All The "Official" Stuff

Welcome one and all! This being the first post, I need to lay down a few guidelines, ground rules and explain what all's going on here. New readers ought to come here and read this.

First and foremost: I am a copycat. My brother had a blog while he was deployed, and it worked remarkably well for him to reach the wide audience of our family and friends. It was easier than mass emails, and allowed for remarkably witty banter. That said, since it's now my turn to go to Iraq, this is the blog.

Everyone needs to know this very important fact: I am an Army Officer. This means there is all sorts of stuff I can't post. As I don't believe in reprinting Army Regulations in my prose, go to Google and type in "OPSEC" and read about it (or go here). Having said that, thinking that I represent the Army's opinion on anything is like assuming a penguin speaks for whatever zoo he or she lives in: it's patently ridiculous. But, people being people, if anyone wants to think I speak for the Army, go ahead - you've been told. I don't, but folks tend to believe what they want to believe. Which brings me to my third item.

My background. This is the disclaimer, which means if anyone doesn't like what I write, go somewhere else (I suggest Craig's List "Best Of", which I find amusing). I am a (relatively) orthodox Roman Catholic and actually agree with Holy Mother The Church on many points. I am willing to discuss them academically, but that's my limit. I am, thanks to my Dad, on the right side of moderate in a political sense. Thanks to Dad, I have a healthy DISrespect for the mainstream media. These two points mean that quoting the NYT, WAPO or CNN here is a bad idea. Moreover, trying to quote death counts to me isn't kosher either. I know the stats and know that the war we are fighting in Iraq has both a KIA and WIA count that's far, far, far lower than any other conflict we've fought, regardless of the drivel the mainstream media is trying to feed us. Oh, and I have a rough sense of humor, if you haven't noticed.

Last item: I chose the Profession of Arms willingly. I do not consider myself a victim for being deployed. In fact, I've been wanting to go ever since I called a buddy of mine and notified him he was going to Afghanistan four years ago. Based on feedback I've received, I'd like to think I'm a halfway decent Officer. That being said, I could care less why we're in Iraq. We are, and that's that. I'm more than willing to discuss it academically, but this is not the forum to rant about "Dubya" or rave about what the Democrats think they're going to do if they get elected next year- or vice versa. We're there now and it is what it is.

Enjoy!