Freedom Screamer

Obama & Terrorist trials: Arrogance and Dishonesty

2009-11-17T07:39:00.004-07:00

"Me, I'm dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for, 'cause you can never predict if they're going to do something incredibly stupid."

-Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Carribean

I am so fed up with our President's blatant dishonesty and his arrogance. He says whatever he wants whenever he wants without regard to whether he will follow through. Then, to boot, he acts like he is being so reasonable and his critics are misinformed and being unreasonable. We saw this behavior with the health care debate and now we are seeing it with the terrorist trials. Check out this video where Obama in 2006 said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would receive a military trial, his lying is absolutely stunning:

Obama does whatever is good for himself in the moment without regard to honesty or principle. This is dangerous for our country. We need to vote out all of the politicians that behave this way.

These trials are going to be terrible for our efforts against terrorists:

Eric Holder's decision to move a trial on war crimes to American soil is morally confused, dangerous and political to a fault.

If military commissions are unjust, why is he still using them? If not, why aren't they good enough for KSM?

Obamacare: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

2009-07-22T19:52:00.005-06:00

"Look! You fools! You’re in danger! Can’t you see? They’re after you! They’re after all of us! Our wives…our children… [our healthcare] ...they’re here already! You’re next!—"
-Dr. Miles J. Bennell, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956.

This scary possibility has become a reality as the government is not only "helping" the uninsured receive "health care," they will in effect be mandating the kind of care everyone will receive. This public option will quickly become a system of no options when choosing your care. If you think it's bad now with Doctors and the AMA all but purchased by the highest bidding pharmaceutical company, wait until you put elected politicians in charge of health care. From reproductive care, to prescriptions, to vaccinations, the public option will be government mandated public health policy forced on you.

Tea Party: CNN shows its true colors

2009-04-16T14:05:00.004-06:00

CONFIRMING WHAT WE ALWAYS KNEW TO BE TRUE:

This sort of makes me sick because it displays so clearly what we all felt and knew to be true for at least the past 4 years of the Bush administration: that is that the main stream media "MSM" including the likes of CNN and many others acted as the catalyst and useful idiots for the liberals' campaign against Bush. By both disrespecting him personally with libel and slander and disrespecting the office of president, the unfettered media coverage of Bush bashing was oft reported without any question or filter and rather placed in the forefront so frequently that people began to believe that everyone hated the guy and he became a practical nationwide persona-non-grata.

Now we have CNN reporter Susan Roesgen caught mid-stride in live coverage of a Tea Party showing her true colors along with the most blatant hypocrisy I have seen in quite some time from a journalist.

You must see these clips:
CNN: SUSAN ROESGEN MAKES BIASED COMMENTS AGAINST TEA PARTY DEMONSTRATORS

CNN: SUSAN ROESGEN IS A HYPOCRITE WHEN IT COMES TO CRITICISM AGAINST OBAMA

CNN: SUSAN ROESGEN OPENLY DEFAMES OBAMA CRITIC AT TEA PARTY

Read more about Susan Roesgen's hypocrisy here:
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/04/16/flashback-in-2006-cnns-roesgen

This is a unique time for the true conservative movement: those that believe in constitutional limits to government power and the tightly defined role of government.

Tea Party: James Wolcott is WRONG.

2009-04-16T13:44:00.007-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted here. In light of the recent tax day Tea Parties nationwide I can't resist. As a long time student organizer with conservative causes and the college republicans, I know how hard it is to get conservatives to show up to a rally or protest despite LOTS of organization and coordinating. These tea parties were a huge success for one reason: people care DEEPLY about this issue. Conservatives are way too practical to show up to a protest or rally. Most don't think they are worth the time or effort. Many don't feel they do anything or are effective. I know this because I have felt that way and I have seen it first hand as I have tried to organize events. The fact that these tea parties got this kind of turnout is a phenomenal thing. People, especially government officials, democrats, liberals, the mainstream media, etc., really don't know what is happening. The problem is they look at these events through lenses colored by their experience with liberal demonstrations (the sixties, anti-war protests, gay rights protests, anti-bush protests, etc.). While these demonstrations yesterday were not as big as many of those liberal movements in the past, the difference is that these protests were done by conservatives: people who don't usually show up and protest. They are NOT the same. This is a radical shift in the norm. Additionally, these protests were not merely anti-Obama or anti-democrat. There was plenty of criticism shared by Republicans. This feeling in America right now, primarily by conservatives, is a big deal if people who never go to protests show up. We can all understand idyllic young college students showing up to protest a war, but these protests had retired professionals at them. My 68 year old landlord went to one! This is really going to be a big deal. This will translate into a huge mid term election in 2010 where incumbents from both parties will lose in party nominating procedures, primary battles, and general elections. If that post 2010 election shift doesn't satiate these crowds and things in the economy don't change then even bigger things will happen in 2012. Right now I am predicting Obama will lose in 2012 and there may even be a third party congressman who will win a seat in 2010 or 2012 in some district like Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Texas.

Take this guy: James Wolcott of Vanity Fair. Classic ignorant-big-city-coast-dwelling-liberal who is so New York-centric that he has no idea what this is about. He is just plain wrong. What he says seems to make sense if your frame of reference is a former sixties liberal journalist who now lives in New York and writes for Vanity Fair.

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/16/james-wolcott-beclowned/

Improvements in Iraq

2008-03-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

I hesitate to say more than I am allowed for fear of "opsec" (operational secrecy) violations; thus, I prefer to pass on information which is true to my experience and yet publicly available:

As I have said before, things are going very well in Iraq, especially in the Anbar Province.

http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/080227_violence.in.iraq.pdf

However, as we say here before every mission: "Complacancy Kills"

and it does.

This article talks about an "irreducible minimum" meaning there is a point when you have beat back Al Qaeda to a point where you can't eradicate them, yet you can't reduce their numbers at all. This means that there will always be a risk for an IED attack here or there and you can never rest. However, it is not the norm, nor is it incessant.

