Stimey's Spot

I've Moved

2006-02-19T02:49:00.000+09:00

This spot has moved. Please go here

Sorry for the Long Absence

2006-01-20T08:06:00.000+09:00

I apologize for the long absence away from the blog. Things have been a little hectic on the home front lately.

For some updated news:

Girlfriend and I finally tied the knot. After 2+ years of dating and cohabitation we finally managed to make what we do at night legal. She will now be known as COMNAVWIFEPAC!

COMNAVWIFEPAC will be giving birth to the latest addition to the Stimey household anyday now. We are all looking forward to meeting Max. (for pics of COMNAVWIFEPAC in preggers mode go check out my pics)

Im reenlisting in the Navy, this will put me on the final leg of my Navy journey, its surprising how fast 17 years goes by.

One of my best friends and mentors here in Japan will be leaving soon. The Stimey's wish Ed, Jen and the family the best of luck wherever they end up.

Im changing jobs soon. The building will stay the same but the description will change. I wish it came with a promotion but alas, that will have to wait for awhile also.

The pretty much wraps up the burning news of the moment. I promise to stay a little more current on this site.

Syrian Leader can take a flying Leap

2005-10-13T15:37:00.000+09:00

"Syria's leader Al-Assad says United States should re-examine Iraq policy."

Maybe if he wasn't busy planning assasinations against Lebanese officials he would realize that the U.S. policies in Iraq would benefit his supposed democratic country.

"Regarding Syria's eastern neighbor, Iraq, Al-Assad said the United States should re-examine its policy there because of the negative consequences of the war."

Hmmmm, negative consequences.........oh yeah, deposing a mass murderer and terrorist sympathizer. What the hell were we thinking? Serve up another one Al-asshat

"What did we achieve, what did they achieve from that war in Iraq," he asked. "It's a very simple question. What did they achieve economically, politically, fighting terrorism?"

I would be happy to answer that for you Al. Firstly, you didn't achieve jack shit. We were the ones who "LIBERATED" Iraq from a ruthless dictator. What we "are" trying to achieve in Iraq is a democracy where the ordinary people have a say in their government. Of course that theory would probably be foreign to you Al since the closest thing you've come to democracy is watching C-SPAN. Has it occurred to you that our main goal in fighting terrorism wasn't economically or politically motivated? Perhaps we are fighting terrorism because it's a blight on the planet and if we don't fight the small battles now, we will be fighting a global Jihad later. You know, that whole global Jihad thing all the terrorists have been blathering on about in every form of media they can get access to.

"When Amanpour (media bubblehead) suggested the U.S.-led war ousted Saddam Hussein, Al-Assad replied, "Yeah, but what did you lose as a return? The hope of the people, the stability, no better democracy, no better economy, no services, no stability in the region, more terrorism -- so is that the prize you've won for getting rid of a dictator? That's not a goal."

Again, bad dictator gone, fledgeling democracy in progress. Its not over yet assclown. The primarily FOREIGN fighters are denying the people hope and stability.
"No better democracy?" There wasn't a democracy there to start with, any type of democracy is better. And perhaps if you would clamp down on the foreign fighters crossing your border like a sieve there could be more stability in the region, but we'll get to that in a minute.

"On Wednesday, President Bush called on Syria to be a "good neighbor" in the Middle East, warning Damascus against interfering in Lebanon and allowing insurgents to cross into Iraq"

"We expect Syria to do everything in her power to shut down the transshipment of suiciders and killers into Iraq."

And Syria's response:

"Al-Assad said that the United States cannot control its border with Mexico so Syria cannot be expected to keep people from sneaking into Iraq."

Lets get one thing straight jackass, if illegal aliens from south of the border were blowing themselves up in the United States, killing innocent civilians at random, our southern border would SLAM SHUT! Border patrol agents would be picking them off with high powered rifles left and right.
These people aren't "sneaking" into Iraq, they're getting into a car in Syria and driving into Iraq. There's a big difference.

But then we get to the truth of the matter....

"He said his country does not support people who kill Iraqis but he thinks there is a difference between terrorists and those who fight against American and British troops."

Oh, I get it, so you stop them at the border and ask them what their business in Iraq is, and if they're answer is to kill Americans they get waved on through. If they don't give you the kill American theme you detain them for a little mad mullah counseling. Once they decide they would rather kill Americans and Brits they get the pass. Good strategy, Im sure that border strategy would work like a champ in the U.S.

Sorry Al, Im not buying it. Your'e guilty of aiding and abetting terrorists, you have an open door border policy for psycho's with suicide belts and I hope they target your regime next. Of course with the job the Army and Marines are doing in Iraq there may not be many left when we're through. Then again, this is what I think about your "concerns" over U.S. policy in Iraq.....

So.....mad.....cant......think......

2005-10-13T14:52:00.000+09:00

Thankless assclowns! Go read for yourself and ask why we even bother to try?

"West's response condemned as slow and inadequate "

Pay particular attention to how much the UN is ponying up for this disaster. Of course 1/3 of that is U.S. funds too.

They don't want us in their country, they refuse us help with the war on terror, but they complain about how much money we give them. Whatever happened to just a thank you, is that too much to ask?

Will Gay marriage lead to an increase in Polygamy?

2005-09-30T09:53:00.000+09:00

Apparently so, as this tri-wedding in the Netherlands points out.

What I want to know is, does this guy have one hell of a personality or what?

Hangin's too good for them

2005-09-28T14:17:00.000+09:00

These are the enemy within, these are the people who call themselves American without having any idea what America is or stands for.

I would especially like to meet the mentally impaired larval stain who uttered this inspired quote.

"I simply refuse to salute anyone who has chosen a career path out of sheer desperation and the self-serving drive to fund that which is impossible to achieve by merit or scholarship. "

As a serving member of the military, and a college graduate, I don't want or need your salute. As a matter of fact I would be insulted if someone like this did salute me, it would merely cheapen the act.

