Inches Away from Sanity

Herman Cain Gives the Tea Party's Response to the SOTU address -link

2012-01-27T11:33:00.001-06:00

http://www.necn.com/01/25/12/Herman-Cain-We-did-not-hear-the-real-fac/landing_politics.html?blockID=637716&feedID=4212&qv=1

Navy SEAL Post - the Oldest FrogMan

2012-01-25T14:26:00.000-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Post!

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall,

Who's the Fairest, but Mature FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way, of course!) of All?

(sound of mirror cracking)

Geesh, everyone's younger than I am today!

I am so depressed, because today is my bi-centennial birthday and I am feeling so old!

(sound of cell ringtone "Who Let the Frogs Out")

Hey wait a minute got to answer this call.

(Really, you don't say? OK, you did say. That's amazing. Gotta go now, I'm writing a post now. Call you tonight. Bye.)

Em, Hummm, sorry about that.

I just spoke with one of the Tadpoles, and she said something very sweet about being the Oldest FrogHog on the Web. And really it made my day.

Peachy said "It can be an honor being so horribly old, just like you. When you are not hung over and are still feeling depressed about your advanced age just remember....."

Well, if I can just remember what the end of her message was about, I'd be happier still.

Ummm, I think I remembered!

Yep, knock on wood, (sound of mouse hitting the FrogHog's Head). Ouch! Where was I???

Oh, yeah, I was remembering what an honor it is to be the Oldest.

And in honor of that thought, I remembered the honorable Don Lumsden. And Guess what, he's turning a year older, just a day after my birthday. The best part is that he's older than me! And can't say that about many people.

So,it is my honor to post this story about him below. From this link
http://www.navysealmuseum.com/news.php?id=21

Don Lumsden of Englewood, Fla. oldest living Frogman in U.S.A.

Don Moore's - War Tales

Borneo, Brunei Bay, Frogman, Iwo Jima, James Forrestal, Nagasaki, Okinawa, UDT
Don Lumsden of Englewood, Fla. oldest living “Frogman” in U.S.A.

In Bronze Star, U.S. Navy, World War II on January 11, 2012 at 4:38 am

Former Lt. j.g. Don Lumsden of Boca Royale, Englewood, Fla. is pictured off Borneo in the South Pacific during World War II. He was a "Frogman" returning from a reconnoiter of the Japanese-held island. Photo provided

At 90 Don Lumsden of Boca Royale subdivision in Englewood, Fla. has the distinction of being the oldest living “Frogman” in the United States of America. He learned about this honor a few days ago from Mike Howard, Director of the Seal Museum in Fort Pierce, Fla.

“He called me the other day and told me, ‘A group of us were trying to figure out who was the oldest ‘Frogman’. It didn’t take us long to figure out it was you,’” Lumsden said.

He joined the Navy in 1943 while attending Northeastern University in New Hampshire. After Naval officers training, Lumsden wound up in Fort Pierce and became a “Frogman” all because he was a good swimmer.

The training was brief and tough. Those who graduated took a boat to Maui, Hawaii for advanced training. After graduation his group became Underwater Demolition Team 11.

Almost immediately they were part of the invasion fleet for the Battle of Iwo Jima. Lumsden and his fellow “Frogmen” hit the beach at Iwo to check for underwater obstacles and water depth before the Marines went ashore.

Lumsden holds the flippers, mask and knife he used during the invasions of Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Borneo when he served as a "Frogman" in World War II. Sun photo by Don Moore

During the Tarawa invasion earlier, Marines hadn’t surveyed the landing beach before they invaded. As a consequence, they paid for it with the lives of scores of dead “Leathernecks” who drowned when they stepped off their landing crafts into deep water, or their boats hit submerged obstacles. After the Tarawa fiasco all invasion beaches were inspected by UDT teams before the assault.

With nothing more than a pair of flippers, a mask, a knife and some explosives, Lumsden and his fellow “Frogmen” were dropped two-miles off the beach and told to reconnoiter and clear the way for the invasion force.

During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was hurt when the explosive they were using unexpectedly detonated injuring several in the advanced party. Lumsden recovered in time to take part in the Okinawa invasion, the largest island battle in the Pacific during World War II.

However, it was the island of Borneo, his third landing, he remembers best.

“Our explosives were in haversacks. They were in sticks with fuses sticking out the top. Our job was to put a stick around each piling obstruction the Japanese had buried along the shore to stop the Allied landing craft from coming ashore,” Lumsden recalled.

Each charge was connected to a single cord attached to a detonator they hooked up off shore on the way back to their ship. Once they blew up the Japanese beach obstructions the “Frogmen” were picked up as they bobbed in the sea by a high speed boat.

“The first night off Borneo, after we had gone ashore and checked out the beach we had to meet with MacArthur and brief him on what we had discovered about the landing beach.” Lumsden said six decades later. “Here I am telling the greatest general in the whole world he should change his invasion plans based on what we had discovered about the beach, and he did.

“He was so polite and he didn’t talk down to me. I was so amazed how MacArthur acted I haven’t gotten over it til this day.”

Lumsden received a Bronze Star for clearing obstacles from the invasion beach at Borneo and providing the Supreme Allied Commander in the South Pacific details about the condition of the shoreline.

His commendation reads in part:

“The President of he United States takes pleasure in presenting Lt. j.g. Donald James Lumsden, USN Reserve, the Bronze Star for his heroic accomplishments as Section Leader during the invasion of Balikpapan, Borneo, June 26 to 30, 1945.

“For the President
“James Forrestal
“Secretary of the Navy”

In 1989 Lumsden and his wife, Brenda, moved to Boca Royale to retire.

Lumsden’s File

Name: Donald James Lumsden
D.O.B: 26 Jan. 1922
Hometown: Brighton, Mass.
Currently: Englewood, Fla.
Entered Service: 1 July 1943
Discharged: 12 June 1946
Rank: Lieutenant j.g.
Unit: Underwater Demolition Team 11
Commendations: Bronze Star with V for Valor, Philippine Liberation Medal with one Battle Star, American Theatre Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon with 3 Battle Stars, World War II Victory Ribbon
Battles/Campaigns: Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Borneo

The Glorious World of Next Tuesday Defined - the People Cube on Obama's SOTU speech- link

2012-01-25T07:13:00.002-06:00

They got it right

"If he was president for 100 years and took every penny from us and had the government make all our decisions for us top down Iron Fist syle like in the old Soviet Union, he would still give the same exact speech because these problems would still be with us. We would just be a lot poorer. And 100 years older. "

link
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/the-glorious-world-of-next-tuesday-defined-t8336.html

For a Very Good Laugh today about Last Night's the SOTU Address

2012-01-25T06:22:00.004-06:00

Read the comments on Weasel Zippers-(they were live during the speech) Amazing, I read them after the speech and my family asked why I was laughing so hard. it gets really good right in the middle.
Here's the link- http://weaselzippers.us/2012/01/24/live-thread-state-of-the-union-address/

Thought for today- keep it posted

2012-01-24T09:40:00.001-06:00

The SOCOM Psyop App

2012-01-20T08:04:00.001-06:00

Don't know about getting this app Special Forces Get Social in in New Psychological Operation Plan Maybe I'll just "like"it.

The Bark Side 2012 Volkwagon Game Day Commercial Teaser- video

2012-01-20T06:22:00.001-06:00

I am ..... speechless-LOL, next waiting for the movie trailer intro video below

Crash the Superbowl 2012= Doritos Commercials- The Finalist

2012-01-18T17:27:00.001-06:00

This one got my vote- 3 Wild Girls- just becacuse my DD plays with Seri and it is so true. (smartphone joke)

I can't get the embed for the video, so here's the link to pop over, and I know once you're there, you'll waste countless hours in the gallery watching the commercials.

I also like this one- the Cat Attack.

Hitler Rants about SOPA and PIPA Video

2012-01-18T12:48:00.000-06:00

the video below

Navy SEAL Post - Team One Celebrates 50 Years- the Party!!!

2012-01-18T01:34:00.003-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Post!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way, of course!) wants it to be Friday the 13th for another week!

Why?

Well last Friday was the celebration of the commissioning of SEAL Team One. That's why! And I what to keep the HooYah going, and going, and going, just like the energizer frog.

Below is something about the celebration zone from the base in Coronado CA and this link:

http://coronadocommonsense.typepad.com/coronado_common_sense/2012/01/naval-special-warfare-commemorates-50th-anniversary.html
-------------------------------------------------------------

January 13, at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, distinguished guests joined with personnel, past and present, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Naval Special Warfare Community.

20120113-N-EC992-007 Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Retired members of the Naval Special Warfare community, to include Rear Adm. George Worthington (center) and Rear Adm. Cathal "Irish" Flynn (right), came together during the 50th anniversary celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado to commemorate the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Luke J. Perry)

Hosted by SEAL Team ONE, the ceremony recognized 50 years of dedication and selfless service that members of the Naval Special Warfare community have volunteered to their country. Capt. Collin P. Green, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, gave the opening remarks and shared his thoughts about this prestigious organization.

"I haven't felt like a new guy in a long time, and I'm just hoping that nobody makes me go get wet," said a smiling Green. "It's great to be together as a family to celebrate such a significant milestone in our history, and it is a real honor to be up here in front of so many distinguished Naval Special Warfare operators."

"Let today be a catalyst for us to rededicate ourselves to learning more about the individuals here today and the events that populate the chapters of our great history. Take the time today to meet the forefathers of Naval Special Warfare."

Green introduced Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Mike Thornton, who shared his memories of his teammates and his life as a Navy SEAL, "One thing I do know about the Teams of yesterday and the Teams of today is that we don't go to battle for accolades or for medals. We go to battle for the greatest nation in the world. We go to battle for the man on the right of us and the man on the left of us, we go for the man in front of us and the man behind us - our comrades-in-arms. We go to battle for each other because we want to sustain freedom as we know it, and we want to sustain that same freedom for the future of America."

Coronado, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2012) Mike Thornton, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and past member of SEAL Team ONE, shares his experiences about being a SEAL during Naval Special Warfare's infancy at the 50th anniversary celebration held at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. The ceremony commemorated the Jan. 1, 1962, establishment of SEAL Teams ONE and TWO. Over the course of fifty years, the SEAL Teams have grown from 2 teams with 20 Officers and 100 Enlisted Sailors to 10 teams with 600 Officers and 1,900 Enlisted Sailors. (US Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor)

To commemorate this day, former SEAL Team ONE veterans and Vietnam Veterans, Mr. Louis Mcintosh and Mr. Phillip "Moki" Martin, presented a plaque showcasing the history of SEAL Team ONE to Rear Adm. Pybus.

"When you think about 50 years and a unit like SEAL Team ONE that has done so many things, I am just in awe of what we have accomplished," said Martin. "I've watched these young guys today, and I see where they are in terms of how they train, how they are equipped, and what they are doing. I'll tell you that they have come a long way, but I sure am glad that I was part of the path that led them to this point."

"I saw a lot of good friends (today), some of which I haven't seen for over 40 years. The ceremony was a good time. It was a good, emotional time, but it was certainly a good time."

Another "Ask a Navy SEAL Night" on FB;s SEAL of Honor

2012-01-12T14:24:00.000-06:00

If you have a FB page and want to ask a Navy SEAL a question-, it is "Ask a SEAL Night" tonight on the SEAL of Honor page. Who know he just might answer LOL (well he did answer mine a while back... nope opsec and all)

go to this link https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seal-of-Honor/182249954768 and post a question

Navy SEAL Post -Boehm's List for Selecting SEALs

2012-01-11T01:38:00.002-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Post!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way, of course!) received a fantastic email today.

It said that "You have been selected to receive a $20,000 in prize money. To collect your prize, just forward your bank account number and the money will be transferred into your account within 24 hours. This is NOT a scam or a joke. Act now!!!!"

Well, after some thought (about 1 second) I selected that email to be dumped in the SPAM folder.

You know, almost daily this week I am being selected to :take a survey, take a quiz, give my opinion, open a new bank account, get a new credit card, join a Cougar club, etc.

Except for that Cougar Club thing, I often wonder why I am so lucky to be "selected". Could it be that I am such a good consumer and Credit risk? Nah, that was the other Oldest FrogHog on the Web, not me. So what gives? I'm not special in anyway from that other FrogHog. This is beginning to get on my nerves, I tell yah!

With all these thoughts of being selected and all the sounds of the clicking of the emails being dumped into the SPAM file, I got to thinking about how the first SEALs in SEAL Team 2, were selected. How did it all begin?

Why, am I thinking about Navy SEALs and being selected?

Because it is Wednesday, and I am always thinking about Navy SEAL Teams, that's why. And oh, it is the beginning of the New year and time to select a good post to start off 2012, the Year of the Navy SEAL. .

So let's start before the TEAMs were commissioned, with the posting of the below.

>From the book "First SEAL" by Roy Boehm and Charles W Sasser

For the selection of the First SEAL Team Two
"Hamilton gave me a compliment of 10 officers and 50 enlisted. I devised a rough guide for selecting names. My men, I decided should be:
Adept at all the skills, the more the better,
Versatile and be a volunteer,
Actors capable of playing any role convincingly,
Strong of character. I preferred sinners, Sinners could be relied on. Saints could often rationalize dog turds in a drinking fountain.
Able to preform.
Loyal with a sense of obligation
Deeply devoted to duty and team
Mission oriented
Drug Free
Quick to Learn
Streetwise
Capable of making friends, not loners
Free of overwhelming personal problems.
To help me determine which potential applicants met these criteria. I jotted down a list of questions to ask them nd my self about them:
What are his strongest /weakest traits?
What is his philosophy on life?
What does he read?
Do I like/dislike him? Why?
How does he handle his liquor?
What is his psychological motivation?
What/who does he fear? Why? Are his fears a liability? Can he control them? Can he conquer them?
Will he kick ass and take names? To hell with the names,
Is he more apt to say "go" than "no go"? Does he have a "We ain't refused a job yet, why start now" attitude?
Finally, would he react to a kill without hesitation? Could he forget the inbred fair play bullshit that could get him killed? Could I train that out of him?

I reported back to Bill Hamilton with a list of names I was considering from among the UDT. The officers were all young junior officers, lieutenants (jg) and ensigns. The highest ranking among them, John Callahan, was only a lieutenant who would eventually be our commanding officer. In the meantime, however, I was in charge.
For Operations officer, I figured Lt (jg) Dante Stephenson. Dante considered himself an intellectual, but had the bad, bad loaded-gun-with-hair-trigger streak I could use if I could control it. Then there was "Tex" Hager, George Doran, Dave Graveson, Jose Taylor... I wanted a cross section of the best, men more oriented than career oriented. many of them were like me, LDOs-so-called Limited Duty Officers, mustangs who had worked their way up through the enlisted ranks. Special Warfare was like the kiss of death to an officer's career in these early stage of its inception.
From the enlisted rank, I chose tried warriors whom I knew personally as good operators. Harry Dick "Lump Lum" Williams, of course. Louis "Hoss" Kucinski, "Leg" Martin, James Tipton, Rudy Boesch... Hamiliton promised I could get anyone I wanted. The best storekeeper and cumshaw artist in the U.S. navy, who could acquire anything you needed or wanted, was Hoot Andrews, then working for Admiral Rickover with a Presidential Priority One. I put in a request for him.
UDT's Special Operations Force looked formidable, on paper, when I presented it to Lt. Comdr. Hamilton . He went down the list, repeating a name here and there. He lifted a chiseled eyebrow,
"Rogues," he commented.
"These are the caliber people I want for what we're asking them to do. I don't want Jack Armstrong All-American types who'll say, 'Yessir, nosir, 2 bags full, anything you say, sir.' I want sonsofbitches who can and will think for themselves and will get a job done no matter what. We might not win popularity contests-but we'll be capable. I'm here to fight like hell for what I do want."
"That's one of the reasons you were chosen, Lieutenant Boehm."
He suddenly sat up straight. "make it happen." he said. "Start pulling out these men and training them the way you want. When the time comes for the unit to be activated, you'll get them." He hesitated. "Lieutenant, work fast, I don't know how much time we have."'
I think that Boehm had some great ideas and was off to a good start!

