comMITTed to Romney!

Here is the DOD YouTube of Pat’s OCS class. The large group of candidates shown jogging is Pat’s Alpha Co. The picture doesn’t show Pat because he is just to the left of the frame, but the video does give you a little bit of the gung ho atmosphere at Quantico.

~~John Cronin~~

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We got our first picture of Pat at Quantico yesterday via the USMC website.  Pat is first from the left, with the two story red building in back of him.  Larger Image here.

~~John Cronin~~

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Here’s a good article on what USMC Officer candidates face when they attend the Officer Candidate School prep weekend. My son Pat is in Iowa as I write this, no doubt sleep deprived, sore, exhausted, but hopefully with another maturing experience under his belt.

I just emailed him in reply to his forwarding this article to me and I told him that we have scheduled a coffee klatch/ family meeting in the kitchen for this evening and that his mother and I expect a complete debriefing.

~~John Cronin~~

Story Date
4/1/2006 By
Byline
Sgt. Thomas J. Perry ,
Unit
9th Marine Corps District

Dateline
9TH MARINE CORPS DISTRICT —
Page Content

One-hundred eighty-six of the Marine Corps’ future leaders left their protected collegiate lifestyles for a three-day, sleep-deprived, physically-exhausting introduction to the Marine Corps.

The candidates arrived at Fort McCoy, Wis.— their commitment to the Corps still untested—dressed in business-casual civilian attire. Their large suitcases, of which more than a few appeared to need the weight of a friend to properly close, were stuffed with the niceties of modern life. Looks of optimistic eagerness filled many of the candidate’s faces, like the face of a child first approaching to Disney World. These men and women came to the Officer Candidates School Prep Weekend because they wanted to learn. They wanted a taste of what leading Marines would be like, and a chance to digest their decision. They were excited.

“The OCS Prep weekend really helps to reduce the initial shock of dealing with the drill instructors,” said Maj. Bryan Hill, 9th Marine Corps District Aviation Assistant for Officer Procurement. “It also shows them how important teamwork really is in a structured environment. They are also able to meet other poolees from the district so when they show up at OCS a basic team structure is already formed.”

The candidates’ excitement might have been dampened were they informed of the reality that many of them would never complete OCS.

“Although the intent of OCS Prep is not to get them to quit, it sometimes opens their eyes as to what they are going to be facing at OCS,” said Hill. “It is definitely a gut check and sometimes they determine that they don’t have the intestinal fortitude they thought they did. If the drive isn’t there, the chance of them surviving OCS is pretty slim.”

Now seated in an auditorium, sheltered from the wind-driven Wisconsin climate, the candidates were just minutes away from their introduction to the Corps .Many would soon wish they had stayed at home.

Three drill instructors entered the classroom under the guides of an ordered march. Their faces fought instinct, as they twitched with controlled rage. Alfred Hitchcock used to say it was the time just before one sees the monster that is the most horrifying. Then, with a soft-spoken order, the candidates where turned over to the drill instructors for the first time. The room exploded with movement as the candidates where instructed to go outside. The drill instructors moved with a speed and ferocity that can only come from training. The candidates’ faces reflected a uniform fear. The OCS Prep Weekend had begun.

“The candidates receive mental preparation for the shock and pace of Marine Corps Officer Training,” said Maj. Charles Miles, 9th MCD Aisststant for Officer Procurement. “They also are introduced to some basic military skills such as drill, land navigation and rope climbing. They also learn about Marine Corps History and our customs and courtesy.”

The three-day journey was intense, and the cold, wet weather did not comfort the weary candidates who, despite the numerous trials, remained motivated and excited about the larger challenge of OCS.

“I thought the whole evolution was outstanding,” said Staff Sgt. Shaun Wright, Officer Candidates School sergeant instructor. “For the most part (the candidates) were motivated and ready to whip it on. One of the challenges for these kids is being able to make a decision. They need to understand it is better to make any decision rather than no decision. But a lot of these kids have never failed at anything.”

Mental preparation is vital to success at OCS, but Miles said that physical readiness is one of the easiest ways to prevent failure.

