The "Original Stop Loss Blog"

"And stiffening their hearts, so that for each of them
To die in battle was sweeter than going home." Iliad, II.483-484

13 Stoploss is a bitchin' narrative of conflict, confusion, and thought. It is the story of how a selfless pawn learned to ask questions about the missions and ideas he was sworn to uphold, but whose ideologies seemingly clashed with the core values he was to cherish above all. 

The narrative leads through the account of two Active Duty deployments to Iraq, including a 15-month battle with the Army's stop loss. As captive to the fine print, the narrator learns that nothing in battle is sweet, and the fight to get home is more painful than the duty to leave. Here is his captivating story of endurance, longing, and celebration. 

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Study: Morphine may reduce risk of PTSD

by Jason Davis

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that morphine may help to prevent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for soldiers injured in combat. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs after a traumatic event, but it is not limited to a soldier’s exposure in combat. According to the National Center for PTSD, a special center within the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, anyone can develop PTSD after exposure to one of many traumatic events, such as sexual or physical abuse, a serious accident, or a natural disaster.

Strong emotions caused by an event create changes in the brain that may result in PTSD.

Though not everyone displays symptoms of PTSD after a traumatic event, the condition has received attention lately as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is estimated that 20% of soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan display common symptoms of PTSD. Researchers from the NEJM studied the cases of 696 injured American soldiers and of that number, 243 were diagnosed with PTSD. Of the number diagnosed, 61% had received morphine at the time of injury while the soldiers in whom PTSD did not develop, 76% had been given morphine. The study’s authors suggest that administering morphine at the time of injury may “reduce the risk of PTSD after serious injury.”

Dr. James McGaugh, of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at UC Irvine, was cited in the study for his work published in 1988 about beta-noradrenergic influences in the amygdaloid complex. Dr. McGaugh’s research found that beta-blockers, such as propranolol, decrease blood pressure to the amygdala, which then blocks memory facilitation. Dr. McGaugh said his findings are similar to how an opiate, such as morphine, may work when given to soldiers shortly after a traumatic event.

“Very strong and emotionally rousing memories are induced by conditions led by trauma. When aroused, the body releases adrenaline. Then, nor-epinephrine is released in the brain—in the amygdala. Since morphine impairs memory by reducing nor-epinephrine, less nor-epinephrine is released in the amygdala, thereby decreasing the strength of memory.

“The study suggests that immediate pain reduction leads to a decrease in PTSD. Secondly, and perhaps equally, the morphine slightly reduces actual memory of trauma. It literally interferes with the intensity of memory.”

According to Dr. McGaugh, if medication such as morphine can affect the intensity of memory at the onset of pain in a traumatic experience, it should disable a portion of that memory and thus a portion of the traumatic experience. And if the intensity and memory of the traumatic experience is reduced, then the soldier should exhibit fewer lasting symptoms of PTSD.

Sergeant First Class Alex J., an Army Special Operations Medical Sergeant, said he is not familiar with the study, but is not surprised by the findings.

Most professional sources agree the correlation between the initiation of pain management and psychological recovery is directly linked. Whether or not that directly affects PTSD is still to be determined. My experience suggests the sooner pain and anxiety is controlled, the less time a soldier spends in sensory overload. A hotly debated topic at present is when to initiate anti anxiety and antidepressant medication. Most military sources feel the sooner the better in conjunction with counseling.

“In my experiences,” said SFC J., “it is difficult to track and monitor patients after I have treated them. The nature of my job limits me to, at most, a few hours of interaction with them. But, of the several dozen soldiers I have treated for traumatic injury on the battlefield, I know of only one soldier who definitely was later diagnosed with PTSD. The administration of an opiate, at the onset of injury, for more than pain management, is fascinating.”

“Think of it [memory of the event] as a jammed lock,” says Dr. McGaugh. “The key won’t work if it is blocked. Suppression of these memories should lessen the symptoms of PTSD. But at this point, it isn’t clear whether it was a result of pain reduction, a reduced memory of the trauma [that lessened the number of PTSD diagnoses], or both. It’s up to the military now, to investigate further.”

Speaking anonymously because he is not authorized to speak publicly, a former Army surgeon and current attending physician at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, says, “a remarkable number of resources are available to soldiers, and Army leadership has taken an aggressive posture to addressing the issue.” In addition to a number of screening tools at the unit level, he said soldiers are encouraged to seek counseling and that the Army is undergoing extensive pharmacological research into how it can treat its wounded warriors.

“PTSD is like a continuation of a warrior’s experiences in combat. The Army, to its credit, has done a good job at the command level in providing needed resources. I think this study provides an interesting statistical significance, but it [treating and understanding PTSD] is an ongoing challenge.”

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Damn the Man

Wow. Just wow.