Ravings from a Lunatic

2005-09-28T13:33:00.000+09:00

This is a little long but definitely worth the time.

Serves those murdering Bastards right

2005-09-24T11:14:00.000+09:00

Hamas bastards get a little taste of their own medicine. Screw the ban on parading weapons, make it a daily event.

When there were rumors that a Qu'ran was flushed in a toilet at Abu Graid the media went insane, where are the howls of protest at this?

More New Pictures

2005-09-20T22:03:00.000+09:00

I finally have the pictures from my first and hopefully last Kitty Hawk deployment. Carriers are just not for me.

A great read from the Irish Times

2005-09-20T11:58:00.000+09:00

"Ill Wind May Not Blow to the Whitehouse"

By Newton Emerson, Irish Times

As the full horror of Hurricane Katrina sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if this is the end of George Bush's presidency.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that every copy of the US Constitution was destroyed in the storm. Otherwise President Bush will remain in office until noon on January 20th, 2009, as required by the 20th Amendment, after which he is barred from seeking a third term anyway under the 22nd Amendment.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the entire political agenda of George Bush's second term will not still be damaged in some terribly satisfying way.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that the entire political agenda of George Bush's second term consists of repealing the 22nd Amendment. Otherwise, with a clear Republican majority in both Houses of Congress, he can carry on doing pretty much whatever he likes.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the Republican Party itself will now suffer a setback at the congressional mid-term elections next November.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that people outside the disaster zone punish their local representatives for events elsewhere a year previously, both beyond their control and outside their remit, while people inside the disaster zone reward their local representatives for an ongoing calamity they were supposed to prevent. Otherwise, the Democratic Party will suffer a setback at the next congressional election.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if an official inquiry will shift the blame for poor planning and inadequate flood defences on to the White House.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody admits that emergency planning is largely the responsibility of city and state agencies, and nobody notices that the main levee which broke was the only levee recently modernised with federal funds. Otherwise, an official inquiry will pin most of the blame on the notoriously corrupt and incompetent local governments of New Orleans and Louisiana.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush contributed to the death toll by sending so many national guard units to Iraq.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody recalls that those same columnists have spent the past two years blaming George Bush for another death toll by not sending enough national guard units to Iraq. Otherwise, people might wonder why they have never previously read a single article advocating large-scale military redeployment during the Caribbean hurricane season.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnist are asking how a civilised city can descend into anarchy.

The answer is that only a civilised city can descend into anarchy.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush should be held responsible for the terrible poverty in the southern states revealed by the flooding.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody holds Bill Clinton responsible for making Mississippi the poorest state in the union throughout his entire term as president, or for making Arkansas the second-poorest state in the union throughout his entire term as governor. Otherwise, people might suspect that it is a bit more complicated than that.

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush should not be concerned by accusations of racism against the federal government.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody remembers that Jesse Jackson once called New York "Hymietown" and everybody thinks Condoleezza Rice went shopping for shoes when the hurricane struck because she cannot stand black people. Otherwise sensible Americans of all races will be more concerned by trite, cynical and dangerous political opportunism.

As the full horror of that sinks in, this columnist is simply glad that everybody cares.

A Message from the CNO

2005-09-19T09:23:00.000+09:00

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE was recently sent by Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations, to his Admirals -- but it should be read by every American.

Admirals,

I made a day trip to the Gulf Coast this weekend to visit with and thank our Sailors for the extraordinary work they are doing in the recovery and relief effort. I spent time in at the Seabee base in Gulfport, NSA New Orleans and NAS/JRB New Orleans, as well as aboard HARRY S TRUMAN, BATAAN, TORTUGA and IWO JIMA.

It was at once both a grim and an incredibly uplifting experience. Some of my impressions.

First, the pictures on TV don't even begin to do justice to the scope of the devastation. I saw whole neighborhoods completely obliterated; the only evidence they ever existed at all being the faint outline of cement blocks that once formed the foundations of houses.

I saw massive casino barges in Biloxi thrown hundreds of yards inland, wooded areas so shredded they looked from the air like a spilled box of toothpicks, and much of New Orleans still a tepid, festering lake. There were very few people on the streets that weren't military or emergency workers.

Comparing it to a war zone is not at all a stretch.

Things are starting to turn around. The JTF has really taken shape, becoming more efficient and more organized every day. Communications across the region have improved dramatically. Dewatering efforts are proceeding ahead of the projected pace. And currently rescue teams are finding fewer and fewer people in need of immediate help.

The Navy's contribution to this success has been critical. I don't need to tell you that. We've been there since practically before the storm made landfall -- BATAAN chased it in weathering 12-14 foot seas and began flying SAR missions within hours of the storm's departure -- and we are still there making a difference.

Joe Kilkenny is doing a bang-up job as the JFMCC. He's got a plan, and he is executing it with great effectiveness.

The Seabees are repairing infrastructure and clearing debris at such a pace they have actually inspired local citizens to feel more optimistic about the future.

Sailors from TORTUGA are going door-to-door looking for and rescuing the house-bound.

Helicopter aircrews from TRUMAN and BATAAN are still delivering food and water and other basic necessities.

SHREVEPORT Sailors are cleaning up the St. Bernard Parish Courthouse.

In fact, just about all our ships pierside are housing and feeding and caring for people in need.

Then there's IWO JIMA, who put up POTUS overnight on Sun. Pierside at the Riverwalk, IWO has become a command center, hospital, airport, hotel and restaurant all rolled into one.

I ran into VADM Thad Allen in the p-way. Thad, as you may know, is the senior federal officer on scene, running the whole show. He said, "Mike, you should consider renaming this ship The City of New Orleans." That says it all.

