Beware!!!!!<br><br><br>&gt;&gt; Here's the latest news out of Washington ...<br>&gt;&gt;<br>&gt;&gt;The Bush administration announced today it will seek congressional approval and United Nations backing for a pre-emptive attack on Norway Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters the CIA has learned that Norway has been stockpiling a weapon of mass destruction, a mysterious substance called &quot;lutefisk.&quot;As we understand it, Norway has been preparing this material in barrels filled with lye and storing it in stockpiles throughout the country both in urban and rural settings,&quot; said Condoleeza &quot;Wild&quot; Rice, national security adviser.Secretary of State Colin Powell said President Bush will address the United Nations next week, laying down conditions that must be met by the Scandinavian country to avoid a pre-emptive attack, possibly before the Christmas holidays.<br><br>&quot;This is simply an extension of the Bush Doctrine, in which it is the policy of the U.S. to identify threats around the globe and get them before they get us,&quot; Powell said. Lutefisk is a substance virtually unheard of in Washington and on the Eastern Seaboard, but is said to be common in certain parts of the Midwest.<br>The FBI branch office in Minneapolis has been alerted to watch for signs of lutefisk production in that region. In Oslo, Norwegian Foreign Minister Trigve Trondheim was defiant upon hearing of the threatened attack by the United States unless Norway agrees to allow U.N. inspectors free reign throughout the country. There is certainly no need to allow inspectors into King Harald's palace or country estates, Trondheim asserted. &quot;Why would we hide lutefisk there?&quot; he asked, shifting his eyes. Experts on the substance disagree on its volatility but most admit it can have widespread deleterious effects on entire populations exposed to it.<br><br>The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta acknowledged it is &quot;playing catch-up ball&quot; where lutefisk is concerned, but CDA director Dr. Ralph Macabre warned that any substance stored in lye should be regarded as extremely dangerous. In a brief statement yesterday in the White House Rose Garden, President George W. Bush asserted that the United States will never stand idly by when substances of potential mass destruction are being produced anywhere. &quot;These evildoers are bent on infecting the entire U.S. population with this dangerous substance,&quot; the president said.<br><br>&quot;Unless United Nations inspectors are allowed to determine the extent of lutefisk production in Norway, it is my duty as commander-in-chief of the armed forces to send our brave servicemen and women to Norway to root out sources of lutefisk and destroy them. &quot;Bush said any attack must take place before the Christmas holiday season &quot;when the threat is greatest.<br><br>&quot;U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, when asked about the peril said, &quot;Where's Norway? &quot;Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota noted he is from a part of the country where lutefisk infestations have broken out in the past, often in December.<br><br>&quot;We've got to act fast&quot;,Daschle told reporters, &quot;or millions of Americans could suffer&quot;. Meanwhile, the government was preparing to upgrade its fruitcake warning.

 

could part of the problem in searching ===been this??

 

Funny how the guy with a Ranger tab opted not to wair his Beret.

 

[quote author=Redleg link=board=10;threadid=7891;start=0#76262 date=1039136572]<br>Funny how the guy with a Ranger tab opted not to wair his Beret.<br>[/quote]<br> I wouldn't either if I were still in. Take the black beret away from the Rangers and give it to the Regular army was a major discrace. The nameless clod who enacted this deed is well known by me, and no doubt did it so he could finally wear one. grrrrrrrrrr<br>

 

Yeah, they could have left the Rangers alone with black, and went with colors to match their branch if they had to have them.

 

Boy, talk about a hijacked thread. BUT, you guys are absolutely right. My son says so and that's good enough for me. <br><br>~Dave

 

I agree with the &quot;cannon cocker&quot; about having the beret color matching your branch.<br>I wore a black beret 30 years ago and was proud to wear it, along with my beard. The Rangers should have kept their hats. Oh well, that decision was made at a much higher level than I'm at. After all, it is now an Army of one, ME. Glad I can hang my hat up in 1 year, 1 month, and 2 days. 34 years is long enough.