I wish I had more time for this. Thanks, Z.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Stoploss Backpay Compensation Update 2

Got an email this afternoon. By my calculations, this email reached me 5 weeks, 6 days, and 18 hours quicker than the letter the VA mailed me when they accepted my application for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Dear Jason Davis,

A Retroactive Stop Loss Payment for Army Service Member Jason Davis has been established as Case Number RSL********.

If you need to submit supporting documents, please send them in as soon as possible.

Mail to:
U.S. Army G-1
Retro Stop Loss Pay
Suite 302
5109 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 2204



Email to:
RetroStopLossPay@conus.army.mil

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Retroactive Stoploss Pay: GET SOME!!

From the man:

Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay

What is it?

Soldiers, veterans and survivors of those whose service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2008 can apply to receive $500 for every month, or portion of a month, they served under Stop Loss. The 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act established and largely funded the payment for all military services, but dictated that each service process and pay their own applicants. The Army estimates that 136,000 of the approximately 174,000 eligible servicemembers served in the Army.

What has the Army done?

The Army has created an application process for active-and-reserve component Soldiers, veterans, and survivors of Soldiers to process claims for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay. By law, the Army can only accept claims between October 21, 2009 and October 21, 2010. Eligible candidates must submit their request within this timeframe, or the Army will not be able to process their request. The Army has set up an email address to field questions people have regarding the benefit.

How can people apply?

Candidates for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay must submit a claim at Retroactive Stop Loss Web site . This Web site is the preferred method for submitting applications; however, other means for doing so, such as by mail or fax, will be available to those without access to computers. Additional communications will provide instructions for alternative forms of submission. During the application process, candidates will be asked to show documentation that indicates the time they served under Stop Loss. The necessary documentation, depending on their type of service, includes the following:

● Enlisted Soldiers need to present their DD Form 214 and DD Form 4 Enlistment/Reenlistment/Extension contract(s).

● Enlisted Soldiers who were in an indefinite status need a memorandum showing retirement/separation request was denied or an approved retirement/ separation was amended.

● Officers need a DD Form 214 and memorandum showing Retirement/ Separation request was denied or an approved retirement/separation was amended.

● National Guard Soldiers need to show DA Form 4187 for Stop Loss adjustment of ETS, separation documentation NGB Form 22, and/or NGB Form 1966.


What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?

The Army will review, process and pay qualified candidates as they submit their applications atRetroactive Stop Loss Web site. Candidates who meet the criteria and show the required documentation will receive their retroactive payment in a one lump sum. The Army will not accept applications submitted after October 21, 2010.

Oh yeah, don't forget the User Agreement (I particularly like bullet point 2):

User Agreement
You are accessing a U.S. Government (USG) information system (IS) that is provided for USG-authorized use only.

PRIVACY NOTICE: Solicitation of information contained herein may be used as a basis for retroactive stop loss pay determinations. The Military Department describes how your information will be maintained in the Privacy Act system of record notice published in the Federal Register.

AUTHORITY: Public Law 111-32, Section 310.

CLAIMANT: A claimant is the veteran or an eligible recipient of the veteran’s estate of a deceased veteran. If claimant is incompetent, please include conservator documentation with this form. In addition, if payment is being made to the veteran’s estate, proper supporting documentation must also be submitted with this form. Non-submission of this documentation will delay payment.

PRINCIPAL PURPOSE: Requested information is used to determine the claimant’s current mailing address before a check is issued to pay the increase in the amount previously paid as authorized in Public Law 110-181, Section 675.

ROUTINE USES: Used by the Army for verification of eligibility and then by the Defense Finance and Accounting Services for payment of Retroactive Stop Loss payments. The claim must be filed by October 21, 2010.

DISCLOSURE: Voluntary. However, failure to provide information will delay payment.

By using this IS (which includes any device attached to this IS), you consent to the following conditions
  • The USG routinely intercepts and monitors communications on this IS for purposes including, but not limited to, penetration testing, COMSEC monitoring, network operations and defense, personnel misconduct (PM), law enforcement (LE), and counterintelligence (CI) investigations.
  • At any time, the USG may inspect and/or seize data stored on this IS.
  • Communications using, or data stored on, this IS are not private, are subject to routine monitoring, interception, and search, and may be disclosed or used for any USG authorized purpose.
  • This IS includes security measures (e.g., authentication and access controls) to protect USG interests--not for your personal benefit or privacy.
  • Notwithstanding the above, using this IS does not constitute consent to PM, LE or CI investigative searching or monitoring of the content of privileged communications, or work product, related to personal representation or services by attorneys, psychotherapists, or clergy, and their assistants. Such communications and work product are private and confidential.
  • The Retroactive Stop Loss system requires use of Social Security Numbers (SSN). SSN is needed to match your records for deployment, benefits and tax reporting. Executive Order 9397 (3 CFR (1943-1948 Comp.) 283-284) requires all Federal components to use the SSN "exclusively" whenever the component finds it advisable to set up a new identification system for individuals. The Retroactive Stop Loss project takes its responsibility to protect the privacy of personal information very seriously.

