The Command T.O.C.

Green Zone Attack - Surge May be More of an "Urge"?

Well, we have the Green Zone under attack and a few days ago, 12 were killed in a bombing outside of Shiite Mosque. Muqtada Al-Sadr, whose group worships at the Mosque, is against the new pact passed by the Government and has called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. Troops. He represents 30 seats in the 275 seat Parliament. 

Juan Cole has about the only round-up available concerning on-going violence in Iraq. The U.S. Press has grown bored with it and the U.S. Government just issues propaganda. 

Some surge huh?

Snowfall Outside Our Family Room Windows..

There is something about the first snow that I really love. We had a big one a few weeks back but that was a bit early. This time I think it is officially winter! I love sitting in our family room, with a fire roaring, watching the snow through the big windows. It is like you are sitting in the snow itself. See the snow falling outside the windows!

Of course, by spring I will be sick of it but right now, it is beautiful!

A Fantastic Time in Chicago.. I LOVE CHICAGO!!!

We went for a short trip to Chicago to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman Theater and to shop the miracle mile. Here is a slideshow of what we did:

5 Americans Dead in India

Does this count as an attack on America? Has our "war on terror" game of "whack a mole" losta wheel?

Japan Leaves Iraq...

And another one down.. .soon, America will be left with the pile of S**t that we created. How fitting. 

A Good Outcome of The Recession... China is Falling into Disarray

China is falling into disarray and it is one of the best outcomes of this recession. Let us cut our consumption of all this Chinese crap coming into the United States. Let them try to run that Country not on the backs of American workers but on their own. Let's see how they do it. 

My favorite one is that in two provinces the Government has declared companies cannot shed workers without the Government's permission. That should bury a few companies!

"Stand To" Army Article on Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)

I received this in email a few days ago and thought it was interesting reading:

TODAY'S FOCUS

Army Individual Ready Reserve What is it? 

Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) Soldiers are a group of trained, experienced military professionals available to individually augment active duty, Reserve or National Guard units. They live, work and study in the civilian community, but they are military members who usually have an existing service obligation. 

Every person who joins the Army incurs a statutory Military Service Obligation (MSO) of not less than six and not more than eight years. Soldiers typically serve two to four years on active duty, and then are transferred to the Reserve to fulfill the remainder of their obligation. 

The IRR is just one of several Reserve categories that a Soldier can enter. Other categories include the Active Guard Reserve, the Troop Program Unit, and the Individual Mobilization Augmentee.

IRR Soldiers are required to meet minimum annual requirements that include updating personal contact information, attending muster duty, updating a readiness screening questionnaire online and responding to official military correspondence. They are also subject to involuntary mobilization. As IRR members, they can apply for active duty assignments, obtain professional development training and get promoted. 

The use of the IRR is nothing new. IRR Soldiers were mobilized for the Berlin Crisis, the Vietnam War and for Operation Desert Storm. IRR Soldiers have mobilized and deployed for the war on terror since 9/11, and some have died as a result of combat action. 

What has the Army done?

In 2005, the G-1 issued the IRR Transformation plan, which represents an integrated and systematic approach to human capital management that will reset and reinvigorate the IRR, improving readiness across the reserve component. The plan addresses IRR life-cycle management, outreach and culture. U.S. Army Human Resources Command-St. Louis (HRC-STL) is implementing the IRR Transformation plan.
Why is it important to the Army? 

The IRR is the Army’s leading prior service talent bank. Our worldwide obligations require IRR Soldiers to actively participate in our nation’s defense. The Army accesses the forces and capabilities of the IRR as necessary to fight and win our nation’s wars. 
What continued effort does the Army have planned for the future?

Annual musters are a key element of IRR Transformation. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, HRC-STL expects to muster about 14,000 IRR Soldiers, and will specifically muster those who have not completed the PDHRA. In FY 2008, 2,900 IRR Soldiers attending musters decided to transfer to Reserve units.

The web version of this BS can be found at the United States' Army Stand To Site.

Victory in Iraq!.. Part Deux

Baldilocks declares "Victory in Iraq". Well, let's hope that 4,000 more soldiers don't die like they did after the first "victory in Iraq".

Redhunter also tells us the "War is over". Ok, then let's immediately stop spending $10bl per month, bring the troops home, downsize the Pentagon and get on with life. Oh, maybe they liked the war when it was raging. 

As I have always said in this blog, follow the actions not the words. If the war was really "over" we would be dismantling the war machine. This is a farce. What they want to do is somehow spin that "Bush" won the war. I could care less. The war is a disaster and will always go down in American history as the biggest foreign policy disaster this Country has known. It will also go down as the biggest show of incompetence by the Pentagon this Country has ever known. 

Bush's legacy:

1. Iraq war - Disaster
2. Katrina - Disaster 
3. The economy - Disaster 
4. The recovery (i.e., TARP) - Disaster 

You would think even by pure dumb luck Bush would have got something right.  

New Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) Call Ups on Veteran's Day

Looks like a large call up kicked on on none other than Veterans day. Great work Army. Thanks for the "Thank you for serving". Anyway, CALLING ALL who have gone through this before it is time to help with:

• Deferments
• Exemptions 
• Fighting the Army and generally burying them in paperwork. 

We need everyone's help in fighting this and helping with the D&E Packet. New call ups should read the following:

• Take the time and read everything at the IRR Post Part II especially the comments.  
• Read "Clearing the Fog" at VetVoice
• Post your location on the IRR Map so we can see where everyone is from. No private information is given out here.. just a pin on a map.  
• Join and participate in IRR Watch - The Google Group.  

Remember, you now have a NEW SECOND JOB and that is to get a great Delay and Exemption packet together, ALWAYS ask for an exemption, and you cannot sleep until this is done! 

We are here to help! Let's all pitch in for the new guys and help them out! 

This Quote Should Scare The Living Shit Out of Every American....

And here it is.....

"There are world organizations for trade, health, the environment, telecoms, food. There are two black holes in world governance: finance, with its bursting bubbles, and migration." - WTO head Pascal Lamy.

How many Americans have died to ensure we have REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT??  Who will represent us with a "world governance over finance and migration". How will we elect these officials? How will they be held accountable to the populace?

It may actually be time to buy guns and head to the mountains after all.