Egypt: Why We Care: The People and Their Military

We understand from public media that the Egyptian Army, unlike the police and security forces, enjoys the respect and support of the people.

[ . . . ]

[Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's] grip on power was further challenged Saturday as the military that he had deployed to take back control of the streets showed few signs of suppressing the unrest, and in several cases the army took the side of the protesters in the capital and the northern port city of Alexandria.

In the most striking instance, members of the army joined with a crowd of thousands of protesters in a pitched battle against Egyptian security police officers defending the Interior Ministry on Saturday afternoon.

[ . . . ]

In other parts of the capital, soldiers invited protesters to climb aboard their armored personnel carriers to have their pictures taken, and in Alexandria, demonstrators took tea to troops.

Above, the crowds greet Egyptian soldiers. Below, demonstrators hoist the flag of the Egyptian Army.

OYE Comment:

The unity between the people and their military is essential for healthy development of any society, including our own. All Egyptian men serve in the military; everyone knows someone wearing the uniform. All of this helps to ensure that orders to open fire on peaceful demonstrations will not be obeyed.

Why should Americans care? Our military is OUR military, too. You can help to foster this perspective by volunteering to serve yourself [if eligible] or by encouraging those you know to consider volunteering. Show your support any way you can, beyond a magnetic ribbon.

Assassination Attempt/Murder in Arizona

We understand that, earlier this afternoon in Arizona, a gunman shot and killed several people, including a Federal District Judge, and seriously wounded a U.S. Representative; citizens held a vigil at the U.S. Capitol.

Our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, and our thoughts and best wishes to all, including those now recovering.

We thank the first responders and emergency medical personnel who helped the wounded, and the chaplains and equivalents who have comforted the bereaved in their hour of need. We support the law enforcement personnel who are now working very hard to investigate this crime to ensure that justice is done.

We condemn all violence as inconsistent with the Constitutional values that have established and sustained our political system. Let's be honest: If your candidate did not win the election, you must nevertheless accept the voters' judgment during the term of office. Feel free to support the loyal opposition.

We always congratulate winners of elections, even if we did not favor that outcome [e.g., Ben Quayle]. It's the American way.

USS Enterprise Videos: More

The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot has released two more "XO Movie Night" videos from the USS Enterprise, starring its former Commanding Officer, CAPT Owen P. Honors, Jr.

Here's one:



Here's another:

Our Navy is Decisive: CAPT Honors Relieved as USS Enterprise Commander

Navy Admiral John Harvey permanently relieved CAPT Owen P. Honors, Jr., as Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise, now preparing for deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Update: The Enterprise is to deploy Thursday, January 13.

To Admiral Harvey's credit, and that of the Navy, he acted decisively and in the best interests of the USS Enterprise and its almost 6,000 sailors.

There's quite a lot of commentary on this, but it's clear that the controversy made it impossible for CAPT Honors to continue to hold the confidence of his superiors.

We hope that the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot will share the other videos with the American people, if only to support CAPT Honors' post-retirement career as a comedian.

USS Enterprise XO Videos: Update

The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports that the Navy is continuing to investigate, but we've also heard that CAPT Owen P. Honors, Jr., has been temporarily relieved.

On the other hand, CAPT Honors' supporters have set up a Facebook page. We'll keep you posted.

Hat tip to TowleRoad. Photo tip to The New York Times.

USS Enterprise: Update on videos

Here's an CCN story on the USS Enterprise videos.

Two comments:

1. CNN is quite correct that substantial official resources were required in their production. This isn't someone clowning around with a personal video camera.

2. If the Navy has already been aware of these videos, and took action way back in 2007, well, then action has been taken, so it's just egg on the Navy's face at this point.

USS Enterprise XO Video: See for Yourself!

The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports that the Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, Navy Captain Owen P. Honors, Jr., due to deploy shortly to support operations in Afghanistan, while serving as its Executive Officer [XO] on a similar deployment in 2006-2007, starred in the above video series to the crew. See for yourself; the newspaper has bleeped out potentially offensive dialogue.

Here are our thoughts:

1. Consider the time and the context: Any kind of deployment is stressful; leaders need to guide and channel the intensity of emotions towards topics that are less [but not totally zero] politically incorrect, just to burn off the steam and stress and tension in a more [but not completely] socially acceptable manner. Furthermore, back in 2006, one political party controlled both political branches of our government; it takes time for socio-political changes like the Democratic takeover of Congress, effective in January 2007, to filter out to our ships at sea.

2. We need leaders with courage, rather than timid wimps afraid to make a decision. Yes, he should have a little egg on his face [see speculation in the page 2 etc. Comments on TowleRoad], but that's it. Clearly, the crew's loyalty to their Captain has ensured that the American people know what a great job he's doing. [Snark!] Other leaders are certainly learning and will be guided by this, but we don't want to destroy the need for creativity and imagination to maintain morale on a deployment.

3. Make your own decision whether it's really homophobic, or whatever. It's certainly juvenile, sophmoric and a bit raunchy, but so what? Keep the good elements of military culture; don't destroy everything.

4. With Congressional repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," to be fully implemented this year, will all such 'humor' be tolerated? No. Commanders and Leaders will need to ensure that all motivational materials ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. A more pressing issue is whether Captain Honors recognizes how much things have changed, and the current, pre-deployment command climate on the USS Enterprise.

5. To a certain extent, this video is already a historical document of life under DADT.

Hat tip to TowleRoad.