I couldn't help but sneak a smile, having just given a speech up in Newport about the power of naval forces to win hearts and minds by serving as "cities at sea." I used our contributions to the international effort in the wake of last December's tsunami as my prime example in that speech. How little did I realize we'd be doing that sort of work on our own soil so soon.

It just goes to show you how very unpredictable this world really is. But, as I made sure to tell the Sailors I talked to, it also goes to show you how very flexible and adaptable naval forces really are.

If you want a picture of the future of sea basing, consider the image of BATAAN, a Mexican amphibious ship and a Dutch frigate anchored offshore sending boatloads of supplies to the beach ... or HST anchored not far off and the only things flying off her flight deck are helicopters ... or Mexican and U.S. Sailors, side by side, combing the beach and clearing debris ... or a JTF -- with significant civil and non-governmental agencies represented -- headquartered aboard a U.S. Navy ship, led by a two-star Army general reporting to a three-star admiral in the Coast Guard, who is also headquartered aboard that same ship.

Perhaps the most moving thing I did Saturday was visit with a group of ombudsmen in Gulfport.

Many of them had lost everything. They were hurting, barely getting by on their own, and yet here they were at the FFSC looking for ways to help other Navy families. You could see the desperation and the hope on their faces, hear it in their cracking voices. Tough on the heart, to be sure, and yet somehow good for it at the same time.

I was humbled just to be in the room with them. You want to talk about courage? These ladies had it to spare.

There are, we estimate, about 10,000 Sailors affected by the hurricane in some form or fashion. There may be more. I pledged to those ombudsmen our Navy's full support in getting them and the families they represent back up on their feet. We have a lot of work to do to return their lives to some sense of normalcy, but we need to make it the highest of priorities.

It is most certainly mine I can assure you. And I know I can rely on your support.

Again, truly an unforgettable day. In the face of unspeakable disaster and suffering, our Sailors have stood tall and helped provide relief to thousands. They are not alone, of course. It's a total team effort, involving city, state and other federal agencies, not to mention our sister services, allies and relief organizations. But they have accorded themselves well as part of that team and reflected nothing but the very best back on each and every one of the rest of us.

At NAS New Orleans I came across a bunch of Seabees working feverishly on the wooden platform for what was going to be a temporary dining facility. It was a contract job, but the contractor was having problems rounding up the necessary manpower and resources. The Seabees didn't ask permission, didn't wait for orders. They simply rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

"Hey, they needed help," one said. "And we know how to do this stuff."

We do, indeed, know how to do this stuff, and we are doing it exceptionally well. Standing amongst them, I was never more proud to call myself an American Sailor.

Regards,

Mike

Back from Korea

2005-09-17T20:01:00.000+09:00

Go check out the pictures.

Some thoughts for the day

2005-09-07T05:15:00.000+09:00

Bill Whittle is finally back over at Eject Eject Eject. Go check out his latest essay, it doesnt matter what team you're on its definitely worth the read.

Something for all the simpering, whiny idiots who are screaming that we arent doing enough in LO.

Aqua Net Media Brigade Update!

Apparently its ok to pray in public schools as long as your facing Mecca. WTF?

They will take our money, as long as they are allowed to keep trying to kill us.

EXACTLY

2005-08-30T14:26:00.000+09:00

From an Iraqi living in Iraq. A response to Cindy Sheehan's protest.

I realize how tragic your loss is and I know how much pain there is crushing your heart and I know the darkness that suddenly came to wrap your life and wipe away your dreams and I do feel the heat of your tears that won't dry until you find the answers to your question; why you lost your loved one?

I have heard your story and I understand that you have the full right to ask people to stand by your side and support your cause. At the beginning I told myself, this is yet another woman who lost a piece of her heart and the questions of war, peace and why are killing her everyday. To be frank to you the first thing I thought of was like "why should I listen or care to answer when there are thousands of other women in America, Iraq and Afghanistan who lost a son or a husband or a brother…”

But today I was looking at your picture and I saw in your eyes a persistence, a great pain and a torturing question; why?

I know how you feel Cindy, I lived among the same pains for 35 years but worse than that was the fear from losing our loved ones at any moment. Even while I'm writing these words to you there are feelings of fear, stress, and sadness that interrupt our lives all the time but in spite of all that I'm sticking hard to hope which if I didn't have I would have died years ago.

Ma'am, we asked for your nation's help and we asked you to stand with us in our war and your nation's act was (and still is) an act of ultimate courage and unmatched sense of humanity.

Our request is justified, death was our daily bread and a million Iraqi mothers were expecting death to knock on their doors at any second to claim someone from their families. Your face doesn't look strange to me at all; I see it everyday on endless numbers of Iraqi women who were struck by losses like yours.

Our fellow country men and women were buried alive, cut to pieces and thrown in acid pools and some were fed to the wild dogs while those who were lucky enough ran away to live like strangers and the Iraqi mother was left to grieve one son buried in an unfound grave and another one living far away who she might not get to see again.

We did nothing to deserve all that suffering, well except for a dream we had; a dream of living like normal people do.

We cried out of joy the day your son and his comrades freed us from the hands of the devil and we went to the streets not believing that the nightmare is over.

We practiced our freedom first by kicking and burning the statues and portraits of the hateful idol who stole 35 years from the life of a nation.

For the first time air smelled that beautiful, that was the smell of freedom.

The mothers went to break the bars of cells looking for the ones they lost 5, 12 or 20 years ago and other women went to dig the land with their bare hand searching for a few bones they can hold in their arms after they couldn't hold them when they belonged to a living person.

I recall seeing a woman on TV two years ago, she was digging through the dirt with her hands. There was no definite grave in there as the whole place was one large grave but she seemed willing to dig the whole place looking for her two brothers who disappeared from earth 24 years ago when they were dragged from their colleges to a chamber of hell.

