Carmichael's Position

Tell this guy he can’t fly an American Flag from a Flag Pole in Virginia

Medal Of Honor Recipient! Colonel Van Barfoot

Italy, 23 May 1944.  Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans.

He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17.

Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun.

He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.

He can do this for his country and his soldiers, yet a home owners association in Virginia will not allow him to fly the American flag from a pole in his front yard. 

 

He is a 90 year old WWII veteran!  He’s earned the right to tell the HOA to… well… politely Stick it Where a Proctologist with 3 foot salad tongs would have a tough time accessing!!!

Comment from the Sussex Square Homeowner's Association :

"This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole... We are a neighborhood of patriotic Americans, many of whom have served our country in the military as Col. Barfoot has done.."

Uh… No!… MANY have NOT served this country AS Col. Barfoot has!  Of the Millions who have served this country only ~ 3,400 have been awarded the Medal Of Honor!!! and many of those posthumously!!!

New law needs to pass… Medal of Honor Recipients can do whatever they damn well please!!!

Back From My First Tailhook Reunion and Symposium

As most of you know, a couple of years ago I took on the task of creating, writing, editing, and taking photos for the Tailhook Association’s blog, “The Tailhook Daily Briefing.”  In the two years I have been the editor, the blog has received over a quarter of a million hits and is regularly landed on hundreds of times daily as the number one return on various Google and Yahoo searches.  All very gratifying for me as I try to give something back the some of my greatest heroes, Naval Aviators.

Well, earlier this year I was informed I had been nominated for “Honorary Tailhooker of the Year” for my efforts.  I can never be nominated for “Tailhooker of the Year” as I am not an aviator, nor do I have any traps or cat shots to my name.  (Maybe someday…).  I was honored by the nomination, hell some of the past winners of the award are former Secretaries of the Navy for God’s sake!  Who wouldn’t welcome being included in such revered  company?

About a month ago, I was informed by “Tag” Ostertag (Naval Aviator Extraordinaire … and not just in his mind!) that I had indeed won the award, and that I was expected to be in Reno to receive my plaque at the Saturday awards lunch.  Again, I was floored!  And Honored! And humbled!

Wow…

So come this past September 10th, Ginger and I fly out to Reno, to attend my first (Ginger’s too for that matter) Tailhook Annual Reunion and Symposium.  I am glad I went.

We met up in Reno with my long time friend and fellow Tailhooker, Ken Schoeni, (actually Ken has been a Tailhooker longer than I have).  Ken was kind enough to help me take care of a few awkward logistic issues as I would be unable to arrive until late on Thursday night, and would need our registration materials early Friday Morning as we headed off from Reno to see the Blue Angels perform at the September 11th Remembrance NAS Fallon Airshow.

The Airshow was fantastic, Severe Clear and Beer! No better way to see an airshow! 

After the show, we boogied back in the bus to Reno to attend the Bug Roach Mixer.  A great cocktail party where Hawaiian Shirts and Flight Suits are the Uniform of the Day.  It is a great, cocktail fueled, party where one really has the opportunity to meet and greet the greatest pilots and NFO’s on the planet.

Seriously, I met up with dozens of old acquaintances and made an equal number of new friends at this year’s event.  I ran into a number of folks who are good friends of my Mom and Dad, as well as many familiar faces I had met at the Colorado Tailhooker parties Hans and Kathy Schmoldt have thrown at their ranch in Grand Junction.  Old Home week does not do it justice.

Every night is late night at Tailhook, after the scheduled events everyone regroups at the “Admin Rooms” to continue the camaraderie, the lie story telling competitions, accompanied by various bar games and the obligatory adult beverages!  I’m pretty sure one of the communities was serving up Cubi Cocktails AKA Radford Specials!  Wow, that’ll put hair on your feet!

We returned to our Hotel much much earlier than the young JO’s and somewhat older LCDRs in the crowd, leaving the olympic drinking events to those better able, and wanting… to deal with the after effects of such activities.  Even so it was well after midnight before we turned in. 