Canadian Man Uses Ipad to Enter U.S.- link

2012-01-04T08:19:00.001-06:00

Hope he keeps the battery charged-LOL

http://www2.tbo.com/news/offbeat/2012/jan/03/canadian-man-uses-ipad-to-enter-us-ar-343314/

2012 Year of the Navy SEALs and list of 2011 Navy SEAL posts

2012-01-04T00:00:00.003-06:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a 50th Anniversary of the Commissioning of the Navy SEAL Post!

Doing the 50 , Yeah 50 Jumping Jacks for the Navy SEALs. (If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you..More like doing 50 shots, instead.)

Yes, 50 years ago, on January 1st in 1962, the Navy SEALs were Commissioned.

So Happy HooYah 50th Birthday Navy SEALs! You're getting better with each passing year and sure don't look your age.

And as the Official Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way, of course!) I am declaring "2012 the Year of the Navy SEALs. "

After all that exercise and doing shots, sit a while and relax with me by reading some of the Jump the Hump Day Navy SEAL Posts from 2011. (You know you want to re-read that one about...)

Feb    08 - Help Justin Legg and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Save Lives
Feb    16 - A Couple of Quiet Professionals
Feb    23 - Bubba Goes SEALing
Mar   16 - Zombie-time
Mar   21 - Extra Post Attn Navy SEAL Team Guys ST1 Needs your help
Mar   23 - Raising the Bar Funds Video by FrogHog Productions
Mar   30 - Welcom Home Vietnam Veterans Day
Apr   06 - Relax and Go Alpha
Apr   13 - Cool Poster Link
Apr   13 - Extra Justin Legg a Love Story
Apr   15 - Extra Debbie Lee Mother of Fallen SEAL Marc Lee Needs Your Help
Apr   20 - The Heart and the Fist book by Eric Greitens
Apr   27 - Blowing In the Wind
May      - Navy SEALs Take Down Bin Laden Stuff-HooYah!
May 02 - Tweetiing Live About the Attack
             - Watch Some Video on the Raid and Firefight
             - Sea Pollution UBL Buried at Sea
             - President Bush On Bin Laden Kill
             - Hitler Hears The news That Bin Laden Is Killed -Hitler Rants video
             - US Navy Chaplins On the Bin Laden Death
             - Updated FBI Poster
             - The Last Thing Going Through Bin Laden's Mind
             - A Good FB Post on Bin Laden
             - A Navy SEAL Mother's Prayer
             - A Message From My DD for Today-HooYah's and Normal Moms
             - Email From Debbie Lee-Mother of Fallen Navy SEAL Marc Lee
May   03- SEALs Party At McP's
              - SEALs As Intel Gatherers
              - Sign of the Times
              - The Two Words That Terrorists Fear Most
              - Speakers Up Cause You Might Not Ever Have Heard the National Anthem Sung Like This
May 04 - Something to Cheer About-Eric Greitens CBS Video on Lin Laden Kill
May 05 - Dogs Of War-on the Bin Laden Op
              - Sqaundering Our Victory By Froggy on Blackfive
              - Navy SEAL Bin Laden Joke and Others
              - Ask a SEAL night on the FB SEAL of Honor page
              - Justice is Tipped By Our Spear Cartoon
              - The Best Advice From Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell
May 06 - Watch the Christening of the USS Michael Murphy
May  09 - Latest Bin Laden Video Posted from Hell
May 14 - Disney Wants To TradeMark SEAL Team 6
              - Some SEAL Cartoons

Jump the Hump Day Posts Continued Below
May 11 - the Sound of Silence
May 18 - If You Saw Bin Laden, Here's What You Could Do
May  25 - Medal of Honor Video
June 01 - It's Graduation time.
June 08 - How to Earn Your Trident
June 22 - Tadpole Jeopardy Video..**Voted the most favorite rip-off of a TV show by the Tadpoles!
July 04 - Email from DebbieLee Mother of Fallen Navy SEAL Marc Lee
July 06 - SEALs at the Shedd
July 13 - Crossing the Line
July 20 - Picture This How to Draw Navy SEALs
Aug 01 - My Newest Logo
Aug 03 - Taking Care of Business
Aug 05 - Vote for Eric Greitens
Aug 06 - Condolences and Prayers for our Fallen SEALs-22 KIA in Afgahnistan
Aug 06 - Our SEALs, Our Neighbors
Aug 07 - Fly Your Flag Today to Honor Our Fallen SEALs
Aug 17 - Hats Off to Our Wounded Warriors
Sept 08 - He Is Ready for Some Football
Sept 11 -Getting-On With a Life Forever Changed
Sept 21 - Are You Prepared for the 50?
Sept 29 - Remembering Michael Monsoor Medal of Honor Recipient
Oct 12 - No Bull About Being the Oldest
Oct 31 - Navy SEALs on Halloween 1972
Nov 23 - Thanksgiving Day Navy SEAL Post
Dec 13 - Back dated- First SEAL
Dec 21 - 2011 Navy SEAL Christmas Card
Dec 28 - 50th Anniversary Coins

And if you're still in for more reading of Navy SEAL Posts
visit my 2010 List of Navy SEAL Posts.

Still around? Well go ahead er back to my 2009 List of Navy SEAL Posts.

Can't get enough of the stuff? Then venture into my 2008 List of Navy SEAL Posts

And then of course there is my 2007 List of Navy SEAL Posts to keep you busy for another few hours.

Good Post on Cutting the Defense Budget - link

2012-01-03T13:54:00.001-06:00

link -Our Brave New World
Love the sarcasm -Hope is NOT a strategy-LOL

Is this a joke or what? Columbia University Offers an OWS course-link

2012-01-03T13:48:00.002-06:00

High-er education at its best. And what does a student get, if he fails the course? OK, he gets a A as in US"A"- P"A"triot-LOL. Here's the link http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/columbia_offers_occupy_PKetTw1QSVVk23BllNN0DL

Navy SEALs- Like on FB "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday Page" - to Reach 5K!

2011-12-30T18:13:00.000-06:00

Link - https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Only-Easy-Day-Was-Yesterday-Making-Navy-SEALs/109210200864?sk=wall

A Little Late - But Here It is - The Digital Story of the Nativity " video

2011-12-29T12:17:00.002-06:00

Coin of the 50th Anniversary of the Commissioning of the Navy SEALs

2011-12-28T04:35:00.003-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!

Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is planning on going out to do a little post Christmas shopping today.

Let's see what I got to spend.

(Sound of rummaging in FROGOACH wallet)

Ummm, Nope, can't use my credit cards-maxed out.

Nope, the check book has only 1 check left (need it for the mortgage on Camp Frog for January 2012).

Nope, my ATM card doesn't work because I ruined it scraping ice off the FrogHog car windows.

Hey Cabana boy, can you loan me some cash? Whad'ya mean, I still owe you from the last loan?... Geesh, he does have a great memory to go with that great body....

There's got to be some money somewhere!!!!...I really need more of that "Do Me" lipstick for tonight...

(Sound of dumping FROGOACH purse over)

Hey, will you looky here at what I found- some coin!

Ok, your reading this post on the net, and can't look here on my floor, so I'll have to show you a pix of it below. (sound of snap from smart phone)

Now, let me see, where can I spend these babies.

I know! at the...Nah, these babies are worth their weight in gold!

Christmas History- First Media Report of Navity Story -humor- link

2011-12-27T15:01:00.001-06:00

From the People's Cube
http://thepeoplescube.com/current-truth/christmas-in-history-first-media-reports-of-nativity-story-t1658.html

The Secret of Big Bird - link

2011-12-27T14:05:00.000-06:00

Very well done,all those who worked on Big Bird !

"My name is Al Gayhart and I built spy satellites for a living,"

http://news.yahoo.com/decades-later-cold-war-secret-revealed-152207569.html

Doxie Dog Does 10 tricks in 1 minute- video link

2011-12-22T16:28:00.000-06:00

I thought this was so cute and the dog is also-LOL
http://www.dogwork.com/dachtrw8/

Santa Claus Plays "Jingle Bells" with the Colt 1911 -video

2011-12-22T06:30:00.001-06:00

Got it from a FB pal, read the comments also. Video below.

The 50 Best Political Quotes of 2011 - link

2011-12-21T17:41:00.000-06:00

The Star Wars Holiday Special -Video

2011-12-21T16:44:00.001-06:00

The things you find on the net when you aren't looking...LOL

video below

2011 Navy SEAL Christmas Card

2011-12-21T06:01:00.003-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!

Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing.
The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) noticed today's date, and Ker-rap, I haven't mailed any Christmas Cards.

It's too late for snail mail, so I sending my card via this post.

So from The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) and all my Tadpoles and Newbie Frogettes, here's our Holiday Card below:

To see the card from 2010 follow this link http://inchesawayfromsanity.blogspot.com/2010/12/navy-seal-post-it-in-cards.html

and to see the card from 2009 follow this link
http://inchesawayfromsanity.blogspot.com/2009/12/navy-seal-2009-2-more-days-christmas.html

Hey, Send a Postcard Out of this World- yeah to the Space Station

2011-12-20T13:42:00.001-06:00

follow the link to NASA postcards to the Space Station.

Navy SEAL Post -Roy Boehm- First SEAL- Backdated

2011-12-13T20:10:00.002-06:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!

Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing.
The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is very angry today.

Why?

Because one of the Tadpoles (she will get coal and frog poop in her stocking this year) changed back the dates on my calendar, cellphone, and Ipod to November. That's why!

Yeah, she thought it would be hilarious that I would miss important dates and happenings.
Maybe, just maybe, she did not want the competition from me when attending the annual Christmas bash at Frogsters bar. Whadya think?

And no, I didn't miss any of the action at Frogsters.

Why? Cause I'm always ready to roll in the..

Anyway, being backdated made me think about the beginning of the Navy SEALs. (Well, everything makes me think about Navy SEALs, because I have a one track mind.)

The orders for the official start up of the SEALs were backdated.

See the below for the whole story.

And it's my FIRST official start of the posts celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the commissioning of the Navy SEALs, on Jan 1, 1962. And it's from the First SEAL aka Roy Boehm.

From the book "First SEAL" by Roy Boehm and Charlie W Sasser.

"In December 1961, Lt Comdr Bill Hamiliton received orders transferring him out of UDT. I didn't know if his transfer meant the new unit was a go or would be put on hold. I waited, on edge. The program had to go. I just had to.

Finally, during the Christmas holidays, an old friend working in BUPERS, the Bureau of Personnel, telephoned me.

"Hey, asshole," he greeted. ""What in the MFing hell is a SEAL?"

"Furry little creature live in the ocean?"

"You'd damned well better find out for sure, ol' buddy. "Cause you are one now with a license to steal."

"No shit? When is this to take place?"

"Pretty damned soon. That's all I can say. I probably shouldn't have said anything to begin with. but giving you an outfit with a license to steal is going to land your ass in jail, sure as shit. I just wanted to say adieu before it happened."

On Jan 7, 1961, OPNAV made the decision. I didn't know who came up with the acronym SEAL-SEaAirLand-but I liked the concept of what it implied.

Backdated to 1 January the US Navy SEALs were commissioned into service as the Navy's answer to guerrilla warfare and the Army Special Forces in the Cold War. my sea warriors had become a reality.

I received orders as actin g commanding officer of SEAL Team Two on the East Coast, over a force of 10 officers and 50 enlisted whose names I had been carrying around for months, but who had been blindly undergoing training for an uspecified mission. SEAL Team One, under the command of Lt. Dave Del Guidice, would be implemented on the West Coast. Del Guidice didn't even have the names yet.

Roy Boehm, now promoted to full lieutenant, received the first SEAL orders. Roy Boehm, salty old sailor and WWII vet, former bos'n mate, was now acting commander of the very first SEAL team to be commissioned in the United States Navy.

Goddamn. The FIRST SEAL."

2011 Christmas Lights Video- Thank You Troops and Veterans!

2011-12-13T18:01:00.000-06:00

Found at Atlas Shrugs site

I wish they come to my Mall - Flash Mob does Christmas video

2011-12-13T07:32:00.001-06:00

RIP My FurBaby Barney

2011-12-10T23:55:00.001-06:00

Thank God for happy, noisy 13 year old girls.

Two friends visited my DD last night and one stayed overnight. They kept my mind off my troubles.

My 15 year old cat- Barney, had to be put to sleep today.

Maybe God knew I needed a distraction so that I won't go crazy with sorrow and worry over the cat.

He was not sick a day until the final illness that began a little over 2 weeks ago.

Now he is at peace and it is so quiet in the house.

But wait, there's the dog, Rosie giving kisses and my other cat, Kiki rubbing me and everything in sight.

RIP my fur baby, Barney we loved you a lot.

Craft Fair Table 2011

2011-12-10T18:24:00.001-06:00

Interesting Story About Why Men Having Long Hair is "Big Medicine"

2011-12-09T15:06:00.000-06:00

Stolen from a FB pal Jay. Wow- but what happens to bald men....no, no, don't go there.

from this link http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234783-The-Truth-About-Hair-and-Why-Indians-Would-Keep-Their-Hair-Long

The Truth About Hair and Why Indians Would Keep Their Hair Long
United Truth Seekers
Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:32 CDT

his information about hair has been hidden from the public since the Viet Nam War .

Our culture leads people to believe that hair style is a matter of personal preference, that hair style is a matter of fashion and/or convenience, and that how people wear their hair is simply a cosmetic issue. Back in the Vietnam war however, an entirely different picture emerged, one that has been carefully covered up and hidden from public view.

In the early nineties, Sally [name changed to protect privacy] was married to a licensed psychologist who worked at a VA Medical hospital. He worked with combat veterans with PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. Most of them had served in Vietnam.

Sally said, "I remember clearly an evening when my husband came back to our apartment on Doctor's Circle carrying a thick official looking folder in his hands. Inside were hundreds of pages of certain studies commissioned by the government. He was in shock from the contents. What he read in those documents completely changed his life. From that moment on my conservative middle of the road husband grew his hair and beard and never cut them again. What is more, the VA Medical center let him do it, and other very conservative men in the staff followed his example.

As I read the documents, I learned why. It seems that during the Vietnam War special forces in the war department had sent undercover experts to comb American Indian Reservations looking for talented scouts, for tough young men trained to move stealthily through rough terrain. They were especially looking for men with outstanding, almost supernatural, tracking abilities. Before being approached, these carefully selected men were extensively documented as experts in tracking and survival.