Her tears mixed with the dirt of the grave and there were journalists asking her about what her brothers did wrong and she was screaming "I don't know, I don't know. They were only college students. They didn't murder anyone, they didn't steal, and they didn't hurt anyone in their lives.

All I want to know is the place of their grave".

Why was this woman chosen to lose her dear ones? Why you? Why did a million women have to go through the same pain?We did not choose war for the sake of war itself and we didn't sacrifice a million lives for fun!

We could've accepted our jailor and kept living in our chains for the rest of our lives but it's freedom ma'am.Freedom is not an American thing and it's not an Iraqi thing, it's what unites us as human beings.

We refuse all kinds of restrictions and that's why we fought and still fighting everyday in spite of the swords in the hands of the cavemen who want us dead or slaves for their evil masters.

You are free to go and leave us alone but what am I going to tell your million sisters in Iraq?

Should I ask them to leave Iraq too? Should I leave too? And what about the eight millions who walked through bombs to practice their freedom and vote? Should they leave this land too?Is it a cursed land that no one should live in?

Why is it that we were chosen to live in all this pain, why me, why my people, why you? But I am not leaving this land because the bad guys are not going to leave us or you to live in peace. They are the same ones who flew the planes to kill your people in New York.

I ask you in the name of God or whatever you believe in; do not waste your son's blood. We here have decided to avenge humanity, you and all the women who lost their loved ones.

Take a look at our enemy Cindy, look closely at the hooded man holding the sword and if you think he's right then I will back off and support your call.

We live in pain and grief everyday, every hour, every minute; all the horrors of the powers of darkness have been directed at us and I don't know exactly when am I going to feel safe again, maybe in a year, maybe two or even ten; I frankly don't know but I don't want to lose hope and faith.

We are in need for every hand that can offer some help. Please pray for us, I know that God listens to mothers' prayers and I call all the women on earth to pray with you for peace in this world.

Your son sacrificed his life for a very noble cause…No, he sacrificed himself for the most precious value in this existence; that is freedom.

His blood didn't go in vain; your son and our brethren are drawing a great example of selflessness.

God bless his free soul and God bless the souls of his comrades who are fighting evil.

God bless the souls of Iraqis who suffered and died for the sake of freedom.

God bless all the freedom lovers on earth.

Back Again

2005-08-30T09:48:00.000+09:00

He's back, he's back! Finally back at home, Japan anyway. Tons of news, lots of new pictures, but first trying to catch up on personal stuff. I promise I will be posting again soon.

Picture Update

2005-04-30T21:55:00.000+09:00

The new pictures are finally up. I didnt get as many good ones in Hong Kong as I would have liked, but I did get a few. I also threw some pictures of the guys in my shop in HSL-51, one of the greatest group of people I've ever had the pleasure of working with.
Anyway, go check out the pictures and feel free to comment.

Not in Your Name!

2005-04-18T16:07:00.000+09:00

We're sure that you all remember only too well how, immediately after the Abu Ghraib incident, that grandstanding, alcoholic, murdering, lying, fat son of a bitch Ted Kennedy got all huffed and puffed about how the terror regime of Saddam's days had "just re-opened under new management" and assorted other liberal hysteria, all caused by reports of panties on the heads of detainees.

We're also sure that you all remember how the "Not In Our Name" lemmings were doing their damndest to make sure that Saddam stayed in power for as long as he felt like it.

Well, here's a little something about that reign of terror that our "peace" protesters didn't want to put an end to and that the Chappaquiddick Swimmer thought was no worse than prisoners forming a naked pyramid.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 14 - Investigators have discovered several mass graves in southern Iraq that are believed to contain the bodies of people killed by Saddam Hussein's government, including one estimated to hold 5,000 bodies, Iraqi officials say.

The graves, discovered over the past three months, have not yet been dug up because of the risks posed by the continuing insurgency and the lack of qualified forensic workers, said Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq's interim human rights minister. But initial excavations have substantiated the accounts of witnesses to a number of massacres. If the estimated body counts prove correct, the new graves would be among the largest in the grim tally of mass killings that have gradually come to light since the fall of Mr. Hussein's government two years ago. At least 290 grave sites containing the remains of some 300,000 people have been found since the American invasion two years ago, Iraqi officials say.

Sort of puts a whole new perspective on things, doesn't it?

But we put an end to it.

Not in your name, though, and you're fooling yourselves if you think that we're ever going to let you run away from that. We'll be there to remind you, every last step of the way.

A country was liberated from the claws of a sadistic dictator and his psychotic sons -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

That country recently held democratic elections and now have, for the first time, a government that they themselves have chosen -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

The psychopath responsible for at least the 300,000 victims mentioned in the above has been brought to justice and will murder no more -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

The Kurds will no longer have to fear seeing helicopter gunships spreading poison gas over their villages, as a matter of fact one of their own was just elected President -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

Iraqi schoolgirls will no longer have to fear being picked up, abducted, raped and fed to dogs by Uday and Qusay -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

Plastic shredders in Iraq will no longer be used for anything other than shredding plastic -
BUT IT WAS NOT IN YOUR NAME.

And we could go on, as we shall if any of those terror-supporting "peace" freaks ever presume to claw their way to the foothills of the moral high ground.

NOT IN YOUR NAME!

Sailing Away

2005-02-10T15:23:00.000+09:00

Ok, I am literally leaving in about 5 minutes. The helicopter is getting ready to start up and I will be heading to sea again. Im sorry if I didnt get to tell everyone goodbye personally but I just ran out of time today. I will miss everyone, but I will still be in touch. Be safe back in the world and think kind thoughts about the Navy every once in awhile.

Stimey

News you don't see

2005-02-10T10:52:00.000+09:00

This is the what the real soldiers are doing in Iraq. Too bad you wont see it in the MSM.