The next day after grabbing a few extra winks I headed back to the Nugget (we were staying in the Silver Legacy), but as I hailed a cab, at 10:00am mind you, who should get out but a LCDR and LT I had chatted briefly with at the Mixer the previous evening… they were just rolling in!  And were planning to return to forward battle area by noon!  IN—TREP—ID!

The warm up act before the lunch was the symposium session on “Pushing the Edge of the Envelope” which had current and former Blue Angels on one side pitted against Topgun Aviators on the other!  No better stories to be told than when on the opposing side is the “Oh Yeah?” gang.  I promise to post  few of those tails over at TDB in the future.

Next came the awards lunch, where all sorts of achievement awards were handed to the deserving flight crews, for bombing excellence, missile accuracy, most carrier landings (Traps), 1,000 trap milestones… etc.  And finally the Honorary Tailhooker of the Year.  There were two recipients this year, Mr. Woody Sales, a man who coordinated more Distinguished Visitors tours of carriers this year than anyone else, and insured that countless crewmembers of the USS Roosevelt received free passes to the Ryder Cup Golf Tournament last year!

And then me… 

Wow, what an honor.  I was presented the award by Vice Admiral Thomas Kilcline Jr., Commander, Naval Air Forces, COMNAVAIRPAC, RADM Jay Campbell, Capt Russ ‘Galdis’ Knight

Seriously, I am humbled by the honor.  I love being a Tailhooker, and contributing where I can.  I may not be able to fly for this great nation but maybe I can contribute something on behalf of those who do. 

After the Awards Lunch, the Admiral’s Briefing followed, this is really the event to attend!  It is comprised of a number of Admirals in the Air Navy chain of command, and is the opportunity for a Honest “No Holds Barred” Q&A session of the Navy Leadership.  Cuts to the quick. 

And then the final event of the Reunion is the Formal Banquet.  Where Ginger and I sat with Hans and Kathy, and had the fortune to sit with the CO and XO of VAQ-140 charming men both, and Capt. “Sterls” Gilliam, one of the officers of Tailhook, and one of the most complimentary gentlemen I could have had the fortune of sitting next to.  It made for a great evening of stories and general conversation.

We stayed up late into the morning that night as well, and after Saturday merged into Sunday, and we managed to capture a few hours of shut-eye… not nearly enough… we bid farewell to Reno, and the 2009 Tailhook Reunion, promising to return for 2010’s shindig!

Obama Fears Our Navy?

In a note in the Washington Times, it appears that Midshipmen and Officers at this year’s Graduation and Commissioning Ceremonies at the United States Naval Academy were prohibited from wearing their swords as a protection measure for President Obama.

No… seriously… THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF is concerned that his Military may have weapons that threaten him!

SWORDLESS SAILORS

Graduating midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis are being told in writing to leave at home or in their vehicles all "ceremonial swords" and anything else "that might be considered a weapon or a threat by screeners" for Friday's outdoor commencement ceremonies featuring an address by President Barack Obama.

Inside the Beltway has obtained the academy's list of prohibited items for this year's graduation exercises, which, besides ceremonial swords, includes umbrellas.

Asinine!

I did some investigating and… Yep… No Mameluke on the Marine General or Sword on the Admiral in the following image from the ceremonies. Understand that in formal Naval Ceremonies (even in choker whites) wearing a sword is optional for the Naval Officer, however, for the Marine it is a “Requirement” as the Mameluke Sword is part of the Dress Uniform!

 

So it got me to wondering if this was some sort of muckraking pointing to Barak Obama as having the same fear as King James I…Fear of Unsheathed Swords.

So I dug through my photos of another recent ceremony involving a formal Navy occasion and hosting not just the current President (at that time) George W. Bush but also his father former President George H.W. Bush  (also present were the Vice President and the Secretary of State), the commissioning of the USS George HW Bush (CVN-77).  And what did I see?  But any number of swords completely within swinging range of any of the VIP’s and honored guests.  (See the images below of Capt. O’Flaherty wearing his sword while standing immediately next to the President of the United States.) Were any of VIP’s concerned about these men possessing such threatening carving implements.  NOT A CHANCE!  They were honored to be in the presence of such heroes and trust these men and women with their lives and freedom!

