Jarhead Online

Barrack Obama has in many instances decided not to show respect to the Flag of the United States of America.  Most of you out there have obviously noticed or heard that Obama has declined to wear a Flag lapel pin, and to be honest with you I have no problem with that.  I do not consider the fact that he does not wear a lapel pin unpatriotic, I don’t wear a lapel pin when I wear a suit and I am not unpatriotic. 

What I do find completely and totally revolting is that a man that want to be the leader of the free world will blatantly disregard the LAWS that are prescribed by Congress as well as Executive Orders about the proper respects to be given to the Flag when the Star Spangled Banner is played or when the Flag passes by.  just read what those rules and regulations are: 

Title 4 of the United States Code

During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade or in review, all persons present except those in uniform should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart. Those present in uniform should render the military salute. When not in uniform, men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should stand at attention. The salute to the flag in a moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes.

Title 36 United States Code                                                                                                    

§ 301. National Anthem

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

How can a man be My or Your Commander in Chief if he cannot obey the laws that govern not only us in the uniform but all persons in this country.  There are even provisions for aliens to stand at attention when the flag is raised or lowered.  Obama won’t even do that he stands there with his hands in clasped in front of him at the waist.

I know that many service members have come out in support of Obama in fact our own SgtMaj of the Marine Corps in fact endorses Obama.  Now don’t take this as a racist or personal attack on Obama or SgtMaj Kent, but I feel the only reason that the SgtMaj has endorsed him is because he is black.  I say this because both you and I damn well know that SgtMaj would not let anyone on any Marine Corps installation get away with not showing the proper respect for his and out Colors.  If the fact that Obama can’t even respect the Flag that represents this great nation is not enough for you here are some more reasons to not vote for Obama!

My favorite uncle wrote me a few times this past week.  Yes that is right Uncle Bill sent me and my wife some notices that we owe him some money.  Money for my car, for the insurance on the car, that he needs money for the phone and utilities, as well as the credit cards that I so absentmindedly ran up before I met my wife.  Even though I really hate having to spend my hard earned money on some of those bills I do not worry about having to send the money out.

You see we have an oppurunity that most civilians do not have.  We can divvy up our paycheck into allotments that get paid on the first.  If you start an allotment for the first payment to be on 1 Oct this is what will happen:  your paycheck on the 15th of Sept will be light 1/2 the amount of the allotment.  So if you start an allotment for 1500 dollars your check on the 15th will be light 750 dollars.  Your paycheck on Oct first will also be light 750 dollars thus completing the 1500 dollar allotment.  This allotment will then be placed into the account that you designated when you set up the allotment.  Your paychecks on the 1st and 15th are then a little light but on the 1st you get your paycheck as well as the allotment amount.

So this is in my opinion the best way for a military member to pay his or her bills and what I recommend to all my junior Marines. The first thing that I did was set up an allotment for just more than my rent amount (most people’s biggest bill). This allotment is placed in one of my checking accounts on the first and I can easily pay my biggest bill on time without having to worry that I will not have enough money for the rest of my bills.

That leaves the rest of my monthly income to be deposited into my other bank on the 1st and the 15th. This way I know exactly how much I have until the next pay day. This really helps because I used to have to budget my money from the 15th to make sure I had enough for rent and everything else that I paid off with the 1st’s paycheck.

Now for the rest of my bills. I use online bill pay (through my bank not the company sites) to pay the rest of my bills. If a bill is due between the 1st and the 14th it gets paid on the first. If it is due between the 15th and the end of the month it gets paid on the 15th. This way by the 2nd or 16 I know exactly where I stand financially until the next payday.

This system has allowed my to pay all my bills on time thus saving me money by not paying late charges. Also I know how much discretionary money I have because all bills are paid early in the pay cycle and I really only have to have a money for gas and a few groceries (major grocery shopping goes on or near payday.) Now instead of living from paycheck to paycheck I routinely have about $125-175 in my account come the next payday.

I am sure that anyone reading this has been told to find something you are good at and excell at it one time in their life or another.  Did you ever think that finding the thing you were good at and excelling at it would lead you to be told you cannot do it anymore?  Well that is exactly what happened to a 9 year old little leaguer in New Haven, Conneticut.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)—Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player— too good, it turns out.