Maybe you'd like to hear about something other than idiot Reservists and naked Iraqis.
Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored the uniform he wears.
Meet Brian Chontosh.
Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant (now Captain) in the United States Marine Corps.
And a genuine hero.
The secretary of the Navy said so yesterday.
At 29 Palms in California Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow.
That's a big deal.
But you won't see it on the network news tonight, and all you read in Brian's hometown newspaper was two paragraphs of nothing. Instead, it was more blather about some mental defective MPs who acted like animals.
The odd fact about the American media in this war is that it's not covering the American military. The most plugged-in nation in the world is receiving virtually no true information about what its warriors are doing.
Oh, sure, there's a body count. We know how many Americans have fallen. And we see those same casket pictures day in and day out. And we're almost on a first-name basis with the pukes who abused the Iraqi prisoners. And we know all about improvised explosive devices and how we lost Fallujah and what Arab public-opinion polls say about us and how the world hates us.
We get a non-stop feed of gloom and doom.
But we don't hear about the heroes.
The incredibly brave GIs who honorably do their duty. The ones our grandparents would have carried on their shoulders down Fifth Avenue.
The ones we completely ignore.
Like Brian Chontosh.
It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a humvee.
When all hell broke loose.
Ambush city.
The young Marines were being cut to ribbons. Mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. And the kid out of Churchville was in charge. It was do or die and it was up to him.
So he moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line his humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire.
It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish.
And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to floor the humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them. And he had the guy on top with the .50 cal unload on them.
Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. Over into the battlement the humvee went and out the door Brian Chontosh bailed, carrying an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of Marine Corps pride.
And he ran down the trench.
With its mortars and riflemen, machineguns and grenadiers.
And he killed them all.
He fought with the M16 until it was out of ammo. Then he fought with the Beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up another dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo.

At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion.
When he was done Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 yards of entrenched Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more.
But that's probably not how he would tell it.
He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and he got them out of trouble. Hoo-ah, and drive on.
"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

That's what the citation says.
And that's what nobody will hear.
That's what doesn't seem to be making the evening news. Accounts of American valor are dismissed by the press as propaganda, yet accounts of American difficulties are heralded as objectivity. It makes you wonder if the role of the media is to inform, or to depress - to report or to deride. To tell the truth, or to feed us lies.
But I guess it doesn't matter.
We're going to turn out all right.
As long as men like Brian Chontosh wear our uniform.
Semper Fidelis,

Dennis Beal

Col USMC (ret)

Sailing Away

2005-02-09T07:19:00.000+09:00

Im off into the wild blue again. The USS Kitty Hawk will be pulling out of Yokosuka Japan tomorrow with me on board. Fortunately for the first time it doesnt look like I will be going to the Persian Gulf, which is a good thing, but Im not sure where else we actually will be going. I hope to be gone for only 2 months and then back to Japan, but you can never really make concrete plans in the Navy so we will just have to wait and see. Im going to try and call the family today to say my last goodbyes, but if I dont manage to get ahold of you, know that you are all in my hearts and I will be home soon. I should have a Kitty Hawk email address for everyone soon, but remember you can always reach me via this site.

Fair winds and following seas.
Stimey

Comments

2005-02-06T14:39:00.000+09:00

I've added a new way to make comments on my blog, unfortunately it erased all the old comments. I think this one is much more user friendly though and you dont have to move back and forth between pages to make comments and still view all the posts. Enjoy the blog and let me know if there is anything new you would like to see here.

This is too good not to pass along!

2005-02-03T16:46:00.000+09:00

BEER SAVES LIVES

A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it.

Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains.

He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out.

But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through.

He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported.

He said: "I was scooping the snow from above me and packing it down below the window, and then I peed on it to melt it. It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there."

Parts of Europe have this week been hit by the heaviest snowfalls since 1941, with some places registering more than ten feet of snow in 24 hours.

Hooray for beer baby!

More on Iraq

2005-02-03T09:46:00.000+09:00

More of this, please:

"Maybe you’re like me and have opposed the Iraq war since before the shooting started—not to the point of joining any peace protests, but at least letting people know where you stood.

You didn’t change your mind when our troops swept quickly into Baghdad or when you saw the rabble that celebrated the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue, figuring that little had been accomplished and that the tough job still lay ahead.

Despite your misgivings, you didn’t demand the troops be brought home immediately afterward, believing the United States must at least try to finish what it started to avoid even greater bloodshed. And while you cheered Saddam’s capture, you couldn’t help but thinking I-told-you-so in the months that followed as the violence continued to spread and the death toll mounted.

By now, you might have even voted against George Bush—a second time—to register your disapproval.

But after watching Sunday’s election in Iraq and seeing the first clear sign that freedom really may mean something to the Iraqi people, you have to be asking yourself: What if it turns out Bush was right, and we were wrong?

It’s hard to swallow, isn’t it?"

May be, but it’s also the beginning of a certain wisdom that your side to this point has been fending off with everything but pitchforks. The simple truth remains: the Dems and the rest of the LLL was wrong about Afghanistan; they were wrong about Iraq. Saddam was a monster, and the real crime was less that American administrations had anything whatever to do with propping him up in years past, and more that it took us so long to rectify the mistake. And if it was up to the libs, he’d still be there, drawing his inspiration for how to deal with his relentlessly brutalized populace from Itchy & Scratchy cartoons.

Hardly anybody gives you guys on the Left more and harsher hell than I do; sometimes it’s all in fun, sometimes it ain’t. But nobody would be more delighted than I would to see some serious reconsideration going on over there. And now is as good a time as any. There is more war yet to be fought, in places other than Iraq. It would be loverly if it didn’t have to come down to more actual shooting war, but we all know that it probably will. We need to hunker down, steel ourselves, and finish this thing; nobody is happy about it, but it must be squarely faced. It’s going to take long enough and cost us plenty in both blood and treasure as it is without the so-called Loyal Opposition undermining our efforts every step of the way.

