"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
You really never leave
Up to the rank of colonel, the military grows and promotes its own officers, independent of political influence. This is sacred. Is there a military man or woman anywhere, active or retired, alive or dead, who would not be outraged to learn that President Bush wants to take control of the promotion of military lawyers? […]
Another letter from my father, describing some of his experiences at the end of WWII in the Pacific, when he was a crewman on the USS Bolster, an auxiliary repair ship: At the end of WWII the USS Bolster was on its way to Ulithi Atoll to join the assembled fleet poised for the invasion […]
I feel like kvetching. How about you? Is National Public Radio going corporate? Ever since NPR started airing commercials (although they call them “sponsor notices”), their talk shows have become noticably Fair & Balanced™. I’m thinking specifically about the Diane Rehm Show, where, whenever she discusses politics or national policy, her guest list now invariably includes […]
Another letter from my Dad, this one about his World War II service as a navy gunner aboard the merchant tanker MS Chester Sun. While at boot camp all of us recruits had to take a battery of tests. The top scorers got to choose which school they wanted; all the others had to take the […]
After my father died, I said I’d write more about him. My Uncle Lindley unearthed a letter Dad wrote to me in 1992, describing the ship he was assigned to at the end of World War II, when he was a sailor in the US Navy. Here are some excerpts from Dad’s letter: The Bolster, an Auxiliary Repair Ship […]
My friend Dick Herman, in a comment to an earlier entry, asked for my thoughts on the warrior ethic. For a few years, back when my career was on fire, I was on the staff of a joint command, working with Army, Navy, and Marine officers. Army and Marine officers could philosophize about the warrior […]
Report Uncovers Astronauts’ Heavy Alcohol Use. Oh my. Here’s what I read between the lines of the linked article: NASA, in the wake of the Lisa Nowak incident, has been busy hunting witches in the astronaut program. Astronaut pilots, astronaut mission specialists, and astronaut flight surgeons are turning on each other. It must be a horrible […]
Have I mentioned that my wife works part time at a local gun shop? Well, she does, and that’s how we came to be invited to an Arizona Friends of the National Rifle Association auction and banquet. One of the speakers was Scott O’Grady, the USAF Reserve F-16 pilot who was shot down over Bosnia in […]