The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

Are you kidding me?  They are not going to let a kid play ball because he is throwing the ball past their kids.  That sounds crazy to me.  Yesterday I wrote an article about the Little League World Series and how the kids that play Little League are playing for the love of the game and that the game is bigger than any single player.  Obviously some parents (obviously in New Haven) do not agree with me.

League officials have said that Jericho cannot pitch in the league and that his team will be dissolved with the players on his team being spread out amongst the other 7 teams in the league.  This is obviously a ploy by the parents of the other teams because they cannot stand to see their kids getting beat by another 9 year old.

There are rumblings by the parents of young Jericho that the reason he is being singled out is not because he throws 40+ MPH, but because he turned down an offer from the defending champions team to join them and instead joined another team.  Coincidentally the team is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators.  Sounds like some adults have their panties in a bunch because their precious boys got denied by the best player in the league.

So this kid throws a baseball just over 40 MPH.  That isn’t that fast for a 9 year old as those in the LLWS (11-12 yr olds) are throwing in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s.  This kid is also showing outstanding command as he has not hit a single batter in the league this year.  There are definately different and better ways the league could handle this situation:

•  First and foremost the officials could man up and see that this kid is a real talent and let him pitch in the league. 
• Second they could move him up an age level where that speed would be the norm and still let him compete.

There is no way in hell that parents and league officials should be trying to kill the dream of a talented 9 year old boy who has obviously found something that he is good at.  Not only is it unethical to suggest that he play other positions and not pitch it is just plain wrong.  And then to dissolve the team that he is on when the coach puts him on the mound is a travesty.  Not only are they punishing him now they are punishing a whole team of 9 year olds that want to play a game they love. 

This is all about parents who believe that winning is the only thing that matters when their kids play a game.  These are the type of parents that we hear about every once in awhile who go to blows in the stands when their kid gets beat by another kid.  These guys are so upset by their short comings that they cannot stand it that their kids are not the best.  That the best kid in the league turned them down was a direct attack on them so they must do whatever they can do to keep him from beating their kids and thus beating them. 

These parents cannot accept that they are not Major Leaguers or NFL, or NBA, of NHL stars that they believe that if all obstacles are removed from their child’s lives then they will be the best and thus will make it where they couldn’t.  Now as most of us know the only way to become the best is to play against the best.  These guys just don’t realize that by excluding the best pitcher in the league from competing against their kids that not only are they serving an injustice against Jericho Scott they are also injusticing their own by not allowing them to compete against the best competition that is out there.  Hopefully this travesty can be rectified and this kid will be allowed to beat down the opposition.

Sunday marked the end of two great sporting events.  Events where love of the game is greater than anything else.  The first was the Summer Olympics and the other was the Little League World Series.

The Olympics

During the past two weeks the world’s best have competed against each other in all kinds of sports, competitions, and athletic challenges.  The US won a total of 110 medals led by insane Michael Phelps who won a record 8 gold medals in the pool.  Both the Men’s and Women’s teams dominated the world on the basketball courts by winning the golds in both contests.  Both of our beach volleyball teams won as was expected.

Unfortunately in all the glory and great stories for the US in the the Olympics there were disappointments as well.  Both the men’s and women’s 4×100 sprint relays were disqualified in the early rounds when they dropped the baton.  The USA softball team lost its first game since the 2000 Olympics in the championship game to take home silver.  We only won one medal at all in boxing and that was a bronze again not a familiar place for the American boxers to be.  Props to the Jamaicans showing that they can run winning the Gold in the men’s 100M dash and all three medals in the women’s.  Samuel Wanjiru of Kenys won the Marathon. 

Now the bad; Angel Valodia the Cuban Taekwondo specialist was banned for life after kicking a referee because he didn’t agree with the call.  Ara Abrahamian of Sweden was stripped of his bronze medal in greco roamn wrestling after protesting his 3rd place medal by placing the medal on the mat after the medal ceremony.  Six athletes have been caught (so far) doping the lowest number in years.  And the Chinese women’s gymnasts are still under suspicion of being under age.

Now we must wait 4 more years for the summer games and hopefully in 2112 London can put on a show as good as Beijing has in 2008.