“Most candidates can recover from the initial shock and adapt quickly to the OCS lifestyles,” said Miles. “However, if one does not go to OCS physically prepared, they are going home.”

It was time for the candidates to go home, but not in the disgust of failure but with a better understanding of what a future in the Corps would entail. Their tired faces again reflected excitement. This time, however, it was at the prospect of a full night’s sleep.

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Take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video that shows President Reagan’s response to Col. Gaddafi’s state sponsored terrorism.

This action by Marine and Naval forces happened in 1986 and was the beginning of the end of Gaddafi’s international adventures.

From what I know of the current Somali pirate hostage situation, the feckless Obama administration’s display of weakness has only emboldened the pirates and now they have demanded “safe passage” and a $2 million ransom. Other hijacked ships, with their captive crews, are now heading for the area where the hostage situation is unfolding and what was a contained crisis is now escalating exponentially because we have a poorly advised, rank amateur as Commander-in-chief.

Our prayers on this Good Friday are with the Captain, his family, the military personnel on the scene and with the other hostages held captive by these pirates.

~~John Cronin~~

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While an American cargo vessel Captain bobs up and down on the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a motley crew of shakedown artists, the mighty USS Bainbridge stands idly by while the FBI negotiates with the Somali pirates for the return of a kidnapped American citizen.

President Obama is the Commander-in-chief of the US military. It’s time for him to earn his pay, make the decision to take out the pirates in the lifeboat and then hit the pirate’s home bases with a force of highly trained and lethal Marine Recon and Navy Seal units.

If this ends in needless tragedy for the American Captain and his family, all because the Community organizer-in-chief is in way over his head, I sincerely hope the electorate will remember this when they enter the voting booths in November of 2010 and again in 2012.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/09/2009-04-09_us_military_prepared_for_battle_with__somalia_pirates.html

BY: JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

U.S. military commanders have already prepared battle plans for ending the scourge of piracy on the high seas off Somalia if President Obama pulls the trigger, sources told the Daily News Wednesday.

The Navy sent a warship to intercept Somali pirates Wednesday who hijacked a U.S.-flagged freighter, as commanders weighed military options for nailing the brigands’ bases.

Retired U.S. Ambassador Robert Oakley, who was special envoy to Somalia in the 1990s, said U.S. special operations forces have drawn up detailed plans to attack piracy groups where they live on land, but are awaiting orders from the Obama national security team.

“Our special operations people have been itching to clean them up. So far, no one has let them,” Oakley told the Daily News.

The veteran diplomat, who also was ambassador to Pakistan, said teams of Army Delta Force or Navy SEALs “could take care of the pirates in 72 hours” if given the order to strike.

“They have plans on the table but are waiting for the green light,” Oakley said.

A Special Operations Command spokesman at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., declined comment.

A U.S. intelligence official, though dismissive of the pirates having any terrorism links, said “there is a more intense focus” now on these criminal gangs.

America’s stealthiest warriors have been involved in combat operations in the Horn of Africa for years - operating from secret bases in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Manda Bay, Kenya.

The Navy launched an antipiracy command in January, Joint Task Force 151, which includes contingents of SEALs and Marines who specialize in boarding and seizing hijacked ships.

But Somalia-based pirates terrorizing shipping lanes on the high seas have expanded their zone of fear in recent weeks beyond the Gulf of Aden into waters off Somalia, a failed state providing them a lawless sanctuary.

That prompted the commander of the Navy’s Combined Maritime Forces, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, to issue a special maritime advisory this week warning his forces “are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack.”

“The closest military ship could be days away,” he said.

The Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia and Kenya equal an area roughly four times the size of Texas, the Navy pointed out.

Meanwhile, Navy officials said the guided missile destroyer Bainbridge steamed toward the Maersk Alabama - which is owned by a Danish firm but has a 20-man American crew and flies the Stars and Stripes - which was seized 280 miles southeast of Somalia.

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Hat Tip to a CTR regular for sending me the link to this YouTube video. My understanding is that it was produced by a 15 year old girl. Incredible insight and talent at any age, much less at 15!

~~John Cronin~~

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As the technology of war and the byzantine complexity of foreign affairs demand an ever more sophisticated and better educated officer corps, Harvard should relent and once again allow the ROTC program back on it’s prestigious campus.