And we simply cannot afford to let it slide. We did that throughout the Eighties and Nineties, and all it got us was bigger and bloodier attacks. We are fighting a highly-motivated and absolutely dedicated foe, one that doesn’t care how he wins and will never, ever show us the slightest mercy. The very fact of our existence is what goads him to murder; there is absolutely no reasoning or negotiating with him. He must be utterly vanquished, and he must be deprived of his accustomed hiding places by, as somebody else said a while back, injecting that fatal dose of freedom into the heart of the Middle East—and dealing harshly with those outlaw regimes that covertly or overtly shelter him. There’s a long road ahead yet; it’d be nice to have our fellow citizens walking at our side instead of nipping at our heels.

Good Job Iraq

2005-02-01T11:16:00.000+09:00

A middle east country that's not Israel has taken its first positive step towards democracy. Not that you would realize that if the only place you get your news are the left wing liberal rags, sorry, major newspapers or their TV equivalent. If these are your major news sources all you heard was that the US needs an "Exit Strategy" before they can start considering US intervention a success. Or "the situation is hardly clear how Iraq will handle the election results". Are these people blind or just obtuse? How can you not call the first free election in Iraq "EVER" anything but a resounding success? No matter how many liberal talking heads say that they're just not sure how "free" the election actually was, dont you believe it! This was a giant leap towards a better future people. The Iraqi people have spoken and this time the media couldnt cover it up with a blood bath story.

The Iraqi's have been praising American troops since the day Saddam fell, you just wont hear about it on TV, and you deinitely wont see it in print. There is only a very small majority of ousted Saddam loyalists who have been causing problems in Iraq. Unfortunately a couple of vocal psychopaths, otherwise known as Imams, around the world have convinced the young and disenfranchised arab youth that the only way to get to see Allah is to strap a couple of pounds of explosives to their ass and do their part to stop the "infidel" democratic process in Iraq. Dont get me wrong though, these men may be psychopaths, but they're not stupid. They've seen the not too distant future, and they're not in it. Can you imagine what will happen to a culture when they get to choose their own leaders and then get introduced to capitalism?

Readers: As you might be able to tell, this is an unfinished post. I had quite a bit more to say but simply ran out of time. Duty calls! No pun intended. Work has been a series of 12 to 14 hour days and I havent had the time to pay attention to my site like I would prefer.

Lasagna Night

2005-01-30T17:17:00.000+09:00

It looks like the flu isnt going to kill me after all. Either that or its lulling me into submission. The upside is that Im feeling quite a bit better today. I feel so good in fact I actually went shopping for food. In my overmedicated haze I've been craving lasagna of all things, so today I managed to clean myself up enough to do some grocery shopping. I actually felt pretty good up until I was checking out, and then the evil little flu bugs crawling around my system decided to let me know they were still there. IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME! I managed to get back to the house in record time, Japanese traffic notwithstanding. Since then Ive dropped a few more magic flu pills and Im back on the lasagna crave. I think the doctor might have made a mistake and given me a mild psychotropic instead of motrin. Either way, I feel better and I NEED lasagna. Its all prepped and in the oven now, in 45 minutes I should be enjoying my homemade lasagna. Unfortunately I think the medication might have affected my food serving measuring skills. In other words, I put too much water in the sauce, the noodles might soak it up or they might not, only time will tell. I'll let you know in about 40 minutes. Most likely the lasagna will be fine but the evil flu germs will refuse to accept it into their stronghold, leaving me with a huge pan of uneaten lasagna going to waste in my refrigerator. Once again, only time will tell. Until then though, bon apetit!

Just plain Sick

2005-01-29T23:21:00.000+09:00

Well, Im one of those lucky few who did get a flu shot, and true to form I'm pretty sure I have the flu! I was planning on spending this weekend tweaking my site, but this piddly little post is all you're going to get out of me this weekend. IM BEAT! One good thing about Navy doctors though, they have no problem doping you to gills. I don't think it will actually make these little germs that are crawling around inside me commit suicide, but it does give me that nice loopy headed feeling that you just cant get with over the counter stuff. On the down side, it knocks the stuffing out of you too. I think I've slept 15 hours in the last 24. That might be good for getting your immune system going again, but it pretty much cancels any plans you might have had for the weekend. Unless of course staring stupidly at the TV and wondering why you've been watching the shopping channel for the last 3 hours is were your big plans for the weekend. In that case, it was mission accomplished. Well, typing this has made me tired again, or maybe its the big pink pill I just took, either way, Im off to bed again fair readers. Have a great weekend in my absence and I will be back again on Monday I hope!

I just found this picture buried in my files and thought I would throw it on here. Enjoy!

Sickening

2005-01-24T15:36:00.000+09:00

Its a good thing Im in Japan and can't get my hands on people like this. I don't know how this guy kept his cool and didnt kill one of these idiots. I guess there is something to be said about the military teaching self discipline and control.
Don't Seattle liberals care about the troops? Aren't they always crying about how Bush is sending us to die in his unjust war? Don't they always blame Bush for not having enough soldiers to do the job? Aren't they always wailing and shedding a tear for the fallen? How full of shit do they all seem when, given the chance to interact with a bona fide soldier, they turn on him like a school of sharks who've just had a side of beef thrown into the water. The rage this brings out in me is almost impossible to put into words. I am proud to be an American, and I will give my life to defend the right of all people to voice their dissent, but sometimes I'm sickened by some of the people who use that right with no rational thought behind it! These are people who disagree with their government and found the nearest target for their anger, not one of the suits in Washington who actually make the policy to send our soldiers overseas, but a low ranking, working soldier who was just trying to do his job.