 

Note the immediate above image was taken by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Micah P. Blechner.

So what gives?  Does Obama not trust his Military Officers with cake carvers?

Sickening…

HT Giorgio

Why Won’t Obama Release the Pictures of Air Force One’s NYC Fly-by?

The NY Post is Reporting that the Obama White House has “not technically classified” the photos taken of the VC-25A aircraft circling the Statue of Liberty last week, but has no plans to release them to the public.

The $328,835 snapshots of an Air Force One backup plane buzzing lower Manhattan last week will not be shown to the public, the White House said yesterday.

"We have no plans to release them," an aide to President Obama told The Post, refusing to comment further.

The sole purpose of the secret photo-op, which sent thousands of New Yorkers running for cover, was to take new publicity shots of the presidential jet over the city.

"The photos . . . are classified -- that's ridiculous," Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., said.

The photos have not technically been "classified," a White House aide said, but they are being kept from public view.

New Yorkers said they could not understand how a president who shares intimate snapshots from the White House could justify keeping these secret.

"So we're not gonna see the fruits of this cruel joke?" said Frank Antonelli, 39, one of the Wall Street traders spooked by last week's flyover.

"I'm not surprised. Obama . . . wouldn't further all the bad publicity by putting out those pictures."

Actually, I think I know why. 

Outside of the bad PR experienced as a result of the poorly executed photo op, I suspect there was a deeper “Subject” of the photos than is being acknowledged to the public for fear of even further cries of pandering.

Allow me to explain…  On the day the VC-25A was tooling around NYC, she was not alone.  In close formation was an F-16, two actually, but “dash two” was flying more of a high cover, …or was it?  I suspect that “Dash Two” was also the real photo bird.  Meaning the intent was NOT just to get photos of the VC-25A Presidential bird, bit to actually get the F-16 flying formation on the 747!

FAA Memo outlining the event: [PDF]

You:  So What?

Well normally I wouldn’t attach any significance to this and assume the F-16 flying the wing was indeed “Just the photo plane” however I (and a number of other aviation aficionados) noticed a specific Tail on the F-16 that has historical significance. 

This particular F-16 had a Red Tail (not normal camouflage painting for a tactical fighter) identifying this plane as belonging to the Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing.

The significance of this is that the “RED TAILS” are representative of the World Famous “Tuskegee Airmen” an all African American fighter wing known for flying P-51 Mustangs in WWII with a Vermillion Tail (AKA the RED TAILS).

 “To bomber crews of the Fifteenth Air Force-who owed them a particular debt-the men of the four squadrons of the 332nd Fighter Group, the 99th, 100th, 301st and the 302nd, were the Red Tail Angels. Flying P-51 Mustangs with tails painted vermillion, they had by the end of the war won for themselves the distinction of not only having damaged or destroyed 400 enemy aircraft, but of never having lost one of the bombers they escorted on missions over Europe-a rare achievement. [more] 

The Alabama National Guard pays reverence to the Tuskegee Airmen by painting the Tail of (at least) one of their F-16s red acknowledging the storied history of these Alabama based African American airmen.

So, as much as I hate to point out what for all appearances seems to be possibly a photo op that may be, possibly, motivated by connecting two racially ground breaking events (first African American Aerial Squadrons and the first African American President), I am led to wonder if this was not the image happy White House’s gratuitous motivation.  The F-16 flying wing on the aircraft used for Air Force One was actually meant to be INCLUDED in the images taken that day.  This was not a photo op just for Air Force One, rather it was a Photo Op for the White House to connect to another Historically great stride in African American successes in our oft racially troubled history.

