I need to take a moment to clear the air and offer an apology here as I’ve managed to do something I was dead set against doing when I started Sgt Hook. When I first began this thing called a blog, I went to great lengths to keep my true identity anonymous for a few reasons. OPSEC, or operational security being a prime one, and I didn’t want my soldiers to read this and wonder if they were the subject of a posting or would be the next character in an entry. In short, I didn’t want Sgt Hook to become a distraction to my soldiers. I have failed in that end.
Whenever I write about a soldier of mine, I always change names, descriptions, even details of the actual incident so as to protect them. I often borrow from other experiences in my life to add to the story that I am relating as long as it doesn’t change the message I’m trying to get across. And that message has always been simply one, to try and enlighten the gentle reader on the life of a soldier.
Last night I posted an entry entitled “True Colors” whereby I related an experience with a young soldier who is no longer in the Army. I reasoned that enough time had passed and that the young man was no longer in the service, so this story could be told in an effort to demonstrate the challenges of leadership, especially when ramping up for a deployment. A second character in the story was the young soldier’s platoon sergeant. To illustrate this character I borrowed from my past. When I was still a sergeant first class, a platoon sergeant myself, I had a section sergeant working for me who I was eventually forced to “fire” because of what in my opinion was poor leadership. He too is no longer in the Army. So I introduced these two individuals in a story that I posted here on Sgt Hook. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this morning that the young soldier’s actual platoon sergeant read the story and was understandably hurt by the lack of accuracy (on the part of the platoon sergeant) as he was portrayed in a negative light. The post has been taken down.
For the record, the young soldier’s “real” platoon sergeant did an outstanding job in that position and never gave up on his soldiers or the unit despite having to deal with headaches like the one I described. But, I do owe him and all of the soldiers an apology, for I sincerely never intended to insult anyone in any manner and I certainly did not want this blog to become a distraction to your accomplishing the mission. For that I apologize.
For the record, to a man and a woman, the soldiers of my previous unit are the best in this man’s Army and I’d gladly serve with each and every one again. Because my writings here at Sgt Hook have now become a distraction to those fine soldiers, I will be closing down this blog. I owe it to them.
I’d like to thank all of those who read this drivel and have supported the soldiers as they fight for your freedom. I hope that I’ve been able to put the soldier in a new light for many. They’re good people and as I am, you too can be very proud of them all.
This story seems to keep on going like that rabbitt with the batteries and beating the drum so in response to a number of questions via email, I guess that it is time I post my two cents worth. The Secretary of Defense, as he has done in the past, holds a townhall meeting with soldiers in a combat zone and says, “what are your questions?” No pre-screening, no stipulations, no kidding? That in itself is amazing and speaks volumes for the character of old Rummy. I’ve heard it said too many times this past week in the MSM that he was blind sided by the soldier’s question regarding the armor for vehicles. C’mon, give the man some credit. He might not have expected that particular question, but certainly he knew that soldiers gripe and given the opportunity to gripe to the head of the DoD, some will take it. I don’t think he was caught too off guard. The fact is, Secretary Rumsfeld asked for questions, got them, and now has to answer them and I suspect the issue of armor for vehicles is aggressively being addressed as I type this. Hmmm, sounds like a townhall meeting.
“The concerns expressed are being addressed and that is - we expect our troops to have the best possible equipment,” Bush said. “If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I’d want to ask the secretary of defense the same question. And that is, ‘Are we getting the best we can get us?’ And they deserve the best.”
-Bush
Over the weekend, the lovely and talented and downright sexy Mrs. Hook remarked to me after watching a piece about this on one of the MSM channels, “that soldier is in a lot of shit.” I looked at her and thought for a moment and replied, “you know, I don’t think so.” Not too much shit anyway. If I were the kid’s first sergeant my blood pressure would’ve went through the roof as I stood there listening to one of my soldiers ask such a quesiton of the Sec Def. Given time to cool off and think things through, there really isn’t much I could hold against the soldier but I probably would have a discussion about being professional and the proper phrasing of questions to senior leaders, but barring that, he was passed the microphone in an open forum.
What would really bother me, and I suspect the rest of the command team, is if this kid never voiced his concern to his chain of command and the first I was hearing of it was in a townhall meeting with the Sed Def. Of course, the proper command climate has to be set for such a discussion to occur within the unit and the command team is responsible for setting that climate, not the soldiers. Again, if I were the kid’s first sergeant, I would hope that the issue of scrounging for metal to armor our vehicles would’ve been something addressed up front and honestly with the soldiers and that they knew I was voicing their concerns up the chain but in the meantime we were going to do every gottdamned conceivable thing, to include dumpster diving for scrap metal, to make sure each and every one of our ugly mugs comes back home alive, mission complete.
