Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up now.

The video interviews at the Milblog conference by You Served are up. Go get them!

Cargo Squid Interview from Nathan Long on Vimeo.

Spank That Donkey Reminded Me

I needed to tell everyone about a very cool American soldier who is now writing for the Washington Times.
I met CJ in February of 2006, right after he got back from Iraq. He and his family were playing tourist the same day I held my first official counter-protest of worldcantwait. We somehow got connected and he joined DCProtestWarrior and signed up for FreeRepublic immediately.
We have been friends ever since and he has written some nice things about me.

He and Troy Stewart from Bouhammer are doing some great stuff.

Voice of the Third Estate
The link to the WashTimes new military section Base News
Some very nice things were written about milbloggers.
(There was nothing there I didn't already know)

CJ's piece is here.
I won't tell you what he said about it in his email.

National Museum of Americans in Wartime

A unique opportunity is available to those that are interested. How often is it that citizens are able to get in on the "ground floor" of a developing organization? A new national museum is forming in Northern Virginia.

The National Museum of Americans in Wartime.

Milbloggers and children of all ages were made welcome at the current home of the museum. Introduced at Milblog Conference 2009, Craig Stewart presented a short brief about the project and invited attendees to visit.

While the mission of the museum is more serious, the trip was a model on how a modern, interactive museum will attract young people. By being TOTALLY COOL!!!!!!!

The first thing one notices upon arrival is the presence of huge, armored vehicles, parked on the property. Then one notices that there are hundreds more inside the "garage." And we're told that this is just one of many.....(Speaking as a former Navy cargohandler, these guys can give lessons on packing huge vehicles into tight spaces.....)



Future Milblogger zeroing his home defense weapon. Pesky hippies....
(Actually this pic screams for a caption contest...put it in the comments.)





Now here is the TOTALLY COOL part. They were crazy enough to let a few milbloggers DRIVE!






"Yes, I am this cool. It's a gift."







ConcreteBob in his natural environment.



Then there are the idiots daring bloggers that RIDE INSIDE the tank driven by their crazy expert friends. Here I am, going airborne. Bob swears that he wasn't jumping ramps.....
Note the very cool, military spec, anti-glare/anti-dust, xray glasses. Safety first!





Here is the face of a man who has decided to acquire, not one, but two, of these vehicles......two, so we can race. Why else? Besides, think how much beer one of these things can hold. Perfect for tailgate parties.


Or if you want a convertible?




Or if tracks are too much for you....
This one is armed, so you have that going for you:

While most visitors will not have the chance to drive one of these historical beasts, they will be able to participate in other ways. The museum wants to provide interactive opportunities to see, get inside, re-enact, and demonstrate what life was like for the American warfighter. The Museum will tell a distinctly American story in a multidisciplinary interactive setting by crafting together the personal stories of the individual found throughout the military and civilian worlds. They will weave together the homefront and the battlefront and show how they are utterly, and forever, interdependent.




Their Landscapes of War will educate and enlighten visitors about the conditions of the battlefront, and the culture formed therein. The Museum will focus on the veterans from all services from WWI to the present, including those that went into harm's way wearing civilian garb, telling the stories and sharing the experiences of all those that answered the call to protect America.

Their motto: Honor, Educate, Inspire

Let us work together to fulfill that motto.

Opening day: scheduled on Veterans Day, November 11, 2012.

Can neither confirm nor deny the rumors out of D.C.

What happens in D.C. stays in D.C. !

The Friday night Pre-planning conference and Cocktail party was in full swing upon arrival.

I can neither confirm nor deny that a blogger was put into jail, wore woman's underwear (as an ascot), and was subjected to humiliating photographs.

Said blogger is rumored to have escaped and was seen in the company of many ne'er- do-wells, rakes, layabouts, and former Marines, imbibing alcohol and swathed in cigar smoke. Many wild and independent women were noted to be in the vicinity.....(links would be posted but I'm afraid of offending said women. They would ask, "Why did SHE get "wild" and I got "independent?" They were all wild, independent, and beautiful.) Of course, said former Marine was surrounded by them at all times....