Paint me suspicious, and yes very skeptical of this particular photo Op.  IMAGE IS EVERYTHING when it comes to staged events like this, so NOTHING is present by coincidence or accident, they know damn well what they were up to, and this was not just a “bad idea” on the part of the Office Of Military Affairs.  In reality it is looking more and more like the OMA was scapegoated.

Fein Outrage and the World Will Believe You… Or not

Ya know, once I got sort of caught in the act of hatching a practical joke on my college roommate.  I was not in the room where a couple of buddies of mine I had recruited were dismantling said mark’s bed.  Well the target came back early from class and discovered the two assistants with screwdrivers in hand and bed in slight disarray, well… I mean pieces.

He then headed to where my two partners in crime told my roommate I could be found… the terlet.  He noticed my size twelves under the stall door and began to inquire as to what I was up to…

Him: Uh John?

YHS: Yeah?

Him: What are Stu and Greg doing to my bed?

YHS: Dunno… What are they doing to your bed?

Him:  Taking it apart!

YHS: Why would they be doing that?

Him: That’s what I would like to know!

YHS: Well hell, let’s go find out!

I finished the business at hand, washed said hands and then we two headed to our dorm room, me with complete distain plastered across my face.  Upon entering the room, I explode with a “What the [expletive deleted] are you two doing to Mike’s bed?!!”

Initially, Greg, sitting among the various pieces of the bed, with screwdriver in hand stared at me in disbelief, knowing full well it was I who had concocted this entire scheme.  His silence lasted for only a couple more mili-seconds before both he and Stu decided there was absolutely no way they were going to “Take one for the team!”  and began to tell Mike in full detail how I had painstakingly laid out the plan of ill-will.  It was a good plan, so Mike obviously had no choice but to believe my cohorts, and yeah because it was such a good plan I had to confess.  Ah well, all in fun.

You: Uh John?

YHS: Yeah?

You: You head’n somewhere with this?

YHS: Yep…

The above story I tell here as an example, juvenile as it is, of the same rat I smell relating to the VC-25A (That’s the 747 aka Airforce One) fiasco over NYC yesterday.

CBS 2 News in NYC is now reporting:

FAA Memo: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic

Threatened Federal Sanctions Against NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor's Office If Secret Ever Got Out

Furious Obama Apologizes: "It Will Never Happen Again"

The article continues (emphasis mine):

A furious President Barack Obama ordered an internal review of Monday's low-flying photo op over the Statue of Liberty.

CBS 2 HD has discovered the feds will have plenty to question.
Federal officials knew that sending two fighter jets and Air Force One to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty might set off nightmarish fears of a 9/11 replay, but they still ordered the photo-op kept secret from the public.

In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD the Federal Aviation Administration's James Johnston said the agency was aware of "the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor's office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.

Which “Federal Officials” and who is “They”?

The flyover -- apparently ordered by the White House Office of Military Affairs so it would have souvenir photos of Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background -- had President Obama seeing red. He ordered a probe and apologized.

Ok, here’s where I call BULLSHIT! 

That plane NEVER goes anywhere without the President knowing.  He was briefed!  Trust me!  The White House Office of Military Affairs had to get at least a “Mother May I” from POTUS.  Who probably said, “Sure, sounds like a great idea, I’d love to have some new photos of MY beautiful jet flying by our monument to Liberty.  It’ll make me look like I give a crap about liberty.  But whatever you do, don’t tell anyone, because if word gets out that I wanted my plane Air Force One to fly around just for a photo op costing taxpayers 100’s of thousands of dollars, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

And now that the poop has hit the turbo-fans, Mr. President is “SEEING RED!”

Uh… yeah. 

Just because you were on the pooper and your Military Affairs Chief had the screwdriver in hand, doesn’t mean you should be assumed clueless… we have plenty of other reasons to assume you’re clueless… but in this case I smell a scapegoat on the way.

By the way… anyone have tapes of ATC that day?  I would like to know the call-sign for that particular VC-25A’s mission.  If it was “SAM 28000” or “SAM 29000” ok fine… but if it was “Air Force One” Obama will have a MUCH bigger problem to try to cover up.  Which in a way would explain a bit more of the secrecy.

