Rules of Combat:

20 Rules:

1. Friendly fire - isn't.
2. Recoilless rifles - aren't.
3. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
4. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
5. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
6. Five second fuses always burn three seconds.
7. The easy way is always mined.
8. Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
9. When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
10. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
11. No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
12. If the enemy is within range, so are you.
13. Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
14. The one item you need is always in short supply.
15. Interchangeable parts aren't.
16. The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
17. Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
18. No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
19. Every command which can be misunderstood, will be.
20. There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.

Sometimes fellas learn them the hard way...

Sergeant Gavin Cox - Hero!

My buddy, and fellow soldier, sent me this awesome story about a boy who's wish was to be a soldier.

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, March 27, 2008 – Gavin Cox could have traveled to any exotic locale or tried any profession in the world, but this 5-year-old with leukemia had just one wish: to be a soldier.

His wish was granted March 18 when he became a soldier for the day here.

“He could have chosen any activity during this break in his treatments, to include Disney World,” said Gavin’s father, Troy Heminger. “He wanted to be a soldier.”

During a solemn ceremony in the Army Medical Department Center and School command conference room, the little boy stood proudly on the conference room table surrounded by soldiers of all ranks. Dressed in an Army combat uniform, Gavin was promoted to the honorary rank of sergeant in the Army Medical Department by the installation commander, Army Maj. Gen. Russell Czerw.

After spending the day with Army medics, Gavin and his family left San Antonio the next day for Fort Hood, Texas, where honorary Sergeant Cox would spend another day in the Army as a soldier with the Army’s combat units.

Thanks to Make a Wish Foundation and the U.S. Army for making this happen. The story brought a lump to my throat. It reminded me of how fortunate I am and not to take anything for granted. I've enjoyed my life as a soldier and welcome SGT Cox to the ranks. Gavin is on my hero list!

Farwell to a Great American

Charlton Heston, 1923-2008

I meant to post this earlier...

LOS ANGELES - Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played,"

He is one of my favorite actors and conservative 'activists' (see National Rifle Association). He also participated in the big Civil Rights march in 1963. My top Heston movies:

1) Ben-Hur (1959). 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor. 'Nuff Said!

2) Planet of the Apes (1968). Loosely based on the novel La planète des singes by Pierre Boulle.
An excellent SCI-FI movie with one of the most memorable lines of all time: George Taylor (Heston)- 'Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!' Check out the Forbidden Zone for more Apes stuff. By-the-by, Charles Heston makes a cameo in the 2001 Tim Burton re-make.

3) Khartoum (1966). Heston as General Charles 'Chinese' Gordon taking on the Mahdi (Lawrence Olivier) and his army during the Battle or Siege of Khartoum (March 1884 - January 1885) in the Sudan.

Other notables: The Ten Commandments, The Omega Man, El Cid.

Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country."

And now...The Doors

I was a big Beatles fan in junior high and high school. My dad gave me some of his original Beatles LPs (Rubber Soul was one of my favorites) and I started listening to them, on vinyl; and they sounded great. And now...Somewhere between college and the present, I've become a fan of The Doors, probably one of my favorite bands of all time. I had heard them before, as I grew up listening to classic rock-n-roll, but somehow during my college days, I became drawn to their unique sound. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame notes:

"The Doors emerged amid the turbulence of the late Sixties with music that was as intense and complex as the times that spawned them...The group’s dark, brooding personality came largely from singer Jim Morrison. Musically, the other members of the Doors - keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer Jon Densmore - combined classical rigor with freewheeling, jazzy improvisations, providing Morrison a platform from which to declaim his poetical lyrics in a portentous baritone."

My favorite song is none other than 'Love Me Two Times' from the album Strange Days. It's also one of my favorite songs to perform at the local karaoke joints. Good times, great oldies.

Saviors from Space

I'm a big SCI-FI geek and rarely miss an opportunity to catch the latest movie at the theater. Science fiction movies usually do pretty well at the box office. Probably the most noteworthy, oldie-but-goodie, is The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" written by Harry Bates. Like so many movies of the era, their storylines were often set against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Day the Earth Stood Still is no exception. But there is another element that is often missed by moviegoers. There's a great deal of religion mixed in. Probably the most overt example can be found in the Star Wars movies and its use of the Force. George Lucas admitted that he "put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people. . . . I think there is a God. What that God is and what we know about God, I'm not sure."

There's a more subtle expression of religion in The Day the Earth Stood Still in addition to Klaatu's stated belief in "the Almighty Spirit":

Scriptwriter Edmund H. North transformed the alien emissary Klaatu into a Christ-figure, implying that extra-terrestrials would be the true saviors of mankind. He did this in a subtle manner, having Klaatu adopt the earth name Carpenter and through the alien’s death and resurrection. North considered it his "private little joke" hoping "the Christ comparison would be subliminal."

In your spare time, sit down to watch Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Billy Gray, who played "Bud" in Father Knows Best, and see how many New Testament, Christ-like allusions you can find in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

US Army Hospital Emergency Room

I'll see you back here in a few days; I'm off playing in Grafenwoehr.

He is Risen!

The Incredulity of St Thomas by Caravaggio.

19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." --John 20:19-29

He is risen indeed!

In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio depicted the moment the disciples recognize their risen lord.

About the artist:

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 29th 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he was the first great representative.