Little League World Series

Sunday also saw the championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in Williamsport Pa.  The LLWS is a true world series in which 8 teams from around the world compete against each other while 8 teams from the US compete against each other for the right to play each other in the championship game.

This year the respective teams were Mexico for the world and Hawaii for the US.  Hawaii brought the championship home for the US for the 4th straight year by beating Mexico 12-3 in the 6 inning contest (regulation little league game).

It is great to watch sporting events like these where the competitors are playing and competing for the love of the game and not for the money and endorsements.  Sure the men’s basketball team are all professionals but this team was hell bound to bring home the gold after the US was embarrassed at the last Olympics in winning the bronze.  The athletes in the Olympics and the LLWS are truly there for the love of the sport that they are competing in and representing their country.

So as you probably know I have been in the field for the week.  Last night was better than I thought we didn’t have to do that dreaded night move and re-setup.

Today wasn’t as bad as it could have been either.  We were pretty much allowed to wake up and get going on our own and I awoke at about 0630 after going to bed last night at 2130 so I was well rested.After we got going this morning we started the tear down for the final leg of our trip back to the rear.

After we got the nets down and were all packed up and ready to go the Capt. got everyone together and we did a quick critique of the field evolution.  On the hole there weren’t many complaints and very few things that we really need to work on.

The SNCO’s and Officers than spoke and again there wasn’t much to improve on except that we need to work on getting the food to the pos earlier than 2200.  After the hot wash we moved out and headed back to the rear.

Once we got back to the rear my driver and I parted from the rest of the convoy and got our vehicle washed down.  We then drove back to the shop where we unloaded our gear turned in our weapons and comm gear and he went home (I waited around for my Cpl who was out on another pos).  Once my last man got back and had his gear and weapons turned in I sent him home.

I then briefed the rest of the shop on everything that we had coming up next week and what we needed to do to get it done as I am going to be out of the shop again next week.

I then gathered up the rest of my gear packed it in the trunk and headed home.  Once I got home I took a long hot shower threw my nasty dirty clothes in the washer turned on the baseball game and sat down on the couch with a delicious ice cold beer.

MAN DOES IT TASTE GOOD!!!

As some of you may know by reading my post from Monday I am in the field this week.  I am currently still in the field but have time and good enough reception now that I can use my cell phone as a modem so I will get a post in tonight about the glorious filed op that I have been participating in now for four days.

Monday

Monday was the typical fisrt day of a filed op.  Get to work before it is light take accountability, go to the armory and draw weapons and other equipment then wait.

I got to work at 0600 Monday morning to ensure I could get all my gear loaded on my vehicle.  Once that was done we had a formation then went to the armory and I got my 9mm and a set of Night Vision Goggles.  All that took until about 0830.  then we sat around in our staging area until it was time to leave.  Time to leave was 1230.  It was a very efficient way for us to use our time.

Once in out first position (pos) we set up our area.  We covered our vehicles with cammie nets set up the COC (Command Operation Center) and waited.  We waited and waited and waited.  Chow finally showed up at about 2200 only four of us ate then ht the rack.

Tuesday

Tuesday was another eventful day.  Reveille was sounded at 0530 we rose shaved and got ready for out day.  Chow showed up about 0630 and we had something that resembled eggs, corned beef hash, grave and a piece of cake.

At about 1430 we broke camp and repositioned ourselves to another area where again we set up nets and waited for chow (it never showed).

Wednesday

Reveille was at 0430 as we needed to be rolling by 0600.  Needless to say we were a few minutes late in leaving (0615) but we stillmade out next pos on time.  Once we arrved we again parked vehicle set up camp and netted up.

Chow showed up at out pos and was more of the same as the day before.  We conducted our mission of resupplying the other platoons in our unit and sat around again until it was again time to break camp and head out.

I am sure you can imagine what we did when we got to our new pos but for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet we again set up and netted the vehicles.  Chow again was at about 2200.

Thursday

Today we again awoke at 0430 broke camp and headed back to the resupply pos that we had left about 14 hours ago.  We pulled in and you guessed it netted up again.  After about 8 hours there it was time yet again to move our pos.  So yet again we tore down moved and then set up again.