After all, not to do so would be so……60’s.

~~John Cronin~~

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914908909399225.html

Why not give our officers the best education?

By: JOSEPH KRISTOL and DANIEL WEST

‘ROTC must go because we oppose the policies of the United States and we oppose the military that perpetrates them. The lines are clearly drawn; the time to take sides is now.”

It was the spring of 1969, and the leaders of the Harvard chapter of Students for a Democratic Society were (with the above statement issued to the student newspaper) agitating to cleanse their campus of “imperialist exploitation.” To opponents of the Vietnam War, members of the military — even students in the Reserve Officers Training Corps — embodied the policies they despised.

Forty years ago tomorrow, April 9, 1969, this sentiment culminated in a mob of students storming University Hall. Eager to be at the forefront of radical activism, they turned to violent protest. Arsonists torched a Marine Corps classroom, and the administration buckled. ROTC was purged from campus, symbolically repudiating the Vietnam War.

Today, America congratulates itself for having overcome the knee-jerk radicalism of that era. “Support the troops, oppose the war” is the modern battle cry of the antiwar movement. Americans seem to recognize that those in uniform shouldn’t be blamed for policies set by elected officials.

But not at Harvard, where ROTC remains officially unwelcome.

The students of 1969 have become the faculty of 2009, and today students who wish to participate in ROTC are forced to train at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We are pawns in a political chess game. The issue is no longer Vietnam, but President Bill Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bars gays from openly serving in the military. Because of that policy, the university classifies ROTC as a discriminatory organization and has severed all remnants of support.

So Harvard today happily pays for future bankers to take accounting courses at MIT, but refuses to pay for aspiring military officers who take ROTC courses. Since 1994, anonymous donors have generously picked up the tab, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for Harvard’s ROTC students.

Sadly, the number of Harvard students who choose military service has dwindled. Harvard, where ROTC was founded in 1916 and which once boasted over 1,000 participants, is now home to only 29 cadets and midshipmen, spread over four years and four branches of service. Recruitment opportunities are deliberately limited, and the student handbook cautions students against joining ROTC, remarking that the program is “inconsistent with Harvard’s values.” And cadets begin every semester seeking to avoid the professors known to exhibit hostility toward students who wear their uniform to class.

Rather than embracing the mutually beneficial relationship Harvard might share with the military, the faculty prefers to stand in the way of progress, abdicating its responsibility to contribute to one of our nation’s most important institutions. The same Harvard that once produced 10 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and warrior-scholars such as Teddy Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, now turns its back on its proud, patriotic history.

But there are reasons to be hopeful that the 40-year exile of ROTC may be drawing to a close. Today, the faculty is out of touch with a student body that is generally supportive of ROTC. The support that both Barack Obama and John McCain expressed during the 2008 presidential campaign for the return of ROTC to elite college campuses showed Harvard’s stance to be far from mainstream.

We are also fortunate that Harvard’s new president, Drew Faust, has privately praised and met with cadets and midshipmen, and publicly stated her hope that the day ROTC returns to campus is not far off. Though she remains bound by Harvard’s discrimination policy, she spoke at last year’s commissioning ceremony and expressed her desire to see our numbers grow.

This is encouraging, but it falls short of the appropriate policy: support for the military and those who serve in it, regardless of federal policies. ROTC should be fully and unequivocally welcomed back to Harvard. Accomplishing this would take leadership and courage from President Faust. Perhaps she will be inspired to show this leadership as she joins Gen. David Petraeus in recognizing the ROTC graduates at our commissioning ceremony in June.

Messrs. Kristol and West, seniors at Harvard University, will be commissioned second lieutenants in the United States Marine Corps in June.

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Hat Tip to my son Pat for emailing me the link for this story. You know we have entered a new era of patriotism when newly minted lawyers spurn a briefcase for an M-16 and head to Afghanistan with their unit.

~~John Cronin~~

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090228/ts_alt_afp/usmilitaryafghanistanmarines

QUANTICO, Virginia (AFP) – The young officers in the US Marines sent here to prepare to lead troops into combat say they are eager for duty in Afghanistan, the war that President Barack Obama has made his priority.