Fallujah Iraqi Police Prison

2008-02-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

As part of our job we frequently move Iraqi "detainees" among several facilities. While there are some US Military operated detainee facilities on bases that we work with, the majority of facilities are local police stations which take in and release detainees. Thus, we often work with the Iraqi police facility in Fallujah. This is an interesting article from a journalist who recently visited the facility. I have never been inside before. Keep in mind, Iraq IS a 3rd world country. They don't live in the same conditions as any Americans or Europeans. This is the fundamental problem with some people who report on situations with which they have little experience, they assign a false standard to the situation they experience.

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2008/02/the-dungeon-of.php

My two cents on Iraq policy*

2008-02-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Some of you have been wondering how things are going here in Iraq so here goes a little update. I appreciate all the letters, emails, packages, and well wishes. We are past the halfway mark and only have a few short months left. Amy is being well taken of by her great family in Tennessee and baby Claire Marie Daniels (oh, bye the way she is pregnant and it is a girl!) is nearly 6 months along and due around June 1^st. I should be home in time for the birth!

As for Iraq: we live in Camp Fallujah and we provide convoy security for a variety of different convoys and operations all around Anbar Province but mostly in the stretch from Baghdad to Ramadi (Fallujah being between the two). We have done some combat patrolling in the countryside near Lake Thar Thar where some insurgents like to hide out, we have made it out to both the Syrian and Jordanian borders, we have been to Baghdad quite a few times (only as far east as Baghdad Intnl. Airport—a large coalition force base including Camp Victory) and we have had a few unique missions that have taken us south of Baghdad in primarily Army areas. Our primary mission is as part of a Provisional Military Police Battalion. The Battalion’s largest task is running the regional detention facilities around the province. Our job comes into play when detainees need to be moved from location to location. If there aren’t many detainees then we end up getting a variety of other missions.

So far our time in Iraq has been relatively safe and calm. The western province of Al Anbar has been well known for its strong Sunni insurgency. No place in Iraq has illustrated this more than in the city of Fallujah from late 2004 to late 2006. In President Bush’s State of the Union speech back in 2007 he called the city of Ramadi the “Capitol of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.” At that point the Marines had already fought the battle of Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury) the past year and brought the city under control leaving Ramadi as the trouble spot. So you can imagine our apprehension at finding out we would be stationed in Fallujah and primarily driving convoys between Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad! However, Anbar province this past year has become one of the calmest least violent provinces in all Iraq. It went from the worst in 2006 to nearly the best in 2007. So far while here our entire company has had a relatively peaceful deployment with few violent problems. Only a couple of IED explosions with no serious injuries and a few more IED finds than that, a few mortar rounds were sent our way (not very accurately though), and a healthy handful of shots have been fired our way (most of these are distant pot shots we never see the impact of). The only time the enemy has ever openly engaged us was once while operating north of Ramadi in the countryside near Lake Thar Thar, a guy in a truck with a .50 cal Machine Gun had a brief fire fight with one of our trucks. Luckily none of the enemy rounds were able to pierce the heavy armor of the truck (see picture), but the bad guy was too far away for them to kill. In fact, I don’t think a single Marine has been killed by enemy activity in combat in Anbar the entire time we have been here. Why so relatively peaceful? Well I don’t know everything but I have observed a few things.

First, the troop surge brought more coalition forces to Iraq boosting our presence and improving the ability of the military to provide a fuller security presence at all times. This bought us a bit of calm and time in order to put into action a few other programs which have made the difference.

Second, the training and deploying of Iraqi security forces including national Iraqi Army (IA’s) and local/provincial Iraqi police (IP’s) has hit a definite critical mass state this year. Finally, there are plenty of trained and independently operating Army and Police. This means more check points and observation points are being manned at more times by these forces. You cannot drive more than a mile anywhere without seeing IA’s or IP’s or driving through one of their checkpoints. This never was the case in 2006. More and more insurgents are being caught by IAs and IPs and more and more enemy activity is being spoiled by local security operations.

Third, a few key programs have engaged the support of local nationals. This includes a highly successful neighborhood watch program instituted in trouble spots like Fallujah and Ramadi. Other programs include healthy payouts for tips and IED/weapons cache turnins, and the very successful tribal outreach program where we have engaged the support of local tribesman and tribal leaders in rooting out terrorists in their area. The perception is that to US forces anyone could be an insurgent, terrorist, or foreign fighter. The fact, however, is that our enemy is not the Iraqi people, but the enemy hides among the people. There is no one better suited to filter out our enemies from the people, than the people. Lucky for us, this year has marked huge improvement in our ability to engage the locals and the success they have had in turning in the evil doers!

Fourth, from my own observation, it seems we had been detaining a lot of people throughout 2006 and early 2007. Again, this bought us more time by getting potential insurgents off the streets long enough for this fragile security to take hold. Sure, our filter may not have been as discriminating as it could have been, but it seems now that we are releasing detainees by the truckload into an entirely different Iraq, one that is controlled by the people and the security forces, not the insurgents. There have been a few massive detainee releases highlighted in the media where Iraqi officials and American officials have been conducting job training and placement for many out of work men coming off of detainments. Funny enough, I have heard about recent IED attacks using technology insurgents seemed to have abandoned back in 2006. Just think, Ali Baba gets out of a 9 month detainment and goes straight to IED building, what he doesn’t know is that his particular style of IED doesn’t work against us anymore! Blast from the past (literally)!

The point is that a number of key factors have led to a much better security situation in Iraq. Much of the success is part symbiosis (where the output of all the programs together is better than the mere sum of each part), and part turning tides of Iraq itself and the people. It is amazing to see the rapid rate of rebuilding efforts and the growth in local commerce and industry. Anbar province was seemingly dead in 2006. When we got here in mid 2007 it was just barely starting to pick up. Now it is buzzing with life. In the city of Fallujah in the past two months they have cleaned up tons of combat debris and other junk left over from Phantom Fury, they have built a new city wall, they have lined main street with streetlights for night illumination, and they have begun painting all the cement barriers that make up the police checkpoints and blocks around the city. It is starting to look like the city of Mosques again rather than the swiss cheese left behind by the Marines in Phantom Fury!

The surge was a catalyst for this new security. It has been the underpinning support for the success of all these programs. If this security situation in Anbar province continues and spreads we will be out of Iraq far sooner. It is interesting how the Sunni’s went from the most troubling group to the most secure while the Shiites did the opposite. Violence in Baghdad has a lot more to do with Shiites than Sunnis. I think there is some latent inertia left over from the repressive Saddam regime where former Saddam loyalist Sunnis are more at home being compliant and orderly. Shiites, however, aren’t at home if they aren’t constantly raising hell!