With the usual enticements, the well proven smooth phrases used to enroll new recruits, some of these Indian trackers were then enlisted. Once enlisted, an amazing thing happened. Whatever talents and skills they had possessed on the reservation seemed to mysteriously disappear, as recruit after recruit failed to perform as expected in the field.

Serious causalities and failures of performance led the government to contract expensive testing of these recruits, and this is what was found.

When questioned about their failure to perform as expected, the older recruits replied consistently that when they received their required military haircuts, they could no longer 'sense' the enemy, they could no longer access a 'sixth sense', their 'intuition' no longer was reliable, they couldn't 'read' subtle signs as well or access subtle extrasensory information.

So the testing institute recruited more Indian trackers, let them keep their long hair, and tested them in multiple areas. Then they would pair two men together who had received the same scores on all the tests. They would let one man in the pair keep his hair long, and gave the other man a military haircut. Then the two men retook the tests.

Time after time the man with long hair kept making high scores. Time after time, the man with the short hair failed the tests in which he had previously scored high scores.

Here is a Typical Test:

The recruit is sleeping out in the woods. An armed 'enemy' approaches the sleeping man. The long haired man is awakened out of his sleep by a strong sense of danger and gets away long before the enemy is close, long before any sounds from the approaching enemy are audible.

In another version of this test the long haired man senses an approach and somehow intuits that the enemy will perform a physical attack. He follows his 'sixth sense' and stays still, pretending to be sleeping, but quickly grabs the attacker and 'kills' him as the attacker reaches down to strangle him.

This same man, after having passed these and other tests, then received a military haircut and consistently failed these tests, and many other tests that he had previously passed.

So the document recommended that all Indian trackers be exempt from military haircuts. In fact, it required that trackers keep their hair long."

Comment:

The mammalian body has evolved over millions of years. Survival skills of human and animal at times seem almost supernatural. Science is constantly coming up with more discoveries about the amazing abilities of man and animal to survive. Each part of the body has highly sensitive work to perform for the survival and well being of the body as a whole.The body has a reason for every part of itself.

Hair is an extension of the nervous system, it can be correctly seen as exteriorized nerves, a type of highly evolved 'feelers' or 'antennae' that transmit vast amounts of important information to the brain stem, the limbic system, and the neocortex .

Not only does hair in people, including facial hair in men, provide an information highway reaching the brain, hair also emits energy, the electromagnetic energy emitted by the brain into the outer environment. This has been seen in Kirlian photography when a person is photographed with long hair and then rephotographed after the hair is cut.

When hair is cut, receiving and sending transmissions to and from the environment are greatly hampered. This results in numbing-out .

Cutting of hair is a contributing factor to unawareness of environmental distress in local ecosystems. It is also a contributing factor to insensitivity in relationships of all kinds. It contributes to sexual frustration.

Conclusion:

In searching for solutions for the distress in our world, it may be time for us to consider that many of our most basic assumptions about reality are in error. It may be that a major part of the solution is looking at us in the face each morning when we see ourselves in the mirror.

The story of Sampson and Delilah in the Bible has a lot of encoded truth to tell us. When Delilah cut Sampson's hair, the once undefeatable Sampson was defeated.

Reported by C. Young

Snipers- Yep, this about says it all

2011-12-05T18:03:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Day Navy SEAL Post

2011-11-23T05:22:00.001-06:00

It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

This week is Thanksgiving in the USA.
So, the Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is saying this early, that is, I'm saying a Thank You prayer.

"Thank you Dear Lord, for our freedom in the USA. We got it all here- the Opportunity to Succeed or fail. We have many rights that other country's citizens envy and long for. Please guide us to use these freedoms wisely."

This year, we've got a lot to be thankful about, and of course I'm going to mention a big Thank You to the "Red Men", the members of SEAL Team Six or DEVGRU.

Well done, in this year of triumph and tragedy. You got Bin Laden- mission accomplished, I salute you.

My salute is not to only the "Red Men" but to all the Navy SEALS.

So, the Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is upholding a long standing tradition. Yeah, I'm downing some toasts this Thanksgiving for the guys with the below:

First I'll start with a Bin Laden - 2 shots of Jack Daniels and a splash of water.

Since it all started with the UDT- the Underwater Demolition Teams, let's get it started with some UDT Frogster- 1/2 oz Light Rum (Bacardi)1/2 oz Gold Rum (Bacardi)1/2 oz Dark Rum (Meyer's)1/2 oz Grand Marnier1 oz Grapefruit Juice 1 oz Orange Juice 1 oz Pineapple Juice

And since Freddy is on the ST-5 patch, well it 5 down the hatch!

And after that let's drink to the youngin's, with a BUD/S- IBS on Your Head - 1 12 oz Vodka, Fill with water, and a SEA salt rim.

After that, I'll yell Geronimo and then drink one for mission accomplished

So with this, I'm having a little change in my latitude because I wanted to change my attitude by remembering my visit to one of my favorite sites in Florida- the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. So let's see if I can remember how to fix a FT. Pierce UDT-SEAL -Museum-1 oz bourbon, 1/2 oz triple sec, 1 oz sour mix and a dash of grenadine.

My final shot for the night is a shot of Navy SEAL- lots of tequila and lots of herbal liquor.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

I bet you didn't know this about 9-11 and Flight 93

2011-11-14T14:24:00.001-06:00

stole this link from my friend's board- The events of Sept. 11, 2001 put an F-16 pilot into the sky with orders to bring down United Flight 93

Justin Timberlake"s Blog about attending the Marine Corp Ball

2011-11-14T11:51:00.001-06:00

If he wrote this, he is a very good writer- link - http://www.justintimberlake.com/news/my_night_at_the_marine_corps_ball#ixzz1ddem9Cea

Thank you Veterans! Video link from Debbie Lee

2011-11-11T07:31:00.001-06:00

The Good Guys by Due South

YouTube Challenge - I Told MY Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy Video

2011-11-03T18:51:00.001-05:00

Jimmy Kimmel
video below

Navy SEALs on Halloween 1972

2011-10-31T00:00:00.016-05:00

HooYah!!
It's.... Halloween and
Not Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump EARLY
with a Navy SEAL Thing.

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is busy getting ready for the Halloween party at Froggy's tonight, so I am reposting a thing from a few year's past.

But before that...
Do you need a few ideas for this year's costume?

Well, check out the below from the US Navy SEAL Store

How to Make Your Own Navy SEALs Halloween Costume

This October, you can pick your spooky Halloween costume…or make your own ensemble for a change. You can try donning the Chucky-look or be less frightening but still fashionable.
What about you wear something combative?
Sounds interesting, isn’t it?
Just imagine yourself dressed up in camouflage uniform, bearing a real soldier’s posture complete with the military face paint. It’s either you get a military salute or approving nods from adoring denizens. If you’re convinced with the idea then you should start putting together your own Navy SEALs Halloween costume as early as now.
If you haven’t done a Halloween costume project before we will show you some ideas:

Rummage through closets or the attic for military-inspired items like old boots or camouflage jacket.
At one point you must have used a boonie hat as some fashion statement or as an accessory for your hunting hobby… get it out from somewhere and put it in good use for the Halloween.
If you play paintball you should have at least green face paint at your disposal.

These are the basic things you’ll need and you’re ready to act like true-blue military personnel. Easy and simple! Meanwhile, if you don’t mind spending a few bit you can always check US Navy SEAL Store’s Military Camouflage Costume for your complete set of Halloween costume. It’s affordable and comes in different sizes.

Me? What am I going as?   The Oldest FrogHog on the Web of course! It's about time I take off that witch's costume anyway-LOL

Repost below
__________________________________________________

I have a few Halloween traditions at Camp FrogHog. I dress up all in green (yeah that's Frog Green) and come as a Navy SHEAL. (SHEAL=My version of a female Navy SEAL-LOL.)

And then for the youngins who dare to knock at the door of Camp FrogHog, they are challenged to eat a frog. Yes! Eat a frog, before they can ~~escape~~ leave.

Ok, it is a chocolate frog..

As you can see, my Halloween is not very exciting, Just the normal Halloween fun. Harmless and not very scary.

So that's what I do on Halloween.

What are your plans for Halloween? Anything special?
No? Then how about starting a new Halloween tradition?

This tradition is about remembering a frightening TRUE story.
It is a story of bravery and courage. And it happened years ago in 1972 on Halloween.

It is from the book "Navy SEALs -A Complete History from WWII to the Present" by Kevin Dockery.

Read the entire story about what Happened on Halloween 1972 below, as recalled by Lt. Michael Thornton:

"That moving around made my 2nd tour of Vietnam a very interesting one, I had worked with a wide variety of men in the different units. But the Vietnam War was winding down for us: the US involvement in the war and combat operations was becoming less and less as more of the fighting was turned over to the South Vietnamese. By 1972, it was very hard to get in on a deployment to Vietnam, and I was part of one of the last SEAL platoons to go over there.

By September 6,1972, nearly all of the US combat troops had been pulled out of Vietnam. The only US serviceman still out in the field were advisers. The SEALs I was working with weren't down in the south of Vietnam, with IV Corps south of Saigon, our old stomping grounds. Instead, we were working in I Corps, operating in Quang Tre province, way up northeast of Hue City,. Our base was actually called Tuy Not, which was on the ocean.

Primarily, we were working with different units of the South Vietnamese LDNNs. We were providing them with advisors as well as whatever support we could bring to bear. We were basically doing recons and other intelligence gathering missions. The NVA was crossing the 38th parallel at the the time and we were providing some eyes-on Intel on their movements.

We were still trying to break up the infrastructure and intel-gathering means of the NVA forces as well as collect information on them. So we ran quite a few different operations, either eliminating enemy personnel or outright capturing the. And the info we gathered helped us set up bigger ops as well as developed targets for bombing missions, which were really running heavily at that time.

By the Fall of 1972, we were trying to see just how far south the infiltration of the NVA had reached in Quang Tre province. In the areas that we reconned, we found abandoned American tanks that had been given tot the South Vietnamese . These tanks were still full of fuel and ammo, fully capable of running and fighting. And they had just been left on the sides of the roads and trails. The NVA force that was sweeping down from the south was just overwhelming the South Vietnamese units in the field.

Higher command had planned a reconnaissance operation to come in by sea on a specific target area, the Cua Viet River base up in Quang Tre province. Our job was to do a recon of the base and gather all the Intel we possibly could.

Based on our info, an amphibious unit would come in to try and cut off logistical support to the rest of the NVA forces down south. With a stranglehold on the fastest NVA supply route to the south, Command and the South Vietnamese government were hoping to force a treaty onto the North Vietnamese and get our guys out of Hanoi, to free our POWS and being them home.

Ryan McCombe and William "Woody" Woodruff had originally been tapped to conduct the recon op up on the Cua Viet. But everyone kind of got shuffled about when Dave Schaible picked Tommy Norris to go on the op. As the most senior and combat -experienced man immediately available. Tommy chose me to go along with him. Give the way things turned out, he's since said he was very glad he picked me.

The operation was taking place in one of the lowest morale times of the war for us. There was still a lot of SEALs in-country and everyone was eager to operate. But there just weren't very many operations available. So a rotation system was set up to try and give everyone a chance to go out on missions.

There were 3 officers in our group-Tommy Norris, Doug Huth, and Ryan McCombie. So whenever an operation came up, a different officer went out on it and picked a different enlisted man to accompany him. At the end of October 1972, an operation came up, but Tommy jumped the rotation a bit since he was scheduled to go back to the States in a few weeks and was running short of time.

So Tommy pulled rank on Ryan McCombie, who was up for that op, according to the rotation. Then Tommy chose me to go with him instead of Woody Woodruff, who was the next enlisted man up for an op. But Woody went with us and stayed on the insertion boat. And I thank God that he was there, became if it wasn't for Woody, we'd all still be out there floating around, or shark meat.

On the operation, we were inserting from a Vietnamese junk.

Two US Navy destroyers were supposed to be vectoring us in, directing us as they saw us on their radar screens.

Something went wrong, though- a destroyer was off-line on his vector or whatever-and when we took the vectors in to the beach, it was obvious we had missed the target.

The bunch of us going in on the op hit the water and went in to the beach, leaving the insertion junk behind us. When we landed on the beach, we were supposed to be able to see the mouth of the Cua Viet River. But there was no river in sight.

I told Tommy that we were in the wrong place. But the skipper of the Vietnamese junk that had brought us in said he was sure we were in the right place. That skipper ran his boat all up and down the shore in that ares, so Tommy decided to go ahead on the op.

Tommy's decision was for us to go ahead and patrol along the beach a bit and see just what we had gotten into. It turned out that junk had just about put us into North Vietnam. We were far north of where we were supposed to be.

As we patrolled along the beach, we were passing huge bunkers that had obviously taken some time to build. The situation was unbelievable. There were campfires everywhere and we could hear people talking, laughing, and walking around. We were right in the middle of a North Vietnamese Army unit.

So we had myself, Tommy, and 3 Vietnamese LDNNs. Tommy was the right size-he could pass for a Vietnamese at a distance. And of course the 3 LDNNs wouldn't stand out. But I make a pretty big Chinaman. So I stayed bent over trying to keep a low profile.

We continued patrolling: since we were already there, we thought we might as well gather as much intel as we could. Then we would move out to the beach and find an area to hide for the evening and call for an extraction later that night. We didn't have the slightest idea where we were . So we figured we would move up and make comms (communications) and then extract later that evening. Then we'd be reinserted and try the op again in the right place.

Things pretty much happened that way. We got to the beach and patrolled out. There were tanks there, and heavy artillery guns, fire support-all of the materials of a standard army. Pulling out to the beach, we moved along to a better position where were had the ocean on one side and a big swamp an waterway on the other. So with both flanks covered by natural obstacles, we only had to worry about our north and south flanks.

So I was placed out on point with one of the LDNNs. We set up a perimeter and Tommy got on the radio. He was trying to make comms with the destroyer lying offshore. It turned out the admiral of the Seventh Fleet was riding on that very destroyer at the time. He normal flagship, the Newport News, had damage to one of her gun turrets and was going to return to the Philippines for repairs. So the admiral had just moved his command flag to one of the destroyers a short time earlier.

We got comms with the destroyer finally, bu they didn't know where we were any better than we did. And there was no way to really find out exactly where we were located along the shore.

During that period of time, 2 North Vietnamese came moving down along the beach toward our position. They were looking for a number of things all at the same time. One of the ways the VC and NVA in the south resupplied themselves was from packages tossed into the the water offshore. The surf brought the packages to shore, where they could be found on the beach.

The NVA patrol was also looking for any signs of infiltration, footprints along the sand or anything like that. One of the pair was walking right along the waterline, about 100 yards in front of the other guy. The other guy was walking up and down through the sand dunes, the same dunes where we were hiding farther down the beach.

So it was obvious that our hiding place was about to be compromised. A plan was quickly put together where I would take care of the one NVA guy who was moving through the sand dunes. The young LDNN officer who was with us was given a hush puppy, and he would use the suppressed pistol to eliminate the man walking along the waterline.