Bloggers of great renown deigned to grace us with their presence. Possible fanboy activity was sighted. Apparently, said escaped blogger is more notorious than he realized, receiving wonderful welcomes from the previously noted wild and independent women, upon introduction by one of those previously mentioned former Marines.

Photographic evidence is lacking due to the anonymous blogger being too damn tired to figure out how to put film into these new fangled cameras. That and his hands were filled with adult beverages. Saturday was no better. Stupid camera......(digital immigrant, indeed)

Because said blogger has determined that he sucks as a reporter when covering conferences, better accounts can be found here. ( I can't make sense of my notes.....)

A great big thank you goes out to all of the milbloggers (you know who you are) for the great welcome that I got. I met so many great people, I won't try to thank them all personally.
Thanks to you all. See ya in the internets....

Great Americans

There is a site you should see.
Great Americans

CJ has posted JP's interview at A Soldiers Perspective

Back At the House

The last three days were, to put it mildly, EFFFFING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is entirely too much to cram into just one post, so we'll be updating and posting for the next three, six, eight, 14 days...maybe. Cargosquid wil have a better post up shortly. He's actually turning into quite the little reporter and managed to embarass me only once all weekend. I however, tried to emabarass him at every turn. (its a Navy/Marine thing)

First, because I am a responsible conservative and have many many many many non-responsible liberals who need their mortgages paid, I had to work Thursday and Friday, so I missed the best Marine ever, Major Pain, who had to make a last minute trip back to where ever he had to make a last minute trip back to. (you really didn't think I was going to tell you did you? Some things are still sacred). He was on his way back Saturday night from where ever it was he went Friday, and my BFF, Mrs Diva, and I had a blast texting him while he was driving back and we were consuming Coronas and Bailey's. Anyway, I missed the one person I REALLY needed to talk to. Oh well, everything happens for a reason.

Friday night, I get to Arlington in time to see Bouhammer's lastest project, "At War".
Guys, let me tell you something: this film ROCKS THE HOUSE!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get my grubby little fingers on the DVD, which will be out sometime around the end of the summer. This movie has some great music, and features some kick-ass MLDK (Major League Door Kicker) Canucks who will forever be heroes in my mind. These guys are fearless. It also has some NG (National Guard) units from Utah, Oregon, and Washington state who are no slackers either. If you want to see the ground truth from Asscrackistan, this is the film to see. This blog will keep everyone updated on the release of the DVD.

After the movie, my LLNWL was glowing a steady red, so I schlepped outside to the balcony and my other favorite Marine and documentary film-maker JD Johannes was doing the same thing. (Ya'll remember Outside the Wire 07 which I blogged about after the 2007 CPAC.) JD has another one ready for ya. "Baghdad Happens". I have my copy. Its mine. NO ONE WILL GET THIS COPY. (I still can't find my copy of Outside the Wire...it's out on loan and making a circuit. It'll be home soon.)

So after JD and I re-acquaint ourselves, we grab some chow and I bout dropped my beer. Standing against the wall, looking very menacing, is none other than Bill Roggio. Holy Crap!!!!
THE MAN!!! (I actually met Bill at CPAC 2007 as well, and he remembered me. That always astounds me.) Bill and I start talking and I'm telling him about our rally in June, and he's onboard, and MAY, MAY be able to make it. So he asks about my background and I'm explaining how I got started with rallies and the Walter Reed/Code Oink incident and I say the words "Protest Warrior" and his eyes light up, he gets really animated and tells me how much he loves PW. (Bill is a Jersey boy, he's serious, he's Italian, and he was absolutely beside himself when code oink started their BS at WRAMC). He had heard about my exploits, and told me how much he appreciated what I did. How cool would it be to hear Bill Roggio tell stories about Iraq?

OK. I need some sleep. CS will have some more, including our little trip to Prince William County Sunday morning where, thanks to JP from milblogging.com, yours truly got to drive an APC and my A#1 USOGirl Jamie didn't. (neener neener)

Pray for me.....

I'm headed into Washington, D. C.


So, how many of you will I see at the Milbloggers Conference?

You're going, right? If only for the booze? I'm bringing Single Malt.

Somebody has to keep an eye on watch ConcreteBob's back......

See y'all later.