Well, that is my two cents on Iraq. Other than that this place is seemingly a barren wasteland. Not the “fertile crescent” or “Cradle of Civilization” I thought it would be. Although this western province is tantamount to the American Southwest, a large desert! I suppose other parts of Iraq a more pretty and fertile.

Camp Fallujah is especially bad. The black water pulled from the bathroom trailers and porta johns is sprayed over the camp wall right next to our corner of camp and the wind changes directions all the time. The constantly-burning-toxic-fume-expelling trash pile is just on the other side of us opposite the blackwater. Thus, either the wind fills our day with offensive odors or toxic smoke from burning trash, we are kind of in the cross-fire! Either way, our relatively remote side of camp gets screwed the most!

Our equipment is great. Ever since Secretary Rumsfeld got caught off guard they have been throwing more gear at us than we know what to do with. Now we go to war with the military we wish we had. However, the military goes to war with the gear they wish they DIDN’T have! Afterall, my gunner has a Kevlar facemask, Kevlar sleeves, and Kevlar leiderhosen. Makes me want to buy stock. Luckily our humvee was replaced by a new MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle) this month, that nearly rounds out our entire company with all MRAP’s.

*my Two Cents is a figure of speech and not redeemable in cash (by the way, it is worth less than 2 cents)

New MRAPs!

2008-01-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles made by Force Protection are rolling in. We now have plenty to go around! This is a great development for a number of reasons, not the least of which is survivability against an IED. These vehicles have AWESOME A/C. In fact, you almost need to wear a sweater if you are running the A/C. Also it has a built in power inverter for unlimited Ipod charging on the go or movie watching when camped over night! There is plenty of space for all your snacks, drinks, cooler, etc. This of course is all on top of the tactical requirements of the vehicle along with navigational and communication upgrades making this the best IED resistant mobile command center available.

http://www.forceprotection.net/

Man Bites Dog

2008-01-02T18:07:00.006-07:00

Here in Iraq we are privileged to have a whole MP Canine unit as part of our Task Force MP. This allows to take both explosives detecting dogs and human tracking dogs with us on missions for use in checkpoints and elsewhere. The Iraqis are also scared of dogs so they keep over curious bystanders away while we do our work.

These are two of the dogs/handlers that usually come with us. I especially like our German Shepherd "Barry."

One day when we didn't have much going on we stopped by the kennels to help train the dogs. Instead the dogs trained us! Cheer as I get attacked by a small feisty little dog. (Video to come)
http://www.marines.mil/units/marforpac/imef/mnfwest/Pages/WorkingdogshelpclearAnbarofdanger.aspx

Iraqi oil? or Recycling the Middle East way!

2007-12-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Mulling around the highways and biways of Iraq isn't the best way to enjoy scenes of nature. Unless by nature you mean the city dump. This country is sooo dirty and trashy it is hard to really care about it. I found the following scene funny and ironic so I snapped a few shots. I guess the reason we are pumping out so much oil from this region could be because people have been pouring so much oil into the soil! It looks like the local auto garages don't recycle used oils. Unless by recycling you mean returning oil to the earth for another day of pumping?

An Explosive Experience

2007-12-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

It was a cold night in November; a first of many. I didn’t bring my thick black sleeping bag and only had the thinner green summer bag. Who knew Iraq got this cold in the Fall? I thought it was supposed to be a scorched desert! I was waiting for it to warm up a bit in the morning before getting out of my bag so I was sort of half sleeping/half awake. I was tired from an all night patrol and had only been sleeping since about 0430 but by 0830 it was so bright I couldn’t really sleep much longer. That was when the “L-T” (our 1^st Lietenant platoon commander) told me to get up and get my guys up, “Sergeant Williams’ vehicle hit an IED.” That instantly woke me up. I quickly got up, pulled my trousers on and slid into my boots. I didn’t bother to buckle up or lace up yet. I went and rustled up my crew from their various hiding/sleeping spots in, on, and around our humvees. Once I told them all we would be mounting up in a few minutes I went over to see what the story was. Normally we were the night crew and that meant we got to rest in the security of the small outpost compound during the day after going on night patrols. Our only job during the day was to monitor the radio and “blue force tracker” satellite communication system and be a “QRF” (quick reaction force) for the other guys during the day as necessary. This was the one job we all dreaded and hoped would never come. If it was at least a firefight it might be exciting because we could finally get back at some insurgents, but an IED meant anonymous destruction with little opportunity to fight back, and worse, IED’s tended to do very bad things to our vehicles and more importantly its crew. We flew over the small dusty ruts through the desert to the location of the attacked patrol. As we drove I prayed nothing serious had happened. As we neared the site I hadn't received any news of injured persons and took that as good news. Luckily it was. The vehicle had been immobilized by about 30 pounds of HME (Home Made Explosives) stored in plastic jugs buried just under the surface of the dirt road they had been patrolling. It most likely was detonated by a connecting wire strung from across an adjacent canal where insurgents were known to be operating. How clever of them to hide completely out of reach considering the closest bridge was 10k away. Well they weren't out of range of our weapons! Before we arrived another vehicle shot at some individuals across the canal fleeing on a motorcycle. Unfortunately they were not hit. Luckily for everyone the vehicle hit happened to be the only MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle on the patrol, one more vehicle ahead or behind and somebody would have been dead or seriously injured. 30 lbs of HME is enough to completely destroy a Hummer. The MRAP sustained a broken drive shaft, shorn off fuel tank, and various suspension damage and other cosmetic and auxiliary system damage. We were able to tow it back to our compound and the crew was all checked out by our doc for head/neck injuries. Luckily our first IED experience was survivable, it sure wakes you out of any complacency you may have and makes things real for you. On the other hand, because no one was harmed it still may give you a false sense of security.

All quiet on the Western Front

2007-11-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

Anbar Province is the Western Front of the war in Iraq if you would still call it a war with fronts in the classical sense. However, this front is quite quiet. Life in and around Fallujah Iraq is very well described by this accurate portrayal, worth a read: http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001542.html

Includes great pictures too.