 

Shortround, Man, I salute you. That's alot of years. Few outside our little fraternity of men know the stress and consequences of such service to our country. But, buried in there somewhere were some good times. Hey, when the time comes for your final day of duty, remind us so we can send a toast your way.<br><br>~Dave

 

Dave,<br>Went in the Navy 21 Sep, 68. Elected to go advanced electronics to stay out of Vietnam and only had to spend 38 months in the WestPac Operations Area. The rest of the time was spent in submarines.<br>Left the Navy in May '78 and been full time with the Army National Guard since then. It's been good to me and I've still got mixed feelings about retiring. If things work out the way I want, I'll stay till my MRD. If not, no sweat.<br>I guess I'm kinda at a burnout point. Our leadership today, for the most part, consists of a bunch of recruiting poster boys that couldn't find their rear with a bass fiddle and a strip map. They look good in uniform, but their technicial and tactical knowledge leaves a lot to be desired. I'm afraid that, when and if we have to take these kids into battle, they are going to get a bunch of them killed for nothing more that a bit of self recognition. In the old days, if you didn't perform, you were sh** canned, pure and simple. However, today the emphasis is education and not ability. How the times change.<br>Don't want to get on the soap box so I'm quitting here.<br><br>Bruce

 

I concur whole heartedly. The Me generation has things all backward. Had a kid show me his &quot;Stress Card&quot; that they gave out in bootcamp a while back, because I was knee deep in his ... I couldn't believe it. I ate it and he cleaned up after my &quot;Hard Chargers&quot; until he got the point.<br><br>PISTOL<br><br>

 

So, you were my replacement. I got out of the Navy in '67. Today it's a pushbutton concept. They seem to forget that battles are won in the trenches. I can understand the need for all the super dooper fancy gizmos but when the EMP hits, you'd better have a very basic rifle and knife handy. Every conflict (notice, we don't have wars anymore, they're conflicts) start out this way. We still need old war horses like you to lead the way. Maybe the Air Force is starting to think of that. A recent AF Retiree newsletter mentioned that the AF was looking for a few good recent retirees to come back in for awhile. Hey Top, whats your retirement date? Maybe there's hope for you yet. Me, I'm too far back. I'll join the home guard. Just like my Grandfather back in WWII.

 

PW,<br>Eons ago when I was just a little tadpole, I asked an old EOD Chief what was the point in our utilities being ironed and boots being polished when we were supposed to be training for combat and not a parade. He punched me square in the running lights, breaking my nose. As I lay on the grinder with blood running down my blouse, he informed me that it was &quot;to see how long it would take for someone to seperate the reality from the BS.&quot;<br>We actually had individuals that could not bring themselves to question that reasoning. Those that asked the same thing I did got to have a couple extra hours of sleep, 'cause the chief cared only about the utilities being serviceable and the boots blacked. The old chief was good. He focused on nothing but mission accomplishment, everything else was eyewash.<br>I look back fondly at my old four deuce mortar platoon. In garrison, they were such a ragtag bunch of misfits they made Kelly's Heros look squared away. We could do more with three guns than any other platoon could with four. We maxed all of our ARTEP's. One thing the old man could rely on was when he needed steel on target, it was there, it was quick, and it was effective. He could also plan on having to shell out a couple hundred bucks getting us out of the clutches of the law when they unwound a bit. Not a one of the platoon had to go up in front of him.<br>Now instead of a bit of behind the building counciling to get things put in the proper prospective, I've got a briefcase full of forms and stress cards, along with my blood pressure pills.<br>Just remember &quot;Ignorance can be cured, but stupid is forever.&quot;<br><br>Shortround out

 

They have so completely lost the concept that their number 1 weapon is still the foot soldier, I can't tell you the number of soldiers I saw in Desert Storm who were putting tape on the vent holes of their jungle boots to try to keep out the sand
How hard can it be to understand that your foot soldiers need Boots!. Spend millions on high tech pretty stuff that brings in extra jobs to your congressmans district, but send your most valuable resource &quot; YOUR CHILDREN&quot; off to war in the desert with boots made for a jungle battle 30 years earlier!.
I picked the boots as an illustration everyone could relate to, but sadly the boots were just a drop in the barrel compared to other more pressing needs that were bungled even worse.
I could go on about this forever, but the bottom line is we need to tell our leaders to get off their butts and get it right!. Either give them what they need or forget it and stay home!.

 

Top, Shortround, you guys just don't understand. Nobody but you and I care about the troops. The only thing a troop can do for some special interest or congressman is provide a place to put 'em, i.e. base, fort or installation. Now, if we can land that contract to build a second generation tank or a super dooper, fly off any airfield, in any weather and off carriers as well as dirt fields aircraft in my district, now you're talking. If you could clean up the system, it would grind to a halt because there's no one around except for very few who know how to take it to the enemy, personally. Just laze the target, let the fighter/bomber fly in at 500 knots, drop ordinance, back to the club in time for beer call. AFTER all the forms are filled out, all the squares filled and the circles colored in, visiting hoohaw given his dog and pony show. Enough of this. I thought it was a good joke for invading Norway. My Norwegian friends got a laugh. They said the first thing they'd do is apply for reconstruction aid and be better off than ever before.<br><br>~Dave