masochist, Lorie Byrd at Wizbang, Blackfive, Op-For

My previous post on this:

• FOB Falcon and the Soldier Calling Himself Scott Thomas from a Mother’s Perspective
• A FOB Falcon US Army Officer Responds to Fictional Stories About Soldiers
• Will the Blogosphere Defend Our Military the Same Way it Defended Our Borders?

My Beloved Curmudgeon and I have moved a lot during our marriage. We’ve bought and sold several houses along the way. In all that moving we have found a few things have been very consistent for us. Those things have been so consistent that by the time we bought the house we currently live in we were joking about having to make sure those things were in place before we bought it.

For instance, we have always had very interesting neighbors. Interesting as in eccentric and/or just downright odd. Almost all of our neighbors have had the same first name. I won’t name the name on the outside chance my neighbor happens to read this. I’ll keep an element of plausible deniability for the sake of peace in the neighborhood. We actually thought of asking our neighbor’s names before we bought the house. We joked about it, but didn’t actually ask. Sure enough, when we met the neighbor closest to us, he had the same name. When my Beloved Curmudgeon and I got back to the house after meeting him we were slack jawed. What are the odds!

Our neighbors have been a source of perverse entertainment for us over the years. There was an elderly couple that lived across the street from us years ago who had the loudest fights. This wasn’t the type of neighborhood one would expect this type of behavior which made it all the more entertaining. They would start fighting. She would throw him out of the house. He would stand out in the yard and yell for her to let him back in. She would yell at him out the window and start throwing his stuff out into the yard. He would stomp and snort around in the yard for a while. He’d usually wind up pleading with her. He’d finally get in his car and drive around the block repeatedly. Eventually, he’d pull back into the driveway and she’d let him back in. This happened about twice a week.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but more than a few times my Beloved Curmudgeon and I would turn off the lights and sit on the floor by the window watching them, we’d make sarcastic remarks to each other and laugh like a couple of idiots. Like I said, perverse entertainment.

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Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment engage in a FIRE FIGHT with terrorist in Al Anbar, Iraq, March 24, 2007.

h/t Neocons United

Get naked for peace! No, for animal rights! No, it’s global warming this time.

Why is it that people get naked when they want to protest something? I have a theory - but then I always have a theory. I think the people who get out and holler and carry on about something like drawing attention to themselves. What better way to draw even more attention to yourself than getting naked for your cause!

Well, now Greenpeace is looking for more naked volunteers to pose for a photo on a glacier to bring attention to the impact of climate change. Oh. And they remind their volunteers to take public transportation to the photo shoot. I guess that means no private jets to the nude shoot. I did wonder if Greenpeace means for the naked volunteers to wear clothes on the public transportation or will they be on buses and trains nude? It could get cold going all the way to Switzerland on a bus naked!

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — Wanted: volunteers willing to take their clothes off and have their picture taken on a freezing cold Alpine glacier.

The appeal by New York artist Spencer Tunick, famous for taking pictures of thousands of naked people in public settings worldwide, is intended for a photo shoot to highlight the effects of climate change on Switzerland’s shrinking glaciers, environmental group Greenpeace said on its Web site Wednesday.

Greenpeace said if global warming continues at its current pace, most Swiss glaciers will disappear by 2080.

The photo shoot, which follows Tunick’s previous shoots in London, Mexico City and Amsterdam, will take place in August at an undisclosed location in Switzerland.

Prospective candidates from further afield will have to start making travel arrangements now. “We aim to make this a climate friendly event, so please come by public transport and don’t fly,” Greenpeace said. [source]

Anybody want to car pool?

“Charlie Battery 2/142nd Field Artillery. Heading out on a mission — May 2007.”
Submitted by: SGT Porter

The photo speaks for itself.

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Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

More great posts trackbacked below …

Pushing through a storm in Iraq

I’ve spent a lot of time reading about the ‘Scott Thomas’ affair. ‘Scott Thomas’ is the pseudonym taken by a Soldier in Iraq who is weaving tall tales about their adventures there. As the mother of a Soldier serving in Iraq, I find myself glued to the stories and reading everything I can find written about it.

That may seem odd and it probably is, but there are two things that keep me awake at night while my son is in Baghdad. One is the obvious worry about his safety. That’s the worry every mother of every son who has ever gone to war has in her heart. The other is that he not be subjected to the being used for propaganda purposes by whatever enemy wants to use him, his unit, his company or whatever. I believe that is a worry that has taken on a whole new meaning in this war.

With the 24/7 scrutiny that our Troops are subjected too, even the smallest of things can be blown out of proportion and used by the enemy, the MSM or Congressmen who have their own agendas.