Army screw up or unfortunate incident?

2007-11-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

So while operating in the Lake Thar Thar region, we are often left in the dark as to what the Army is doing just to our north. You would think that with technology and organization improvements of a modern era a quick phone call or comprehensive intel collaboration were easy. Well, it is. The problem is the individuals in the middle responsible for making it happen. They are often not quite competent enough to multi-task like that. Hey its a combat zone, some people have a lot on their plate. One particular night our company is manning the highway checkpoint and we get a call not to travel north of a certain grid line. A few hours later a rainstorm of fire descends from the sky in the distance. A few helicopters and gunships are in action! The next morning our company is called in to assist in setting up a security perimeter for the Army at the location of the previous nights' assault. The scene we enter is the demise of 34 Iraqis: 19 Adult Men (all quoted by official sources as either Al Qaeda operatives, insurgents, or both), 9 Women, and 6 Children (cited by news sources as 15 Civilians). Of course the Adult Male survivors were 'suspected insurgents'. How fortunate that they were able to kill all the ACTUAL insurgents and leave just the SUSPECTED ones living! I guess the Army Helo's have less discrimination when it comes to civilians.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101200590_pf.html

What am I saying here? Well, I am saying the Army is sloppy. Also, when were they going to tell us they had been tracking a known Al Qaeda cell for weeks just miles away from us? Thanks for the heads up. It turns out the story was they had tracked a small group of Al Qaeda planners from another meeting location to this house. When the Army came upon the house they received gun fire from multiple persons in the house. The Army cordoned off the area, returned fire, and called in the Helos for superior firepower. While there was plenty of spent casings in the house, it hardly seemed enough for an air strike. Perhaps they could have used their armored vehicles to create a siege line from a safe distance and let the bad guys run out of gas. Then perhaps they would have had 19 captured insurgents with all the intel they inevitably died with. I am no war planner, and certainly this incident is not the result of failings at higher levels (Generals, President, etc.), but I think sometimes the Army is dumb, and sometimes there are incompetent officers out there doing a bad job. Luckily, the great majority of men are doing an outstanding job. It is too bad seemingly innocent women and children (innocent by virtue of their sex/age) had to die, but the insurgent men made that decision. They fired upon coalition forces with lethal force as if to use the women and children as a screen or shield to hide behind. Certainly they were bad guys. Most farmers and ranchers in this area do not and are not allowed to stockpile Russian made military grade automatic weapons with enough ammunition to cause the Army to call in an air strike.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/12/america/iraq.php
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=9349
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html?ex=1349928000&en=d2a1b1380409154e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/1012/breaking1.html?via=rel
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/13/MNUNSPBFC.DTL

Mass Grave Found

2007-11-06T10:01:00.001-07:00

In the Anbar Province of Western Iraq where we do most our work, there is a lot of open rural area and a lot of farmers and ranchers. One particular area in between Ramadi and Fallujah is the Lake Thar Thar region. In Anbar a major freeway connects Baghdad to the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi on the way to Iraq's western border with Jordan and Syria. From this freeway there is a major road which runs north along Lake Thar Thar on the way to Samarra and Tikrit in Iraq's northwestern Salahuddin Province. Given that Samarra is one of Iraq's holiest Shia cities actually populated mostly by Sunnis there is natural tension. Additionally, Tikrit was Saddam Hussein's birthplace and is also a Sunni stronghold. This region has always been a hot bed of insurgent activity since late 2004. Over the course of the last 2 years, especially after the major Marine Corps offensives in Fallujah and Ramadi, most of the insurgents from the "Sunni Triangle" and the whole western Anbar province have been pushed out, most have fled north to the Salahuddin province (an Army area!). As the Army has fought them in the cities of Samarra and Tikrit, the insurgents have all ended up in this rural region between the two provinces near Lake Thar Thar. Thus, it is no surprise that this north-running road has been riddled with IED attacks and the Iraqi Police don't dare spend much time in the area. This is where our first assignment upon entering Iraq came! In order to secure the road for safe transportation for us and civilians, the plan was to place a checkpoint along this road between two small combat outposts.

Task Force Military Police watches over Golden land
http://www.marines.mil/units/hqmc/Pages/2007/OCTContentSorted15.aspx

The checkpoint would be operated by local Iraqi Police based mostly out of Ramadi (30 minutes away). Well, just like all good plans, it didn't work. The problem? Nobody forecast the Iraqi Police response to this assignment-abandon post! It doesn't take a very smart man to decide that they don't want to spend the night at a place in the middle of the countryside where mortars are launched on them continually accompanied by small arms attacks and daily IED blasts! So the plan was modified, now a platoon worth of Marines would stay with the police day and night to help them feel safe and mostly to make sure they don't abandon post. The IHP or IP's as we call them (Iraqi Highway Patrol and Iraqi Police, respectively) would run the checking of vehicles and local patrols, we would tag along as necessary and mostly provide a constant observing eye (overwatch) and respond to any threats as necessary. For the first month IED's went from daily to weekly and machine gun attacks from 500 meters turned into mortar attacks from 2K. The engineers built earthen walls around the compound and huts for the police to sleep in and overall it kept insurgents from moving south of the Thar Thar region and fleeing into Ramadi. This enabled the Army to the north to pin down lots of groups hiding out in the rural areas and flush them out. While operating at this outpost we have seen lots of hostile activity, from IED attacks against us and civilians, to incoming mortar fire, to hostile machine gun fire, insurgents are definately vying for a piece of this region. Luckily our heavily armored vehicles and strong defensive posture have kept us safe and no one has been harmed or injured. One truck had a machine gun bullet weld itself to the armor plate due to the heat and velocity from the impact.

A lot of intel can be gathered from civilians passing through the checkpoint. One day we received multiple reports of insurgents who had taken innocent civilians hostage in an effort to find out who in the community had been informants for the IP's about the whereabouts of insurgents. Supposedly these civilians had been held in an underground shipping container buried a few miles north of us. After verifying this intel with enough of the locals we leaped into action hoping to save some lives and thwart the efforts of the bad guys. Upon traveling north to the nearest Army outpost we learned that we were too late. A few days previous they had recovered the shipping container full of blindfolded and handcuffed corpses.