More on this later.

News from the Front

2005-01-23T15:23:00.000+09:00

Ok, I said I wasnt going to do any political stuff today, but as Sunday drags on and Im still at work doing absolutely nothing! I thought I would check out a couple of my favorite blogs. I had completely forgotten about the Indepundit until I stumbled across his site again today. How he can live in the same state as Barbara Boxer is beyond me though. Anywho, I found a great article about the bias in the media here. For all the nay-sayers out there, this man is AT THE FRONT and witnessing these events, not sitting on his couch bitching about how screwed up the US is. Take heed oh wretched mortals, "for I am become death, the killer of worlds!"

New quote: "Peace through superior firepower"

Check out the new Layout

2005-01-23T13:20:00.000+09:00

Im siiting at work on a Sunday bored out of my mind so I redesigned my Blog. I added a guest book and a Tagboard. The guest book is pretty self explanatory, but for those of you who are wondering the Tag board is a way for you to post comments to the site and not just to a specific post. You dont have to leave your email address on the Tagboard, but if you would like a personal reply you will need to. Have fun with the new site and go check out my pictures if you havent been there for awhile.

Quote of the day: "Please do not shoot at the Thermonuclear Weapons!"

An update

2005-01-23T09:15:00.000+09:00

Just a quick note today. Im too tired to write any political stuff this morning. There is a ton of stuff out there to write about, but its Sunday, Im at work, and I just cant muster up the energy to go on a rant today.
I did find a picture of myself in a kilt though!

Soldiers For the Truth

2005-01-22T13:21:00.000+09:00

This article is a direct quote from a sailor who is there and doing the job. It makes you wonder why we are even in Indonesia. America has proven time and again that their hearts go out to the victims and downtrodden in the world, but reactions like the ones we've gotten from the Indonesian government and the UN are enough to want to make me close my heart a little bit. The UN has told us they can do the job better, the Indonesians have told us outright to leave, and the press actually has the unmitigated gall to question "OUR" decision to pull the carrier out of Indonesia. Enough people! We've done all we can do, lets leave.

Proven Right!

2005-01-22T09:17:00.000+09:00

Well, it didnt take long for them to prove me right on this one. The civilian relief workers AND the victims of the tsunami are asking why the US military is leaving? Notice that nowhere in this article does it mention that we were TOLD to leave by the Indonesian government. Well, good luck taking care of your own people you ungrateful @#$%!

I want to write a lot more about this but Im in the middle of taking a test. Wish me luck!

Pictures

2005-01-21T13:58:00.000+09:00

For everyone who was having trouble getting to my picture site, it should be up and running now. I also added a link to it in my Links list.
The New Years Pictures are finally up too. Hope you like them.
Hope this one works.

India steps into the role of relief provider

2005-01-21T13:48:00.000+09:00

For those of you who read the Idiot Raghead post, here is an update on the India comment.
Link
Once again...."Good on ya Apu!"

An Update on the Relief Effort

2005-01-21T13:25:00.000+09:00

It looks like the U.S. Military, along with most other military forces will start a slow pullout from the tsunami relief effort in Indonesia. Accoding to the General in charge of the carrier strike force it should take about 2 months to complete the full withdrawal. Speaking as a member of the military and knowing a little bit about how maneuvers like this take place, this pull out could probably be done in about two weeks, if not less. Most of the ships are stuffed to the gills with relief supplies though and it would be pointless to leave before they were all delivered. We could always just hand them over to the UN but our mission is to help people, not increase the body count! I feel truly sorry for the tsunami victims here, all the military forces are leaving the region, which means that all the coordination, planning, and logistics that are in place are now going to be handed over to civilian agencies, which are going to have to start practically from scratch. They are on the ground now working alongside the various military agencies, but once the military takes the helicopters and manpower away, how are they going to deliver supplies to remote regions? Im sure they could always use the Land Cruisers the UN had shipped in for their VIP coordinator use, but what would the UN coordinators use to drive around and sneer at the US military with?
Lets get one thing straight! I admire and applaud the heroic efforts that the civilian relief agencies have put into this disaster, but without the direct and timely intervention of the military thousands more would be dead right now. This must really be hampering the mullah's speeches in the middle east. How can they point to the US and claim we're Islam hating warmongering capitalist's when we are spending hundreds of millions of our own dollars and providing relief to the worlds largest muslim country. I guess the Saudi's and Iranians will just send their carriers and Air force over to help out.......Oh thats right, they dont have one!

Stress Stress Stress

2005-01-18T16:44:00.000+09:00

Work is killing me! The chiefs exam is coming up and I think my head is going to explode. It wouldnt be as bad if we weren't involved in the aborted tsunami relief effort and getting a carrier detachment ready to go to sea at the same time. Ive actually been trying to get a decent article together for the blog but it doesnt seem to be coming together. I guess this small apology will have to suffice for now.
If you get the chance definitely check out the Diplomad site on my links list. I actually get a lot of ideas for articles from those guys. Theres nothing like finding out whats going on in the world than from people who are actually there.
OK, the brain just went into terminal shutdown and I still havent gone flying yet. I will get back to all you dedicated readers later.

Peace, love and small tactical nukes!

A picture of the Mighty SH60B

2005-01-14T18:09:00.000+09:00

This is the show-bird for our squadron. Its also the oldest aircraft that we have.

Indonesia has joined the rest of the idiot Raghead population

2005-01-13T11:46:00.000+09:00

Reading this article almost made me physically sick. Once you get past the left wing idiocy of the writing and look at the details, the raghead camel humpers are basically saying, "Thanks for the money, now get out!" What makes it even worse is that the UN spokesperson (tool) used this opportunity to throw yet another jibe at the superb effort the Americans, Aussies and Japanese have been doing to actually help the situation.