Monday, October 19, 2009

A Small Start

Got my first "feature" published in the school paper.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Holy Fucking Stop Loss Backpay, Batman!


Sometime this summer, President Obama signed the something or another bill (HR 6205) that included back-pay for veterans and soldiers who had been stop-lossed. This was a struggle at first, if you remember, because the initial bill authorized $1500 per month for current soldiers kept beyond their contract. Of course, whiney-bitches like myself cried out, “what about the thousands of us not currently serving, but who have been stop-lossed as well?”

And by thousands, I mean close to two hundred thousand.

Remember that part in Office Space when Lawrence was commenting to Peter Gibbons about what he’d do with one million dollars?


Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.

Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?

Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.

Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.

Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.

Peter Gibbons: Good point.


Two chicks at the same time is not what's on my mind, but I could think of a few bills and debts and vehicles I'd like to pay off with that money. In turn, that could save me hundreds a month in bills, enough to where I could feasibly start SAVING money...

I’ve spent years bitching and moaning about this policy. Cry, and whine. Cry, and whine. At least, that’s what other people hear. But, you know what? I hear the cash register, now. It’s says I’m going to get paid for the extra fourteen months that my DD214 puts so succinctly—“held at the convenience of the Government.”

At the convenience of the Government.

That’s right, the Government’s convenience. Taxpayers’ convenience (I’m a taxpayer too, so I like to think I’m getting that tax money back!). Not my fucking convenience, nor my family’s. Point out the clause in my contract all you want, that doesn’t make it right, or ethical, or fair, or even fair game for the atrocity of its abuse.

This is spectacular news, but the fine print is not finished. Article in the Stripes yesterday says that the DD expects to have the process finished by 21 October. That makes pretty much perfect sense; the original bill mandated that the application procedures be completed within 120 days of the bill’s passage, and that entails victims have until October 2010 to apply. No word yet on the time the DD expects to actually process, and pay out those affected. But if the application and payout process for the expected 135,000 vets and their surviving dependents is anything like the VA’s clusterfuck with the 200,000+ claims filed for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, then you’d do well to not get your hopes up anytime before the Holidays.

In the meantime, make sure you have a DD214, your initial contract, and proof of being “stop lossed,” not that “stop loss orders” were ever printed or given in the first place. I’ll probably attach a copy of my deployment orders, plus a copy of MILPER 04-169, to show that I was caught under that net. If your DD214 is like mine, look for the part where it says “held at the convenience of the Government for _____ months.”

For the full article, click here.

* Thanks to Louisa, long ago, for pertinent information, and to Mrs. 13, tonight, for the update.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

A History Lesson

Got a history lesson today, folks. Seems that while I was withering away in self pity on my fucking Myspace blog during Stoploss: 2005-2006, at the same time, a much more brilliant writer was doing what I am doing now, though much fucking more eloquently. Some of you oldies already know The American Short-Timer. In honor of preserving truth and keeping the archive alive, and just because he's fucking cool as well, here are his thoughts on stop loss, dated 7 December 2005:

Stop-lossed and a wake-up motherfucker. If I'm lucky.'

Some law student emailed me while back with some questions, and after it was all said and done she told me she supported the troops. And I know a lot of people share that sentiment and it's all really warm and fuzzy and whatnot, but honestly, I just rather you run out, sign up and catch the early-bird charter to Kuwait and get your ass over here ASAP so one of us can go home. Maybe we can arrange something, you know, by ones and twos and so on, pretty sure we could get all us over-extended types outta here in no time.

We got, by estimates, close to forty-thousand plus Joes involuntarily extended, stop lossed they call it now, cause dropping INVOLUNTARILY extended day after day after day I suppose places too much emphasis on the fact that a whole buncha us got stuck in the shit INVOLUNTARILY... cause, for all you non-incarcerated types, the usual nomenclature for being stuck in the service beyond your time is--used to be--INVOLUNTARY extension. Cept they had to twist the rules all outta whack and shit to keep the machine all lubed and oiled and chugging and belching and churning out the mayhem, and somehow, rather mysteriously it seems to me at least, with all that good ol' troop lovin' shit goin' on back home they couldna find the 40K + dudes and dudettes to get us squared away and outta this mess. Thanks for the love yo.

And I know I know, spare me the retort... "Dude, is what you signed up for." Right. I signed up for THIS. Sadist's circus. Marquis de Sade's Head-Chopping Ball-Blasting Brigade. Lemme assure you, if I had read some short-timer's Internet lament and that fucker would've had the common decency to point out that the Army is more like a three-ring circus butcher-shop motor vehicles prison typa clustertastrophy I mighta thought twice before lending my body to the cause of someone else's mocracy-buildin' wet dreams.