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15075&Itemid=128
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i4kR9S0llrozRn2RiLMpz7QykrGw
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/middle-east/article3133307.ece
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/more+bodies+found+in+mass+grave/1020252

Apparently the terrorist insurgents had been terrorizing locals who cooperated with Iraqi Police. It is unfortunate that these Iraqis had to suffer so much for the sake of their community and their freedoms. Yet despite this, hords of locals continued to loyally assist us and Iraqi Police in the hunt for insurgents in the area. I am convinced that given enough time for economic stabilization and normalization in the country, these people will ferociously defend their liberty. They have sacraficed so much and continue to sacrafice so much more. The last thing we must do is turn our backs on them now. They are doing so well by themselves knowing that we are there to back them up if things get too hard to handle.

My life in rural western Iraq

2007-10-12T02:04:00.000-06:00

In case anybody was interested in what kinds of things we do this article is illustrative:
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/184DBEB57E7C24AD8525736E003915D0?opendocument

The words we live by

2007-10-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

Every business and industry has a jargon and corporate culture. These things help define the work you do and guide your attitudes and philosophy. Iraq is no different, however our corporate culture can mean the difference between life and death for us or our enemy. The following is a list of words, phrases, jargon, and philosophies we live by. I hope to make this a regular piece on my blog.

The words we live by:

ROE = Rules of Engagement, a broad term encompassing all the actions we are permitted or required to take when locating and engaging enemies on the battlefield. Generally speaking our ROE are best defined by the Force Continuum or EOF. Engaging the enemy always requires meeting two tests: 1)Hostile Intent/Act and 2)PID (Positive Identity). Our ROE would usually include specific threat rings and actions for given distances. For example up until 50 meters from our position if no obvious hostile intent we would warn/notify with non-lethal, non-dangerous means like sirens, flags, and maybe flares. After that maybe a warning shot if warranted. Keep in mind we would have to fill out a lengthy report for each flare fired. I can't imagine the paperwork for a warning shot or a disabling shot.

EOF = Escalation of Force. A term reflecting the nature of using force in minimal amounts as required with marginal increases as necessary. Specifically we are instructed to use the least amount of force necessary to resolve any given situation. This usually comes into play when dealing with civilian populations who get too close to our operations and pose a potential threat if they were hiding hostile intentions. In practice this means that we begin by warning through audible and observable means like sirens, flags, flares, etc. Then if someone continues to act hostile or show hostile intent we could warn using warning shots, and then as required use disabling or killing shots.

Hostile Act = Any act designed to harm coalition forces or vital coalition resources, or civilians. Usually things like fired shots, mortars, detonated explosives, etc.

Hostile Intent = An individuals actions or posture may display the intent to commit a hostile act. This is usually a judgment call and requires a serviceman to meet the 'reasonable certainty' standard which is nebulous at best but necessarily so as it allows us the most flexibility in order to defend ourselves. Driving a truck full of unknown containers at a checkpoint at a high rate of speed without regard for warnings would be hostile intent, detonating the truck/bomb is the hostile act (at which point it is too late).

PID = Positive Identification is obtained when you can positively identify your target and match them positively with the Hostile Intent or Act. You may continue to engage the enemy until they are neutralized or until positive identification is lost.

Despite these regulations and allowances we are taught the following:

Tactical Patience: patiently letting a situation develop before hastily responding or acting. Wait and see what happens, don't rush to shoot. Of course this is within reason but there was a time when soldiers would automatically follow strict guidelines concerning a threat radius: ie- truck did not stop within 50 meters therefore I begin shooting when perhaps the driver just didn't notice your flare the first time and a little patience would have saved an Iraqi life.

Tactical Restraint: Hold off the trigger long enough to think first, if safe to do so.

When you first get to Iraq it is easy to think that everyone is a potential insurgent or bad guy and this will influence your entire outlook and posture. It is good on the one hand because you are always prepared, but on the other you are paranoid and become distrustful and almost hateful of all Iraqis. Hence we were taught:

"Iraqis are not our enemy but our enemy hides among them"

All of this stuff illustrates the the complex field of battle we are in. Other things we have been taught:

"Seize the initiative with the offensive mindset of a warrior and the heart of a peacemaker"

Rules for Iraqi Civilians:
1 firearm per adult over 25, if carried in public must either have a permit or be an identified security force

Things to think about when conducting operations (new and reformed mindset)
How are our procedures viewed by the Iraqis when conducting Escalation of Force?

Wouldn't you freak out if someone was yelling at you in a foreign language and pointing a loaded weapon at you? How exactly would you behave or respond? How about if you were less educated and impoverished and from another culture?

"First, do no harm"

"Keep the civilians on our team"

"win the hearts and minds"

"Do the right think not the easy thing"

This is the "Super bowl of the Marine Corps" make every move count, you have trained for this and this alone.

"The insurgent gets a vote" = this means that we cannot control their actions, they will try and kill us and no matter what we do to protect ourselves or fight them we cannot control their actions.

Make yourself a "Hard Target" = one that is hard to kill and unpleasant to attack, this may make the insurgent think twice about attacking you on a particular day and he will choose a softer target elsewhere another day.

And finally before we ever leave the compound, every sign reads:

"Complacency Kills" = don't become lazy in your defensive posture or operational duties, the day you forget something may be the day you get attacked.

Journey to Iraq

2007-09-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

Let the journey begin. After months of training working up to this point we are finally shipping out. After getting our rifles and other sensitive equipment items out of the armory we loaded buses for Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina where we loaded a North American Airlines charter jet. We flew to JFK NY for a 3 hr layover for refuel and crew change and then flew to Shannon Ireland for a 45 minute tarmac refuel stop to get us to Leichsteig Germany for another 2 hr layover and crew change and finally to Kuwait.

Upon arrival in Kuwait we rode a bus for an hour to Camp Virginia where we were each given 60 rds of live ammunition and told to carry it with our rifle at all times. This one act, above all else, helped really make it feel real for me. I was now in a combat zone. After a night’s stay in air conditioned tents we flew on a military transport jet (C17) in the tiniest seats ever (made tinier by our wearing flak jackets and Kevlar helmets) to Al Taqquadam (AKA "T-Q") Air Base in western Iraq (Al Anbar province) only 10 miles from Al Fallujah and camp Fallujah. After a couple nights we flew once again (this time on helos) to camp Fallujah.