Rumor has it that the Bn Commander is going to have us do a night move tonight (YIPPEE I can’t wait).  So probably sometime around 0200 I will be woken up and have to gather up nets in the dark move to a new pos and then set them up again while it is still dark.  I will then get to go back to sleep and wait for the end of this long monotanous week to end.

I will go home to my loving family stinking to high hell because as you may have noticed I never once mentioned anything about a shower while I have been out here.

I know I make it sound like a whole lot of nothing is going on and in my spot that is about right.  the rest of the Bn is out there playing Marine and getting to blow stuff up while I sit around waiting for comm gear to break so that I can fix it.  I don’t mind going to the field at all ( I don’t want you to think I am bitching) but I think we could have better used our time and at least gotten some machine gun shoots or other training in for the younger Marines that are with us.  Hell we do have two .50 cal machine guns, two 40mm Grenade launchers, and two 240G light machine guns with us that are just out for a joyride in the turrets of out 7-tons, not to mention all the personnel weapons that we are carrying (pistols, rifles, and even a macinegun).

Well that has pretty much been the extent of my week hopefully yours has been more productive than mine.

Well all I am going to be out in the field doing what we do best over the next week.  I doubt I will get a chance to post anything before Friday.

So tonight I am getting all my crap together, most of which I will not use.  Then in true Marine Corps fashion we will get to work at 0600 tomorrow morning have formation at 0700 get to the armory and draw weapons.  Figure weapons draw will be done about 0730 then we get to sit to sit around for a few hours until it is time to roll out.

We will then roll into place set up sit for awhile tear down roll into a new place and do it all over again.  this will happen probably 6 times over the next few days.  Hopefully very few things break and all I have to worry about is setting up and tearing down as we move in and out of position.

Hope you all have a good week and I will definitely be writing on Friday after my shower and a beer.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock since Friday you obviously know that Michale Phelps is outswimming the world like an F-18 outflies a hot air balloon.  As I write this Michael Phelps has 5 gold medals and has won each one with a world record.

Phelps has won a record 11 gold medals so far in his career and doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.  He has left in this Olympics the 200m IM, the 100m fly and the 4×100 medly relay. 

The Us is all but a lock in the 4×100m medly relay and his closest competition in the two individual races that he has left right now appear to be Team USA members.  Lochte in the 200m IM and Crocker in the 100m Fly.

SLEEP EAT SWIM REPEAT: That is a typical day for Michael Phelps right now in Beijing.  After getting up in the morning he eats breakfast which are a part of the approximately 12,000 calories a day that he is eating everyday.  He needs all that food because he is swimming over 5 miles a day when you add up all his warm-ups, races, and warm-down(doesn’t sound right I know but that is what they call it) swims.

Michael Phelps has been asked if he will ever seim a schedule like this in an Olympics again and he laughs and say no no way.  He is swimming 8 different events amounting to 17 individual races when you count prelims, semi-finals, and of course the gold medal race.  Even without that many race in London (2012 summer games)  something tells me that he will still amass a few more gold medals then as he has been truly dominating this year.

If Michael Phelps can beat Mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals by winning all 8 of his races this year it will rival some of the world’s greatest sporting accomplishments of all time.  It will put him in the same league as Lance Armstrong’s 7 straight Tour de France wins, Cal Ripken Jr’s 2632 straight games played, Dimaggio’s 56 game hit streak, and any of the other “unbreakable” records that you can think of.

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian in my lifetime and possibly of all time.

USA, USA, USA!!!

Yesterday I wrote about the change to the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Program, as many of you know there were other changes in the Marine Corps yesterday.  I addition to the changes mentioned yesterday which there are also changes to the weight standards and the creation of a military appearance program.

Yesterday General Conway signed and published ALMAR 33/08 which set new standards for Marines to maintain.  Current maximum weights are still effective, but now Marines must maintain a bodyfat percentage under 18-21% for men and 26-29% for women as noted below.

