Photo of the Day - Marine Salutes Bikers Entering DC to Honor Victims of 9/11

Rules are Rules - Sgt. Gary Stein Case

Sgt. Gary Stein is facing discharge from the U.S. Marines due to a posting he made on a military tea party page that depicted President Obama as a jackass and called him the domestic enemy.  He is fighting this discharge even though a military board has recommended that they move forward with a discharge that will be done other than honorable.  Which basically means he will lose rank and benefits.  A very big price to pay.   This is something that will follow him for the rest of his life, this is something that is asked on most job applications.  But here is the rule that he is being charged with violating:

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct

This has also been updated to include enlisted service members as well.  It seem to me that he is indeed guilty of  violating the rules.  It is hard to deny that.  His attorney's are not denying that his posting would be a violation of these rules.  They are questioning his rights to free speech on his own time.  

You make posting on a Facebook page that is clearly designed for military members then claim it was something done on your own time and would not fall under the purview of the code?  I am sure he did the posting when he was off duty, but it was a page that very much broadcasts the fact that they are military members.  

There are reasons why the military has rules and regulations on free speech when it comes to badmouthing your commanders.  discipline in a military setting is essential in order for the system to work properly.  One of the things that every marine I have met takes a great deal of pride in is the discipline that corp provides.  Most marines are pretty hard-core went it comes to the reputation of honor that comes with being a good marine.  

Look, I don't like President Obama policies any more than this guy seems to.  But I am not in the military and I am free to say whatever I want.  I don't have to worry about it.  But he is marine, he knew the rules and he still chose to make this posting.  Now he is paying the price for that choice.  That is called personal responsibility.  

Quote of the Day - A NCO, a Gentlemen, and a Marine Edition

While I do not think it is this horrific act that should ruin their lives forever, it is not an acceptable act whatsoever. We (The United States and Marines) pride ourselves on our professionalism and defending the greatest Country in the World. We became the mighty United States of America by standing on morals and principles that are above this type of behavior. I will probably anger some of my friends by saying this, but if people stop looking at this from an emotional perspective (on both sides of the debate) and start looking at it from a logical one, they will see that if we celebrate this type of behavior we lower ourselves to their level and are no better than the indecent animals we are fighting.

Marine Ron.  


Ron has walked a mile in their shoes.  He is in Afghanistan as I write this.  He has been told he has to have a sit down with his men that peeing on dead bodies is not acceptable.  Something he shouldn't be wasting his time on.  


This has never been about the Taliban who were killed, it has always been about our military and how we view ourselves and our values.  

The Land of the Free & The Home of the Brave

This video is making it rounds around the internet.  It appears that some marines that are based out of Camp Lejeune are urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters. If this is true and this really is what they did these men need to face military justice.  Standing up and saying that this behavior is unacceptable is not an indication that you are a fan of the Taliban.

Sadly, many are not only justifying this behavior but they are celebrating it.  Some comments that I have seen have gone as far as to say they should have taken a "dump" on them and used the Koran as toilet paper.  They are being celebrated as heroes.

Nothing about this is heroic.  We have the greatest military force on the face of the earth.  One of the reason that we have that is discipline.  Discipline that men follow the orders of their superiors.  Discipline that teaches them about honor and service to our nation. Discipline that gives them the courage to go into a theatre of war.  A type of discipline that so many others in our society are sorely lacking, that the rest of pay high prices in the forms of entitlement programs and crime.

What these marines did was endanger the lives of men and women serving in Afghanistan.  This video will not only be seen by people in the United States. This will be seen all over the world.  It will continue the message that the likes of al Qaeda sends that we are evil, or the Iranian version of the great satan.

America has stood up to tyranny all over the world.  We have freed millions upon millions people from the likes of Hitler and other evil men.  We went toe to toe with the likes of Stalin.  We won the cold war without firing a shot because we stood by our principles.  All life has dignity and everyone deserves the chance to experience freedom.  We scoff at the other leaders of the world who deny their citizens basic human rights.  We set up radio stations around the world to give people hope that one day they would experience the same types of human rights that we espouse. We have people fighting tooth and nail in this country to protect our freedoms that many believe are eroding before our eyes.

There is evil in the world, no one can deny that.  But do we overcome it by doing this?  I believe in American   exceptionalism.  I honor the troops for the service that they provide to our country.  I expect that they live up to that honor.