If I ever make it outta this mess, when I make it out, I'll make sure to support the troops likewise. I'll realize my lifelong dream of washing up in a yuppie burb and my kiddies just done wrap up their SATs in high style and Stamfurd or Princetum are in the works and I'll kick their fuckin' asses if I ever even catch 'em looking sideways at anything related to the military. Them having other priorities and shit and their talents being needed elsewhere and whatnot. Of course, we'll all support the military all the time. Course. We'll be havin' yellow ribbon shit on all our stuff, little flaggies everywhere and yonder, and we'll smilingly fork over that good tax shit to support the state's burgeoning quest to keep us all safe from evildoer motherfuckers. If I ever see a legless vet with a board around his neck all 'Help a homeless Iraq veteran' I'll be first to toss some quarters at the dude. Battle bros for life and all. And if I read about a couple-a-thou of the troops being INVOLUNTARILY extended, or stop lossed, or held over, or stuck in the muck, or jacked, or whatever they call it by then, I'll be all supportin' the troops and lamenting their sad tragic fate and misfortune. Maybe slap on an extra couple-a-yellow ribbons. Show support ya know.

As for war, course I'll support it. I'll support all the wars, all the time. Once I'm out of the shit, I'll support every war they ever wanna throw. Hell yeah! Why? Why? Cause nothing looks badder-ass and is more entertaining on television than live mayhem. I fuckin' love televised mayhem. Love it. It's the shit. Splosions and riots and gun battles and mob violence and jets launching from aircraft carriers. I could watch the shit for days. And have. Course... sittin' in the back of the ol' Hummer hauling ass toward a column of smoke couple-a-blocks down and your asshole up in your throat from fear and ready to fuckup any dumb fucker out there skulking around waiting to pour on some follow-up misery... "See anything suspicious, anything at all, do not hesitate. Drop every single last one-a-the-motherfuckers, every single last one!" I holler to clarify the so-called tactical purdicament, more to myself really, cause I think we're all pretty much of one mind on shit like that... and rushing into the shit, I imagine watching it on teevee, remote, disconnected, my ass snuggly embedded in a recliner of sorts--embedded get it?--stead of out here, actually in the shit, with a bigass target painted across the eyes... Better ta just sperience it with a remote control in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other a few sloppy thousand miles away and not really speriencing it at all, more, enjoying it. Entertainmentwise.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Introductions and Greetings


In an empty PT field across from the Brigade MP Company, three clusters of soldiers, from three Battalions in the Brigade, congregated around an old Oak Tree. It was one of those dishwasher days in Kentucky, where the high-pressure, high-humidity weather changed as quickly as the pattern of jet streams of water swirling amidst an array of oily pots and pans. The bluegrass, blue-sky morning was cool and lovely, well suited for introductions by a cum-by-ya gathering of three different squads of oily pots and pans.

It was 9:30—our first formation for the first day of training with the MP’s. The three squads, a handful of rejects from each Battalion, had been tasked to assist the understaffed Brigade MP Company with running the Brigade’s Internment Facility in Baghdad, now thirty days close and approaching. As the disgruntled Squad Leader of my Battalion’s detail, I was confused about the mission, effort and commitment from the jackass MP’s, and the competence of a couple of my rejects. Looking around, it seemed like my rejects might pass for Hooah in the land of POG.

A few minutes past formation time, a few MP’s stumbled out of the office, lazily making their way toward us. As they came near, most had naturally shifted in position behind a gargantuan E5 leading the tortoise-like assault. A piggy-looking female E4, wearing a scorn and eyes of discontent had folded her arms across her massive chest. Another E5, with long hair and a jacked-up PC, looked us over with appeasement. His shaggy hair mocked the rule and order of the NCO Corp, while a short, squatty E5 near him looked every bit the antithesis.

SGT Davis introduced himself and his crew, corralling us into the open field beyond the oak tree. Apparently, the Platoon Sergeant and CO were busy, but this fine, young group of pork was going to teach us some defensive maneuvers until lunch. Soon enough, all the NCO’s took off, delegating instruction to Miss Piggy. Most of us had no idea what the BIF was, what the detail entailed, and why we were learning defensive maneuvers.

After lunch, SGT Davis was SSG Davis, and SPC Piggy was SGT Piggy. Here is where we gathered into a circle, met by the Platoon Sergeant, and briefed on our mission. The Brigade Internment Facility was a temporary holding and interrogation facility run by the MP Company. Since half of their company was charged with PSD (Personal Security Detachment) for the Brigade Staff, that left the remainder of the Company understaffed in securing the BIF. At the BIF, which was basically a temporary and makeshift jail, our Infantry units would bring in suspected terrorists, where they would be secured, housed, cleaned, and fed by us, then interrogated by the Brigade’s MI attachment.