There are constant feeds of information and numerous enemies all too anxious to use it for their own purposes. The military or their civilian commanders seem to take every accusation, no matter how implausible, and treat it with an enormous over abundance of caution. Instead of standing up to the public and saying, ‘This is war, get over it.’ They take each situation and confine the military men/women involved - for years if necessary - and then go to the extreme to get to the bottom of the accusations. Only a few have been found to have committed wrong doing (which, by the way, speaks to the discipline and professionalism of our military). All of these factors leave our Troops vulnerable from all sides. I can’t speak for other mother’s of Soldiers, but for me, the idea of my son ending up in a situation like the Pendleton 8 is an absolute nightmare.

There are plenty of people on the internet taking apart Scott Thomas’ stories. I read on Hot Air earlier today that he suspects ‘Scott Thomas’ to be a Walter Mitty and that made sense to me. Since this whole story started I have imagined a young soldier writing stories to entertain himself and maybe his buddies, probably having ideas of making money off a book, or just for fun. I’ve imagined that he probably had no idea the stories would come back to bite him. As they say, ‘Loose Lips …’, the stories will certainly come back to bite him. Now that his superior officers are responding to the stories, I suspect he is laying low and hoping it blows over. I like to think that he is not actively trying to undermine his unit and company. I like to think he’s just a kid who has too much time on his hands and likes to weave tall tales. Time will tell.

The problem is the MSM is taking the story and running with it. They are using the stories ‘Scott Thomas’ has written as a propaganda tool. These stories are being used as part of the transformation of our Men at Arms from heroes to villains.

As the mother of a Soldier currently serving in Baghdad, that is frightening to me. It is my hope that the stories are proved wrong before the military or civilian leaders decide they have to take action against the men of FOB Falcon to prove to the public that they don’t stand for this sort of thing. We already know that about our Soldiers, we don’t need them to prove it. We need them to let them be Warriors.

I’m vicariously a little bit familiar with FOB Falcon. I know that the men there have had a very rough time of it. I know they are in a very violent and dangerous place. I know that FOB is not one of the FOBs we see pictures of or that dignitaries visit. It’s too dangerous. It’s not comfortable. They don’t have swimming pools or palm trees like some of the FOBs. They only have running water a couple of hours a day. They are mortared every day and every night. They have sand bags over their windows. They watch al-Qaeda plant IEDs from their towers at night and have to go out in the day and remove the newly planted IEDs and hope they get them all. Whenever they go out on patrol, al-Qaeda and Iranian operatives take pot shots at them. The sewage system in the surrounding neighborhood just runs raw sewage down the streets. Piles of garbage line the streets and wild dogs follow them in packs every where they go.

As the Officer wrote in the email I published yesterday.

Every man in the service today is there because he volunteered. They stood up in the face of danger, knowing we were at war, and said “I’ll go”.

The men on these FOBs know that when they go out on patrol they will be shot at and possibly hit IEDs. It’s untenable that they also have to worry that their careers, reputations and freedom could be taken away from them because of rumors, accusations or the whim of a reporter or Congressman.

The politics of war are bad enough without adding this new dimension to it. These are the ones who are willing to go where most of our population won’t go. They are the ones that will stand up, take the oath, and do whatever is necessary to protect and defend our country and way of life. They deserve much more from us than this.

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My previous post on this:

• A FOB Falcon US Army Officer Responds to Fictional Stories About Soldiers
• Will the Blogosphere Defend Our Military the Same Way it Defended Our Borders?

You can read much more about how the Scott Thomas case is falling apart on these blogs: The Florida Masochist, Villainous Company (and here), Argghhh!, A Blog for All, Hot Air, Ed Driscoll, Michelle Malkin, Blackfive, Amy Proctor

This is one of those things that make you love Texas.

“He was well done.”

That’s what one woman said Monday after helping her son apprehend an alleged child rapist using her barbecue meat fork.

“I stuck him in his butt!” Linda Rhodes told MyFOXdfw.com, explaining how she and her son John Jennings apprehended the 17-year-old suspect Friday night in Garland, Texas.

Jennings was barbecuing chicken when he heard a 7-year-old boy calling for help. He said he saw the suspect, Deshaun Ridge, on top of the child, allegedly raping the boy.

“He stood up, and I just punched him right in the face,” Jennings said. “He put his hands up and I grabbed him, and we went fighting.”

Rhodes called police and then jumped into the fight to help her son apprehend the suspect. They held Ridge until police arrived.

You go girl!!!

I received the email below this morning from a U.S. Army officer who is currently stationed at FOB Falcon. The email is in response to the allegations made by an ‘anonymous’ writer for the New Republic magazine who has made disparaging allegations regarding the operations of our military men at that FOB (Forward Operating Base). I wrote about this attack on the integrity of our Troops yesterday.