Despite it only being 10 miles away, the road from T-Q is well worn (by worn I mean nearly blown to hell by repetitive IED attacks) and fraught with danger. Finally, under the cover of darkness, by early morning Sunday September 30, our 30 minute helo ride got us to our final destination and forward operating base for our tour here in Iraq—Camp Fallujah!

The symbols we adorn ourselves with

2007-06-27T03:20:00.000-06:00

While the Lt. General was here, one Marine made a gripe in the form of a question about the Marine Corps’ new policy concerning tattoos: Marines cannot get any new tattoos that are visible while wearing PT gear. This pretty much bans tattoos on the lower arms and legs. While the wording of the policy seems expansive and restrictive, I am told there are a number of exceptions to include a caveat that you can have tattoos in those areas so long as they don’t cover a certain percentage or portion of the extremity. This basically means they are outlawing ‘sleeve’ style tattoos which cover large swaths of the extremity. The interesting part though was how the General approached the topic in general. He didn’t discuss the nitty gritty of the policy rather he discussed the philosophy behind why the Corps was interested in banning something which seems so quintessentially military. His reasoning was that Marines should not seek to adorn their bodies with symbols unbecoming a Marine. He continued saying that as a Marine there is only a few symbols which all Marines have on at all times, one being the Eagle Globe and Anchor symbol on the uniform. Having excessive tattoos would take away from that simple symbol which defines each of us as one of the few and proud. He further spoke of professionalism and how we should look professional in our uniform and tattoos might distract from this professionalism. His comments and style reminded me of my mission president who warned the missionaries against wearing loud and busy ties because they could distract our contacts and investigators from the message and the spirit we bore. How interesting that this General would have such deep insight about the way outward symbols may define who we are. I am reminded of many symbols people wear and how these symbols define them. For example, Jews are circumcised as a symbol of covenants made with God. Additionally, they wear special headgear and clothing to symbolize their faith and their relationship to God. I also wear LDS Temple garments which do the same and similar things as Jews. The symbols that define us are worth pondering.

Camp Lejeune: The General's Visit

2007-06-26T00:35:00.000-06:00

We had a gathering of all the activated reservists who will be a part of 1st Battalion 10th Marines’ Task Force Military Police (TFMP) while in Iraq in order to hear from Lt. General Bergman of the 4th Marine Division (the Reserve Division). He had a lot of motivating things to say and helped remind me that there are very smart and competent leaders in our military (sometimes a few errant NCO’s and SNCO’s give me doubts!) The general came primarily to check up on us reservists to see how we were doing and how we were coming along in our mobilization pre-deployment training.

He said that it was good that many of us had not deployed before because "multi-deployers have the potential to be the most dangerous." This is because the war in Iraq changes so often that what worked 6 months ago may not work today and those who have already developed habits or a ‘know-it-all’ mentality about that war would be at a greater risk to themselves and their fellow Marines. This came mostly as a warning to us that we should all keep an open mind and seek first to understand the nature of the war and our task before developing and sticking to arbitrary SOP’s (standard operating procedures).

The General also spoke of the vitality of cultural awareness training for this particular conflict. He emphasized the necessity of winning the hearts and minds of Iraqi’s as the way out of Iraq and as personally important to our safety because the Iraqi you offend today may become the terrorist that kills your comrade tomorrow. He also put our minds at ease about the political turmoil over pulling out: "if we pulled out tomorrow we’d be somewhere else, we (The Marines) wrote the book on small wars," meaning that as reservists we would be effected the same way by pulling out because of the many micro-fronts on the war on terror (to include Indonesia and the Philippines) which would still require our service. The Marine Corps has a rich and vibrant history and successful record of fighting small conflicts all over the globe in ‘every clime and place.’

He went on to say that "the American people believe in you" and that we should walk with our heads held high despite the seeming out lash everywhere that is created by the loud cacophony of a liberal minority. Finally he exhorted us to live by our Marine Corps values and assured us that if we do we would not have any problems in Iraq like those that have dominated the recent media spotlight (Haditha, etc.). He asked us "would you do the right thing while alone?" I was surprised that he spoke in these terms. In a way, the General reminded me of a wise Bishop or Stake President in my church.

A few questions were asked, two in particular that caught my attention. The first was about tattoos which will become the topic of my next blog entry and the second was about the accessibility of Tricare health care benefits to our dependents while on active duty. Apparently, as reservists we are entitled to Tricare benefits for ourselves and dependents for up to 90 days prior to our mobilization (activation date). However, those benefits are only accessed once you have been issued your official activation/mobilization orders. In our case we were notified that we were being activated way back in January, a full 5 months prior to our activation date, however we were not given our orders until approximately 2 weeks prior to our actual date of activation. The problem here is that many people had to quit jobs or make serious life re-arrangements prior to our activation date because there were a number of training days and annual training for 3 weeks right before our activation date. This would potentially leave many people without health insurance coverage for a time. According to the General, we were supposed to be given our orders around the 90 day prior mark and thus yield the health insurance benefits. He wasn’t sure why our orders were not issued in a more timely fashion but he promised to find out. All in all it was neat to have an afternoon with the stars! Oh, by the way, Camp Lejeune is very hot and I think I sweat continuously every minute of every day here.