In other to maintain complete silence, I was to take out the man in the sand with my hands. And then LDNN officer would have his chance to take out the beach walker with a suppressed gunshot. The NVA walking among the sand dunes came around one dune and I took up the CAR-15 I was armed with and struck him with the butt. He fell to the ground unconscious.

When I had taken care of my man, I gave the high sign to the LDNN officer so he could take out his target. That young officer walked out from where he was hiding and spoke up, demanding that the beach walker surrender!

That LDNN officer was armed with just a pistol pointing at the NVA soldier. He wasn't supposed to threaten the guy with it- he was supposed to shoot him. The NVA was carrying an AK-47, and when the LDNN told him to surrender, he just giggled, swung around with his own weapon, and opened fire.

The LDNN officer jumped behind a sand dune and took cover. I grabbed up my weapon and started chasing the NVA guy down the beach. Hopefully, the noise wouldn't give away our position, especially since I was armed with the same kind of weapon the NVA were carrying. If I could eliminate that NVA soldier, he couldn't tell anyone where we were or how many of us there were. Then we could pull out and move back into the swamp or something.

I chased the guy up the beach, down along the tree line, and almost to a village we had spotted earlier. Finally, I ended up shooting the guy, but by then it was too late. An NVA quick-reaction team of about 75 guys had started coming to his rescue.

So now I had this NVA team shooting at me while I was running back out of the tree line to where Tommy and the others were. Now Tommy started getting us supporting fire from the ships offshore. We set the perimeter up again, and I was put up on point. Tommy was back in the sand dunes, where he could watch the flank where the swamp was.

There were 2 LDNN enlisted men with us who had been with me on 2 previous tours. I had handpicked those men, and I was glad I did. One of them was with Tommy at the radio. The other was down on my left flank, up behind me.

While I had been chasing that escaping NVA up the beach, the others had gathered up the man I had knocked down with my weapon and started interrogating him. They found out that he was able to point out on a map exactly where we were. While I was trying to hold the NVA elements down, Tommy had gotten back in touch with the destroyers and given them our position. That was when they came in to give us gunfire support.

As those destroyers came in on the target, they started drawing fire from the NVA artillery we had spotted along the shore. The heavy NVA guns actually out-ranged the 5 inch guns of the destroyers. So as the ships came in, they took on fragments as one of the destroyers was hit.

The firefight that we were involved in with the quick-reaction force got very hot and heavy. The NVA soldiers were trying to encircle us, and they came into very close range during the fight.

At one point I was on one side of a sand dune while an NVA soldier was on the other side. I would shoot from one area, roll over, and come up and shoot from another area. Then I would roll again and move before shooting. You didn't want to come up in the same spot twice.

The NVA didn't quite operate like that. I would see a guy come up, and as soon as I saw his head, I took aim that that area. When I finally saw the top of his head, I just shot right through the sand. The high-speed CAR-15 bullets would sip through the few inches of crest on the sand dune and nail that NVA in the head. But before I saw that happen, I was already rolling to another shooting position.

The NVA had moved up on both sides of our flanks. I was on the sand dunes ahead of my guys while Tommy was farther up on the sand dunes. We had brought several M72A2 LAW rockets with us, and Tommy had already put one of them into the tree line. The explosion of the rocket warheads seemed like incoming artillery fire and helped keep the NVA from moving forward.

The blast from the LAW stopped the NVA advance, but they were already too close. A grenade came flying over the dune to land near me. I grabbed it up and threw it back. Then that same grenade came over the dune again, and I threw it back-again.

It was one of those lousy Chicom (Chinese Communist ) grenades with a fuse that was anything but dependable. Which turned out to be a good thing for me. The 5th time it came over the dune, I just knew it was going to blow. I crouched down and tried to make myself small as the grenade came back over the dune and detonated behind me.

Seven fragments hit me in the back. I yelled, and I guess that NVA thought I had been killed. When he came over the top of the sand dune, he saw where I was lying on my back at the base of the dune. Then the last thing he saw was the muzzle of my CAR.

After I flattened that NVA, Tommy yelled over and asked if I was all right. I called back that I was Okay. Then he asked if I had been hit and I told him I had been, but that it was nothing major.

Almost 500 yards behind us, was a sand dune all by itself. In front of us were a bunch of sand dunes where the NVA troops were doing the fire and maneuver. The NVA would get behind one sand dune, then fire in our direction as another group moved up. Then the other group would cover the 1st group's advance.

By that time I had figured we had already killed anywhere from 20 to 25 NVA. But there was still plenty of them left to take us out. But then they just stopped advancing in on us. They weren't moving forward anymore; they had just stopped and were holding their ground.

We found out later that at that moment an NVA company, the 288th, had moved in ot the area and were surrounding us. It was at that point that Tommy made the decision that we would all fall back to that one solitary sand dune. He had made contact the that Newport News who was still offshore. The Newport News was a Salem-class heavy cruiser that mounted 8 and 5 inch guns.

Tommy had called in gunfire support from the Newport News right in our own position. We only had a few minutes before the 260lb, 8 inch and 55 lb, 5 inch shells started making our section of beach cease to exist. So I took myself, Quon, one of the LDNN enlisted men, and Tai, the young LDNN officer back to that solitary sand dune while Tommy gave us covering fire.

Once at the sand dune, we turned to give covering fire to Tommy and Dang, the last LDNN. But then Dang cam back by himself. He looked at me and just said "Mike, da-uy's (dah-whee's) dead, da-uy's dead".

I wouldn't take that as an answer, I looked at him and said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mike," he answered back. "He was shot in the head."

I took no time to consider the situation. Actually, I didn't give any thought to anything but one course of action. You never leave your friends behind, even less so a Teammate. I had to make the decision to go back for Tommy, knowing that he was dead.

When I got to him, I thought he was dead, but I still had to recover his body. What the NVA would have done to him in the way of mutilating his body- that I couldn't have lived with. It didn't matter if I died; I couldn't have lived with myself if I had left him.

I looked up and could see that the NVA were close to overrunning the position where Tommy was. I jumped up and ran over to Tommy's last known position. As I approached the area, several of the NVA were already starting to to overrun the dune. I opened fire and killed several of them coming over the dune. Then several more were around the dune and I shot them down, too.

Tommy was lying on the side of the sand dune, crumpled down in the sea grass. He had been hit in the left side of the head and the wound was terrible. So I grabbed him up and threw him over my shoulders and started running back with him.

These NVA troops saw me running and started chasing me. If they had any RPGs or heavy machine guns with them, it would all have been over. Instead, they just had their small arms, and sand was kicking up all around Tommy and me as the bullets impacted nearby. Then the 1st of the 8 inch rounds from the Newport News hit the ground. Ka-boom.

The concussion from the shell picked me up and threw me about 20 feet. As I was flying through the air, I could see Tommy actually leaving my shoulders. The he fell and hit the ground. God almighty, I thought as I climbed up from where I had hit. Shaking off the effects of the concussion, I struggled over to where Tommy lay and grabbed him up again.

And he looked up at me and said, "Mike, buddy."

Tommy had spoken to me, The son of a bitch was alive! That made me happy. And at least if we were going to die now, we would be going together. But I didn't want us to go just yet.

Tommy blacked out again. So I picked him back up onto my shoulders and again started running back with him. Other rounds from the Newport News started landing all around us. I was glad I had gotten up and run that little distance I had at first because those incoming rounds were dead on target, exactly where Tommy had called them in. Both of us would have been dead from our own side's rounds if we hadn't gotten away from those dunes.

The Newport News was bombarding the beach as I ran on to the rest of our people back at the sand dune. The LDNNs were looking to me to tell them what to do, and I just told them that we would swim for it. Whenever a SEAL or Frog looked for a means of escape, we always turned to the water. And that was what I did now.

I had Tommy's AK-47 with me; I had picked it up back when I grabbed him up at the dunes. I knew we had been running low on ammunition. The whole time of the firefight, Tommy had been on the radio keeping our com channels open and getting our fire support on target, so his magazine pouches and weapon were still pretty much full.

So, like I said, I picked Tommy up and put him on my shoulder again. He hadn't said anything since that one line back after the explosion. With Tommy solidly in my grasp, I said "go!" and we all started running.

At just about that time the incoming barrage ceased. The Newport News had started taking fire and pulled off the firing line. They had lost contact with us when Tommy was hit, and all they could see through their big eyes (binoculars) was NVA troops running around on the beach. The Newport News also wasn't supposed to be that far north, so when they figured we were lost, they moved back farther offshore.

When the Newport News pulled out, they also called back on the radio to Da Nang. The report that went out to Ryan McCombie and all the rest of our guys was that we had all been killed. The message was garbled a bit-the story was that Tommy was dead, but had gotten back to the ship, the LDNNs were all dead, and I was supposed to be missing in action. That wasn't quite the actual situation.

As we were running to the shoreline, the NVA moved in as soon as they saw us moving. The enemy was coming in from both sides now. They had surrounded us, some of them had come up and around the inter-coastal waterway and were moving in from our south. The original troops that had been coming in were closing from the north and west. That only left the open seas to our east as an avenue of escape.

We jumped into the water and started swimming out to sea. I had fired off every round of ammunition I had for my CAR-15 and Tommy's AK. I was swimming out with Tommy in front of me, pushing him ahead of me. Quan, who was just a little guy, not much more than 4 ft nine or ten, had been shot in the butt, losing almost his whole cheek. So he wasn't in any shape to swim.

Slinging the AK-47 across my shoulders, I took my life jacket and put it over Tommy's head. For some reason, that dumb SEAL Team Two guy had put his jacket around his right ankle or something-however they do it on the East Coast. Maybe he wanted to float upside down or something; it never did many any damned sense to me. At any rate, I couldn't find it and I was a little too busy to loo around for it.

So I inflated my life jacket around Tommy and pulled the H-harness over my head as well. That secured Tommy across my back with his head above the water. Then I put Quan in front of me and just started breast-stroking out to sea.

In the movies, you see bullets just flying through the water, splashing up all around the target. Well, that's what the water looked like around me. And I was praying that they wouldn't hit me now, because if they did, we would all be going down.

So we swam out of their range of fire and the bullets slacked off completely. Then we could see the Newport News floating away, heading south and out of the area. But we had swum well out of the range of the shore down.

I never could understand why those NVA didn't call in for support craft or something to come out on the water and get to us. Or maybe they did and the craft didn't show up until later. Because we didn't hang around to find out. I started swimming South with Tommy on my back and Quan in front of me. And the other 2 LDNNs just came right along.

After we got our of the surf area and beyond the range of the NVA's small arms, I had stopped and attended to Tommy. He had been coming in and out of consciousness and I had to attend to his wound as best I could. The swells were lifting us up and down and we would probably have been very hard to see from shore. Maybe the NVA thought we had drowned. But at least they were leaving us alone for the moment.

Taking two 4-by-4 in battle dressings, I stuffed one into the wound on Tommy's head and wrapped the other one over the top of it. The injury was so big that the dressings still don't cover it. It was a devastating wound; an AK-47 slug had entered just under his left eye and exited out the left side of his head. I could feel him shivering as he started slipping into shock, and I thought we were going to lose him for sure.

But there wasn't anything more I could do. When one of the LDNN's asked me what we were going to do, I told him we were just going to keep on swimming. So that's what we did, just kept swimming....and swimming.... and swimming... and swimming.

Sometimes you just have to continue on; it's instinct that keeps you going. Could I have easily just stopped and died right there? Yes, I could have. But that wasn't the way I lived, never has been. I had a wife and kids back home, and I wanted to see them again. And I had friends I wanted to see again as well. So I just kept going.

Finally, I saw a junk off in the distance. Pulling off my AK, I started firing rounds into the air. When I started shooting, I couldn't tell for sure if that junk was one of ours or theirs. But we were all pretty close to total exhaustion. And Tommy had to get some real medical attention. And when that junk heard my fire, it started to approach us, and I could see it was one of ours.

It was one of the junks that had brought us in for the op. Woody Woodruff hadn't given up on us. After talking to the Newport News over the radio, he had spent the night searching up and down the coast, forcing both junks to remain in the area. And they had found us.

The junk picked us up from the water we had been in for hours. Woody had picked up Tai, the young LDNN officer, earlier. Tai had left our position when I had run up to get Tommy. He had moved out to sea on his own while the other 2 LDNNs, Dang and Quan, had held their position to give us covering fire.

But we had gotten out to the boats at last. We got Tommy up on deck, and then I helped get Quan and Dang on board. But I was now just so exhausted I couldn't pull myself up into the boat. There were 3 Vietnamese trying to pull my fat ass out of the water and it just wasn't going to work. So I wold hem to just throw a hawser over the side, which they did. I twisted a bow into the line, stepped in it, stood up, and kind of rolled myself over and into the junk.

As quickly as I could, I got to the radio and called Woody to tell him that we were all alive. And I told him we had all been hit. Tommy was the worst by far, but little Quan had lost the whole right cheek of his ass; even Dang, the radioman, had been hit right in his backpack radio and he had fragments all over his back. And I had 7 grenade fragments all over my back.

The next message went out to the Newport News and told them the situation. They had a doctor aboard and would get back to us as quickly as they could. The CO of that ship had them turn around and head for us at full speed.

When the Newport News cam alongside, we climbed aboard. I carried Tommy down to medical, where the doctor looked at him and told me he didn't have chance to live. They called for a medevac bird and got Tommy back to Da Nang, where Ryan McCombie was on hand waiting for him.

There wasn't a U.S. brain surgeon in Vietnam then; all of them had already been sent back to the States. A C-141 with full medical team on board left Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, headed for Da Nang. They picked Tommy up and flew him back to the hospital.

Tommy's 1st operation lasted 18 1/2 hours, and they didn't expect him to live. The Navy flew his mom and dad over as well as his brothers. But Tommy didn't know how to quit. He went through operations for 2 1/2 years, and he's still alive today.

We finally flew back home just a few months later. Then the POWs were released by North Vietnam. That was also one of the greatest days of my life. We brought all of our guys home; there were just no more operations to do. Ryan and a couple of the others had gone out on a few ops after that Halloween (1972), but the SEALs involvement in Vietnam was pretty much over.

Sometime later, after I got back in Coronado, I received a phone call with some startling news. I was told that I had been put in for the Congressional Medal of Honor. My answer was a little brusque; actually I think I just called it a bunch of BS and just blew off the whole thing. But the person on the phone kept trying to convince me that I had been put in for the Medal.

That operation and long swim had taken place on Halloween eve, October 31, 1972. The next year, October 15, I was expected to be in the White House, receiving the Medal form President Richard Nixon. Tommy was in the D.C. area. He was up in Maryland, in the military hospital in Bethesda. The people in charge there wouldn't let him go. So I went up to Bethesda and kidnapped him, and took him to the White House with me.

The greatest honor I have ever had was when they hung that Medal around my neck and Tommy was standing right at my shoulder. That Meal was half his.

And it belongs to all of the men and women who have ever supported our country.
It doesn't belong to Mike Thornton."
So how about it?
I think you will remember this Halloween a little differently? Maybe along with all your Halloween traditions, you will remember how some SEALs in 1972 spent their Halloween. And how one Navy SEAL earned the Medal of Honor.

Navy SEAL Movie - Act of Valor Trailer

2011-10-12T18:43:00.001-05:00

This was just posted on Youtube today- the Act of Valor movie has real SEALs in it. Due out in Feb 2012. see below for clip

Navy SEAL Post - No Bull About Being the Oldest

2011-10-12T10:22:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!
The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is out of focus today.