When the Platoon Sergeant and CO left, we broke formation and gathered back into a circle. Here, we were asked to introduce ourselves with the standard rank, name, MOS, and unit. Feeling particularly bitter about being stop lossed instead of being at home with pregnant Mrs. 13, I decided I wanted everyone to know that I was a victim, and none to cheery about it. The soldiers from 1st Battalion had done the standard, dry introductions without enthusiasm. When it was my turn, I took off my beret, glanced around the circle, and looked into the eyes of every soldier around me.

“I’m SGT Davis, from HHC 2nd Battalion. I’m a 13 Stoploss, and should be out of the Army in 12 days.”

Silence.

For several seconds, the soldiers around me blinked their eyes, unsure whether my boldness was alarming or witty, and unsure whether to stay quiet, or laugh. The silence was broken by an MP, a BFG named Jones. He was laughing hysterically, softening the mood for a transitional introduction continued by the rest of my squad.

I don’t know if my introduction was unprofessional; what was more certain was that everyone around me was just as glum. The 3rd Battalion squad was all Mortarmen, led by a young, newly promoted E5, and followed by a bunch of equally young and immature boys. The 1st Battalion group was a bunch of delinquent cooks with major issues of drama and attitude. I was sure, from first impressions, that although everyone might have been nice people, as groups, it was going to be a long, difficult year filled with problems, and the best thing I could do, was to continue focusing on beating stop loss. To do that, a Congressional Investigation was in order…

Friday, July 10, 2009

Post 9/11 GI Bill Interview

A few weeks ago, this nifty AP reporter emailed me, asking for a phone interview. She wanted to know about the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and about my experiences going back to school. "Great!" I said. "I just started this new blog to specifically talk about that."

Anyway, we spoke for about thirty minutes, and she gave me a few career tips concerning journalism. A few weeks had passed and I heard nothing, until today. Her story was bought, and went national:


It would have been cool to have a link placed in the article for some traffic to the blog, but oh well...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

My Mastercard Commercial






September 20, 2005

Oasis. Cake. Weezer. 311. Madness. Beck. Jet. Garbage. Live. The Bravery. Arcade Fire. Bloc Party.

OMG.

here's my mastercard commercial:

roundtrip airfare for one from nashville to orange county: $499

2 tickets, orchestra section, KROQ's Inland Invasion: $190

Venue Parking, Food, T-Shirts: $75

Stop lossed soldier's unauthorized travel to spend last weekend with pregnant wife before leaving for Iraq: Priceless

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day Militarism

A thought to ponder, raised by Chalmers Johnson in The Sorrows of Empire:

"The only truly common elements in the totality of America's foreign bases are imperialism and militarism--an impulse on the part of our elites to dominate other peoples largely because we have the power to do so, followed by the strategic reasoning that, in order to defend these newly acquired outposts and control the regions they are in, we must expand the areas under our control with still more bases. To maintain its empire, the Pentagon must constantly invent new reasons for keeping in our hands as many bases as possible long after the wars and crises that led to their creation have evaporated."

By James Madison, primary author of the Constitution:

"Of all enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debt and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few."

Chalmers Johnson:

"When the historical record is considered, American foreign policy over the past half century may not prove to be particularly exceptional or evil, but the gap between what the government has been doing and the explanations it has given to the public continues to widen."

"The onset of militarism is commonly marked by three broad indicators. The first is the emergence of a professional military class and the subsequent glorification of its ideals... with public support slackening (during the Korean War), the military high command turned to inculcating martial values into the troops, making that the most vital goal of all military instruction, superseding even training in the use of weapons. These values were to include loyalty, esprit de corps, tradition, male bonding, discipline, and action--generally speaking, a John Wayne view of the world. The second political hallmark of militarism is the preponderance of military officers or representatives of the arms industry in high government positions (consider Powell, Armitage, Teets, White, England, and Roche, in 2001 alone). The third hallmark of militarism is a devotion to policies in which military preparedness becomes the highest priority of the state. In his inaugural address, President George W. Bush said, 'We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.' But no nation has the capacity to challenge the United States militarily... Since his administration is devoted to further enlarging America's military capabilities--a sign of militarism rather than of military preparedness--it has had to invent new threats in order to convince people that more is needed."