One of the things I find interesting in all this is that an element of truth is woven into the stories, just a small almost imperceivable thread of truth. For instance, the cemetery story. But then, good lies always mix truth with fiction. It makes them a little bit more believable.

Sir,

I am a U.S. Army officer and have been stationed at FOB Falcon, Baghdad, Iraq since October of 2006. I am currently still here. The stories that “Scott Thomas” describes are completely fictional. From some of the things he talks about I am led to believe that this individual may possibly be in my unit since we are the only ones with Bradley Fighting Vehicles and I recall the child cemetery that was uncovered in our sector while constructing a Combat Outpost.

First: I have never seen a woman on the FOB that was disfigured. FOB Falcon is full of combat Soldiers (men). There are very few female Soldiers on the FOB. After being here a year surrounded by men, I can tell you what every woman on this FOB looks like. IF there had been a woman with burns covering her face, and IF some undisciplined Soldier(s) had done something like described in this guys story, he would have been dealt with swiftly and harshly. The dining facility here is small and usually crowded. Any NCO or officer that had heard or seen someone committing this type behavior would have immediately approached that group and reacted to that situation. Those Soldiers would have had UCMJ actions taken against them. No one I know, NCO, officer, or even lower enlisted, would have tolerated this.

Second: There was a children’s cemetery unearthed while constructing a Combat Outpost (COP) in the farm land south of Baghdad International Airport. It was not a mass grave. It was not the result of some inhumane genocide. It was an unmarked cemetery where the locals had buried children some years back. There are many such unmarked cemeteries in and around Baghdad. The remains unearthed that day were transported to another location and reburied. While I was not there personally, and can not confirm or deny any actions taken by Soldiers that day, I can tell you that no Soldier put a human skull under his helmet and wore it around. The Army Combat Helmet (ACH) is form fitted to the head. Unlike the old Kevlar helmets, the ACH does not have a gap between the helmet and the liner, only pads. It would have been impossible for him to have placed and human skull, of any size, between his helmet and his head. Further more, no leader would have tolerated this type of behavior. This type of behavior is strictly forbidden in the U.S. Army and would have made the individual involved subject to UCMJ actions.

Third: When the U.S. Army takes to the streets on patrols we do it deliberately, with task and purpose. “Thomas” describes the Bradley slowing down and ‘jerking’ suddenly to hit dogs. This just isn’t possible. If he is slowing down, then the vehicles behind him are slowing down, and there is a gap created between him and the vehicles in front of him. This would violate standard operating procedure (SOP) and make the convoy more susceptible to attack. While no one that has been to Baghdad can deny that there are large packs of wild dogs roaming the streets, to think that that is all a Bradley crew is worried about is absurd. The streets are also filled with IED’s and EFP’s. They line every street and and every corner. They are the number one killer in Iraq. When we travel in convoys, dogs are not our concern. We watch the streets, we look at curbs, we look at rocks, we look at windows for snipers and trigger men, we don’t look at wild dogs. Also, if this guy is driving a Bradley, how is he marking his “dog kill count” in a green book. Again, any leader would have corrected this action immediately, not only because it is subject to UCMJ action, but mainly because it endangers the lives of every man in that convoy.

In a final note I would like to say this. The U.S. Army today is the most disciplined and professional Army in the history of the United States. This is the only war in our nations history where we have not instituted the draft to fill our ranks. Every man in the service today is there because he volunteered. They stood up in the face of danger, knowing we were at war, and said “I’ll go”. Most of these men are on their second deployment in support of the War on Terrorism, some are on their fourth and fifth. After five years of war with an increasing number of casualties, longer and more frequent deployments, and no end in site, these brave young men continue to volunteer their services, many of them reenlisting. No other Army in our history has been able to do that without the draft. Our military men and women today are true professionals, they are truly America’s best and bravest. While there are some bad apples and non-conformist in our ranks, we are quick to identify them and remove them from the service. The author of this story is a bad apple. He is trying to get attention by telling wild stories. He too will be identified and removed from the service.

Respectfully,

U.S. Army Officer

The drums of war get louder and louder. In the meantime, our media increases it’s attempts to villainize our Soldiers and some of our politicians parade around like a bunch of self-righteous attention hounds and the others prance around in pretty pink ballet slippers attempting to not offend our enemies.

Our country could give remedial classes in How to Lose a War 101.

Cartoon Cox and Forkum whose article associated with the cartoon has a perfect example of the disparity between the way we are fighting the war and the way the enemy is fighting the war.

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Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

More great posts trackbacked below …

I ask this question in all sincerity. I believe the blogosphere was the driving force behind the defeat of the bill that would have given amnesty for illegal aliens. It could do the same for our Fighting Forces.