Arriving in Camp Lejeune

2007-06-06T01:15:00.000-06:00

We were activated and amid gear inspections and paperwork we prepared for our departure to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I was chosen to go ahead of the rest of the company in order to assign rooms and iron out any other details prior to the rest of the company’s arrival. This ‘advance party’ assignment only meant I ended up spending a few less days in Utah with my wife (to include a weekend) and a few more days in the VERY muggy Camp Lejeune! The base is located right on the Carolina coast and includes a large river/inlet which increases the coastline bordering parts of the base. This means I sweat A LOT. I think I have my father’s gene for sweating, he sweats a lot too. The advance party duties are not difficult but the NCOs here on base that we work with to iron out these details would say otherwise. You would think it was the hardest thing on earth for some of them to find room keys or missing furniture for the rooms. I think really they just pick the Sergeant or Corporal that they don’t want around or doing anything important and put them in charge of things like barracks. When we first got here the rooms they wanted to assign us looked like a hurricane came through. They were torn apart and dirty. I was shocked and appalled that anything military related could look like this. Half of the damage looks to be the result of stupid drunken behavior or just mere carelessness. Boy am I glad I haven’t had to live the barracks life for very long in my Marine Corp career. I would go nuts. The people here are loud and obnoxious and are constantly throwing beer bottles and cigarette butts off of the higher floors. The grass in between buildings is littered every morning as if the back to school fall frat party just took place. While there may be some adjusting to do and some kinks to work out here, I think Camp Lejeune won’t be that bad, once everyone gets here I think we will make it livable and accomplish our training schedule. Our company gunny/ops chief is also good at hooking up lots of great things like rental mini-vans for each platoon to use to drive around base and town. All in all it won’t be so bad and could definitely be worse. The only complaint is that we have 3 months to accomplish the tasks we could complete in 1 back in Utah. I guess that is part of being on active duty. Wasted time and resources and lots of inefficiency.

Joining the Corps

2007-01-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Well,

The reason most people join the reserves and guard and such is for money for college and for the easy commitment of only "one weekend a month and two weeks a year!"

When I first signed up in September 2000 (I actually swore into the military on Sept 11 2000, exactly 1 year prior to 9-11) my mom freaked out and said:

My Mom: "but what if we go to war and they call up my only son to go to the front lines of battle!?"

I laughed and said dismissively:

Me: "mom, your crazy, we have not had a real large scale war for 2-3 decades, the gulf war was over before it began and there is nothing on the horizon to suggest we will be engaged in a real long protracted military conflict in the proximate future, furthermore, they rarely call up the reserves, only if it becomes really bad and this is highly unlikely, so don't worry mom, your overreacting!, this is a great opportunity for me to be involved and serve my country while attending college and reaping some nice benefits too."

Well, I went to boot camp in May of 2001 and graduated in August of 2001 so that August 2001-September 2001 I was in Marine Combat Training (MCT: a shortened version of infantry school for non-infantry personnel). On Tuesday September 11th 2001 we were awoken by the sound of our Infantry Instructor: "Oh my h*ll, somebody just blew up the world trade center in New York, I think they fired a missile on it, wake up, your never going to believe this, were under attack!" Throughout that day I couldn't focus on my infantry school final exams, I couldn’t remember the difference between an M240 G and M240 E machine gun, all I wanted to do was watch some news and see what was going on. Throughout the day we got little updates about the attacks and the implications for our next set of schools and training. Throughout the day the instructors were able to find a television and between our final exams we were able to watch a little news.

Many of us thought we were going to be activated right there on the spot and sent to war considering we were freshly trained in infantry tactics (yeah right, imagine that, a bunch of boots tripping over themselves in Afghanistan!)

One immediate impact of the attacks for me was that when we graduated that week we would not be leaving right away for our various MOS schools due to a shutdown of flights. I was pretty sick of our squad bay living arrangement and crappy chow hall food. I was pretty sure that the Army Post in MD (Aberdeen Proving Grounds) was better, so it was a disappointment that we would not be leaving right away. How selfish of me considering the great tragedy in New York (similar in a magnified way to how many of us see an accident on the highway and get mad at the traffic inconvenience it causes).

The other impact was that I never saw much television news coverage on September 11; it wasn't until Friday September 14th that we were able to leave on some of the first flights and were able to buy some newspapers and magazines and watch news.

I flew to Newark NJ on a “red-eye” overnight flight on Friday September 14th. We got in around 4 am Saturday September 15th. If you know Newark NJ, then you know it is east of Manhattan across the bay (see attached picture of the view from Newark pre 9-11). Well this meant that the sun would rise behind the Manhattan skyline that morning. It was a chilly clear morning with a bright sunrise, but not for the Manhattan skyline. As the sun rose, the light through the still billowing smoke from ground zero filled the sky with a deep reddish gray hue. Even 4 days after the collapse of the towers, the site was still smoldering and the sky was still filled with smoke. It was a sad and eerie sight that morning, but still somehow pretty in an eerie way. I still can't really believe the unique situation I was in during that time and the view I was able to have firsthand from that particular vantage point. I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't have a camera. Luckily I found this picture of the same vantage point pre 9-11.

Later that morning we flew into BWI (MD) and eventually arrived at Aberdeen Proving Grounds for our respective MOS schools.

Now, nearly 6 years later, I have served an LDS mission to Boston MA, married a beautiful girl, and finished college. I am set to graduate this April 2007 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics and with University Honors. All the while I have continued serving in the reserves wondering if I would eat my words that I so ignorantly spoke to my mother. Well this past month (January 2007) I was promoted to the rank of Sergeant (the "back bone" of the Marine Corps as they say) and in the very same formation as I was promoted, our LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) company, was given a "warning order" through our commanding officer that we were to be activated for the period of a year and to serve a 7 month deployment in Iraq as a provisional military police company (not LAV’s) most likely in the Anbar Province of western Iraq. It turns out Mother always knows best even if seemingly irrational at the time! Our company was excited for the chance to serve again because the first time they were deployed (while I was in IRR status on my mission) they only spent 4 weeks in Iraq during the initial invasion and then 7 months in Okinawa on various cross-national training missions. Luckily, the schedule will permit me and other students to finish this semester (for me, graduate) before we begin a three month “workup” training before deployment some time in September.

Other details at this point are loose and vague and due to the need for "OpSec" (Operational Secrecy) any more than this is probably not open to disclosure. At this point it sounds like we will be operating as mobile infantry which means armored “humvees” (actually HMMWV: High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle) and thus probably convoy security. If you know Anbar, you know that it is the center of the "Sunni Triangle" west of Baghdad. It is known for its insurgent activity due to its Sunni population and has two major cities along the highway that follows the Euphrates river from Baghdad to Syria, Fallujah and Ramadi, also known endearingly by US forces as the "explosive road." Missions in this area include securing the major cities in the province from insurgent forces, securing the waterways and major highways, and securing the border against "illegal immigrants" from Syria (think Arizona only with gun toting insurgent Mexicans!) who tend not to be "looking for jobs" but rather looking for a fight.