"Margareta Wahlstrom said relief work was progressing at a comparable pace to other tsunami-hit countries, given that the scale of destruction in Indonesia was so much greater, but that was still not fast enough.
Wahlstrom said she remained concerned with inadequate coordination among all groups taking part in the relief effort."

Or to paraphrase the politicalese, "To make things go faster, we need more bureacrats!"
Are these people from another planet, when has that ever helped? No seriously, how do they expect more UN "coordinators" to actually help the situation? So far the "evil" military of the ALL non-muslim countries has done an extraordinary job of coordinating the effort just fine thank you! And now they want us to leave. God or Allah forbid, the people who are actually in need of help start thinking Western countries arent the Allah hating heathen infidels the Muslim world makes us out to be.
I have a suggestion for all the forces currently providing humanitarian assistance in Indonesia. Lets leave now. But we cant stop there, we need to pull all the funding from the UN while were at it. The US provides 1/3 of all UN funding by the way. They resent us already what more harm could it do? The UN is an over-budgeted, top heavy organization that is more suited to providing bureaucracy than actual help. As we have once again shown, the United States and her allies do the actual "hard" work, while the UN takes the credit for success and blames us for failures. Enough is enough. My bet is that after the left wing cry babies got over calling us "blackhearted, uncaring, evil monsters," they would be begging us to come back within a week. The UN would literally collapse without US money pumping into their coffers. The UN was a valiant and noble idea at its creation, but then it was staffed with greedy, ignorant politicians who are more concerned with flying first class and filling the pockets in their stuffed suits than helping the world at large. Ok ok, Im digressing, everytime I start thinking about the UN I start seeing red and my literacy drops a few grade levels. Back to the issue at hand.
Once again, I have to ask the question....Where are the Saudi's? Where are the Iranians? Indonesia is the worlds most populous muslim country, so where are their brothers in the faith? They're watching the US and its allies do all the work......again! The only country that I have any respect for in this whole mess is India. They assessed the tragedy on their shores and decided they didnt need UN assistance. Speaking as someone who has been to India, they are not the wealthiest country on the planet, but they are populous, and they realized they had the personnel and resources to stem the effects of this crisis themselves. They didnt immediately request handouts from the UN/ US and they didnt bitch about wealthier nations being "stingy." This is a good sign for any nation. It proclaims "We are strong, and we can take of ourselves. " Way to go Apu! Now if only the residents of Iraq and Afghanistan could take that lead. Oh yeah, and stop killing each other you raghead @#$%!
If I was a nation state and an aircraft carrier and its consorts showed up off my coast I would probably be a little intimidated, if however, they started handing out food, water and medicine, I would shut the hell up, say thank you and how can I help. We know thats not going to happen though, unfortunately the rest of the world doesnt think as rationally as me!

Family and Friends

2005-01-10T20:22:00.000+09:00

OK people! Lets get on the ball and start using my website. Its been up for a couple of days now and I havent gotten a single comment or email. Actually Shelby did email me, so the munchkin gets out of this rant, but everyone else is on notice. Start giving me some feedback. I would like to hear from you guys once in awhile. Steve, I tried to reach you on XBOX live but Ive been working 12-14 hour days so my schedule is pretty screwed up. I check my site all the time at work though.
Sorry if this came across a little harsh, it wasnt meant that way, I would just like to hear from you guys.

The "Great UN relief effort"

2005-01-09T21:39:00.000+09:00

This is the crap that the worlds poor have to deal with. These are the people who are supposed to be there to help them. Check out the Unbearable! post. Its definitely a good read.
This is a personal blog and I promised myself I would keep the subject matter on the light side and use it as a way to keep my family and friends updated on how my life is going, but I think this is important enough that more people should know about it.

The one day snow storm

2005-01-08T23:30:00.000+09:00

Unfortunately it only lasted about a day, but it was really pretty while we had it!

The new site

2005-01-08T22:57:00.000+09:00

Ok, the new site is finally up and running. I finally managed to get pictures on here but I will try not to overload the site with too many. If you are like Mizuki and dont like having your picture on the internet, just send me a comment and let me know and I will remove it. Maybe, it is my site after all!

Now a little info on how my life is going.....
Im "probably" going to Indonesia to do some humanitarian relief pretty soon. I would give you the dates that Im leaving but I dont know myself right now. We could leave tomorrow or next month, were just not sure. Im in full on panic mode trying to study for the chiefs exam, get ready to go to sea, get my house ready for me to be gone, set up all my external banking, etc. etc. etc. Ive probably managed about 4 hours sleep a night for the past week, but the pieces are all finally starting to come together. If you want to get ahold of me while Im gone I should probably have a new email account set up on the boat in a couple of weeks, but you can always contact me here at my blog and I will get back to you. Im still trying to find a blog format that I like so the looks of the blog might change a couple of times over the next few weeks, but the address should stay the same. Which reminds me, I just sent out a mass email to tell everyone about the new site and forgot tell them the new address. Crap! I guess I will fix that in a minute.
Anyway, thats where Im at right now, I hope everyone likes the new site. Please let me know if you would like to see anything else here and I will try to get it in here. Dont forget to check out my links, there is some really good stuff in there.

Peace, love and hair gel!

The long awaited Christmas Pictures

2005-01-08T22:22:00.000+09:00

Im afraid the Christmas pictures were just eating up way too much space on my blog, so I was forced to move them. You can still see the Christmas pictures and any other random pictures I decide to put up. Ive moved them to a new site. Go check out Stimeys Pics

Or you can just click the title to this post.

The new new Blog

2005-01-05T11:23:00.000+09:00

Hopefully this blog doesnt die a horrible death like the last two. I will have the site back up and running as soon as I can squeeze time out of my day to work on it. In the meantime, have a great new year and I cant wait to hear from everyone again.