Military Traditions

MILITARY TRADITION UNDER ATTACK ~ AGAIN!

Obama Bans Military From Making Church Donations ~ Are you kidding me? President Obama has banned members of the US Military from making donations to churches.  Obama is trying to “suppress” religious freedom so that his “radical social policy” may be advanced.  Military people have been told,  “If you are supporting an evangelical Christian organization, then you are committing a crime and are subject to Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).” ~ Thanks Obama!

Religion in the Military ~ In a stunning attack on the speech rights and free religious exercise of U.S. soldiers, the Obama administration released a statement confirming the unthinkable: “Any soldier who professes Christianity can now be court-martialed and may face imprisonment and a dishonorable discharge from the military … even if they are a military chaplain”. ~ Thanks Obama!

The VA Strikes Again! ~ The Veteran’s Administration has Banned the Word, GOD from Services at Military Cemetaries.  The words, “God” and “Jesus” are forbidden and that “God Bless” should no longer be written in condolence cards to families. Volunteers are also banned from speaking a religious message when talking directly to veterans’ families on cemetery grounds. To add insult to injury ~ last December, the Obama administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prohibited veterans under treatment in VA Medical Centers from hearing Christmas carols by banning Christmas carolers from singing Christmas songs with religious references in public areas. BO even had the nerve to ban those veterans from receiving any  gifts wrapped in Christmas-themed wrapping paper. (What a creep!) Thanks Obama!!!

 

Obama’s Military: No Navy Jack, No Traditions, No God (As a Navy Veteran, this one really pisses me off! ~ dfh) ~ The Navy Jack – the ‘don’t tread on me’ flag – has been banned from use on Navy SEALS uniforms. The patch on Navy uniforms has been ordered removed.  The Navy Jack was the first flag of the Continental Navy during the war of independence and it has been in use through the centuries, including the current war on terror. This is a symbol of our heritage and it is being erased with one memo by someone in our administration. It’s probably not Mr. Obama because he doesn’t know anything.

An amendment to the Navy code called SECNAV Instruction 10520.6 clearly states that as of 31 May 2002 all ships are to fly the flag throughout the duration of the War on Terror. No longer. The Navy brass has ordered the symbol removed from all SEALs’ uniforms. Why would they do something like this? The obvious reason is because it is very similar to the revolutionary flag that has become the symbol of the Tea Party. ~ Thanks Obama!

TATTOOS (Portions excerpted from the NY Times article dated  April 30, 2014)

The military tattoo has a deep history, with reports going back at least to the Roman legions, historians say. Images of adventure or battle — if not a haunting beauty from the frontiers of Gaul — could be captured forever on a bicep. Declarations of unit loyalty or individuality, or both, could be sealed through rituals of ink and pain. But now a tightening of the Army’s regulations on the wear and appearance of uniforms and insignia — issued on March 31 with a 30-day window of unit-by-unit enforcement — had driven a land rush to tattoo shops around the country to get “tatted,” as soldiers call it, while the old rules still applied.

The new rules restrict total inkage on arms and legs visible on a soldier wearing short sleeves and short pants. They also limit the size of each visible tattoo to no bigger than the wearer’s open hand. But the Army is also generally allowing soldiers to keep the tattoos they had before the effective date of the new rules, as long as they do not violate prohibitions on things like obscenity, racism or extremism, and are documented with a photograph before the deadline.

Hence the rush to get inked. With some superior officers, many of them tattooed as well, giving ample warning as to when those photographs would be taken, soldiers said they have experienced a unique window of opportunity — but also, perhaps, a nudge — to get that next tattoo, or a lot of them.

Military regulation of tattoos, or at least the attempt, is not new. Shortly before World War I, military authorities tried to reign in wayward ink with a prohibition on “indecent or obscene” tattoos — mostly naked women in those days — but allowed existing depictions to be altered to meet the new rule, which led to many a discreet grass skirt as cover-up.

The Navy updated its tattoo policies again in 2003, and again in 2006, and with a further update in 2010 — nodding to the modern military of men and women serving together — that tweaks the rules on so-called permanent makeup tattoos, allowed for eyebrows, eyeliner, lipstick and lip liner. “Permanent makeup shall be in good taste,” the Navy’s regulations say.

The Marines tightened their personal grooming and appearance regulations in 2010, the Air Force in 2012. All four main military branches prohibit tattoos around the neck. No person with what is called a sleeve — or fully tattooed arm — can become a Marine.

AMERICANS UNITED

Obama is the shepherd I did not want, He leadeth me beside the still factories, He restoreth my faith in the Republican party, He guideth me in the path of unemployment for his party’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line, I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me. He has anointed my income with taxes, My expenses runneth over. Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of my life, And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

US NAVY SAILOR’S “T’was The Night Before Christmas”

USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53)

USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53)

T’was the night before Christmas, the ship was out steaming,
Sailors stood watch while others were dreaming.
They lived in a crowd with racks tight and small,
In a 40-man berthing, cramped one and all.

I had come down the stack with presents to give,
And to see inside just who might perhaps live.
I looked all about, a strange sight did I see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stockings were hung, shined boots close at hand,
On the bulkhead hung pictures of a far distant land.
They had medals and badges and awards of all kind,
And a sober thought came into my mind.

For this place was different, so dark and so dreary,
I had found the house of a Sailor, once I saw clearly.
A Sailor lay sleeping, silent and alone,
Curled up in a rack and dreaming of home.

The face was so gentle, the room squared away,
This was the United States Sailor today.
This was the hero we saw on TV,
Defending our country so we could be free.

I realized the families that I would visit this night,
Owed their lives to these Sailors lay willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate on Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom each day of the year,
Because of the Sailor, like the one lying here.
I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve on a sea, far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The Sailor awakened and I heard a calm voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice.”

“Defending the seas all days of the year,
So others may live and be free with no fear.”
I thought for a moment, what a difficult road,
To live a life guided by honor and code.

After all it’s Christmas Eve and the ship’s underway!
But freedom isn’t free and it’s sailors who pay.
The Sailor say’s to our country “be free and sleep tight,
No harm will come, not on my watch and not on this night.”

The Sailor rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent, so still,
I watched as the Sailor shivered from the night’s cold chill.

I didn’t want to leave on that cold dark night,
This guardian of honor so willing to fight.
The Sailor rolled over and with a voice strong and sure,
Commanded, “Carry on Santa, It’s Christmas, and All is Secure!”

Merry Christmas to all my brothers & sisters currently serving on active duty, in the reserves, retired or veterans (like me). Fair Winds & Following Seas!  Never Forget; WE OWN THE SEAS!~ JGT

DoriNavy1stClass (4)

USN 1979 – 1990

0817-02TheSeaIsOurs