"The purpose of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was to prevent the military from ever again engaging in police activities without the consent of Congress or the President... although the act has been modified many times... it still is meant to ensure that the standing army will not have any role in policing American citizens in their own country. However, the rise of militarism, aided by the attacks of September 11, 2001, has eroded these old distinctions. By expanding the meaning of national security to include counterterrorism and controlling immigration, areas in which it now actively participates, the Pentagon has moved into the domestic policy business. The Department of Defense has, for instance, drafted operational orders to respond to what it calls a CIDCON (civilian disorder condition)... in case of a large scale terrorist incident, the Pentagon can place on alert a Joint Task Force-Civil Support based at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and 'Task Force 250,' the responder, is actually the Army's 82nd Airborne, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina."

No thanks. Something is clearly not right.


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I LOVE Coffee


Got an email from Hank, of Devil Dog Brew. Passionate, patriotic dude. Not my branch, but a damn fine organization promoting a good cause. I haven't personally tasted their coffee (I'd love to), but so what. Get some here. I'm not in any way affiliated or being compensated by promoting this, but proceeds benefit the Marine Corps. Why? 'Cuz they deserve some damn good coffee, that's why.

By the way, I prefer mine of light or medium roast, fresh ground, french pressed, with filtered water, and dark as deepest pits of fiery, blackest hell. Yeah, that's right. Cream and sugar is for pussies. 

The Sorrows of Empire

I just received some electronic propaganda from some public relations firm. I'm sure you'll notice the same email and article copied and pasted across the milblogosphere very shortly. Instead of doing that, I'm going to give you the link to the article, and in celebration of the end of school for the whole summer, am going to post up a (shitty) review I had to write about The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson. Fascinating book, a NY Times best seller. This is probably going to further the pro-Bushies into labelling me liberal, or anti-military. Well, fuck them. You can read my report, and the book. I dare you. 

------------------------

Dear Milbloggers:
Please take a look at Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn’s latest piece which was just published in National Review Online.  
The fight over military programs doesn’t end here with the latest abomination of a budget.  Please link to this if you can and let me know if you’d like to receive more pieces by our allies.
Best,
Audrey Mullen
Advocacy Ink
815 King Street – Suite 302
Alexandria, VA  22314
Ph. 703-548-1160



National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OGJhMjJmOWNiNmE3YThiN2ViZDMyMGQ0MTYxMDA5YTA=


--------------------------

Official histories are neat. In textbooks, they are almost always clean; they usually lack specific detail, and because of the breadth of the overall subject, offer very little depth, or insight into the topics they intend to describe. Most often, they are neither investigative, nor analytical, but readily accepting of the shaped, or skewed dictations presented by the press, and the government, as the events occurred. This is not the most responsible way to record history, nor even an appropriate one. Fortunately, many historians are not convinced by these “official” stories, either as a result of newly uncovered evidence, or as investigative analyses have been used to expose previously received “truths.” Chalmers Johnson is one of those historians, and The Sorrows of Empire is an accumulation of facts, the dirty truths that have been buried by American institutions over the last century, that challenge the good-guy image America wears on its sleeve and forcefully carries abroad. And it’s a shame, too, that from childhood, we are purposely sheltered from the truth in books like Mr. Johnson’s, and are instead spoon-fed false histories in classrooms, as defined by politicians, and their personal agendas. The Sorrows of Empire is everything my textbooks are not: dirty, detailed, revealing, and above all, fascinating. In this sense, the propaganda machine responsible for the school texts are what relegate books like The Sorrows of Empire into the category of “conspiracy theory,” a term applied to the educated, weirdoes, wacko’s, and social misfits; this becomes the criteria whereby its revealing truths are deemed secret.

The Sorrows of Empire alleges that America is under attack—not from communism, or terrorism, as the recent neo-conservatives in power have asserted, but from an inner enemy Mr. Johnson calls militarism. This escalation of the military empire takes shape in three forms, but it is a quote from first president, George Washington, that gives warning in what we have too conveniently forgotten today. “Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican liberty.” (Johnson, 39) Washington’s words provide an interesting and alarming context to The Sorrows of Empire. He clearly foresaw, from first-hand experience, the dangerous conditions associated with a large military at the government’s convenience, and noted the potential effects it would have on the ideals our nation was originally founded on.

Mr. Johnson’s “militarism” is marked first by the “emergence of a professional military class and the subsequent glorification of its ideals.” Of professionalism, he asserts the goal “is to produce soldiers who will fight solely and simply because they have been ordered to do so and not because they necessarily identify with, or have any interest in, the political goals of a war.” (Johnson, 58) It is easy to trace this thought back to the middle of the twentieth century. In World War II, Americans were particularly moved to participate in the war effort, if even domestically. Despite intentional provocations with the Germans in the Atlantic, Pearl Harbor seemed to be the last straw for ordinary citizens, and their prior refusal to stay out of the war had turned into a fierce motive for vengeance. But American thought was changed drastically after the war as American veterans returned home. For them, this wasn’t a 162 game season, and with the war over, there was not a need to continue having such a large standing force.

