Total Agreement

Whether or not this individual is real... 'somebody' wrote them and I agree wholeheartedly. I thought them worthy of posting here.

LETTER FROM : LTC JOE RAPYA, USA


"I'm Tired"


Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of
duty in Iraq, I was forced to return to the USA for
surgery for an injury I sustained prior to my
deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to finish
my tour.

I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication
that we are winning, to return to a demoralized
country much like the one I returned to in 1971 after
my tour in Vietnam. Maybe it's because I'll turn 60
years old in just four months, but I'm tired:

I'm tired of spineless politicians, both Democrat and
Republican who lack the courage, fortitude, and
character to see these difficult tasks through.

I'm tired of the hypocrisy of politicians who want to
rewrite history when the going gets tough.

I'm tired of the disingenuous clamor from those that
claim they 'Support the Troops' by wanting them to
'Cut and Run' before! victory is achieved.

I'm tired of a mainstream media that can only focus on
car bombs and casualty reports because they are too
afraid to leave the safety of their hotels to report
on the courage and success our brave men and women are
having on the battlefield.

I'm tired that so many Americans think you can rebuild
a dictatorship into a democracy over night.

I'm tired that so many ignore the bravery of the Iraqi
people to go to the voting booth and freely elect a
Constitution and soon a permanent Parliament.

I'm tired of the so called 'Elite Left' that prolongs
this war by giving aid and comfort to our enemy, just
as they did during the Vietnam War.

I'm tired of antiwar protesters showing up at the
funerals of our fallen soldiers. A family who's loved
ones gave their life in a just and noble cause, only
to be cruelly tormented on the funeral day by cowardly
protesters is beyond shameful.

I'm tired that my generation, the Baby Boom -- Vietnam
generation, who have such a weak backbone that they
can't stomach seeing the difficult tasks through to
victory.

I'm tired that some are more concerned about the
treatment of captives than they are the slaughter and
beheading of our citizens and allies.

I'm tired that when we find mass graves it is seldom
reported by the press, but mistreat a prisoner and it
is front page news.

Mostly, I'm tired that the people of this great nation
didn't learn from history that there is no substitute
for Victory.

Sincerely,
Joe Repya,
Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army
101st Airborne

Perceptions

The situation at the justice department has about reached critical mass.  General Gonzales in all probability should tuck his head and 'go'.  While I believe the Administration has / had the right to fire the U.S. Attorneys, the fact they were not upfront about the situation created bad perceptions. 



Years ago while working for company X I was / am a personal friend of my boss.  He was somewhat younger than I.  I was a shift supervisor and had a crew of five or six as I recall.  Part of my crew would work on one side of a glass enclosed console area, the remainder out on a computer floor.  In other words, the computer area was visible from behind the glass enclosed console area. 



When the supervisor (personal friend) wanted to have a private meeting (read as butt chewing), he might call me out to the computer floor where our conversation would be private... no prying ears could hear, but the could see.  There were times when I might disagree with some policy etc. and this is where the perceptions come into play.



My boss and I would literally 'act' on the other side of the window.  We might be pointing fingers, be right up in each other's face and talking about going to the ballgame, but 'to the crew' on the other side of the window thought a major disagreement was taking place.  It was all their perception of what was taking place.  It showed them there was a line between me and the boss, that I was fighting for 'them'.  While I 'did' fight for them on many occasions, these action situations were for another reason. 



In the case of General Gonzales the people of this country, fair or not, perceive  he did wrong and has not been truthful in defending his position.  It is time for him to exit stage right, and while the entire cabinet could do the same, it would not satisfy the opposition.  Only one thing would satisfy them and that is to be sitting in 'The Chair'. 

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Rodenticide

From what Í've read, it is believed the animal death / pet food thing going on is being caused by rodenticide in wheat imported from China. Think what you will of world trade; I am having problems digesting the fact this country imports wheat from anyone, let alone China. Doesn't that surprise you? Does me.

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Congressional Bickering

Every time, and I do mean 'every' time I hear a republican congressperson complain about what the democrat party is doing I cringe. I just can not help but know and believe they brought it all on themselves. There just is no excuse. They had the power, they abused the power, they lost the power. End of story and they deserve everything brought down onto this country. Makes me physically feel ill at times.

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Valerie's Testimony

First of all, Ms. Plame 'was' under oath for all the good it was. I watched her appearance today... know what ran through my mind? It brought back instantaneously memories of what the definition of 'is' is. Very craftily maneuvered by Mr. Waxman, one round of questioning only and very limited ability to ask questions.



I said long ago, whomever knowingly 'outs' an covert CIA agent should go to jail. Umm, how come Mr. Fitzgerald has not convicted anyone for 'outing' Ms. Plame? The person who did reveal her name is waltzing around freely. What a farce.

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Memories From My 'War' Days

During my last two years in the military I was a courier. That meant I could leave Offutt AFB with lots and lots of equipment, and or documents destined for many different locations around the Midwest... or, I could leave with as little as a single envelope destined for 'wherever'.



There were scheduled runs, for example I may leave for several bases in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa using a small contract airplane that would pick me up at Offutt and return me to Offutt upon completion of my run. I have many stories to tell about my experiences as a courier, but this particular day we were going to Minneapolis MN, and back. We'd land at a hangar off the main airport in Minneapolis.



On this day, I had a young lady as the pilot and an old grizzled retired Army warrant officer as the copilot. We always flew in a twin engine Piper Navajo, generally no higher than 10,000 feet.



It was an uneventful flight, me in the back, behind the pilots within the single passenger seat with the remainder of the area for my cargo. I'm reading a book which I did allot of... the drone of the two engines sometimes making me sleepy... my single seat was approximately 5-6 feet behind the pilots. I 'could' yak at them, but it was not quiet in there so one would have to raise their voice to talk.



I glanced at my watch and saw we had about 20 minutes till arrival in Minneapolis. I sensed the slow descent into the airport there and continued reading. I knew the landing routine by heart... at a certain height, generally by the 5,000 foot mark, the pilots would flip to the 'fullest' fuel tanks. Today, before that happened....., silence... a deafening silence enveloped the plane. I glanced out to the right (my side), and saw the prop was not moving...a quick pinch of my arse cheeks and my head jerked left.... arrgh, prop not moving. Head snapping to the pilot section saw looks of concern and quick mouth movements coming from both. The pilot looked calm but concerned, the old grizzled fellow looked like he'd messed his pants.



Switches were being flipped and I could see them trying to start the right engine. It finally caught and that caused the plane to lurch forward at an angle. When they got the left engine started, another lurch until they were able to correct / stabilize the situation. I let a few minutes pass (not many), moved around in my seat abit to see if I felt any wet spots, then snapped my seatbelt, crawled forward and asked if anyone had any toilet paper. That seemed to break the tension abit and we were all inwardly saying our prayers thanking whomever it was we each prayed to.



Turns out, the switching to the fullest tanks had not occurred yet, and the tanks we were running on showed almost 1/4 full but needed to be re-calibrated. We had 'literally' run out of gas in mid-air.



In our courier station we had a refrigerator kept full of beer. While never used while 'on duty' we had one rule. If a courier came in off a flight and headed straight for the refrigerator, nobody bothered him. We all knew 'stuff' happened on that airplane... that day, I visited the frige.

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Chuck Hagel

Over the course of time I have grown to despise this Senator. My main point of contention has always been his referring to the War on Terror as another Vietnam. Another Vietnam it is not, if for no other reason the number of G.I.s killed. I can very clearly remember weeks of upwards of 300-500 troops killed.



Anyway, over this past week, Hagel let it be known he was going to make a special announcement regarding his political future today, 12 March. All the local media was just absolutely sure he was announcing for president of these United States. So today, he has this news conference to announce that he would announce later in the year. What a farce.



Let me tell you what I really think happened. When he (Hagel) announced he was going to have this big announcement today, he was hoping for a groundswell which did not come. The local media began getting calls etc. from people who said there was no way they would vote for Hagel. I think the negatives for him were upwards of 60%, and that in his home state. I doubt if he will even win re-election to the Senate let alone run for President.



The Senate is indeed an elite club. For whatever reason (perhaps justifiable), many in that club actually begin to believe in their own importance. Hagel is one who has had a rude awakening in the heartland, and he durned well knows that people in this part of the country generally by and large speaketh truth.

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Valerie

From what I have read, Valerie Plame is going to testify before Congress next week. Oh, and so is Patrick Fitzgerald. The only thing worthy of this is one single point. WILL THEY BE UNDER OATH? Watch for that single 'key' fact.

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Walter Reed Continues

I am beginning to hear people now say, wellll, hmmmm, this has been going on for many many years. Oh really. That's what I've been trying to say. This is NOT new, any G.I. knows about the run-a-round. And while most G.I.s are not injured that just happens to be the group that has illuminated this issue.



And here is what will happen - our wonderful lawmakers will throw billions (that 'is' with a B) at the issue... that way, in oh, say about one, maybe two years there will be an investigation about the gross mis-use of funds. And the run-a-round will continue.



One last thing... anyone who has been 'in' or associated personally with the military knows this is true. And for any of them to say they were unaware? They are lying. This starts at the very TOP and goes right on down the chain of command. It is reality for G.I.s - and yet? I also know if one knows what button to push, you will be served.



Finally, I think the twenty years I spent in the military were definitely worth the benefits I receive today. I have no complaints 'because' I know what the reality of being a G.I. is, was, and will be.

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Military Care

I've been quite busy with personal things, 'but', just a comment or two regarding the feeding frenzy on this issue.



Anybody who has been in the military for more than thirty days knows if they feel maligned in any way they can call or write their congress person.



Now that this thing has broken wide open I have a simple question. Why haven't any people of our esteemed congress blown it open themselves based on ALL THE COMPLAINTS they have been receiving from the troops.



I will garangoldang guarantee there will be a flood of letters now.



And another thing... those media folk saying they are hearing the troops are being told to NOT say anything when questioned? Ha ha. "Whenever" we had upity ups coming for an inspection we were always told to not volunteer any info... e.g. answer the question asked, but do NOT volunteer any additional. Being the kind of fellow I am, I'd always tell my superiors, if you do not want an honest answer, do not bring them to me, cause you know what your going to get. Ya see, it isn't difficult... it takes two nuggets, one on each side, and I 'have' seen women with nuggets.

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Walter Reed Re-Visited

Lest anyone 'think' I condone mistreating any vet, think again. But the feeders are now in the water, and I am getting quite a kick out of it cause I already know the outcome.



My point is a simple one - give this story six months - you will have to 'hunt' to find any reference - 'anywhere', even though the problems will still exist. A person with knowledge of how the military works, and more importantly how the media works, knows conditions such as those denoted will always exist, [somewhere]. Sadly, a fact of life.



And yes, I would rather be in these United States of America than any other place on earth. And the time I spent in the military and the benefits I receive are first rate. For the record I do NOT go to a VA hospital; I personally have had exactly one experience there (see previous entry) - I go to any doctor I choose, when I choose and my benefit covers the cost. I 'am' responsible for a portion and for that I have a supplement.



All I know is you will always be able to find those who are not satisfied with the service they've received. And oh by the way, you could walk into any hospital in this country and find those not satisfied with 'their' service. A good portion of this story is another way to try and get to The President. Anyone who thinks President Bush condones mis-treatment of the troops is foolish... or any other president for that matter.

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