Posts Tagged ‘the army insider’

A slightly odd rule 5 sunday entry

Posted: September 20, 2009 by datechguy in amazon reviews, fun, personal, war
Tags: , , , , , ,

I generally don’t do rule 5 entries but I’m going to make an exception here for a purely Sicilian reason, family interest.

Martha Raye pinup

This is Martha Raye from the 40’s. You likely remember her from of all things polident commercials but to the soldiers she entertained in war zones she was a lady.

So Why am I bringing this up. Well in the book I’ve already plugged and urged you to buy. The Army Insider by retired 30 year Sgt Major David C. Carden who served from Vietnam to the First Iraq war and beyond both in combat and undercover has a Martha Raye story on page 55 which I will partially repeat here:

I was a 19 year old kid in December 1966 when I first met Martha Ray(e). She came to my Special Forces camp at Kontum, Viet Nam as part of a USO tour. It was just her and her entourage. Martha Ray(e) was a movie star and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Nurse Corps. This trip was a little entertaining an performing her Military duty. She was good people

It was early evening and I had just returned to camp after being out for about 10 days. We had a small one-room shack that served as a club and I headed over to get a Coke. I was unshaven, dirty and probably smelled a little ripe. Maggie was siting in the corner of the room at the poker take and a group of guys was standing around watching the game. I walked over and some of my friend were playing and there was an open seat. She looked at me and said, “Have a seat young Sergeant.” I told her I didn’t have any money with me and a voice behind me said, “Here kid”. Sergeant Major Johnson the Camp Sergeant Major handed me $200 in MPC’s So I sat down…

the army insider

I’ll tell the end of the story next Sunday, but if you can’t wait the self published book is available at Amazon and is a great way to say thanks to a man (part of my family by marriage) who gave thirty years to serving his country while enjoying a bunch of great yarns.

Update: Welcome Rule 5 readers. The promised end of the story is here.

Oh My God! Did I read Brzezinski right?

Posted: September 19, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Via the Hot air headlines The Weekly standard finds a bombshell hidden in this daily beast story!

How aggressive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a military strike might be in America’s worst interest?
We are not exactly impotent little babies. They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch?

What if they fly over anyway?
Well, we have to be serious about denying them that right. That means a denial where you aren’t just saying it. If they fly over, you go up and confront them. They have the choice of turning back or not. No one wishes for this but it could be a Liberty in reverse. [Israeli jet fighters and torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty in international waters, off the Sinai Peninsula, during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel later claimed the ship was the object of friendly fire.]

It’s interesting to note that the Beast fails to mention the subsequent apology and payment of over $12,800,000 in compensation for the dead and wounded and for damage to the ship itself.

Zbigniew Brzezinski I would remind you was Jimmy Carter’s National Security adviser.

In his newly published book The Army Insider. (My review here, Buy It!) Retired Sgt Major David C. Carden says this about the Jimmy Carter years on page 141:

Circa 1977 to 1981. There are more learned people than me that can write about Jimmy Carter’s presidency. I can only say that from day one, the Military started belt tightening; there was a 444 day black mark painted on the United States of America: eight American Servicemen died attempting to wipe away that black mark: and one payback is still owed.

There must have been something good during those years when Zbigniew was national security adviser. Dave?

The best thing that happened for the military Services and America during the Carter administration was that Ronald Reagan was elected the next president of the United states.

I’d have to agree.

Apparently like Buchanan ol Ziggy hasn’t gotten over the Liberty either.

His daughter is still a handsome woman no matter what Robert Stacy McCain says.

The Army Insider: Amazon book review

Posted: September 19, 2009 by datechguy in amazon reviews, personal
Tags: , , , ,

the army insiderMy review of The Army Insider Up Close and Personal Sergeant Major David Carden’s autobiography is available at Amazon.com here.

This is the first time I’ve ever reviewed a book where I had personal knowledge of the author and some of the events therein. A found a few minor errors but none that were earth shattering and none of them will affect your enjoyment of the book.

As my review makes plain this is a good book and you will enjoy it but even if it wasn’t on a personal note I’d like to say this:

This is a man who gave 3 decades in your service. He isn’t likely to make a fortune from this book he published it on his own via Authorhouse but if you ever wanted to say thank you to an individual who has served his country, here’s your chance.

Update: At my wife’s suggestion pulled part of a sentence that came off as condescending. As usual she’s right. My Bad.

Newer Entries