The U.S. military debacles in Korea and Vietnam exacerbated the trend for soldiers to begin questioning their involvement and service at the hands of questionable politicians; conscription failed to keep the size of the military at the level politicians and big government envisioned, and as a result to these failed conflicts, and others, the military began to rely, successfully initially, on a volunteer force for staffing. By nature, those willing to enlist had agreed to waive their rights, especially in questioning the missions they would be given. From this arose a sense of pride that would be built over time, instilling in recruits new values that essentially made them nameless subjects at the government’s fingertips, and to do its bidding.

Today, the red-state propaganda is everywhere. If you don’t have a yellow, magnetic ribbon on your car to support the soldiers, then you are not patriotic. Fraternal catch phrases like “the few, the proud,” exclude those who just aren’t tough enough to handle the Marines way of life. The Army’s favorite slogan, “freedom isn’t free” is a guilt trip remembrance to “those who gave all,” and implies that those have not given anything are less entitled to share the reward and benefits for what has already been won. Perhaps even worse is that soldiers not only waive their right to personal opinion, but also are used at the government’s convenience for tests of inoculations and experimental medical practices in combat. An extreme example of this is documented by Eileen Welsome’s article, The Plutonium Experiments, contained in John Friedman’s book The Secret Histories. While Elmer Allen is the subject of the article, it goes on to explain that, in addition to the poor, black communities, soldiers were also among the thousands of human guinea pig experiments sponsored by the government, sometimes at the hands of Nazi scientists, in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. (Friedman, 63)

In The Sorrows of Empire, Chalmers Johnson attributes the second “political hallmark of militarism as the preponderance of military officers or representatives of the arms industry in high government positions.” (Johnson, 62) In 2001, former President George W. Bush’s regime went overboard by emplacing executives from Lockheed Martin, Enron, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman into key civilian leadership positions in the military, proceeding to then hand out large military contracts to those companies in an attempt to further bolster, as Johnson argues, America’s preparation for war, than its supposed aim to prevent it. (Johnson, 63) The marriage between business, technology, and weapons with government took a horrific and deadly turn in the first half of the twentieth century. In The Secret Histories, Edwin Black recounts his research into IBM and its involvement with German Nazi’s. He found that a German subsidiary of American IBM, with complicit knowledge from American executives, had created the tracking punch-card machines the Nazi’s used to find, sort, track, and monitor movements of every Jew in Europe. (Friedman, 17) The use of this technology implicates IBM’s partial responsibility for the systematic annihilation of over six million Jews. Clearly, this example illustrates what can go wrong when business, government, and military share the same bed.

Mr. Johnson’s “third hallmark of militarism is a devotion to policies in which military preparedness becomes the highest priority of the state.” (Johnson, 63) He describes the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center as the “manna,” a gift from heaven, enabling, perhaps justifying Bush’s desire that we needed to be more ready. We needed more troops, more guns, more bombs, and more planes. After watching “Zero” in class, I’m inclined to think 9/11 was not a gift from heaven, but a well-staged event that deceived the nation into believing we needed more of what Bush was proposing. In 2004, after returning from a year in Iraq, my Infantry Battalion allowed us to take thirty days of vacation, and upon our return, we dove headfirst into training for the next combat deployment to Iraq. A standing military is no good lest it is trained and ready to fight, but in defiance of Mr. Johnson’s first hallmark of militarism, professionalism, I wasn’t the only one beginning to question what we were fighting for. Here, we had just returned from war, and were, just thirty-days later, after finally relaxing and trying to reintegrate into family life, we began to train up for the next war! The Sorrows of Empire asserts the empire was already “well prepared for war” when Bush took office, but additionally questioned his “policies of enlarging its military capabilities.” Johnson also alleges that the enormous “growth of the armaments industry,” the “staggering overkill in our nuclear arsenal,” and the “lack of any rational connection between nuclear means and nuclear ends is further evidence of the rise to power of a militarist mind-set.” (Johnson, 64)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to make one and one, two. If we are able to look past the doctored amnesia of the last critical event to occupy our short-term memory, to potentially see the repetitious patterns spread throughout the last century, one can arrive at the same conclusions Chalmers Johnson has. In this context, there is a resoundingly clear pattern of political attack in our government favorable to conflict. The disparity between lives lost, and revenues earned, as a result of war, makes it a very profitable endeavor. A seemingly endless supply of “professionalized” pawns will see that it remains, while politicians, and big business executives continue to grow their economic empires, and our country’s own imperialist expansion. In The Sorrows of Empire, Chalmers Johnson is more of a scientist than a historian. Americans do not have to believe the officially recorded versions of “truth” our government is feeding, especially when the facts are visible and available to all. Mr. Johnson is simply an observer. He asks questions, and arranges the answers in a logical manner. In that regard, he becomes the mathematician, adding snippets of evidence, until finally, some answers are in conflict with what the government sponsors. And in this regard, we need to challenge the neatness, cleanness, and vague descriptions supplied in our history books. Until this happens, or until changes are made, The Sorrows of Empire will be secret as long as the masses are learning what the government sponsors in the classroom. An examination of the collapse of the Roman Empire, and the recent history of our country will probably remain shelved, just in case anyone is paying attention. 