Hey, wait a minute! I forgot to do something.
(taking off the beer er Margarita glasses)

OK, that's better.

Geesh, it's hard being so old.
You often forget things.
Sometimes important things.

Like the times I forgot to place my monthly order for fresh limes.
Yeah, the cabana boy had to brave a blizzard, to race to our local citrus vender.

And the time I forgot to yell "HooYah" while going commando with a special froggy type. (who will remain annonymous for his safety and self esteem-LOL)

So being Oldest FrogHog really sucks sometimes. There are no rewards...sigh.

Hey, wait a minute (how many minutes was that waiting so far on this post, anyway?).

I just remembered an award about being the Oldest Frog.
No NOT a FrogHog, but THE Bull Frog.

Yeah, being "THE Navy SEAL Bull Frog" does have it's rewards and benefits.

What? What is the Bull Frog?

Well, the title of “Bull Frog,” is the name and honor given by the UDT/SEAL Association to the SEAL who has served the longest time on continuous active duty in naval special warfare.

You know who is the Oldest FrogHog on the Web, but I bet you don't know who is the current Bull Frog.

So place your bets before jumping to the answer in the link below.

http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-news/105752-longest-serving-navy-seal-passes-on-legacy-title.html

More about the trophy-at this link

http://www.military.com/news/article/navy-news/longest-serving-navy-seal-passes-on-legacy-title.html

Well, did you get it right?
Wow!
What did you win?

Puker up for just a kiss from the Oldest FrogHog on the Web.
It will be sure to make you turn into... a green thing!

Remembering Michael Monsoor Today- Navy SEAL -MOH Recipient

2011-09-29T22:33:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is remembering the bravery of Navy SEAL, Michael Monsoor, who was the recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 29, 2006.

Mike Fumento wrote about this actions in Ramadi at this link Return to Ramadi Scroll down to the Casualities of War section to see the picture on the right hand side.

It has the below "Michael A. Monsoor, Navy SEAL, Killed in Action, Sept. 29, 2006 Even by the standards of the world's most celebrated special ops unit, Michael Monsoor exemplified "above and beyond the call of duty."

I shared a rooftop with him and other members of SEAL Team 3 in the vicious Mulaab area of Ramadi during a firefight last April 22. The photo here, with Monsoor on the right, was taken on the street shortly after the first shots rang out. Weeks later, Petty Officer Second Class Monsoor and another SEAL brought to safety a team member even as bullets ricocheted around them – an act of heroism for which he would be awarded the Silver Star.

On September 29, he performed his greatest – and last – service.

While in a sniper hideout with three other SEALs, the 25-year-old machine gunner was closest to an opening in the top. Their position was discovered and clearly something bad would happen unless they were extracted first.

It happened.

A hand grenade flew through the opening and bounced off Monsoor's chest.

He could have tried throwing it back, though by now it was surely near exploding.

He could have dived away, saving his own life but forfeiting that of the others.

Instead Monsoor smothered the explosive with his own body.

"He never took his eye of the grenade; his only movement was down toward it," a lieutenant who was there said. " He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs' lives, and we owe him." We all do. "

More comments from this section: Nobody was killed operating out of Corregidor while I was there, but three days before my arrival, the 19-man SEAL platoon I had photographed and videotaped in combat earlier this year lost its second member, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor. He threw himself on a hand grenade to save three of his buddies. He was the second SEAL killed in Ramadi and second killed in Iraq. The first, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc Allan Lee, was lost in August.

Anyone who harbors the notion that SEALs are as tough on the inside as they are on the outside is wrong. After I wrote an obit on Lee for my blog, many who knew him opened up their hearts to me.

When I blogged on the death of Monsoor from Ramadi, I got the same reaction. One of Monsoor's buddies emailed: "When you did your patrol with SEAL Team 3 a few months back, I was really pleased to see some of the great pictures and accounts," he wrote. "I even put one of your pictures . . . on my Blackberry to have a constant reminder about my comrades in combat. [When] I attended the memorial service for Michael Monsoor . . . his platoon put together a photo/video tribute to him, and right in the middle of it flashed your photo of Mike with his machine gun kneeling beside [a] wall."

He continued, "I pulled my Blackberry out of my belt and showed it to my buddies sitting with me and they were astonished. That photo had really been an inspiration before Mike gave his life, but it means so much more now. Good on ya for making those embed trips to Ramadi; I'll probably be heading over sometime next year myself. "

I Got the Bird Today

2011-09-25T19:23:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I got the bird and I am glad!!!
See all about it below

Navy SEAL Post for Today- Are You Prepared? The 50

2011-09-21T09:49:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!
The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is never prepared.

Nope, ...well, there was that time that I stocked up on limes last year- just in case of a citrus emergency.

But that's all.

I hoping to change my ways, though.

And it's just in time.

'Cause, there is going to be a special 50th or Golden happening coming soon.

Where?

On this blog, I hope....uhhhh. ???

Yes, I know...

in 2012 it will be the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of the Navy SEALs.

I have started ~~making up~~ preparing lots of posts on this big event, so you see I have changed my ways.

In order to jump start these preparations, I remembered this post!!!

It is about the very beginning of the order for plans for changes in Naval Special Warfare.

It looks like President John F Kennedy back in 1961, felt that the USA was not prepared to face the changing environment needed for our military.
So, he came up with the below.
"On May 25, 1961, Kennedy addressed a special joint session of Congress.

Kennedy said, “I am directing the secretary of defense to expand rapidly and substantially, in cooperation with our allies, the orientation of existing forces for the conduct of non-nuclear war, paramilitary operations, and sub-limited or unconventional wars.

In addition, our special forces and unconventional warfare units will be increased and reoriented.

Throughout the services new emphasis must be placed on the special skills and languages which are required to work with local populations.”

And with this Presidential order, to the secretary of defense, the Naval Special Warfare developed the Teams, or as we know today it as the “Sea, Air and Land Teams”

or the Navy SEALs.

It officially began their development, and of course the Oldest FrogHog on the Web is also developing my plans for 2012.

Hitler Discovers that ATTACKWATCH is a Joke-video- humor

2011-09-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

Getting On With a Life Forever Changed- retired Navy SEAL Tom Rancich on 9-11

2011-09-11T00:00:00.003-05:00

From this link

http://marthasvineyard.patch.com/articles/getting-on-with-a-life-forever-changed

By Jack Shea

When the Twin Towers fell, Navy SEAL Tom Rancich was, arguably, one of the few people in America with a complete understanding of the situation. Today, he's still trying to make sense of it all.

Tom Rancich, a newly-minted graduate of Syracuse University sporting a degree in English Literature, had career decisions to make. “I didn't join the Navy because I was a patriot. I had a 2.2 GPA and I sure wasn't looking forward to a construction job,” he said.

He didn't know that 17 years later he would be a Navy SEAL special ops officer, leading people into danger in South America, Iraq and Afghanistan .

“I moved to the Vineyard on August 29, 2001 to begin a final duty tour with a Navy warfare think tank at the Newport [Rhode Island] naval center. On August 7, I bought a boat. On August 10, I bought $500 worth of fishing gear,” he said, sitting on his deck in West Tisbury just weeks before the 10th anniversary of September 11.

When the Twin Towers fell, Rancich was, arguably, one of the few people in America with a complete understanding of the situation. Defending against terrorism was his job. He knew what and where threats were. Defense strategists assess risks by priority. “We knew that commercial airlines were a potential threat that could only be used once,” he said.

Rancich called the office. His commanders told him to stand by. “I did think about throwing boots and fatigues in a bag and going to New York to help out,” he said.

In 2003, he led the first team of SEALs into Iraq to help secure the pipelines. “The risk was that the harbor would be polluted and the seawater de-salination plants would go offline. Then everybody would get very thirsty,” he said. Later, he would go into Afghanistan in support of ground operations by other U.S. military forces.

Rancich loves combat. He co-founded VRhabilis in 2007, a firm that specializes in removal of ordnance bombs. VRhabilis workers have spent a lot of time in 30 to 60 feet off water off South Beach, finding and removing World War II ordnance from when the Island was used as a training ground. To date, they have recovered 114 pieces.

Rancich reflects his training and his intellect. He answers every question, sprinkling humor and irony. He calmly describes life or death operations without exaggeration. The only evidence of a ruffled interior life is a habit of continually folding and wrapping a napkin in his hands.

In fact, he Rancich was recommended for this report by other Island veterans, who described him as a man getting on with a life forever changed. "Will I ever be totally happy? Yes, I think I will be. I'm happy now, in fact,” he grins as his girlfriend joins him on the deck.

As for how the country is getting on 10 years after September 11, the answer is not so precise. The $30 billion spent on homeland security measures in the past 10 years would have been better spent on the homeland education system, he said. “One percent of the world population seeks to injure us. We have a military force that can handle that.

“Ten years later we call it 'The Day That Changed America Forever.' I dislike that. America has made a lot of changes—the Patriot Act and enhancing security. My basic instinct says that was a horrible idea. That day should be remembered, but I wish wish we were as resolute about caring for the other 99 percent. September 11 was a psych ops. The response is to bolster your own psychological strength. We didn't do that,” he said.

Like many of his peers, he meets with veterans in a PTSD group on-Island to reconcile the warrior life with civilian living. He has little to say about lack of gratitude or understanding by the civilian community of his warrior days. As if they are different worlds. The world of combat is small, he explains. “When you are in the shit, you care only about doing your job and protecting the man to your left and the man to your right.”

Asked whether Americans today deserve America, he said, “I don't know. I really don”t know the answer to that. 'Honoring' is not a word commonly used here anymore. I love [war] protestors, though. If I'm to die for your right to speak, at least you should speak up,” he said

“Right now, there's a 19-year-old kid in a Humvee on patrol in Afghanistan and only his mother give a [word deleted] that he's out there. We are shocked at the loss of a team, but not the four or five killed every day."

9-11 Remembered Tribute Video to Rick Rescorla- the man who predicted another attack on the WTC -from the History Channel

2011-09-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

He was one of the first to understand the vulnerability of the WTC. Before the 2001 attack, he predicted that it would be "ground zero". Listen to these prophetic words on the video-"we will be hit again- the possiblity of an air attack".

Video below

From the Peoples Cube - Obama Uses Subliminal Messages to Defeat Repubs - Video Humor-

2011-09-09T08:16:00.002-05:00

I wish that this was only humor-LOL

from the Obama's Subliminal Message - the People's Cube "Comrades, use both your decoder rings and code word detector to catch the message Dear Leader slipped right in to the evil republicans thought processes. The Bill is as good as passed once it is written." Below is the video and here's the link http://youtu.be/JE1pCeUAnEY

Wednesday's Navy SEAL Post- He Is Ready For Some Football

2011-09-08T00:10:00.000-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!
The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is getting ready.

Yeah, I'm getting ready to take a run down to watch the Thursday night's NFL football game at my local FrogHog hangout- Froggy's Bar.

Froggy's got a really BIG HD TV screen and lots of fresh limes for Margaritas. I'll be watching all my favorite men in tight pants (really the best part of the game) so I'll be certain to have a great time.

I try to catch ALL NFL games and only one collegiate team.

Why one collegiate team?

Because that team has a real team player, a SEAL Team player.

He is JP Bolwahnn. and here is a story below about what he is doing on the USD football team.

From this link -Navy SEAL Turned USD Running Back

Navy SEAL turned USD running back chases his dream from the war zone to the end zone

Former Navy SEAL JP Bolwahnn says, “I always wanted a degree. And I wanted to play college football. I’m going after both.” — Howard Lipin

Many of us chase our dreams around, stumble and fall as if pursuing greased dervishes, never getting the chance to live them. JP Bolwahnn has pursued and caught two — because he’s been able to look reality in the eye and not blink.

There is no duck-and-run to JP Bolwahnn.

He’s 33 years of age. He’s a running back on USD’s football team, unusual in a young man’s game. It’s just that he served 13 years in the Navy, 12 of them as a SEAL, four of those as a SEAL instructor, which means you’ve gone beyond being a SEAL, which is hard enough.

Oh, and he’s 5-foot-6, 184 pounds. Football small, SEAL big. So he’s 5-foot-6, 184 pounds of rolling thunder. His teammates, obviously not prospective SEALs, already are calling him “grandpa.”

This is a man who has led a disciplined, loyal existence. And although he’s going through his first round of fall drills at USD, his teammates know it and his coaches know it. In but a few days, this sophomore transfer from Mesa College has become a leader with portfolio.

“He’s not just a tough guy, but a leader, and we’re excited about the energy he’s brought to our program,” Toreros head coach Ron Caragher says. “I love his heart, his soul, his effort. It’s great to see a guy chasing his dream. He’s a football player. A bit crazy? Yes, but a warrior. I’m proud to have him on this team.”

It’s hard to be fooled when there isn’t much you haven’t seen and heard, from cries to triumph. If Bolwahnn can drive SEALs through 56 weeks of training, come away from tours in the Mediterranean and Iraq, he can handle a little thing like USD football.

“It isn’t cake here,” he says smiling (which he does a lot), “but it’s fun.”

He played football at Eldorado High in Albuquerque, N.M., but he weighed 140 pounds. Major colleges didn’t line up clamoring for his services. So he joined the Navy, figuring that, after four years, he could earn enough to go to college and get a degree. But he decided to make the most of it — he dreamed of excitement — and four years suddenly became 13.

“In the end, I thought about staying in the Navy,” he said. “But I found that I could get out and get 45 percent of my base pay as a reserve, so why not pursue other dreams? I always wanted a degree. I hope to use it to start my own business, a gym. And I wanted to play college football. I’m going after both.”

It’s the SEALs way. They don’t say much about what they do, who they are, where they’re going or where they’ve been. Bolwahnn (the JP is for John Paul) makes it sound as though he loved military life so much it was no big deal.

“I had peacetime deployment in the Med, then went to Iraq in 2003,” he says. “You see some action, and that’s good; you don’t always want to practice and never play a game. We cleared channels. It practically was low key … other than bombs coming down, or something like that.”

Oh, is that all? Those bombs. In football, bombs are different things.

Bolwahnn came to Coronado for SEAL training in 1996, left after a year, and returned in 2004 as an instructor. About 75 percent of those in SEAL training will fail to make the grade. And it was Bolwahnn, who left the Navy as an E6, special operator first class, who informed many of them they weren’t making the cut.

If you’ve ever been around military instructors, you know how hard they make it on you, because it’s not just your life on the line. One can only guess what a SEAL instructor is like.

“You’ve got to flip the switch, know when to turn it on and turn it off,” Bolwahnn says. “As an instructor, you make sure they get it right, so you have quality people going to work. It’s performance-based, all volunteer, and if they don’t know they’re about to get cut, you give them a strong reminder.”

Bolwahnn was married once. “When I was 21; it lasted 2½ years,” he says. “I’d see her once every nine weeks. It didn’t work out. I’ve had a girlfriend for four years now. She lives in San Francisco.”

Maybe the distance is a good thing for now, because Bolwahnn is tied up in football drills and soon will become a full-time student. It’s not the SEALs, but in a way, his life is similar.