As for the reporter who “planted” the question, the point is moot. Once again the MSM shows true colors and I’m really not surprised. I doubt he’ll get a pullitzer out of this though.
There is a lot more on the subject worthy of your review:
OK, here’s the OPLAN, stop voting for Sgt Hook and throw your support to the Armorer at Castle Argghhh! That’s right, I’ve no chance at finishing in the top three, but John does and we really don’t want a squid beating out a soldier (again). Here’s our chance to revenge the dismal Army-Navy game of last week. Go Army beat Navy vote Argghhh! Voting ends Sunday so snap to it soldiers! Sgt Hook out.
Today’s Fighting Fusileers for Freedom press release has so eloquently been presented by Baldilocks who makes it very clear that there are things in this world worth fighting for.
OK, let me first apologize for my use of the vernacular, but I am a crusty old first sergeant (soon to be a crusty old sergeant major) and once you read this invitation, I expect you’ll be using a little vernacular yourself. And hey, I’ve always subscribed to the notion that there is a time to cuss, and there is a time to cuss as per Mark Twain and the veritable Acidman.
Now, to the point: a Michael Graham of WMAL Radio has written a letter inviting Michael Moore (the fat bastard) to put his newfound money where his fat mouth is. Oh, the money he’s challenging Mr. Fat Bastard to produce, if indeed he supports the troops or is just trying to make a few million bucks off the backs of the troops, would go to the Fisher House.
No doubt about it: The American soldier has done a lot for Michael Moore.
Hundreds of thousands of them are serving right now in Afghanistan and Iraq- two wars you opposed-defending you from a terrorist threat you claim does not exist. As you frequently point out, more than 1,000 of these soldiers and Marines have died, and thousands more of them have been injured.
These soldiers have also made you quite a bit of money. The most powerful scenes in your film Fahrenheit 9/11 feature soldiers and their families, specifically those servicemen who were wounded or killed in battle. Your new book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again–a collection of letters you’ve received from members of the military who served in Iraq-will likely gross hundreds of thousands of dollars for you and your publisher.
As I said, America’s soldiers have been very good to you. Most of them don’t like you, but they’re prepared to die attempting to protect you from terrorism so that you can continue to crank out your profitable propaganda.
They’ve done all this for you. I’m writing to give you the opportunity to do something for them.
My radio station, 630 WMAL, is leading a fundraising effort on behalf of the Fisher Houses here in the Washington, DC area and the Fisher House Foundation. Given your obsession with the costs of the War on Terror, you are no doubt familiar with the magnificent work done by the Fisher House on behalf of wounded soldiers and their families.
These families are struggling with the emotional consequences of a battlefield injury and its treatment. Fisher House helps solve some of the short-term financial and logistical challenges for the wives, children and parents who have wounded loved ones receiving treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda Naval Hospital or Malcolm Grow Medical at Andrews Air Force base.
The message of your books and films is that the American soldier is a victim. The soldiers I’ve spoken with at Fisher House vehemently disagree with you, as do the majority of my active-duty military listeners. However, we all agree that the soldiers who have been the victims of Iraqi terrorist violence (I think you call them “the true patriots, the Minute Men”) deserve our support.
Therefore, I am writing to challenge you to give back just a small portion of the money you have earned as a critic of their mission. Your film Fahrenheit 9/11 has grossed around $150 million. Our entire goal for the Fisher House this holiday season is a tiny percentage of that amount.
Though I am a confirmed right-winger, I believe there should be no partisan divide when it comes to standing by our troops. My fellow WMAL employees and I are dedicating our time, efforts and money to that proposition. The question, Mr. Moore, is whether or not you will do the same.
Many Americans feel that you have exploited the injuries of our soldiers for partisan purposes but have no real concern for them or their families. On behalf of the Fisher House, I would be thrilled to receive your generous donation as evidence that we are wrong.
If you feel, however, that the money can be better spent on yet another trip to France, nobody will be surprised.
You can send your check made out to the Fisher House Foundation, care of 630 WMAL, 4400 Jenifer Street NW, Washington, DC 20015.
This site is a collection of my writings, thoughts, and ramblings and in no way reflects the official positions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. OPSEC trumps everything.
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In view of a recent tendency to identify characters in fiction with real people, it seems proper to state that there are no real people in this volume: both the characters and their names are ficticious. The names or designations of any military units are ficticious. There are no living people nor existing military units presented in this book.
-Ernest Hemingway
Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler's Green.
-Author Unknown
The Blog of War
"Grab it before the Pentagon orders it burned..." - Vanity Fair
"...nonpartisan patriotism is the common thread tying together these reflections, love letters and stories of combat. They make for riveting reading." - The Washington Post
Winner of the 2006 Gold Medal for Anthologies - Military Writer's Society of America
"This collection is an excellent introduction to an emerging form of war reporting." - Booklist