“I am sure everyone will go there sooner or later,” said Lieutenant Steven Morris, 34, clad in desert camouflage as he watched his fellow marines warm up in the morning cold before combat training.

Obama, calling Afghanistan the central front in the fight against terrorism rather than Iraq, has approved the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to take on Taliban insurgents, including 8,000 marines.

“The amount of combat decreased in Iraq and that’s a good news story,” said Colonel George Smith, commander of “The Basic School” for marine officers in Quantico, Virginia.

“I think the marines want to go where the fight occurs. There is going to be more fighting in Afghanistan than there currently is in Iraq,” Smith said.

Every new marine officer passes through the elite Quantico school, and after six months of intensive training they take command of a 50-member platoon.

Behind the colonel, on a dry stretch of ground dotted with old tanks and plastic targets riddled with bullet holes, dozens of marines rehearse an attack on an “enemy” force amid the clatter of simulated gun and mortar fire.

“Our training remains the same whether they are going to Iraq or Afghanistan, or any part of the world,” said the colonel, citing the traditional focus on weapons, tactics and leadership.

“The fundamentals remain the same,” he said.

Once they finish at Quantico, the marines undertake training more tailored for their next destination: counter-insurgency warfare in the mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Iraq.

Lieutenant Paul Rivera Perez, after 10 years in the corps, has already seen action in Iraq, but “Afghanistan is where I want to go.”

And he added with a smile, “I like the medal” awarded to Afghan veterans.

Whether motivated by the September 11 attacks or the need for a secure job amid a dire economic crisis, a wave of volunteers are applying to join up with the marines and the other armed services.
In January alone, 3,720 young Americans enlisted in the US Marines, 300 more than the corps hoped to recruit.

“I fully anticipate to be deployed,” said Peter Metzger, a former lawyer and now a marine lieutenant, wearing a bullet-proof vest over his uniform.

After Metzger got his law degree, he expected to be in the courtroom working on trials.

“It turned out that I was in an office, writing briefs for federal court or for partners,” he said.
“Every night, I was watching the news, seeing people who would make a real sacrifice for their country. It was important for me to be part of my generation’s effort. So I called a marine recruiter.”

After they finish their simulated combat, the officers move on to martial arts. The marine version is a menacing mix of several disciplines, using knives, guns, clubs and bare hands.

Four black-belt instructors offer an intimidating demonstration — thrusting knives just millimeters from the face. In the flash of a second, an opponent is disarmed and thrown to the ground.
The marines at the Basic School are ready for Afghanistan, said spokesman Commander Jeffrey Landis.

“Marines are not necessarily designed for sustaining a transitional operation,” Landis said, a reference to Iraq where about 20,000 marines are stationed in the relatively peaceful province of Al-Anbar.

“We are more designed for routing an insurgency. So by design the Marine Corps is a better fit for what’s going on Afghanistan.

“Stabilization efforts are more of an Army thing.”

There is a great tradition of good-natured kidding that goes on between the military services as many of you know, especially you veterans. It is in this tradition of friendly rivalry between the military branches that I post the following retort……

“The U.S. Army….making the world safe for democracy. The U.S. Marines….making the world safe for the U.S. Army.”

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Here is a video that was brought to my attention by my son Pat, who will go to Quantico, Virginia this May to attend OCS. This is the screening process for the young men and women who have made it through a whole series of screens to get as far as they have. Several of Pat’s buddies who started the process a little earlier than he did are already at Quantico.

The motto of the Marine’s Officer Candidate School is “Ductus Exemplo,” “Leadership by example.” The goal of OCS is to train, screen and evaluate officer candidates for commissioning in the United States Marine Corps.

I know we are all very proud of our military personnel and the sacrifices they make to serve their country. Best wishes to Pat and all the candidates from the St. Louis OSO as well as the other Marine Officer Selection stations around the country.
~~John Cronin~~

Editor’s Note: [This video is from the YouTube site and the video is not in sync. The voices do not always match up with the faces on screen. If you would like to view the original video, please go to WWW.OCS.USMC.MIL]

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