“I like the camaraderie, being around other athletes,” he says. “I like the challenge, the physicalness, pushing to get in the game. Like any other challenge, it’s awesome when you come out ahead.

“It’s similar. You get up and eat with the guys, go to meetings, go to practice and plug away. It’s like the military: Show up on time with all your gear.”

Except he doesn’t have to endure the heartache firsthand. He grieves at the loss of his fellow SEALs whose helicopter was shot down recently in Afghanistan.

“It sucks,” he says. “I think of my friends fighting the war. Some of those guys who were killed, I put through training.

“But all you can do is move ahead and focus on what you’re doing. I get calls all the time from friends, telling me I’m living the dream.”

One might think bombs, crashes and death make more nightmare than dream. But JP Bolwahnn has lived it and survived it. He’s on to the next one.

nick.canepa@uniontrib.com

You know what? I would like to run into this JP some time! So watch out!

Update September 8, 2011-Another Story about JP and boy is he ...

Well read the rest here - http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0909-jp-bolwahnn-911-20110909,0,814980.story?track=icymi

"Former SEAL has end-zone mission

University of San Diego running back JP Bolwahnn says he'll salute U.S. flag as soon as he crosses goal line for his first touchdown, a gesture honoring fallen comrades and SEALs still fighting.

Reporting from San Diego Like any good military man, JP Bolwahnn has it all mapped out.

Shortly after he crosses the goal line for the first time, the ball cradled in his arm, the University of San Diego running back will turn toward the American flag and salute.

The gesture will be for Petty Officer Danny Dietz, killed six years ago in a firefight with Taliban guerrillas. It will be for Lt. Cmdr. Jonas Kelsall and Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves, who died last month when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. And it will be for all the other Navy SEALs still fighting abroad. "

Navy SEAL Post- Extra- Auction of Knife with a Blade made from the Steel of an I-Beam recovered from Ground Zero, to Benefit Fallen SEALs Families

2011-09-07T10:20:00.001-05:00

Here's the link on this pretty lethal looking knife.
http://www.examiner.com/firearms-in-reno/emerson-cqc-6-to-benefit-fallen-navy-seals-blade-steel-made-from-wtc-i-beam

Navy SEAL Post- A SEAL's Reflection of September 11,2001

2011-09-07T03:27:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is spending time this week (like the majority of Americans) remembering the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

It is a week to remember the Americans who were killed and those who were injured. As I remember the attacks, I also remember reading what a Navy SEAL was doing on that day.

Below are his reflections on September 11,2001.

From the book, the Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens.

" I woke after a long sleep. Was it 12 hours? 18? My body felt heavy and numb, but when I held up my hand I saw that the Hell Week swelling gone down. We rose from our bunks and ambled out of the barracks. We shuffled like a file of corpses to medical. We we checked again for cellulitis (flesh-eating bacteria) for pneumonia, for broken bones,. After passing through medical we drove to a local restaurant and sat down to a breakfast of stacked pancakes, sausages, crispy hash browns, cheesy eggs, sparkling fresh fruit, and biscuits covered in gravy.

I was still swollen-head, hands, feet-and I moved slowly when I pulled up to my house and stepped out of my car. My neighbor's sprinkler was one, and just a few drops were landing on the sidewalk, but I walked wide around it. I wanted, for a day, to be nothing but warm and dry.

On Monday, we began to train again. We trained in hydro-graphic reconnaissance, learning how to conduct a detailed examination of a surf zone before an invasion. We trained in basic techniques of the combat patrol, and we exercised to rebuild our strength. We did physical training on the grinder, runs on the beach, and we continued our weekly 2 mile ocean swims.

One early Tuesday morning my swim buddy and I came out of the ocean after a 2 mile swim, and as we ran up the beach, a man running in the other direction shouted to us as he passed.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"I don't know. Something about a plane crashing in New York."
As the rest of the team finished the swim, stripping off wet suits and donning boots and camouflage uniforms, word was passed through the class: A plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. No, it was 2 planes. One of the buildings collapsed. Both buildings collapsed. Thousands of people died."
"Four ranks!" We formed into 4 lines and ran to chow. Rumors were traded on the run. At the chow hall the TV was on, and sailors dressed in whites and in fatigues stood next to cooks and servers wearing plastic gloves, holding serving spoons. "Get your food." We hustled through the line and then gathered at the tables near the corner of the hall so that we could be close to the TV. We ate fast. Usually we ate with some banter, but that morning we ate in silence, except for occasional single words of profanity and prayer.

We had sat down for our meal thinking that we were members of a peacetime military. When we stood up, we knew that our class was going to war.

A new energy inhabited the men of Naval Special Warfare. We all knew men who on active SEAL teams, and in the team building up and down the beach, lights burned on and coffee was brewed into the night as men crowded around maps of Afghanistan. Men pushed bullets one by one into magazines; they dissembled and cleaned weapons; rifle scopes were checked and then checked again. Teams left for advanced mountain warfare training. Small adjustments were made to uniforms, wills were updated, and letters to loved ones written and sealed.

I and the other men in my class weren't SEALs yet. We were, however, the first class that would go through every phase of SEAL training in the knowledge that we were going to war. Guys asked questions while we ran to chow; "Mr G., you think that they'll speed up our training and send us to Afghanistan?" It was in those conversations that I learned how different,just distinct my men were from the rest of the population.

We all remember our own story of 9/11, and I think that most Americans experienced the attack with a mixture of shock at the horrific violence, sympathy for the victims, a surge of patriotic feeling, and some desire for revenge. We grieved. We celebrated the heroism of those who gave their lives in service for others.

My Class shared those sentiments, but it was also true that every man in the class had one very visceral, very real wish. They all said, in their own way, "I wish that I'd been on one of those fucking planes." This wasn't bravado, and it wasn't just talk. They had signed up to fight for their country, and now the fight was on. They had no illusions that they were supermen. They might not have saved the day. But they wanted, more than anything, to be there at the country's critical hour.

SEALs fight from the sea, from the air, and from the land. We serve as the nation's elite commando force, and suddenly it looked like our country had an immediate need for us. We trained hard, and over the next several months were were shaped into warriors."

September 11th Remembered- What Ground Zero Looks Like Today

2011-09-06T01:53:00.000-05:00

Do You Know What Ground Zero Looks Like Today? I didn't until I found this interactive site. Follow the Link-Click Here-Link
Once you are at the link, roll over the buildings for a description of what's happening.

Here is another link with the updates- Most building will be completed in 2011- it's interactive as well.

Update on Ground Zero

Here is another link - Ground Zero NOW

With the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks- Do Your Young Kids Need a 9/11 coloring book

2011-09-03T11:44:00.001-05:00

rom this link- A 9/11 Coloring Book Draws Controversy

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:38p.m.

A new colouring book is drawing some controversy.

It tells the story of the September 11 attacks on the US - including colourless images of the World Trade Center on fire and Osama bin Laden being shot by Navy Seals.

We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids' Book of Freedom comes with a PG, parental guidance, warning.

The Missouri-based publisher of the book said the colouring book was not meant to cause controversy.

"There's no statement attached to this book. This book is based on market research - it's based on what people tell us that they're looking for," said the publisher, Wayne Bell.

However, some critics said the book unfairly portrays all Muslims as terrorists.

"We feel as if he's just capitalising on the 10th anniversary of September 11th," said Faizan Sayed, the Executive Director for the Council of American Islam Relations (CAIR).

According to the book's publisher, Really Big Coloring Books, the book has already sold out of its first print of 10,000 copies and more are being printed.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/A-911-coloring-book-draws-controversy/tabid/417/articleID/224393/Default.aspx#ixzz1WvNsLt1u
I don't think I would get my young kids this coloring book. IMHO-tasteless. When they are old enough- they're are plenty of videos, films, TV documentaries for them to watch and learn. But I am wondering- Were there WWII, Korean War and Vietnam coloring books?

Have You Hugged a West Coast SEAL today?

2011-08-19T05:17:00.003-05:00

This is "The Official 2011 West Coast Hug a Navy SEAL Weekend"!!

Go forth all you attending the West Coast Team's Reunion- August 19-21st and commence the hugging!

WARNING!!!!! When attempting to hug a SEAL, please do NOT sneak up on them-LOL

Looking down at a shooting star- from the International Space Station-link

2011-08-17T16:39:00.001-05:00

Pretty cool pix and story from the Earth observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51754

Navy SEAL Post - Hats Off to Our Wounded Warriors

2011-08-17T15:09:00.002-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The one reader of the blog from Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) commented that the "Jump the Hump Day Navy SEAL Post tops off my Wednesday, especially after I read it during my 3 hours of cocktails."

Well, I am lifting my cap off to his comment.

For today's post, I have 2, caps-off links.

First- this high flying caps-off video of Wounded Warriors Parachute. It has Navy SEAL Jay Redman.

From the Virginia Pilot.

The Virginia Pilot reports about wounded warriors who find the healing effects of parachuting, thanks to the efforts of another wounded warrior, Jason Redman (Word.doc) who owns “Wounded Wear” a nonprofit clothing company;

Some came from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Portsmouth Naval Medical Center; others were from local military bases. A few have jumped before and returned for another dose.
“It’s peaceful,” said Brian Doyne, a former Army explosive disposal technician who lost his left arm and left eye in a 2005 explosion in Iraq. “It’s my Zen time.”
Now working for a defense contractor and living in Fredericksburg, the 32-year-old Doyne was preparing to make his 28th jump on Sunday. A licensed sky diver, he didn’t have to jump tandem, harnessed to an instructor in a parachute built for two.
“It’s the only time I’m not in pain,” he said of sky diving. “It’s the only time my body doesn’t hurt.”
Video below:

And to cap it off, I found this story about the Washington Nationals wearing Navy SEALs caps, to honor our vets, yesterday.

Rick Perry - NOt Another Cowboy- Humor Link

2011-08-15T03:42:00.002-05:00

Wow, the "Fist full of dollars," candidate- LOL

Not another Cowboy- People's Cube
,

Pix of the Hail Today

2011-08-13T19:21:00.001-05:00

Marble sized and a lot-

Forces in Afghanistan kill militants involved in downing of copter-CNN video link

2011-08-10T08:10:00.001-05:00

I my way of thinking there is just a gigantic big hole there. Nothing to clean up. I knew it wouldn't take even a week.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/08/10/afghanistan.seals.chopper/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

The Markets Lean on Washington-link

2011-08-09T06:44:00.003-05:00

Good insider article by Jaime Dupree. Washington saw it coming but waiting to "react" instead of "act". Always true with that crowd. - http://origin.prod.www.boortz.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2011/aug/08/markets-lean-washington/

Too Funny - a cartoon from Hope N Change

2011-08-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

To Honor the Fallen Navy SEALs- Fly Your Flag on Sunday

2011-08-07T00:57:00.000-05:00

I'm Flying the Flag on Sunday to Honor the Fallen SEALs and the Fallen Special Forces Operators.

From the Virgina Pilot On line news- Our SEALs, Our Neighbors

2011-08-06T21:11:00.001-05:00

From this link
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/our-seals-our-neighbors

The Virginian-Pilot
� August 7, 2011

There is much we still don't know about the weekend's horrors in eastern Afghanistan. This much was clear, however, by nightfall Saturday: 30 Americans were dead, including 22 Navy SEALs, in the deadliest incident in the decade-old war.

And this much is clear this morning: The Navy has once again paid an enormous price.

We don't know why so many Americans were flying through the Tangi Valley early Saturday morning, or where they were headed. Why there were three Air Force controllers aboard the CH-47 Chinook, along with a handler and his dog, or seven Afghan commandos. We don't know whether they completed their mission during a two-hour firefight at an insurgent compound.

Sources are saying at least some of the men were from SEAL Team 6 - the same unit of elite sailors who killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

The raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound was one of America's greatest triumphs of recent years. Now it has been followed by one of its worst disasters.

Predictably, the Taliban is claiming that its soldiers shot down the American helicopter. That may or may not be true. U.S. officials said they believe the Chinook was struck from the sky, but an investigation continues.

In the way of these elite squads, America may never know precisely what happened.

What their countrymen and women should know is that these men died because they were trying to put some very bad things right.

"Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan," President Barack Obama said. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied."

Around Hampton Roads, sacrifices are too common: SEAL after SEAL, sailor after sailor, soldier after soldier, Marine after Marine. It is a roster that grows longer with each month, each year that fighting continues in Afghanistan and Iraq, in Pakistan and elsewhere.

On Saturday, it continued in the Tangi Valley, a Taliban stronghold where strangers are instantly recognized. A place that is a long way from Hampton Roads.

More often in Hampton Roads, we are not aware when SEALs are all around us, in our neighborhoods and churches, on the sidelines at soccer games and at PTA meetings. We will know them now by their absences, by the mourning wives and children they leave behind. By the friends who don't show up for a beer on Saturday, or in a pew on Sunday.

By the holes they leave in Hampton Roads - and in the hearts of its inhabitants.

Condolences and Prayers for our Fallen Warriors

2011-08-06T18:20:00.004-05:00

Here's an email from Debbie Lee, about the SEALs and SF operators who were killed in the helicopter crash today. Debbie is the mother of a Fallen SEAL, Marc Lee. Marc was killed in Iraq years ago.

Debbie Lee to you - 9 hrs ago
Condolences and Prayers for our Fallen Warriors
Dear Debbie,

My heart aches with the devastating news this morning of the great
loss of life today in Afghanistan as a helicopter went down with 31 Special Forces Operators, the majority of them from Navy SEAL Team 6.

As part of the Naval Special Warfare community and the Mother of
fallen SEAL Marc Alan Lee this is a very personal and painful loss.

My heart grieves deeply with the families and the community. I stand
ready to deploy to help these families to provide comfort, strength
and help in whatever way I can.

Their sacrifice is a reminder of all who have given their lives fighting the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and the dedication of all of our troops who are serving faithfully. We must never forget the sacrifice our troops and their families have made and continue to make defending America and our freedoms.

I know all Americans want to reach out and I will keep you posted how we can do that but at this point prayer is one of the most powerful things we can be doing for these families and for the community.

Remembering Their Sacrifices,
Debbie Lee

Here's her facebook page it will have many updates
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Americas-Mighty-Warriors/87705076572

Vote for Eric Greitens Navy SEAL at The Gentlemen's Fund

2011-08-05T20:42:00.001-05:00

Here's the link

http://www.thegentlemensfund.com/

The Gentlemen's Fund © Initiative raises awareness for issues that are essential to modern men. GQ encourages men to become agents of change by supporting charities that champion these causes.

Eric Greitens was born and raised in Missouri, and went on to become a Rhodes and Truman Scholar. He earned a Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of Oxford, where his doctoral thesis, Children First, investigated how international humanitarian organizations can best serve war-affected children. He continues to study and teach public service as a Senior Fellow at the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri and in the MBA Program at the Olin School of Business at Washington University. As a humanitarian volunteer, documentary photographer, and researcher, Eric worked in Rwanda, Cambodia, Albania, Mexico, India, the Gaza Strip, Croatia, and Bolivia. Eric became a Navy SEAL in 2001, and has deployed four times during the Global War on Terrorism. He has earned 17 military awards, including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Joint Service Commendation Medal. In 2005, Eric was appointed by the President to serve as a White House Fellow, which is considered America?s most prestigious fellowship for leadership and public service.