Hat non-tip here. [They copied our post exactly. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.]

Update: The Navy is investigating.

further Update [08JAN2011]: For some reason, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot has removed the video from its website; the above video has also been removed from YouTube by the original poster. We left a comment on the newspaper's website politely inquiring why. Sans response from the paper, it's back on YouTube:

Here's the most popular version:



Here's another version:

KABOOM

Excellent interview with blogger/author/Veteran, Matt Gallagher.

Does U.S. apathy and ignorance bother you?
Yes. It’s an unintended consequence of having a voluntary force. People who lack a direct connection to the war are often unengaged. To a certain extent, I understand. People have lives. The economy is tanking. Pelicans are dying in oil. The last thing they want is more bad news. But every now and then, I get on my self-righteous soapbox. You describe moments of subtle defiance in the book. Under your uniform, for example, you wear socks featuring the Guinness beer logo and pink boxer shorts with skulls on them. It was a way of reminding myself that I was an individual. I could get the job done and do it well, but still be Matt. The military has a group culture — everyone wears the same uniform, cuts their hair the same way, eats the same food, speaks the same coded language — so it’s easy to forget who you are sometimes. You spout acronyms. Some are serious, like AO (area of operations), and some are humorous, like BCGs (birth control goggles — eyewear so ugly it deters the opposite sex).

More Deployed Servicemember Videos

A little funny dance:



Lady Gaga´s Pokerface featuring Marines:



More Marines Dancing [original video]:



Even more Dancing Marines:



And there´s what appears to be a fabulous one featuring content from Sony Music Entertainment, "Caught Up (dancing Marines)," posted by batman32a, which is apparently blocked. We politely request that Sony Music Entertainment please allow the public to view our servicemembers in this video. Thank you.

Not Cool

This is way off topic, but certainly noteworthy.

WASHINGTON – At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely to be suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.

General McChrystal, a true LEADER

Army General Stanley McChrystal, formerly U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan, retired today in a ceremony at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., presided over by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

While the circumstances of the conclusion of his military career are off-topic, we do note that he, as a LEADER, manned up and accepted his responsibility as Commander. No excuses. In so doing, he has continued to serve our nation and strengthen our military as an institution. In approving his retirement as a four-star general after serving less than three years, President Obama clearly recognized that General McChrystal did the right thing for America.

General (ret.) McChrystal deserves thanks and respect of all Americans for all that he has done to protect our country. We wish him and his family all the best.

Servicemembers Music Videos

OK, totally off-topic, but please bear with us.

There's something about Lady Gaga that our servicemembers [mostly Soldiers, but also Marines] downrange really like, to the point that they record themselves doing something silly, then post for posterity on the Internet. Here are some of the best, followed by one more [quite crazy, but then, they're deployed, so it's OK]:

The world-famous Telephone Remake [from Afghanistan]



from the U.S. Air Force Academy:



Vanilla Ice Remix [looks like MPs in Iraq]



And another from Iraq, spoofing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"



Finally, here's Lady Gaga's Pokerface [also from Iraq]



OYE Comment: The Atlantic's Cailey Hall said it best:

The military has more important battles to attempt to win without taking on the extraordinarily pervasive popularity of social networks. But just in case they do, I recommend you get your fill of soldier music videos while you can. You might laugh, you might cry. And perhaps you'll even think about some of the other things those young men and women in uniform are facing over there.

If these crazy videos help to bring the American people closer to our deployed servicemembers, it's all to the good.

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.

Dance Fever

Denny Terrio is no longer the host.

The clip features six soldiers on patrol in Hebron, which is home to many sites that Jews, Muslims and Christians consider holy. Some 600 Israeli settlers live in the city among roughly 160,000 Palestinians — which means it has also been the site of tension over the Israeli occupation.

As the soldiers canvass the street with weapons in hand, a muezzin can be heard leading a call for Muslim prayers. Suddenly, Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” abruptly comes on and the six soldiers break out into a dance routine. After a few seconds of hearty gyrating, the soldiers promptly return to their patrol duty and to appropriate military postures.

The Israeli Defense Forces brass is not amused, AFP reports: In a statement, the IDF leadership called the performance a “joke by the soldiers” that amounts to “inappropriate conduct during a military operation” and will be “investigated by battalion commanders.” The video, first posted to YouTube on Friday by the user "cleangrunge," has since disappeared from its original account — but several other users have reposted it.

Off topic, but on principle

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty," --Bill Maher.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.

The man who refused to die

Completely off topic, but a very horrifyingly interesting story. (via AMERICAblog)

They came to think of themselves as the forgotten army - the men who endured years of suffering in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps during World War II.

Yet many of the survivors, when they came back, never spoke of what they had seen and suffered. Now, one survivor of the camps has broken his 65-year silence.

This is a story of almost unimaginable suffering. The POWs were transported deep into Thailand on rice trucks that were more like steel coffins.

The men survived on a few handfuls of rice a day. Many succumbed to disease - cholera, beriberi, tropical ulcers. Their weight fell to five or six stone. Beatings were routine.

For years he went barefoot and naked except for a simple loin cloth. After another death march through the jungle, Alastair Urquhart was taken back to Singapore and, with 400 other men, loaded into the hold of a cargo ship.

There was standing room only. It was airless, fetid, the heat baking. Many died here too.

I am breaking my silence now, he writes in his book, to bear witness. I am a lucky man, but I am also an angry man, and my business with Japan is unfinished.

Germany has atoned. Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt.