Happy Memorial Day!

I am probably the the strangest female on the planet.  I fucking HATE chick flicks.  My husband enjoys them and makes me watch them with him.  And it makes me fucking insane to watch the crying and the moping and all the love and drama.  God, just shoot me now. 

I will, however, confess to crying every damn time I watch a war movie.  Sounds stupid, I know, but Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers reduce me to tears every time I watch them.  I have never watched Black Hawk Down because I know the story and I will probably end up on the bathroom floor halfway through it bawling my damned head off.  And don't even get me going on Hamburger Hill (which if you haven't ever seen and you call yourself a Rakkasan, you will be going to hell. . . ) 

So why the problem with war movies?  And what the fuck do my emotional and psychological issues have to do with Memorial Day? 

Just this: war movies make me cry because they really bring home the fact that there are men who will gladly die for their country and their fellow soldiers.  Every fucking one of them is a hero and the honor I have had of getting to know so many of them humbles me.  War movies remind me of these men who I have come to love and seeing the sacrifices on screen that echo what these heroes do for real every day brings me to my knees crying every time.  As I said, I know it's odd to cry at explosions and valor, but the valor is what makes me cry. 

 I know that this blog is not my typical rant and rave with F-bombs dropped every other word, but for Memorial Day weekend I am taking a break from my usual tirades to say "Thank you."   To all my Rakkasans, past and present, soldier or spouse and parents alike, it has been an honor to know all of you and to be part of your lives.  And to those fallen Rakkasans, until we form again (and I pray God will let me form with you even though I am just a spouse) as Gen George Patton said, "Let us not mourn for those men who have died fighting, but let us rather thank God that such heroes have lived." 

Happy Memorial Day!  Ne Desit Virtus.

March or Die!

That's the Angel Company motto.  And I fucking love this.  It means suck it up and drive on.  Nut up or shut up.   Don't back down.  Never give up.  Be a man.  Grow a pair.  Unfortunately, while this should be a matter of course in the military to simply act this way, it is a quality that is sorely lacking in the ranks.  It seems that kissing ass, pointing fingers, and taking care of number one are becoming the norm and it makes me fucking ill.  What the hell happened to the Army values and taking your enlistment oath to heart?  Is pussydom and buddy fucking what we should expect to see in the Army now?  This is especially upsetting to see in the Corps of NCOs who job is to take care of soldiers.  In care you've fucking forgotten, here's the NCO creed:

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army". I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.
Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.
Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!

"My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers."  Accomplishing the mission means that if it isn't getting done and needs to be done, it IS your fucking job!!  Don't point the finger at someone else and become a whiny bitch.  And don't try sayin, "It's not my job. . . "  Just fucking do it.  Your job is whatever it takes to accomplish whatever the mission may be and that may require that you do things that aren't typically in your job description!  That's what being an NCO means: doing whatever the fuck it takes to get shit taken care of.  An NCO's job is the mission and whatever that may entail. 

And the other part of an NCO's job is taking care of your boys.  You don't fuck them in the ass or try to make them your bitch.   You fucking take care of them and their families.  If that means a 2AM run to the local bar to give them a ride home or just fucking listening to them when they have a problem, then guess what?  That's part of your job!  Quick being an ass-licking, pussy bitch and March or Die! 

Now, granted I'm just an Army wife.  Maybe I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground, but in my opinion, if NCOs would actually take the fucking initiative to 1. do whatever they had to to accomplish the mission and 2. take care of their boys, the Army would have a lot less issues.

To My Rakkasans:

I did not write this.  I fixed the grammar and the punctuation, but that doesn't fucking count.  I don't know who wrote this or I would give credit where credit is due.  And once you read this, you will know that someone deserves a hell of a lot of credit, because this has got to be one of the most beautiful, fan-fucking-tastic things I have ever seen.  Ask any Rakkasan you know if this is how he feels and you'll get a "fuck, yeah!" in response.  So to all my Rakkasans, far and wide, this is for you!

"I will gladly give my life.

 I believe in the people of my country and keeping war from their backyards. I believe that children should grow in a land of peace and prosperity.
I know that the tree of freedom must be watered with the blood of patriots. That men who hear the call to arms are the ones we must support with our treasure.
I know that I will never make a mark in the arts or the sciences. I know that the only thing I have to make a better future for my brothers and my countrymen is my blood and the ability to shoot my enemy before they shoot me.

I am willing to lay down my life for you, so that you may bitch about the life you lead and the life of your children.

I know I will be forgotten by the annals of time.
I know that I will not be known as a great man, a good man or most likely even as a man at all.
But I watch the walls. I stand guard for one reason and one reason only:

One day you will make something of this.
One day you will create something better than I could.
One day our progenitors will live in freedom. For that I spend my life. For that future I die today in your wars. For that future I will endure pain and the depravity of our enemies.
For that future I give my all.

On that day when they count the cost, I don't care who is around to call my name. The sheer fact that they are there is my victory.

I am your infantry man. I am the man making the mission work. I am the man who lies in the grave of the unmarked soldier. I am the man who weeps with happiness each time you raise your children to the sky.

I may not be much. I may die with no one to remember my name. I may pass down in history as a number or a single word. Let that number be 187. Let that word be Rakkasan."

RAKKASAN!!  Love you guys!