A.  MALE
AGE 17-26  18%
AGE 27-39  19%
AGE 40-45  20%
AGE 46+    21%
B.  FEMALE
AGE 17-26  26%
AGE 27-39  27%
AGE 40-45  28%
AGE 46+    29

Unlike the prior order Marines that run a 1st class PFT do not get an extra 4% points to play with.  Also if you are underweight and/or under your bodyfat percentage you can still be placed on the Military Appearance Program(MAP) if you do not look good in your uniform, at the same time if you are outside standards but look good in uniform you can receive a waiver and not placed on weight control.

Due to the fact that there are new standards and they are more strict than before Marines will have a informal 60 days to get within standards.  If after 60 days you are not in standards you will receive a letter of caution and another 60 period.  If at the end of those 120 days you still have not fallen in line with the standards you will be formally placed on the Body Composition Program and this will affect both promotion and retention opportunities.

I am glad to see the return of the Military Appearance Program as I have seen many Marines that are under their max weight yet still look like Grimace.  That is not quite the image that we as Marines want to portray to the world.  The new program while firm is still fair in that it gives the Commanding Officer a say in if his Marines should or should not be on the Body Composition Program.

GET IN SHAPE MARINE!!!!!!

It is now official, General Conway has signed and published the order to implement the Combat Fitness Test (CFT) as announced in ALMAR 032/08.  For most of you out there this does not come as a surprise as it has been the talk of the Corps for the past few months.

The Combat Fitness Test will compliment the current Physical Fitness Test(PFT) and will test anaerobic energy needs.  The test will be comprised of three parts:

1. A 880yd(1/2 Mi) Movement to Contact (MTC) run in boots and utes
2. Ammunition Lift (AL) lifting of a 30 LB ammo can from chest to above head for repetitions
3. 300yd Maneuver Under Fire Course (MANUF), Perform a series of combat related tasks for time while wearing boots and utes, that include a combat crawl, ammunition resupply, body drag, casualty carry and a grenade throw

The CFT will be implemented 1 Oct 2008 and like the PFT will be a semi annual event.  The CFT will be a pass/fail event during the first year.  On Oct 1st the CFT will transform into a scored event with a maximum of 300 pts and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, class just like the PFT has now.

During the phase in period (1st year) the CFT will not count towards composite scores but will be reported in the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS).  What the means is the HQMC will be keeping tabs on the progress of the CFT.

The following are the scoring charts for the pass/fail effective from 1 Oct 2008 through 30 Sept 2009:

• MALE
  (1) AGE 17-26:  MTC (3:48), AL (45), MANUF (3:29)
  (2) AGE 27-39:  MTC (4:00), AL (45), MANUF (3:55)
  (3) AGE 40-45:  MTC (4:19), AL (44), MANUF (3:57)
  (4) AGE 46+:  MTC (4:30), AL (43), MANUF (4:28)
  FEMALE
  (1) AGE 17-26:  MTC (4:34), AL (20), MANUF (4:57)
  (2) AGE 27-39:  MTC (4:40), AL (21), MANUF (5:27)
  (3) AGE 40-45:  MTC (5:09), AL (17), MANUF (6:07)
  (4) AGE 46+:  MTC (5:20), AL (15), MANUF (6:30)

Effective 1 Oct 2009, the following scores will be required to max out each event and score 100 pts in each event:

• MALE
  (1) AGE 17-26:  MTC (2:45), AL (91), MANUF (2:14)
  (2) AGE 27-39:  MTC (2:51), AL (97), MANUF (2:14)
  (3) AGE 40-45:  MTC (3:03), AL (87), MANUF (2:34)
  (4) AGE 46+:  MTC (3:05), AL (86), MANUF (3:05)
  FEMALE
  (1) AGE 17-26:  MTC (3:23), AL (60), MANUF (3:01)
  (2) AGE 27-39:  MTC (3:19), AL (53), MANUF (3:05)
  (3) AGE 40-45:  MTC (3:49), AL (45), MANUF (3:40)
  (4) AGE 46+:  MTC (4:12), AL (38), MANUF (4:20)

An instruction video as well as training tips can be found at WWW.TECOM.USMC.MIL

The Combat Fitness test will test a Marine’s anaerobic endurance and should compliment the PFT very well in keeping the Marine Corps in good physical shape.  Speaking with Marines that have tested the CFT they say it is a challenging, but fair assessment.  Most Marines will need to change their workout and running habits ans most of us train to the PFT and not for functional movement.