But Eric is more than a list of accomplishments on a resume. He dedicates his life to serving and helping others serve. After returning from a deployment to Iraq in 2007, Eric donated his combat pay to found a non-profit organization, The Mission Continues. The Mission Continues empowers wounded and disabled veterans to begin new lives as citizen leaders here at home. From May 2007 to May 2009, Eric contributed more than 2,750 volunteer hours as a volunteer Chairman and CEO, and the President of the United States personally presented Eric with the President's Volunteer Service Award in recognition of his inspiring national leadership working with wounded and disabled veterans.

If there are three words that I would use to describe Eric, it would be "true American hero." He is a living example of what it means to serve and give back. As CEO of The Mission Continues, he works relentlessly to ensure that every returning veteran lives a life of purpose, regardless of what injuries they may have sustained during their time in the military. To accomplish this, he leads by example and gets just as involved with service projects as those who volunteer with The Mission Continues. Additionally, he treats everyone he meets with the utmost respect, whether they are a volunteer or an intern, a board member or C-level staff. Eric inspires his team to work above and beyond what is asked of them, because he never hesitates to do the same. Motivation never fades with Eric, and the mission to serve wounded and disabled veterans grows stronger each day under his leadership and dedication to the cause.

With Eric, nothing is impossible, and he has done an incredible job instilling that mindset into everyone he meets. He makes an outstanding SEAL, supervisor, and role model. Eric is an inspiring leader who challenges each and every one of us to always act in service to others.

Taking Care of Business- a Navy SEAL Post

2011-08-03T00:34:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) was off last week taking care of business.

I had to make a personal trip to one of my vendors, who supplies me my limes.
I had to make sure that my supply line was not broken.

With all the stress from that debt ceiling thing, I really needed tons of limes for medicinal Margaritas to help me ~~party~~ fall asleep. And I do need all the beauty sleep I can get-LOL.

One can say that I have the best business sense of all the FrogHogs.

And One is right! Because, I did take some very good advice about managing to take care of business, from some very good guys- the Navy SEALs.

Don't think that businesses can benefit from some SEAL management?

You be the judge, if you can manage reading the below.

From this link-
a Lesson in Management Techniques and Humility -from a Navy SEAL

"Meanwhile back in our corporate world we are all about stars, star CEOs, star CMOs…

We want our companies to be as successful and as efficient as a SEAL team, and we lionize the SEALs for what they have accomplished. But we run our companies in the completely dysfunctional “Hollywood” model.

Here are some observations about how SEAL management style could benefit the corporate world:

SEALs reject 90% of their applicants. They simply can’t afford to allow people who are not up to the task or team players into their ranks. Companies like Zappos actually pay new recruits to leave, the rationale being that anyone who takes the money didn’t belong there in the first place. Zappos proves this can be done in the corporate world.

Individual achievement is recognized but team effort is valued above all. Self-promoters and those who do not support the team are quickly removed. SEALs know exactly what personality type is successful in their operation. Do you?

SEALs are not afraid to invest in their people because they know quality training pays back dividends. They train for months before they can even call themselves SEALs. How much time do you spend effectively training employees?

Humility is not something you hear about in the corporate world. Do you lead in such a manner as to promote humility? Try giving the “little” guy some of the credit for company successes. If failure occurs, try to think how management might shoulder the responsibility and use the experience as a training opportunity.

If the SEALs are your heroes as they are mine, and you want to perform at their level, ask yourself “At what level am I willing to participate?” Take some time and learn what really makes them so effective, not what Hollywood and the media would like you to believe."

Now if only we can manage to get most of those Washington DC types to seal the deal about cutting spending and getting our economy rolling, I wouldn't have to add that extra room to my house for storing limes!

My newest logo

2011-08-01T08:47:00.001-05:00

Yeah, it's on a T-shirt that I bought last Saturday at the Crusing for a Cause at a Napervile VFW- some of the benefits go to the National UDT/SEAL Museum. ( of which I've been a member for years)

The pix of my hardy hibiscus plant

2011-07-28T16:47:00.001-05:00

This plant has flowers 4-7 inches wide and it is only a medium hardy hibiscus. The flowers of the large hibiscus plant can get up to a 12 inches wides. I almost planted a large one, but I couldn't find it in pink, only in white. I have one on each side of the entry door. This was taken today via my cell.

My Rosie being Nosy Pix

2011-07-26T17:58:00.001-05:00

Captured this awhile back- the dog went out along the fence line and came back with a snootful of mud. Just had to save the moment before it was rubbed off.

Not Alone

2011-07-26T17:02:00.001-05:00

I stole the below from one of my FB friends

Navy SEAL Post - Picture This-How to Draw Navy SEALs

2011-07-20T12:57:00.002-05:00

HooYah!!

It's Wednesday!

Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) is drawn to bars er places that Navy SEAL may appear.

So I was extremely delighted when one of the TadPoles er Newest Jr FrogHogs sent me the below video. She said it works every time and all if takes was a number 2 pencil...

What???

Maybe she meant a pen and paper to copy done your phone number to give to a SEAL. I won't do that, because I have my phone and address printed on my FrogHog "Do Me" business er social card...uh hummmmm..

OK, you and I will have to just see what the number 2 pencil thing is about by watching the below.

video below

In case you can't see the video here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_WMPtl1eOg

Back In Black-OK Sen. Tom Coburn's Plan to Cut $9 Trillion In Federal Spending

2011-07-18T14:47:00.001-05:00

Ok, it's 614 pages, but we are talking about 9 Trillion dollars. I read about 270 pages and think it is well laid out and if only, only, say 100 pages of cuts get done, then it would be a start to sending the US Back into the Black. File Link

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=c6590d01-017a-47b0-a15c-1336220ea7bf

Found this link on Jaime Dupree's twitter post.

It's Getting Harry Out There and I Mean Harry Potter! Spoiler Alert -LOL

2011-07-15T14:22:00.000-05:00

Got this from a Shadow Warrior--- Spoiler alert for Harry Potter:Lord Voldemort is gunned down by Navy SEAL Team 6!

Navy SEAL Post- Crossing the Line

2011-07-13T06:50:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

As my cats and the FrogDog reported last week, the Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course!) was unable to do the Jump the Hump Day Navy SEAL post, so they were forced er delighted to do the post.

Ok, a few of you said that I did cross the line with having my animals type the post. And a few of you are right!

Now, how did I know that I crossed that line? Well, I learned a few things about dragging animals and people across a line, when I read the below.

From the book "The Heart and the Fist" by Eric Greitens

"As we began to run across the open sea-a long night now ahead of us- our chief engineer, Crazy T said "Hey,LT"- short for "Lieutenant"-"I was thinking about making you one of those fish crackers, you want one.? Doug Traver-Crazy T-was a former police officer with a great sense of humor who came to Naval Spacial Warfare for his life's next challenge.

"That's all you, T."

Traver was referring to the "treats" that had been prepared for us when we crossed the equator. One of the great traditions in the US Navy is the "crossing the line" ceremony that takes place when a sailor 1st crosses the equator and goes from being a lowly "wog" to an esteemed "shellback."

Usually, only large Navy sips made the journey across the middle of the earth, but when we came to Singapore we were only 82 nautical miles north of the equator. We looked back at the history of Naval Special Warfare and couldn't find an instance of any small Naval Special Warfare craft crossing the equator on its own hull. As a team we decided to make a to make a run for it. At the time, I was a lowly wog, so our chief, Steve MacIntyre, and a few of the other shellbacks in our crew organized a special operations-style ceremony. It began while still ashore in Singapore.

As wogs we were split into pairs, I wa teamed with Crazy T. Standing on a green field near our barracks, we saw a bright yellow Slip n Slide laid out on the grass. At the prompt of the shellbacks, we ran hard for the slide, dove, and as we flew down the field headfirst, we realized that the plastic sheet was covered not with water, but with fish oil.

We ran and dove down the slide several more times, until stinking fish oil dripped from our hair and covered our shirts and shorts. Then the shellbacks put 2 eggs in our oily hands.

"OK wogs, you have to protect those eggs all day. The shellbacks have set up stations around the base. You'll run from station to station, and at each station you'll have to complete tasks. The faster you complete the course, the more points our get. If our eggs break, you lose points, and you'll punished b the mighty shellbacks. It pays to be a winner!"

Crazy T and I ran around the base stinking of fish oil. With slippery fingers, we programmed radios and assembled parts into weapons. We did pushups and frog hops in the sand and we crab-walked in the dirt.

We came huffing into the final station covered in fish oil and sand and dirt and sweat. Our eggs were unbroken, but when we tried to hand the eggs to the shellbacks, they told us, "Just set "em down, we don't want to ouch our guys."

Soon all of the stinking wogs gathered outside of our barracks, and then Chief MacIntyre said, "OK, wogs, here's the deal. You now have the opportunity to earn back time that you lost on the obstacle course b consuming delicacies from the Seven Seas."

The shellbacks laid out a plate of crackers that were covered in some kind of Marmite, fish, octopus, and mayonnaise concoction. With my fish-oil-and-sand covered fingers, I pinched a cracker and brought it to my nose. I too one whiff and lost my motivation to "earn"back time. (snip)

The next day we drove our boats down 80 some nautical miles to the equator, with our sister ship flying a giant black Jolly Roger-the black pirate flag marked by a white skull and crossbones. As we approached the equator, the shellbacks hooked up speakers in the Mark V and-reflecting the varied tastes of our crew-blasted a mix of heavy metal, country, and rap as we shot over the short blue waves on the ride south.

Traditionally, sailors are driven over the equator aboard ship, but our shellbacks decided that-being special operations-we had to swim across. We wogs, jumped into the open ocean about 1/2 mile from the equator. There was nothing but our boats and salt water in every direction. We started to swim but soon it was clear that the current was running north, and after a 1/2 hour we were farther away from the equator than when we started. The shellbacks, however, were not going to let us back onboard. They threw thick ropes off the back of the Mark Vs.

"Grab On! We'll drag you over."

The engines revved and we grabbed ahold. As the Mark Vs picked up speed, the ocean grabbed at us and tried to rip us from the ropes, but we all held on as the boats dragged us across the equator.

Once we crossed we swam to the back of the Mark Vs and were pulled dripping from the sea and welcomed aboard as new shellbacks. We replaced the Jolly Roger with the American flag and we then conducted an awards ceremony on our back deck. A few of my men had made extraordinary efforts and I had put them forward for recognition, so medals were pinned on their uniforms and orders were read on the open sea. Then we asked the chaplain-who had joined us for the journey that day-to say a few words.

As we floated on the ocean, an immense blue sea around us, we bowed our heads as the chaplain spoke, "This has been a wonderful day, and we have fulfilled a great Navy tradition in the best possible way. I also believe that crossing the equator like this demonstrates that sometimes you first have to believe to make it real."

I hadn't thought about the equator that way before. T Here was no magic line in the sea. Everywhere we looked was nothing but open water.

At the beginning now of our longest journey, Crazy T said to me, "You sure, LT? Those were some good crackers."

Happy 4th Annual Beatles Day- Yeah, Yeah, Yeah of Course It's in Liverpool

2011-07-10T09:39:00.003-05:00

From the BBC link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-14097789

Beatles Day staged at Albert Dock Liverpool

The fourth annual Beatles Day is being celebrated in Liverpool with Beatles tribute bands playing at venues across the Albert Dock.

Visitors have been encouraged to dress in 60s clothing for a fancy dress competition at 1500 BST and Beatles wigs are on sale at venues in the dock.

A Fab Four themed treasure hunt has been arranged for children.

The event's organizers said that the day was also "a celebration of all things Liverpool".

Jeremy Roberts, chairman of the Albert Dock Tenants' Association said: "Beatles Day is a fantastic celebration of the Fab Four and we are thrilled to host this year's event at the Albert Dock.

"The day is going to be action packed with music and entertainment, with all of the dock venues getting into the spirit with special offers and prize giveaways.

"We have been working very closely with the organizers to make this year's Beatles Day the best ever, and we are really looking forward to welcoming people from far and wide to join us."

God Speed ST-135- Making History Today -Image

2011-07-08T12:51:00.001-05:00

The above is an Atlantis Tribute Pix from the NASA site

I'm kinda sad that this is the end of an era for the Space Shuttle. Sending positive thoughts and prayers for a very successful last mission.

Navy SEAL Post - at the Shedd

2011-07-06T00:23:00.003-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

Kiki- "Is Too!"
Barney -"Is NOT!!"
Kiki - " Is Too!!"
Barney - "Is NOT!!"

FrogDog - " Hey, what are you two arguing about?"

Kiki - "The Oldest FrogHog on the Web, (said only in the nicest way of course!) said, it was our turn to post a Jump the Hump Day Navy SEAL Post."

Barney - "I disagree, she was mumbling so bad that .... she said, .... uh,.... I know! It's the FrogDog's turn to do the post. That is.. I think... Yeah, I know that's what she said."

FrogDog - (tail wagging and jumping up and down, like she does begging for someone to throw her ball) "Ok! Ok! It's me,me, me, me- my turn!!

I have to post about that jumping parachuting Navy SEAL dog- Cara! It's gonna be an excellent upgrade to his miserable Jump the Hump Day post. It's my turn dog gone it!!! So don't make me get ruff, and that's no bull dog."

Barney- (Wacking the dog and taking the mouse) "That's it! I've had it with the poopy puppy puns. That FrogDog barking is giving me a Cat-diac Arrest!"

Kiki- "Meouch!" (cat talk for LOL for that last pun)

Barney - "I'm taking control of this post! Er, By the way, where is the Old One?"

FrogDog - "She's taking a class today. She said "I'll be out doing some Snorish Code." She probably meant practicing her Morris Code."

Barney - (aside to Kiki) " Wow, that dumb FrogDog believed it! I'm guessing that The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (blah, blah of course) is snoring! Passed out form that 21 Margarita salute on the 4th of July."

Kiki - "Yeah, that dog believes everything that the Oldest FrogHog tells him, especially if there's a peanut butter treat involved."

Barney - "Let's get rid of that furball and get something to eat. I'm hungry and I've got a taste for some fresh fish."

Kiki shows FrogDog a ball and throws it down the stairs through the dog door out into the yard. FrogDog is right behind it.

Kiki - "What about the Navy SEAL Post?"

Barney - "What about it?
I'm hungry, so lets leave NOW to get some fresh fish."

Kiki - But the post?
We'll lose the 1 follower of this blog, if we don't post something about Navy SEALs today! Oops, too late he's gone..."

Barney - "Listen, stop pussyfooting around and come on with me to get the fresh fish.
You know you're paying, cuase you lost that bet on the Stanley Cup Finals."

Kiki - "Okay, Okay, already.
But first...
I've got it! It's a video with Navy SEALs and fish!"

Barney - "Are they blackened or fried?"

Kiki - "SEALs are not fried !!!...
The fish?
Oh...
Nope, but they are fresh! In fact so fresh, that... You'll see."

Barney -" I'd better not get any fur wet, or you'll be seeing my 10 claws. And I'd rather see some Chicken of the SEA, if you get my drift."

Kiki -" Nope, you will not be the one getting wet."

Kiki opens the media locker and clicks on the a item that says "Fishing for Navy SEALs".