A Man Has GOT to Know His Limitations

Take it from a guy who used to be on a USNJROTC Drill team, this ain’t easy… well the first half anyway, as for the second half… well maybe best left to the Air Force.

(HT: Giorgio)

I Know, Let’s Pelt them with Marshmallows!

Or other equally damaging UN ideas.

In response to the rogue nation of North Korea (aka Norks) launching a missile fully capable of striking Alaska or any other nearby nation like Japan or South Korea, the UN is convening an EMERGENCY Session of the security council.  BIG DEAL!

The U.N. Security Council will hold consultations on the launch at 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday. U.N. diplomats said no country was considering imposing new sanctions but a resolution on stricter enforcement of earlier measures could be discussed.

“Stricter enforcement of earlier measures…”  Huh?  So you’re your telling me you numbskulls enacted earlier measures without plans to “Strictly Enforce” them.  What was your plan?  Say “Pretty Please with Kimchi on top?  This is precisely why the UN stands for Useless Numbskulls!  Business as usual.  Only now with our current administration, you are more empowered to sit idly by while we orate ourselves into oblivion.

Lets change the name of the United Nations to a more accurate moniker… how about Action-less Society of Sniveling Hottentots Obviously Lost Evermore… I’ll let you see the acronym.

The only thing worse than the UN’s ineptitude is the institutionalized lack of quality reporting by any press agency anymore.  Both the AP and Reuters reported part of this story stating that The NORKS claimed their rocket achieved its goal of depositing a satellite into orbit.  Yet then go on to claim that US, Japanese, and South Korean sources say it failed to reach orbit. 

Um… Seriously how tough is this to verify?  How about going out on a limb there boys and girls and unequivocally stating… The NORKS are FULL OF SHIT! Any 10 year old with a telescope can verify that nothing new is in orbit along that trajectory!  But no, in the press train’s ever increasing desire to be as vague as Jell-o and as accountable as OJ Simpson, always make is sound like the facts are debatable.  Sometimes they are not, you jackasses.  Did it reach orbit or not?  Just state it!

Yippie Skippy-san

Because of who else I write and edit a blog for I cannot go too far out on this limb.  But let’s just say, yep, I couldn’t agree more!

From Skippy-san AKA “Far East Cynic”:

So, lets say hello to Pat Schroeder (Worthless Whore-CO). A bitter, angry, cold hearted, soulless creature, she nonetheless has amassed a considerable fortune. Her entire life has been devoted to one thing and one thing only. Screwing over men at any and every opportunity. Shakespeare even wrote a play about her-The Taming of the Shrew. She takes pride in that fact that she has screwed over legions of men and has a legislative record to prove it. She, probably more than any other woman in the last 30 years, has done more to set back the progress of both men and women. She was, what the Phibian would call, the first Diversity Bully.

I watched first hand as many o fine very reputable aviator got witch hunted into early retirement, for parts they didn’t play in the Tailhook fiasco of 1991, all because they wore the uniform and didn’t necessarily disagree with the fraternal nature of Naval Aviation.

I’m not to fond of Fonda, but there is one worse, …cough cough… nope can’t print that word and still retain my PG-13 rating…  Pat Schroeder is by far my least favorite person on this planet!

Flag Draped Coffins Now Available For Propaganda

News out today that reverses the Bush Administration’s policy of not allowing filming or photography of the Flag Draped Coffins of KIA military personnel.

From Reuters:

Pentagon to allow pictures of flag-draped coffins

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon will relax its ban on media coverage of returning U.S. war dead by allowing families to decide whether to allow photos and television footage of the flag-draped coffins of their loved ones, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

Gates ordered the change after reviewing a 1991 ban that prevents news organizations from recording images of war dead arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the Pentagon has its main mortuary.