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And finally, some official reviews:

“Empires do not last, and their ends are usually unpleasant”

In Blowback, Chalmers Johnson, one of the most distinguished US historians of the Far East and a former consultant to the CIA, predicted the events of September 11 a year before they took place. In this successor volume, Johnson continues the story, deepening his analysis of the American Empire, critically examining its history, and forecasting its likely future.

The Sorrows of Empire scrutinizes the policies, past and present, that have led to American imperialism and the massive defence spending and overseas military deployment that necessarily accompany it. It suggests that the US could suffer the same “overstretch” that led to the demise of the Soviet Union. Johnson outlines the cost of Empire, both for the American people and their Republic, and for the rest of the -world.

Eloquent and impassioned, The Sorrows of Empire is a sombre and cogent analysis, written with an authority that is impossible to ignore.

“In this cri de coeur, he asks us to understand ourselves – to grasp, before it is too late, that America’s modern militarist empire threatens to destroy the democratic republic.’” — William Grieder, author of Who Will Tell the People?

“Chalmers Johnson’s relentless logic, authoritative schoarship, and elegantly biting prose distinguish The Sorrows of Empire. Anyone who reads it will have a much sharper sense of the costs of America’s new world–girdling commitements.” — James Fallows, author of Breaking the News

” The Sorrows of Empire is sobering, for it associates the United States with a dynamic most Americans still find unmentionable – our ever-deepening militarism, with all the sorrows of perpetual war and moral as well as political and economic bankruptcy that inevitably accompany this.” — John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Chalmers Johnson is President of the Japan Policy Research Institute and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of numerous books including, most recently, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire and Japan: Who Governs?


Sunday, May 3, 2009

What the hell is a BIF?


Ok, so I was fucking stuck. The assholes were definitely not going to let me stay home to be with Mrs. 13 for the birth of our child, and there was no way around it. After snooping around a bit too much for information, I was reassigned, for the deployment, to work with the Brigade MP’s in the STB. I wasn’t an Infantryman myself, but damn well near it, and when it came to matters of non-combat MOS’, the STB was a POG place to be.

My mission was to be the Squad Leader for a section of soldiers to assist the MP’s in the BIF, or Brigade Internment Facility, that would temporarily house the suspected “insurgents” our line units were bringing in. Here, MI would interrogate them for a period of not more than fourteen days, until reassigned to Abu Ghraib (minimum eighteen months stay), the Iraqi Police (for sure Police Brutality), or released, either because of innocence, soldier malfeasance, or simply lacking evidence.

By this time, Chris had already left the Battalion Scout Platoon for refusing to go to Ranger School. His “hardness” was not measured in Ranger Tab, but girth in mane. Ever meet one of those instantly likable dudes, friendly to all, but who could also wrastle your ass into combative submission, have a smart ass comment for anything in nanoseconds, fail weight, AND consistently score 270+ on a PT test? SPC Chris June was the dude, and this fuckin’ 11B was shamming in HHC as the Chaplain’s assistant! At JRTC in April (2005), when the Chaplain became a casualty, Chris actually set up the next week’s services before bureaucratic command interference intervened. That’s the kind of dude I’m talking about, a man I was privileged to fight with in 2003, and a good buddy to room with for our stop lossed tour of ’05-’06 (yep, him too).

Unfortunately, hard assery stopped with us. Each Company in the Battalion was ordered to give up one dude (1SG kept Chris and I from being sent to the line). So, imagine yourself being the 1SG of an Infantry Company, being forced to give up a dude, when really, you wanted an additional twenty. Who would you pick? That’s right—we got that dude from each Company. Remember little Tanner in the original Bad News Bears?

All we got on this team are a buncha Jews, spics, niggers, pansies, and a booger-eatin' moron!

Yep, that’s about the gist of the group I was to lead…

Saturday, May 2, 2009

11Foxtrot is back


Just wanted to let everyone know that 11Foxtrot is back, and as good as ever. Stop on over and leave him a message!


Also, I'm on a bit of a hiatus at the moment, with a huge report and presentation on Iraq due Monday in my PoliSci class. After that, I have finals in 2 weeks, and have thus, been extremely busy. From mid-May until September, I plan to finish my stop loss research and continue my own story. Stay on the lookout!
"When I grow up, I want to die for my country."  - Kid, 6 January 2004