Kiki - "Barney, scratch word FISH to see the post and a video,

Or if you want to see just the video, scratch the arrow on the video thingy box below.

And Hurry it Up so we can go, fishing!"

July 4th - email from Debbie Lee - Mother of Fallen Navy SEAL Marc Lee

2011-07-04T18:53:00.003-05:00

Here's her email below.

P.S. Half way through the deployment-- can't wait to see all of your faces".....those were the final words from my son's last letter home in 2006.

Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee was killed weeks later on Aug 2 as he made the choice 3 different times on his final day to expose himself to enemy fire to defend his teammates and the freedoms that we as Americans celebrate this weekend. He gave the gift of life to his buddies, and the gift of his buddies to me.

I write this as I prepare for the wedding in Texas this evening of one of my "adopted" boys, Marc's Lieutenant who celebrates with the love of his life. If it wouldn't have been for Marc and his heroic actions they wouldn't have met. Long story for another time, Congratulations Leif and Jenna!

I am so blessed to be part of the Naval Special Warfare Family. The character of the men who serve as SEALs and go above and beyond is absolutely amazing! The courage and sacrifice that they make for the freedoms that we take for granted every day is overwhelming!! It isn't just the Navy SEALs who sacrifice and give exceptionally so that we as Americans can celebrate the great country that we live in and the Independence that brings us to the Bar-b-ques and fireworks on the 4^th. As a Nation we must remember that Freedom isn't free!

It is every American who has served from different wars, different nationalities and backgrounds who have fought, bled and many have died for those freedoms. It is our Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines whose character steps up setting aside their wants, desires and needs to defend your right to have yours.<

It is every Mother whose son's name is on a memorial wall somewhere across America. I stopped at the Alamo yesterday and held back the tears as I read each name on that wall knowing that another Mother, in a different century, shared the same grief and burden of losing a son as I have.

As I drove back to my hotel I passed Brook Army Medical Center and was drawn to stop and visit the wounded warriors there. I have visited Walter Reed, Bethesda and Balboa Medical Centers on numerous occasions when I was in DC or San Diego, but never had been in the San Antonio area to visit our wounded warriors there.
I prepared myself to enter each room sterilizing my hands and putting on the yellow surgical robes and gloves in the outer room before entering each warriors room. You never know the condition of the hero you will find laying in the bed when you enter the room and you try to prepare yourself mentally to hold back the emotions and shock of the devastation. As I walk in I try not to focus on the injuries but look into their eyes and communicate to them the love and appreciation for their sacrifice. Several of the wounded I visited were missing both legs from the hips down, others were severally burned. I give each one of them a thank you card and Marc's hero card, chatting with them I challenge them, thank them and give them hope. These are America's Mighty Warriors who have sacrificed greatly for our nation.

So as you celebrate this weekend our freedoms, our independence, the privilege we have to be Americans remember......remember American Exceptionalism.......remember our founding Fathers and the vision they had.....remember our troops who have fought for our freedoms....remember the cost of those freedoms......remember Freedom isn't Free......remember as Marc said in his last letter home......"I find that being here makes me realize the great country we have and the obligation we have to keep it that way!"

Marc successfully completed his deployment and has been redeployed to Heaven, however we are still just halfway through our deployments here and we each have something to do to successfully complete our mission and keep our country free. I trust you are doing your part, we have an obligation to our fallen, our wounded warriors and their families.

God bless you..God bless our troops...God bless America! Happy 4^th of July!

You can read Marc's last letter at www.americasmightywarriors.org under the tab "Glory letter.

My 4th of July Video - America Golden Dream

2011-07-04T15:06:00.001-05:00

America Golden Dream -

My video from Inches Away from Sanity Productions for the 4th of July.

Happy Independence Day America!

2011-07-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

Yeah, the Whole Wide World Can Kiss Our American Ass Today and Everyday-LOL

Video below

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Navy SEAL Post- A SEAL Team Six Sniper Talks Stalks

2011-06-29T12:35:00.001-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) has received a urgent text message from one of my Tadpoles.

She was asking for advice on how to stalk er meet some SEALs.

So, I pulled out the below from my Media locker and sent it to her FB site.

It is from a really pro on this kind of stuff- stalking. Yeah, he was a real quite professional, a sniper with ST-6. So I know that if my Tadpole follows his advice on the stalk, she might just find her target and hit on him.
.
From the book "SEAL Team Six -Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper" by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin

"Casanova and I checked out each other's war paint: hands, neck, ears, and face. When painting the skin, it's important to appear the opposite of how a human being looks: Make the dark become light and the light become dark.

That means making sure the parts of the face that form shadows (where eyes sink in, etc) become light green and features that shine (forehead, cheeks, nose, brow, and chin) become dark green. If the sniper's face is seen, it shouldn't resemble a face. Disappear and remain invisible. (snip)

Each of us walked slowly lifted one foot and moved it forward, clearing obstacles with the toes straight to the front, feeling for twigs or anything we were about to step on . Taking short steps, I walked on the outside of my feet, slowly rolling between the balls of my feet and the heel, gradually shifting my weight forward.

At what we determined to be 900 yards to the the target, we arrived at a partially open area. Casanova and I lay flat on the ground. Maintaining separation so we wouldn't look like some moving blob, we low-crawled. We had to move slowly enough not to be seen but fast enough to arrive in time to take our shot. I was careful not to stick my rifle muzzle in the dirt, which would degrade is accuracy and careful not to sick it in the air, which would expose our position. Remaining flat, I slowly pulled the ground with arms and pushed with my feet, face so close to the ground that it pushed mud. Six inches at a time. I became one with Mother Earth and cleared my mind of other thoughts. During stalks, I often told myself, I am one with the ground. I am a part of the dirt.

If I saw the target or a roving patrol, I wouldn't look directly at or think about it. A buck deer will snort and stomp the ground because he can smell you but can't locate you. He's snorting and stomping the ground trying to get you to move so he can locate you. Humans don't' have to a buck deer's sense of smell, but they know when they're being watched. Some are more attuned to it than others. When you think you're being watched and you turn around to find that someone is looking at you, you're using that sense. The sniper tries not to arouse this sense and avoids looking directly a the target. When it comes time to take the shot, of course , I look at the target in my crosshairs, even then, the concentration is on the crosshairs.

It's Good to be Queen Today!

2011-06-27T11:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is-Now stop bowing, cause I hate seeing all that dandruff on your head!

Some Sunday President Reagan Humor- video

2011-06-26T12:59:00.001-05:00

Ozzie sent me this one - I like the response at the end

Just Found Out about St Gabriel Possenti- the Patron of HandGunners

2011-06-22T19:24:00.001-05:00

OMG- Now That's my kind of SAINT! And a terrorist fighter too!

From the Gun Saint

The St. Gabriel Possenti Society promotes the public recognition of St. Gabriel Possenti, including his Vatican designation as Patron Saint of Handgunners.
St. Gabriel Possenti was a Catholic seminarian whose marksmanship and proficiency with handguns single-handedly saved the village of Isola, Italy from a band of 20 terrorists in 1860.
The Possenti Society offers a variety of materials related to St. Gabriel Possenti and a biblical understanding of self-defense.
The Savior of Isola
In 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy. They began to burn and pillage the town, terrorizing its inhabitants.
Possenti, with his seminary rector's permission, walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young woman he intended to rape when he saw Possenti and made a snickering remark about such a young monk being all alone.
Possenti quickly grabbed the soldier's revolver from his belt and ordered the marauder to release the woman. The startled soldier complied, as Possenti grabbed the revolver of another soldier who came by. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the soldiers came running in Possenti's direction, determined to overcome the rebellious monk.
At that moment a small lizard ran across the road between Possenti and the soldiers. When the lizard briefly paused, Possenti took careful aim and struck the lizard with one shot. Turning his two handguns on the approaching soldiers, Possenti commanded them to drop their weapons. Having seen his handiwork with a pistol, the soldiers complied. Possenti ordered them to put out the fires they had set, and upon finishing, marched the whole lot out of town, ordering them never to return. The grateful townspeople escorted Possenti in triumphant procession back to the seminary, thereafter referring to him as "the Savior of Isola".

Navy SEAL Post - TadPole Jeopardy video

2011-06-22T00:28:00.003-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) has just spent an exhausting 1/2 hour grading the 2011 Tadpole class final.

What are Tadpoles?

They are FrogHogs wannabees in training, and the training site is Camp FrogHog, located... Well, never mind the location, cause it is top secret.

The 2011 class started with over 300 students. But, then there was that vice raid and only 3 students made it. Of course, they were the ones who were out in the bathroom putting on more "do me" lipstick.

Me? Well, this time I was was OUTCONS (getting more limes) and wasn't available for ~~bail~~ comment.

So to record this historic event, I made a video of the Tadpole Test final.

To make the test fun (and that's what FrogHog's are all about- just ask any sailor) I made it into a game and a show .... like.... Jeopardy.

The first part of the test was a little hard. It was about Navy SEALs, and the Tadpoles did have a little help.

The second part of the test was supposed to be EASY (just like Froghogs) because it was just the basics of being a FrogHog.

And all 3 Tadpoles scored. The scoring was only for the test answers. (Scoring off camera, didn't count.)

Click on the arrow on the below video to start the test. See if you can answer the questions before the Tadpoles.

Navy SEAL Post- How to Earn Your Trident

2011-06-08T06:13:00.005-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is busy preparing the questions for the Tadpole finals.

So, today's post will have to be a short one, because I need lots of extra time to make these questions the hardest ever!
(Besides, it's hot and the ice is melting in my Margarita.)

So, with earning the FrogHog pin in mind, I have found in the below poster.

It's a reminder, to be read daily, about earning the Navy SEAL Trident.

.

Navy SEAL Post- Cmdr Robert A. "Gus" Kaminski Updated

2011-06-06T07:42:00.003-05:00

Updated June 25, 2011- Obituary

Memorial Service Info - updated June 6, 2011

Memorial for Andy on Monday, June 13th
* 9am Mass in the SEAL Chapel on base in Coronado - across from BUDS center
* 10:30 - 11:30 Memorial service at WARCOM
* 1:30 Honors Ceremony at Rosecrans Cemetery
* Evening (6ish) Celebration of Life back on Coronado on the beach behind BUDS facility

Updated on June 1, 2011.

It is with a saddened heart, that I am giving this update about Cmdr Robert A "Gus" Kaminski. He lost his battle with brain cancer and died on Friday May 27, 2011.

Follow this link to Cmdr Kaminski at his page on the Fallen US Navy SEAL Facebook site.

AND
On June 2, the US Navy SEAL LeapFrogs posted on their FaceBook site the below :
Cmdr. Robert "Gus" Kaminski, the Leap Frogs' officer in charge, lost his battle with cancer May 27, 2011. Gus was a true warrior and will be greatly missed by the whole Naval Special Warfare community. He upheld the strongest military values and truly embodied the SEAL Ethos to the very end. He is gone from our lives but not from our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers go to his family. Blue skies and safe landings Gus.

Go to the US Navy Parachute Team, the LeapFrogs FB and leave a comment- link -http://www.facebook.com/leapfrogs

Below is my post from July 2008, about his fight against cancer.

First, some news from the Justin Legg grapevine. Justin is a SEAL who conquered an aggressive strain of leukemia. Now, another SEAL is battling cancer -Andy (Gus) Kaminski. He is a member of the SEAL Parachute Team- LeapFrogs.

Gus was diagnosed with a brain tumor on May 19th and underwent extensive surgery to remove the tumor on the 22nd. It went well and they were able to remove 90-95% of the tumor. Now, he is undergoing chemo therapy.

If you would like to send an email of support for him and his wife Cindy. Here's the link to his Caringbridge site. Please DO NOT leave condolence messages at the CaringBridge site- it was posted for information at the time, when Gus was in recovery.

The Jump the Hump Navy SEAL Post is Below
OK - Jumping Up and Down Because Keeping Up With the Davy Jones is so HARD. (Wah, there is no whining in FrogHogness, mantra will begin here.)

Last week I gave my top 10 tips on becoming a FrogHog, based on the many emails that I received.

This week I've received an email from a competitor- Military Mary. This ~~broad~~ woman claims to know more about the SEALs than any old FrogHog (me). And she's got the website to prove it.

So Follow the link and eye the competition- Military Mary on Navy SEALs. (sorry this link is now - gone due to top secret security violations) Really it's a good page. Much better than the stuff I can steal or dream up.

The Cell and Obamacare Toon From Hope and Change

2011-06-03T05:17:00.001-05:00

Navy SEAL Post- It's Graduation Time!

2011-06-01T16:34:00.002-05:00

HooYah!!
It's Wednesday!
Time to Jump the Hump with a Navy SEAL Thing!

The Oldest FrogHog on the Web (said only in the nicest way of course) is posting a little late today, cause I just got back to camp FrogHog this afternoon.
Where was I?

I was at a very special graduation practice. Yes, my tadpoles are about to graduate to full FrogHogs in a few weeks.

If they make it through the uber- tough FrogHog training Academy and the finals next week, I will have to plan something extra special for FrogHog Class 211.

Does anyone have some ideas for the graduation party?

What's that?
Yeah, I did place an order for extra limes.

Any one else?
Why don't we celebrate like SEALs when they graduate?

Well, I just don't know about that.

I am not saying that facetiously, I really don't know how SEAL candidates celebrate their graduation.
Ok, can anyone tell me?
Look it up?!! (these blog readers are just so lazy today)
Okay, I will.

And here's what I found below.

From the Book " Heart and Fist" by Eric Greitens

"The class graduation was spartan.

We stood in a nondescript concrete bay known as the boat barn. An American flag was hung, but nothing else adorned the open bay.

No band, no streamers. We stood not in dress uniforms, but in starched fatigues. We each walked to the podium and a few words were said as a golden Trident was pinned over our heart.

The Trident has been the badge of the Navy SEALs since 1970. It is the only warfare specialty pin that is the same for officers and enlisted. It symbolizes that we are brothers in arms-that we train together and we fight together.

After we all had our Tridents pinned on, we turned as a class and ran down the pier and jumped into the bay. As trainees, we had jumped into the water a thousand times. This was the first time we hit the water as Navy SEALs.

We swam across the bay and then ran a 6 mile course around the island of Coronado. We finished our run at a beach, where we grilled steaks, told stories, and wished each other well.

Like every great passage, it was a celebration of our achievement that was also marked by some sadness. We were leaving men who had become our brothers. In the dark of night, faces covered in camouflage, I could tell my men apart by the way they carried their rifles. On patrol, I could tell by the turn of their heads if they were listening hard. I knew their families, and I could tell by the way they sat down to load their magazines it they were distracted by something at home. We knew each man's brow, eyes, smile, when each man was angry, afraid, triumphant. We'd laughed a thousand crazy laughs motoring on the ocean, climbing in the mountains, before jumping from planes.

Standing on the beach, this was our last moment as a class together, and we knew that all of us would be deployed, and some of us might not come back. For all of the incredibly difficult training we'd done, no one had ever shot real bullets at us with the intent to kill."

Well, I don't know about all the running and swimming around at the beach, but I do know about that the Tadpoles aka Newest FrogHogs will be on the beach.

And they will probably be practicing some of their FrogHogest maneuvers.

Especially if there are life guards around-LOL.