"If the family of one of the fallen says that they do not want media coverage ... then that will be the decision. There will be no media decision. If they say that's OK with them, then it will be available," Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

…President Barack Obama asked for a policy review early this month and Gates said that drew a call for change from the U.S. Army, which represents the largest portion of war dead.

"My conclusion was that we should not presume to make the decision for the families," Gates said.

Here’s the problem… what is now the threat of violating the “Family’s” wishes?  Will the “family” now have to sue AP, CNN, or MSNBC  whereas previously there was threat of National enforcement.  And who in the family has the authority?  I’m sure Cindy Sheehan would have reveled in having her son’s flag draped coffin shown across the front page of the New York Times, whereas the father would have said absolutely NOT! 

Here’s a Quote form the Liberal attention Sponge herself back in 2005…

"This war has been so sanitized to the public," said Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, whose son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq and who has become an outspoken critic of the war. "There are huge segments of the American public that don't even have to think about the war if they don't want to."

I’m pretty sure AP, Reuters, CNN would have PUBLISHED FIRST and ask for forgiveness later.

The ban was on photographing caskets while the military is transporting them home from combat.  The family always had the authority to allow photography of the coffin in ceremonial circumstance.  Two excellent, respectful, approved by the family examples are these:

The ban was in place to prevent the Press from using the image of mass caskets in a propagandist way only to advance an anti-war agenda, with no concern for the effect on other military personnel or the families who had suffered a loss but do not share the anti-Bush agenda.

As proof I submit that when Liberal P.O.S.’s couldn’t use the images of real soldiers who sacrificed their lives for a cause, they created their own!  With the following statement:

I kept looking at our mock procession and thinking about how Bush had the REAL flag draped coffins flown home in the dead of night, prohibiting photographs, etc. It's just infuriating.

Infuriating because insensitive turds like these were prevented use a soldier’s final image as leverage for their propaganda?  What if the killed soldier, would have absolutely disagreed with the use of his coffin for such a vile cause?

This is absolutely perverted!  And disrespectful!  You tell me, why else would the press want to use an image of a fallen soldier?  Not to support the cause, only to illustrate the cost of war.  Well, most of us are WELL aware of the cost of war.  But what is the price of Liberty? Protection? Human Freedom?

Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines volunteer for service, they are aware of the risks and look out for each other in combat and mourn the loss of every brother and sister in arms.  To leverage the death of these in such a way is disgraceful.  We bring those that served and paid the ultimate price home in a ceremonious, traditional, honorable, dignified, and respectful way… covered in the flag of their nation.  This is done to illustrate our thanks as a nation.  It should never be used to spit in the eye of the nation or an administration.

That’s just my opinion…

Lawful Orders

Wow, talk about putting your onions in a waffle iron! 

From WorldNetDaily

Soldier doubts eligibility, defies president's orders
'As an officer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this'

A U.S. soldier on active duty in Iraq has called President Obama an "impostor" in a statement in which he affirmed plans to join as plaintiff in a challenge to Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief…

…"As an active-duty officer in the United States Army, I have grave concerns about the constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the office of president of the United States," wrote Scott Easterling in a "to-whom-it-may-concern" letter.  [More]

I wish him luck… He’s going to need it.  While Democrats LOVE “Whistle Blowers” they ain’t real thrilled when the ref is calling them for the foul!

Heheh, I’m thinking the Democrats may walk into the briar patch on this one, one argument they may use is that nowhere in the Officer’s Oath does it reference “Obey the Orders of the President”… Seriously… here it is:

I (insert name), having been appointed a (insert rank) in the U.S. Army under the conditions indicated in this document, do accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.

Now, if Scott Easterling were an Enlisted he might have a leg to stand on as the Enlisted Oath reads:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The interesting part of this is that if this argument is used, that will set precedence that US Military Officers don’t have to give a rat’s ass what the ‘Commander in Chief” has to say?

The argument here is obviously Constitutional, and that of Lawful Authority.  If nothing else it will be entertaining to watch Don Quixote tilt at this windmill!