Reason No. 237 -- Why you should never send you kid to a major university or perhaps any college:
(News Item): The presidents of six leading U.S. universities are touring Iran, the latest in a series of exchange visits involving senior academics and scientists.
The week-long trip, which began Nov. 14, was organized by the Association of American Universities, which is made up of 62 of the largest research universities in the United States.
Visiting officials include University of Maryland President Dan Mote, and the presidents of Carnegie Mellon University, Rice University, the University of Florida, Cornell University, and the University of California, Davis.
"A lot of the coming together will be through universities," Mote said.
Kumbaya, dumbass.
This is what your tuition money goes for Mom and Dad... employing university fifth-column elitists who collaborate with the enemy and thereby condone atrocities like the above.
Now, here's something to wash the bad taste out of your mouth.
In ancient days, back in Vietnam, whenever we were told to "take a corpsman with you", that was the ultimate good news/bad news.
That must have been the case with a highly classified operation five years ago in Afghanistan involving an unidentified "U.S. Navy medical officer".
The Military Times reports that:
Somewhere out in the fleet, there’s a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.
But he’s not authorized to wear the award--second only to the Medal of Honor--because his 2003 mission remains classified and what little information has been released prompts more questions than it answers.
According to Navy lieutenant's obviously redacted citation, which is not classified, the officer distinguished himself in two brutal firefights in an unnamed country, but it's reference to "Afghan personnel"--part of a “joint operational unit” on a mounted patrol with Americans against al-Qaida and Taliban forces--would make the theater of operation obvious.
He is credited with protecting and saving the lives of several wounded American and Afghan comrades, at times by shielding them with his own body.
The citation (paraphrased) continues:
Unclear whether night or day, the patrol was ambushed and pounded by “extremely heavy fire from rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.” The lieutenant got out of his truck to return fire and pulled a wounded Afghan commander behind the engine block and away from the bullets.
Still under fire, he extricated a wounded American, the driver, who was “trapped behind the steering wheel” of a stricken vehicle.
While patching up that American, the lieutenant used his body as a shield, taking several bullets that only punched through his clothing and gear. He then made his way toward two wounded Afghans in the lead vehicles.
After tending to them, he found a squad of Afghan soldiers in “disarray,” rallied them and sent them forward to “break the ambush.” The account of the first contact ends with the lieutenant treating and evacuating several wounded.
Later in the day, “while sweeping an area of earlier action, a U.S.-Afghan element was ambushed by a platoon-sized enemy force” near the lieutenant. It’s not clear whether the element was the same joint operating unit ambushed earlier.
After an American and an Afghan were “severely wounded,” the lieutenant had to run 200 meters “between opposing forces” and under “withering and continuous heavy machine gun and small arms fire.” The lieutenant took shrapnel while tending to the two and protecting them from fire “now directed at him.”
The gunship fired rockets while the lieutenant mustered the remaining Afghans, led a “fighting withdrawal” to safety, then moved out “overland back to base.” He finally treated his own wounds when he stopped moving.
The citation recognized the lieutenant for “an heroic display of decisive and tenacious leadership, unyielding courage in the face of constant enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty....”
So secret was the mission and the award that the Navy did not include the unknown lieutenant when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Department of the Navy has approved the awarding of seven Navy Crosses for Navy personnel; the unknown sailor is the most recent Recipient; the medal was awarded in a private ceremony held April 2007.
This inspiring example extreme and continued heroism of is just one more example that for whatever reason, the Nation simply refuses to award a Medal of Honor of a living service member in this long and brutal war.
Hopefully, time will rectify some of these egregious errors in judgement.
Jarheads who enlisted before the early 70s have a special place in their hearts for the venerable M-14.
In a world where "everything old is new again" is a rare occurrence, it's nice to see the old battle rifle given a new lease on life.
Both the Army and Marine Corps have programs underway to seed infantry squads with so-called "designated marksmen" who can be relied on to fill the need for additional accurate, long-range fire that has outpaced the services' ability to field highly trained snipers.
These designated marksmen will be armed with accurized M-14s prompted the Army to reconsider the role of the venerable M-14 rifle equipped with a match barrels and fitted a gas piston optimal performance. The wood stock was replaced with a the McMillan M1A fiberglass model, the scope is a Bausch & Lomb 10x40mm fixed-power optic or a Leupold Mark 4.
The 7.62 rifle has been re-designated the M-25.
Speaking as someone who had minimal high-powered rifle experience before joining the Corps, yet shot a "possible" (20 rounds in the black) at 500 yards, with open sights--I can attest to both the rifle's "off the rack" dependability and Marine Corps training.
It certainly wasn't my "God given" skills.
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