Our Vietnam Veterans came home to chants of ‘Baby Killer’ and our country swore we’d never do that again. Now, our country mouths the words, ‘We Support Our Troops’ because no one wants to be guilty of doing to these soldiers what was done to our Vietnam War soldiers. The problem is that way too often there’s a caveat behind the words. ‘I support the troops but ….. [fill in the blank with whatever is currently the 'but'].

What exactly do the words ‘I support the troops’ mean? I know some people who quietly go about sending packages and making sure they send emails and letters. I know people who defend their honor with words, blogs and written letters. But all too often the words are hollow and basically meaningless without any action or courage backing them up.

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The Democrats had their horse and pony show this week. They did what they do, redefining the English language. One thing means the opposite of what we always thought it meant. Supporting the Troops now means calling for them to surrender in defeat. So the democrats postured and posed and made a big show of ’supporting the Troops’ while trying to force their want on everyone else.

They call themselves Patriots while undermining the very fabric of our country by allowing immigration without responsibility for some and holding others to the traditional rules for becoming citizens of our country. They call themselves Patriots even while visiting countries that have declared war against us, thereby giving those countries legitimacy and undermining any efforts we are making to contain those enemies.

I’m sick of them, their child-like thought processes and their cowardice.

Patriotism is being redefined and real patriotism has become a dinosaur in our society.

It’s not just the leftist though. We’ve been betrayed by many on the right. Not all, but many. I had my first hint of disappointment in our President when he apologized for some of his words after 9/11. He apologized for saying ‘bring it on’ and more. I couldn’t believe my ears. By doing that he presented himself as weak and thereby presented the country as weak. I thought, at the time, that someone was giving him very bad advice.

Unfortunately, it’s only gotten worse since then. I have been one of his big supporters. But my support of him has been eroding.

As he has become weaker on the war on jihadists, his approval ratings have plummeted. Yet, it seems that most people interpret his plummeting numbers in relation to his support of the war. In my opinion, and I believe the opinion of many others, it’s not his support of the war, but his WEAKNESS in executing the war that has brought about disappointment and plummeting approval ratings. Why else would Congresses ratings be even lower than the Presidents? Americans don’t like appearing weak to the world.

William Teach even has him as his weekly Surrender Monkey for his soft stance on immigration. I don’t see his stance on immigration as being much different than his stance on terrorism. It’s almost as though he believes if we are nice enough to these people they will start liking us and become our friends. With that, my disappointment in him only grows stronger.

I’m regaining respect for McCain because he is willing to support the Troops with more than words. He stands firm on his stance in support of the Troops regardless of the personal attacks he takes for it. I like what Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich say, I’m still watching them. Rudy Giuliani has a proven history of strong leadership. I don’t know who I’ll end up voting for, I’m still watching. The only thing I want is a strong president who will turn this perception of our country as being weak around. None of the other issues will have amount to much if we are nuked by this enemy we are basically ignoring.

As for the so-called Troop surge in Iraq …. I’m willing to see if it goes anywhere. I’m aware that how things look on the ground there depends on where you are. I do know that there are areas there that are having to use the extra Troops for more security because they have been required to move out of their fortified camps into neighborhoods that are infested with al-Qaeda and Iranian operatives. These areas are actually less secure with the extra Troops because of living in the neighborhoods and the extra manpower needed to provide security. al-Qaeda and the Iranians know that and use it to their advantage. It’s a very dangerous and violent place to be. But that’s never in the news. Only the bases that are more secure are on the news.

So-called peace groups call for the death of politicians, soldiers and officers. People shrug it off. Marines are imprisoned on the word of our enemies and condemned on the publicity generated by a United States Congressman and no one seems all that upset about what was done to these Marines. It’s old news. It’s easy to be horrified at the alleged actions of the Marines when it’s splattered all over the news and given steam by the Congressman. But their acquittal just isn’t as interesting and let’s face it, Americans have a very short attention span.

Even every day citizens mouth the words that we support the Troops, but we do nothing about it. Most people pay very little attention to the war. You wouldn’t know we are a country at war unless you have a loved one there. Most people just hear headlines and repeat the talking points that are pumped into their living rooms constantly, if they pay attention at all.

All of this leaves me feeling very discouraged. I have faith in the American people, but I think very few have paid close enough attention to understand the dire nature of what is happening. Our leadership is failing us on all fronts.

I’m sick of them all.

I think we need to think long and hard before we punch in our votes for the next election. It’s not whether we agree on every issue with a candidate, but is that candidate a true statesman who will let the world know, in no uncertain terms, that messing with America will not be overlooked and we will not try to make friends with them, but will do what we have to do to make them stop and go back to their own countries to lick their wounds.

Our enemies would fold like a house of cards if they weren’t laughing so hard at us for trying to be their friends even while they make declarations of war.

/rant.

***Patton Language Warning ***

tiara tip: LindaSog