While I am happy and somewhat excited to serve and be a part of this monumental time in history, I am sad for my wife who will have to deal with my extended absence and for my family and friends who worry about the safety of our servicemen. The biggest thing I am apprehensive about is my new position as a Sergeant. Most likely this translates into stewardship over the lives of fellow Marines while in Iraq. I feel up to the task and confident in my leadership and military abilities; however, nothing can settle the nervousness that comes with being responsible for the lives of fellow Marines in a combat situation. I plan on training hard and paying close attention while in our 3 month training workup so that I will never have to feel I could have done more to save someone’s life. While any operation in a place like Iraq is seemingly dangerous, I feel that our servicemen and our company in particular, are up to the task. I feel the Lord's watchful presence and know he will not abandon us.

Screaming for Freedom everywhere

2006-12-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

The problem with today is...

At this point you should be somewhat alarmed. Any piece of writing that begins with a line like this is suspect. Its declarative nature immediately brings doubt. I don't know what the problem is, I don't have all the answers; in fact, nobody has all the answers. If someone is claiming to have all the answers, you should be alarmed. Instead, I know that people everywhere, collectively, have all the answers which is why we need freedom, lots of it. Government has gone too far in its declaratory claim on knowing all the problems and having all the answers. Bureaucrats everywhere believe they are solving the world’s problems one government form at a time. We need a lot more freedom. People need a lot more space. States need a lot more autonomy from the federal government. Corporations need a lot more space to "pursue happiness." In short, freedom and liberty are the answers to the problems of today, not more solutions spouted from the bully pulpits of government halls. We need freedom SCREAMED from every rooftop! This means that individual citizens need to take on more responsibility for themselves (read here: http://www.friesian.com/rights.htm)

Social Security Reform: A Fictional Crisis?

2005-06-01T13:20:00.001-06:00

For the last year, our esteemed senator to the West, Senate minority leader Harry Reid, has been charging the Bush White House with fabricating a “fictional crisis” in the form of the Social Security situation. What Harry does not realize is this is more than his own rhetoric; he is dead on.

This is a fictional crisis. After all, what’s wrong with a nationwide government sponsored pension plan? Nothing. Soviet Russia had one, Cuba has one, and China has one. All the great countries that have ‘compassion’ for their workers have implemented such a program (I wonder if gulag workers got an added benefit?). It would be stingy of a government to not let us earn less than the rate of inflation on 12 percent of our income for our entire employed life. To hell with the idea of ownership and control over our own assets and income, this is an entitlement society; the government is entitled to our income. The fix is simple; Harry has spoken of mere ‘tweaking’ as the answer. All we need to do is ‘tweak’ payroll taxes in the upward direction and ‘tweak’ benefits in the downward direction and we can provide for current and future workers for a few more years; when we get into trouble again with another “fictional crisis,” we can repeat the process. If we are lucky, in a few decades the returns on Social Security may reach one tenth of the rate of inflation, far better than the returns on “risky investments” like diversified stocks and bonds. Any way you cut it, this most certainly is not a crisis. This was the plan all along, a full-fledged government controlled income redistribution system that discourages investment and capital formation.

Now let us talk about fiction. By his own admission, Harry states that our current system will provide 100 percent of benefits to seniors until 2055 after which we begin the ‘tweaking’ process. Therefore, he admits that it will go broke; somehow that is not a crisis? This is just like politicians, lollygagging and procrastinating, it will always be someone else’s problem and far beyond their next re-election cycle at that. Now for some facts: In actuality, according to the CATO Institute, Social Security “will begin running payroll tax deficits within 13 years.” “By 2042, it will be legally and financially unable to pay full promised benefits, resulting in cuts of 25 percent or more.” Currently Social Security makes up nearly a quarter of the federal budget and by 2030 that figure will be more than a third. Furthermore, because of its “pay-as-you-go” set up, Social Security depends on current workers’ earnings to pay current retirees’ benefits; this means that changes in the worker to retiree ratio will adversely affect benefits. In 1960, the ratio of workers to retirees was 5:1; in 25 years, that ratio will only be 2:1. Add on to that the fact that the Government has saved very little Social Security tax income and you have an obvious budget problem. When Social Security began, workers were only in retirement for a few years before dying, now that life expectancy has risen by nearly 8 years, the problem is worse. Go tell that to Harry. But wait! There’s more!

Not only will we be facing serious budget problems in financing Social Security, there are inherent problems with it from a macro-economic standpoint. Dr. Larry Wimmer, an expert in historical economics, has said that one of the greatest problems facing our country’s economic future is the decline in the personal savings rate. In fact, in 2001the personal savings rate fell to its lowest ever recorded rate of only a half of a percent. Social Security’s promise of assured retirement benefits discourages workers from saving additional income, meanwhile the money collected in payroll taxes is spent or consumed by the government; further sucking away vital funds from the investment sector. This cripples our economy’s ability to grow as it restrains capital accumulation. It has also increased our reliance on foreign investment and capital inflows which in turn finances our trade deficit. If Social Security were to be partially privatized it would drastically increase the savings rate, leading to greater domestic investment, greater economic growth, less dependence on foreign investment and ultimately a reduction in the trade deficit; not to mention more empowerment of the workers who gain ownership for their own assets and their own future.

Take, for example, a worker earning the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ average household income for 2002, $36,764; if this worker earns this same wage for 35 years (age 30 to 65), paying in 12 percent of his income every year at a rate of 8 percent (easily found in a safe, diversified investment), at retirement he will have a nest egg of $838,000.00. Compared to the 1.8 percent rate of return on Social Security, the same worker could only hope to fetch $215,000.00, not to mention the 3 percent loss to inflation. The mere annual interest earned on the first nest egg would calculate into an income of 67,000 per year, nearly 5,600 per month; nearly five times the current Social Security monthly payout. When you pull out your calculator and begin to think, it becomes obvious that there is a crisis; it is called highway robbery. No matter how you cut it, the Social Security ‘crisis’ is a hairy one.

*This article was first featured in "The Liberty Letter" official periodical of the Utah Federation of College Republicans (www.ut.collegerepublicans.org)